Credit:
Reviewed / Tim Renzi
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Credit:
Reviewed / Tim Renzi
Reviewed's mission is to help you buy the best stuff and get the most out of what you already own. Our team of product experts thoroughly vet every product we recommend to help you cut through the clutter and find what you need.
Learn more about our product testing
The Halo SleepSack is the best we tested, offering free movement, comfort, and warmth safely for babies. Read More
The LouLou Lollipop Muslin Sleep Bag is long and breathable (and absolutely adorable). Read More
Kyte Baby isn’t cheap, but it’s well worth the extra dollars for these plush sleep sacks. Read More
The Alphie is a great transition sack for babies who don’t want to give up their swaddles. Read More
The Primary Sleep Sack is a simple wearable blanket that’s great for warm summer nights. Read More
Once your baby has outgrown her swaddle, it’s time to start looking into sleep sacks and wearable blankets. Since your baby is still too little to safely sleep with a blanket according to the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), a sleep sack could be your saving grace.
Unlike swaddles—which you should ditch as soon as your baby can start rolling over—sleep sacks allow babies to sleep with their arms out. They often feature a flowy bottom that provides room for babies to move around, which is helpful for the day they start doing gymnastics around the crib.
My daughter Vivienne spent the past four months testing out sleep sacks. With the help of a professional product tester (me), we determined the best sleep sack is the Halo SleepSack Cotton Wearable Blanket. It’s inexpensive, it’s easy to put on, and it allows my daughter the comfort of a blanket without actually having a blanket in her crib.
For a sleep sack that’s most like a traditional blanket, we love the LouLou Lollipop Sleep Bag. It was the longest sack we tested, allowing my baby to snuggle it without wrapping it around her. It’s breathable and cozy without breaking the budget.
LouLou Lollipop makes one of the best sleep sacks on the market.
Kyte Baby's sleep sack is cozy and long.
The Alphie is a great transitionary sleep sack.
Long
Zips from bottom
Buttons on shoulders
Zipper not covered at neck
Long
No tag
Comfy
Flimsy zipper
Zipper only goes one way
My baby had the hardest job of all—sleeping.
My name is Kate Tully Ellsworth and I’ve got a chipper 11-month-old baby girl, Vivienne, who has been testing sleep sacks for the past five months. Vivienne’s a tall baby (over 75% percentile for height) with an average weight (around 50% percentile for weight). She sleeps in a sleep sack with a Nanit band wrapped around her belly.
Though she’s not even one year old, Vivienne is an experienced product tester. She’s tried out swaddles, play kits, and clothing brands for Reviewed.
You want your sleep sack to be long enough for your baby to sprawl, but tight enough to make them feel secure.
Vivienne tried out nine sleep sacks from a range of popular brands, including Halo, Kyte Baby, and Ollie. She had the easy job—she slept in each sack.
My job was tougher. I first washed each sleep sack per its manufacturer’s instructions, then I placed my baby in the sack to see how easy it was. I paid close attention to its fit and how easy it was to secure. I closely evaluated each sack for its texture, its zipper quality, its feel, its ease of operating during a diaper change, and how comfortable my baby seemed.
A sleep sack is a wearable blanket that your baby can snooze with. Since you want to keep your crib clear of loose objects like blankets, a sleep sack can allow them to doze off safely while staying cozy.
We tested some of the best sleep sacks out there against each other for this roundup.
Since a sleep sack is basically a blanket with arms, you’d think they’d all look and feel generally similar. For the most part, they do, but there are a lot of variations when it comes to features, weights, designs, and shapes. Here are a few things to consider when you’re shopping for a sleep sack:
Material: When we tested sleep sacks, we awarded extra points for those made with OEKO-TEX certified fabrics. You want your baby sleeping in a breathable fabric that will keep them warm without feeling overheated.
Zipper construction: Just because your baby is in a sleep sack doesn’t mean you’re free from those nighttime diaper changes. Pick one with a zipper construction that won’t be a nightmare at 3am. We awarded the most points to J-shaped zippers that allowed us to free baby bottoms without needing to actually remove parts of the sack.
Fit: In my house, Vivienne sleeps with a Nanit band around her chest, so I don’t want a sleep sack that is already tightly wound around her waist (like The Alphie). I want a free-flowing sack, like the Halo or Burt’s Bees Baby sacks. You want your baby to always have full movement of their arms once they can roll, so make sure you pick a sack that allows them to be as free as you’re comfortable with.
Weight: Never purchase a weighted sleep sack for your baby.
Price: The sleep sacks we tested tended to be in the $20-30 range, with the most expensive being The Alphie at $79. Price can be a limiting factor for some families, especially if you want to purchase more than one (we have three—two for home and one for daycare). If you fall in love with a sleep sack that costs more than $30, make sure it’s got the bells and whistles you’re confident you’ll use every day in your home. Otherwise, opt for a cheaper sack.
Sleep sacks should be free of any weighted beads or materials, like the Primary muslin sleep sack pictured here.
Weighted sleep products do not have the backing of any major agency, as there is no evidence that they’re safe for babies to sleep in. In fact, the AAP recommends that parents avoid weighted sleep products, as do the National Institutes of Health (NIH), Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and Consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC).
In June 2023, the AAP wrote a letter to the CPSC asking them to develop more vigorous testing parameters for weighted sleep products for infants. The agency claimed weighted sleep products “are associated with concerning reductions in oxygen saturation levels in infants.” The AAP has a stellar reputation when it comes to safe sleep guidelines—since it announced its Safe Sleep campaign in 1994, Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) deaths have reduced by 70%.
In April 2024, Amazon, Target, and Babylist stopped selling weighted sleep products.
There are two major brands in the weighted infant sleep product space—Dreamland and Nested Bean. On the Dreamland website, the brand claims, “Dreamland Baby is in ongoing dialogue with the AAP regarding its stance on weighted sleepwear and hopes it will result in the statement being retracted.” In December 2023, Senator Richard Blumenthal wrote a letter to both brands urging both to stop saying their sacks were safe for infants.
Kate Tully Ellsworth is the Executive Editor of Lifestyle & Commerce at Reviewed. She oversees editorial partner content that focuses on brands and products our editorial team and tested and loved. She also oversees Pets, Streaming, Sleep, Health & Fitness, Sex Toys, Style, and Parenting. You can find her work on Reviewed, USA Today, Taste of Home, Reader's Digest, and The Family Handyman.
Kate got her degree in English writing from Belmont University and enjoys writing about how to shop, where to shop, and when to shop. Her passions include Star Wars, baking, and the Great British Bake Off. She's based in Nashville, TN, where she lives with her beautiful husband and beautiful daughter.
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