The New Grey Stars Cuddledry Review
The New Grey Stars Cuddledry
Reviewed by David Ashworth
As any parent of young children will agree, bath times can be an especially sacred bonding experience between a mother/father and their child. An opportunity to introduce them to the cleansing waters and watch them turn into waterbabies right before your eyes.
On the other hand, bath times can simply be an opportunity for your children to splash you to the point that you might have well just jumped in with them… fully clothed!
The solution to this problem?
The original Cuddledry?
The Cuddledry is a handsfree baby bath towel and is made from unbleached cotton and natural bamboo fibre, making it extremely soft and delicate for babies and young children, even those with sensitive skin. It is easily attached via two press stud buttons and worn like an apron to protect the parent’s torso and upper legs from any splash back whilst keeping your arms free and totally unobstructed whist bathing your youngsters. It comes in a range of colours and designs including animal prints, like cow and giraffe, and other similar products for older children.
Having two children under the age of two, one of whom is a two week old girl, my partner and I were very eager to receive this product and give it a go.
When we received the Grey Stars Cuddledry, we noticed that the packaging was very eye catching, even though it uses soft colours to represent the nature of the product for wet use. Down one side of the front of the box is a list of awards and recommendations from well-known and trusted companies such as ‘Mum’, ‘Best Buy’ and ‘Star Buy’ and simple step-by-step pictures of how to apply and use the towel correctly. On the back of the box is a list of features and instructions for using the Cuddledry, which although basic, provide you with enough knowledge to use this product confidently.
Upon opening the Cuddledry you cannot help but notice how incredibly soft and fleece like this product is, and although after first washing the product we noticed a slight drop in the overall ‘fluffiness’ of the Cuddledry, it was still extremely soft and comforting to the touch. Also the antibacterial properties highlighted by the manufacturer seemed to prevent the Cuddledry from having that moist wet towel smell after it was used and left to air dry, instead it smelt as fresh and felt as good as it did when we first opened it.
The two press stud button clasp makes the Cuddledry very easy to put on yet feels surprisingly secure and gives the parent wearing it an overwhelming sense of safety for their own wellbeing and that of the child. That said removing the Cuddledry towel is just as easy as pulling the studs apart allowing for quick removal of the towel so you can get on with dressing and preparing your children for the day ahead. The towel hangs freely from the neck and provides no more discomfort than a standard apron. the width of the shoulder straps and the softness of the towel extends from child to parent and even when dripping wet the Cuddledry towel is very comfortable to wear.
Perhaps the most endearing feature of the Cuddledry that we noticed is the bonding it allows between child and parent. By having both hands free, the Cuddledry lets you hold the baby close to your chest whilst having a free hand to wrap the baby in the Cuddledry and a secure baby hood in the bottom corner of the towel, which not only helps dry the baby’s head and keeps them warm but also secures the towel in place whilst you cradle and dry your baby. This feature by far stood out to me as it is the first time our two week old daughter has not cried from being taken out of the bath. This was extremely comforting to me as a father to know that my baby daughter felt safe and secure as well as close to her parent.
The Cuddledry boasts a double-layer system which draws water away from the baby’s skin and hair. We found this feature worked exceptionally well as our baby was dry in less than two minutes with minimal rubbing or wiping. This lack of friction on baby’s skin kept her calm and comfortable and allowed us to basically dry her by cuddling her, making getting her out of the bath a very calming and enjoyable task as opposed to the usual screaming and sense of urgency we were previously used to.
When rating this product out of five stars I faced a real dilemma. I so strongly feel that this product is worthy of a five star rating for the comfort and quality of the Cuddledry and the ease and security it gave my partner and I, whilst bathing her. On the other hand, this is a luxury item as opposed to a necessity and although it would make a perfect gift for parents with a young baby or a fun purchase for families with plenty of expendable income, for families on a budget this may feel like a far more frivolous spend when you have perfectly good towels at home.
Rating: 4/5
RRP: £29.99
The new Grey Stars Cuddledry is available to buy from Cuddledry here.
Cuddledry goes Triple Platinum
Cuddledry, the most beloved baby bath time brand, have cleaned up at the prestigious Junior Design Awards and Loved by Parents Awards, scooping 5 new awards to add to their extensive collection.
Cuddledry bagged an incredible 4 awards in the Loved by Parents Awards with their multi award-winning hands free apron towel winning platinum in the Best Baby Towel category and silver in the Best Baby Bath Time category. Their clever Cuddletwist hair towel won platinum in the Best Innovative Bath Time Product category and their Cuddleduck won platinum in the Best Baby Bath Toy category.
Achieving further recognition, their much-loved Cuddleduck was also awarded silver in the Junior Design Awards.