The Nook Pebble Air crib is the Nook Pebble mattress that packs the most punch for parents on a budget. Made safely, you can feel confident laying your little one to rest on the Nook Air each night. Serving as the most affordable option in Nook’s range of Pebble crib mattresses, the Pebble Air is also Nook Sleep’s lightest crib mattress.
So what exactly goes into the Nook Pebble Air, and is a safe option for your baby or toddler? We dug into find out.
Introducing the Nook Pebble Air: A Breathable & Lightweight Crib Mattress You Can Trust
The Pebble Air crib mattress is Nook Sleep’s lightest-weight crib mattress. Weighing in right around the same as your average newborn (7 pounds), this mattress won’t break your back … or your budget.
Compared to the Nook Pebble Lite ($299), Nook Dream Cotton ($299) and Nook Pebble Pure ($419), the Pebble Air ($209) is downright affordable, making it a good option for parents who want to be “toxin-free” and stick to the budget.
Like the Nook Lite, the Air is a 2-stage crib mattress. Whereas the Lite is made of certified foam and recycled PETE bottles, the Nook Pebble Air is made entirely of certified foam.
Yes, the Air is lightweight and ultra-affordable. And yes, it still comes with Nook’s distinctive pebble cover (you can choose from three colors).
As with all Nook Sleep products, the pebble cover is what makes this mattress “crib ready.” You can set your baby down to sleep directly on the Pebble, without needing to use sheets.
Besides looking gorgeous, the pebble design adds to the mattress’ functionality. According to Nook, it helps air circulate over and through the mattress, making you little one’s sleep space extra breathable.
What’s Inside Nook Sleep’s Pebble Air Crib Mattress?
CertiPUR-US® Foam
Nook uses foam in two of its crib mattress models: the Nook Pebble Lite and the Nook Pebble Air. In both of these mattresses, the foam is CertiPUR-US® certified.
What does this mean, in a nutshell? I describe it as “Made Without” foam, because it’s made without quite a few chemicals you can sometimes find in foam.
While this certification doesn’t guarantee the foam is made without all toxic chemicals, it does guarantee it’s made without those listed below.
Worth noting, Nook doesn’t use any chemical flame retardants.
- Ozone depleters.
- Fire retardants identified by the Globally Harmonized System (GHS) as substances that may cause cancer, may cause genetic defects, or may damage fertility or the unborn child . CertiPUR-US® foam requires foam be made without PBDEs, TDCPP and TCEP (”Tris”).
- Mercury, lead, and other heavy metals.
- Formaldehyde.
- Phthalates regulated by the Consumer Product Safety Commission.
Further, it means the foam emits less than 0.5 parts per million Volatile Organic Compounds (VOCs).
Dual Firmness Foam
The Nook Pebble Air is a 2-stage crib mattress, which means one side is firmer for infants, and the other side is a bit plusher for toddlers.
In the past, customers have had a heck of a time figuring out which side is which.
Happily, Nook recently addressed this confusion by adding a small tag to the mattress to specify the infant side.
What About the Cover?
As with all of Nook’s Pebble crib mattresses, the Air comes with a Pebble wrap (wrap is what Nook calls their mattress covers).
The wrap for the air is made of the same great ingredients as for the other pebble mattresses:
Eucalyptus fiber, organic cotton, an organic cotton and poly blend, zinc, and a nylon zipper.
Eucalyptus fiber may seem like an odd choice for a mattress cover, but as Nook explains it, it helps to wick moisture away from your baby’s skin. The zinc is used as an antimicrobial.
Is the Nook Pebble Air Non-Toxic?
Fire Retardants in the Nook Pebble Air
Nook is committed to not using chemical fire retardants across their range of products. To meet federal flammability standards, they have to come up with other ways of ensuring the products aren’t flammable.
In the case of the Pebble Air, Nook uses a “non-toxic fire barrier.” For a company that’s pretty transparent, we found that phrasing pretty vague. Happily, Nook reached out to us to explain what it means (emphasis in bold is ours):
Our goal with FR is to mirror the natural fire barrier capabilities of wool using a combination of natural and non-toxic man-made materials. The ideal combination of genetically enhanced materials such as rayon and silica offer the highly desirable FR properties, which essentially means that the fire protection is naturally part of the polymer backbone and can never be worn or washed away. Rayon is regenerated cellulose fiber, while silica occurs when mineral quartz, sandstone and other rocks combine. The non-toxic fire barrier is free from carcinogenic chemicals and harsh toxins found in most other fire retardants. So the long and short is that we have done our research and we have checked the boxes and the FR Fire Barrier is not only safe and healthy, but it will stand the test of time as well.
We bolded the phrase “can never be worn or washed away” because this actually one of the big problems with chemical fire retardants – they detach from the polyurethane foam they’re frequently added to over time, and get into household dust.
In addition to Nook’s statement above on their non-toxic fire barrier, and their general commitment to not using chemical fire retardants (found on their website), Nook also has an impressive range of independent certifications which demonstrate the mattresses’ chops as a non-toxic crib mattress.
Taken together, we feel pretty confident about putting our babies to sleep on this brand of crib mattress.
Independent Certifications
We already covered Nook’s foam, which is CertiPUR-US® certified. Beyond this, Nook products hold a range of certifications, including:
- GREENGUARD GOLD
- Global Organic Textile Standard
- Oeko-Tex® Standard 100
- FSC certification
- bluesign® system for sustainable textile production
Is the Nook Air Breathable?
Calling a crib mattress “the Air” and not making it breathable seems like it’d be a pretty big oversight.
But yes, the Pebble Air is one of Nook’s breathable crib mattresses.
According to Nook:
Considered the best light weight option in its class, the Air core packs a major punch when it comes to breathability. Strategically placed open air channels within the mattress core allows oxygen to flow freely. The dual-sided construction is ideal for infant and toddler sleep.
What’s to Love and Change?
What We Love
- Nook is pretty big into supporting their local economy, which is great for jobs and great for the environment. With the Pebble Air crib mattress, the foam is made and tested in the USA, and the zippers are also US-made.
- Super lightweight, weighing in at just 7 pounds (lighter than some newborns!).
- Dual sided firmness, meaning you’ll be able to use this mattress for several years – well into the pre-school years.
- Lifetime limited warranty on the mattress (and all other Nook crib mattresses).
- Beautiful and functional design with the washable Pebble wrap. The Air wrap comes in 3 different colors.
- The foam used in the mattress isn’t like most polyurethane foam – no chemical fire retardants here!
- Independent certifications from multiple organizations, lending confidence this mattress is truly safe and non-toxic for your little one! We especially love seeing the Greenguard Gold certification, as that means we don’t need to worry about this mattress off-gassing harmful VOCs in our baby’s nursery.
What We’d Change
Our main beef with the Nook Pebble Air (and the Nook Pebble Lite) is the lack of information about the “non-toxic fire barrier” on their website. We understand this is probably for proprietary reasons, but it feels like Nook glosses over the issue throughout their website.(Nook reached out to us to explain more about the FR barrier, so we’ve stricken this from the record!)
