Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

I have the 8 panel play yard. Overall, this is a great play yard. I chose to put mine in a perfect square instead of an Octagon. You lose a little square feet this way, but it works better for our room setup. It also fits perfectly on a 6x6 foam floor tiles:(http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00HS5BYVO/ref=od_aui_detailpages02?ie=UTF8&psc=1) The 8 panel square measures 65" x 65" I think the octagon measures 80" x 80" but again the square just worked better for our room. HEIGHT: I was torn between this play yard and the Summer Infant Play Yard, and did a lot of research before going with the North States. They were the exact same size and price so I could not decide. I went with this one because it is a little shorter at 26" inches high verses the Summer Infant which is 30" high. I am very petite so stepping over the 26" is even a little challenging for me! The Summer Infant play yard has a door which was appealing, but everyone kept reviewing that the door was difficult to open, so they would just step over it. I don't think there's anyway I could step over the 30" height. In my opinion, the 26" is the perfect height. FOLDING/PORTABILITY: I wanted this to be portable because I knew I would be using it at a few different locations, it is definitely portable, but takes up a fair amour of space when traveling which is expected. I just kept the box that it came in and always transport it in the box. It took me about 15 minutes to set it up initially, and 6 minutes to fold down. After my second, third, times setting up and folding down I could easily setup in under 1 minute and easily fold down in under 1 minute. I did read a lot of reviews that theirs broke when folding, which you do have to be careful to fold the correct way. After you inspect the gates, you'll be able to see which way it needs to fold. So just observe and make sure that nobody tries to fold it up quickly without understanding the correct way to fold. If you're going on a weekend trip or visiting family I would easily pack this along to bring. If you're going on a quick picnic at the park, I wouldn't mess with it. I would want something more portable such as the Summer Infant pop up portable play pen. It folds up like a lawn chair. I have used that one as well at a friend's home, it is much smaller probably half the size but I think it would also be a nice purchase. COLOR: I was slightly disappointed in the "sand" color. I was hoping it would be more ivory/beige but it has more of an orange tint. Not a deal breaker because either way the cage isn't a very pretty sight, but it is what it is. STURDYNESS: They are lightweight plastic gates, so for the people that said they were "flimsy" weren't exactly lying. But when it's all setup and connected it's as sturdy enough as it needs to be for any baby or toddler. There's no way it would tip over or cave in. I would give it 4.5stars because as much as I love it, my daughter isn't as thrilled. I definitely purchased this too late, she is already 9 months, crawling, and standing up on everything and was used to exploring the entire house before and now she's "confined" in this pen. I think she would enjoy it more if she would have had this since birth. But it's our first baby so we'll be able to keep this for all future kiddos! I purchased it more for traveling to grandparents and to our lake house that is not as baby proof as our home is. It will be somewhat bulky to travel with, but will work great. I was also considering the Summer Infant collapsible play yard but I think the square footage is way too small to be enjoyable. I'm happy with this size!