If you've ever traveled with small children, my condolences. Although I've never been through the gauntlet myself, I have plenty of friends and family who have struggled through checking strollers, carseats, and other assorted child gear, all while trying to keep their little one from screaming through the flight. Luckily, there's a new app that tries to make the family vacation a little less stressful: BabyQuip.
How does BabyQuip work?
I hadn't heard of this app until my friends, who have a 4-month-old, visited this past week. They arrived from the airport without all of the gear I'd expected. Where was the stroller? What about the crib? Were they planning on just...winging it?
I'm happy to report they were not. (Social services: no need to worry.) Instead, they'd planned ahead by downloading BabyQuip, which is like Airbnb for infant and toddler essentials. With a few swipes, they ordered a stroller, a crib, and some blackout curtains (!) from a local vendor who'd been vetted by BabyQuip. A few days later, after they'd left for the airport, I texted the vendor, who came to grab the items. Everything else was handled via the app.
Image: Kevin Kearney
BabyQuip does what the best apps do: it provides a novel solution to an existing problem. I have plenty of friends with young children who have complained about the costs of checking baby gear on flights; some have mentioned that their equipment arrives damaged. Not a great way to start a vacation. BabyQuip removes that ordeal from the equation, even allowing you to book in advance to ensure you'll have the equipment your kids need.
Image: Kevin Kearney
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BabyQuip pricing
The cost to use the BabyQuip app itself is free. The fees are associated with the individual items you're renting, and their costs vary significantly based on what you're getting and how long you're renting it for. A full-sized crib, for example, will cost more than blackout curtains.
Some items are priced per day, while others can be negotiated per month for longer trips. Many items have a minimum rental time, much like how AirBnB hosts can require a minimum stay.
BabyQuip pros and cons
- Reduces bulk during travel
- Alleviates stress of forgetting important items
- Reasonably priced compared to checked luggage costs
- Still pretty expensive, especially if on a vacation budget
- Communication is by text rather than within the app
BabyQuip has plenty of benefits. The app allows you to avoid the hassle of flying with bulky equipment and, in the process, takes a huge chunk of the stress out of a family vacation. The pricing depends on your location and the available vendors, but we found it to be reasonable, especially considering the high costs of checking a stroller through an airline.
There are some small downsides. For one, the individual rental prices are expensive, especially considering most parents are on tight budgets. I'm hoping that as the app grows in popularity the prices might decline, though the latter might need to happen before the former.
The second thing that could be improved is the method of communication: once you book a vendor, you correspond with them via private text, which can complicate things if plans go awry. BabyQuip would be wise to bring all communication within the app, as models like Airbnb and Uber have done, in order to avoid some of these potential problems.
Is BabyQuip worth the download?
Yes, BabyQuip is worth the download. The app simplifies an otherwise complicated and stressful situation, allowing parents to spend less time dealing with headaches and more time enjoying their vacations.
We hope to see some improvements with future updates (especially with in-app correspondence), but we still think this is worth a download before your next trip.
How WhistleOut reviews apps
Our mobile experts scour the app stores, looking for the best new apps for Android and iPhone. Before recommending an app, we use the app for at least one full workday, testing its basic functionality and evaluating whether or not it delivers on its promises.
- Easy to use
Great apps simplify your phone. We selected the tools that don't require a complicated instructional manual. - Affordability
The internet is filled with expensive price tags, but we're not buying what they're selling. We leaned into inexpensive, quality apps. Extra points if they're free! - Hands-on testing
We played around with these before recommending them, ensuring they're worth your download.
From there, we weigh the app's pros and cons and then determine whether or not it's a worthwhile download for the wider population of cell phone users.
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