Many parents will probably have a baby monitor at home, and BabyHeed has got a few questions from our loyal readers asking whether these same model baby monitors can be used when they go camping. The problem with the usual home baby video monitors is that they are usually mains powered, or where they are battery powered as well, the batteries only last for a few minutes.
The other problem that most parents have is they are looking for a monitors where BOTH the parent unit and the baby unit can run on batteries, and where these battery operated baby monitors can be run for a long time.
Without a suitable baby monitor for camping, you could of course try a number of the following ways to keep an eye on baby, but all of them have their drawbacks:
- Bring baby with you to wherever you are, and use something like a pack and play and have baby fall asleep in the pack and play unit.
On the one hand this is great as baby is there with you and you can keep an eye on them, but seriously, if you’ve ever gone camping you know that adults can get a bit more festive in the evening and could be loud and wake baby up, there is the issue of insects and mosquitoes that seem to become more prevalent at night, and then of course when moving back to your tent or your camping trailer you have to pick the baby up and move them with the risk that they wake up again.
- Using a set of mobiles and call from one phone to the other
This of course relies on having mobile coverage, but you could have the one parent’s phone call the other phone, and strategically place the phone near the baby. This could work but usually only for audio, and of course is heavily reliant on having mobile coverage wherever you are camping (and lets admit that most camping sites are out of mobile coverage range anyways). I’m also not so sure parents would want mobile waves near baby for such a long extended time period
- Power an existing baby monitor via car battery
You could of course just use your existing setup, and get one of those power converters that will power the baby monitor from your car battery. Once again, this assumes you are in range of the car, and another drawback is that it drains the car battery fairly quickly so you have to continue to start the car so that you are not left at the end of the trip with a flat car battery.
So there are solutions that “could” work, but most parents would be looking for something portable and battery operated (as their might not be power or cars allowed in the campsite) and they definitely exist. So if you are planning a camping trip soon, and want to keep an eye on your baby whilst away from the camping tent or trailer just to be doubly sure baby is sleeping whilst you get to relax with the other others, then take a look at these reviews of the best baby monitor for camping.
Tommee Tippee Closer to Nature Baby Monitor
Top rated baby monitor for camping
[one_half]This Closer to Nature baby monitor from Tommee Tippee is a truly portable baby monitor that allows batteries in both the parent unit and the baby unit and with an effective range of 300 meters it can definitely be taken camping. The Tommee Tippee baby monitor uses digitally enhanced cordless technology (so-called DECT compliant interference free) to pick up any sounds that your baby makes and relay these to the parent unit over substantial distances as well. [/one_half] [one_half_last]
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Out of the box the parent unit is already supplied with 2x AAA rechargeable batteries and if you are going camping it’s best to have these charged for at least 12hrs before using the unit. Obviously you can take along further sets of AAA rechargeable batteries if you don’t have access to power sources. The baby unit is not supplied with batteries out the box so these would need to be purchased separately. The baby unit uses 4x AA batteries , so make sure you buy appropriate sizing.
- Monitor is fitted with an out of range indicator so you will truly know if you’re out if range and the link is lost
- Two way talk back feature allows you to talk back to your baby and soothe them
- Parent and baby unit use different sized batteries so you would need to buy both types – AA and AAA
BILLLFET Portable Baby Monitors
Cheap baby monitor for camping
[one_half]If you’re looking for some portable baby monitors, even for something like a short camping trip where it just isn’t feasible to have power to plug in a baby monitor, then these BILLFET Portable Baby Monitors will suit the task perfectly. Obviously they are not as clear or as sensitive as a plug-in baby monitor, but all you really need is something that is portable and that is cheap! [/one_half] [one_half_last][/one_half_last]
These Billfet monitors do the trick when out camping. The portable baby monitors are quite lightweight, so you can take them with you on your camping trip, and even from quite a distance the sound was pretty clear, so you can easily be outside and a distance from the tent/caravan where baby might be.
- Lightweight
- Both baby and parent unit are battery operated
- Batteries don’t last that long on continuous use – so take a few spares if camping for a longer period
