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Moon Pod Review

Derek Hales

Written By: Derek Hales

Updated on:

COUPON: Use code MCMOONPOD for $15 off. Can be applied with many other on-going discounts.

Today’s review is going to look at a modern take on the traditional beanbag chair. It has a new sleek cover, is ultralightweight, and a new elongated shape.

See how it compares here in our full review of the Moon Pod beanbag chair.

Lightweight, Modern Beanbag

Moon pod Beanbag

Moon Pod Beanbag

The Moon Pod is a modern alternative to the traditional beanbag. It is incredibly lightweight (12 pounds) and is designed to be easily moved around the room for flexible seating. It has a medium-firm feel with moderate levels of sinkage and good support. Overall, I was happy with this product and if you’ve got the space and want something informal the Moon Pod checks many boxes.Check Price

Pros

  • Only weighs 12 pounds.
  • Easy to move, but also firm enough to be supportive
  • Removable, washable cover
  • Available in 5 different colors

Cons

  • May be a little bulky for smaller spaces
  • Interior bead fill can be hard to get back in the bag if you have to open it (recommendation: just don’t open it)

Scoring

A Beanbag with A Floating Feel
  • Design - 97%
    97%
  • Performance - 97%
    97%
  • Quality - 96%
    96%
  • Usability - 97%
    97%
  • Value - 96%
    96%
97%

Summary

The Moon Pod beanbag chair has an elongated body that is designed for lounging and flexible seating options where you need it. It is available in 5 different removable cover color options and uses a special YKK zipper for a child-proof closure. The filling is made up of 100% polystyrene foams beads that tend to be a pain if you have to remove them for any reason. However, in virtually all cases, these beads will never need to come out. There is a thin interior lining and a thicker outer cover to protect the beanbag. During our tests, we found the Moon Pod to be comfortable with moderate levels of sinkage, low levels of bounce, and a medium-firm feel.

Table of Contents

🧪 Performance

The Moon Pod beanbag is designed to give you a floating feel, regardless of your weight or position.

To test out the performance, we sized it up in six different categories. These testing categories were set up to provide a well-rounded assessment of how the Moon Pod would prefer for basic activities like sitting, lounging, laying, etc.

The categories include:

Bounce

Low

Sinkage

Moderate

Pressure Relief

Moderate

Support

High

Firmness

Medium

Bounce

Score: Low

Because the beads spread out when a force is applied to them there is not much bounce. Once your weight is fully on the Moon Pod it’s fairly dense.

Sinkage

Score: Moderate

Sinkage is a bit strange on the Moon Pod relative to other sofas or chairs.

Laying on the Moonpod
Laying on the Moon Pod

Because it is more tightly constrained to the shape of the bag, it can only really sink to a maximum depth. That depth varies based on how you’re sitting on it and how heavy you are (also where you are sitting on it).

In any case, there’s still a moderate level of sinkage, but it will vary based on a number of external factors on the bag itself.

Pressure Relief

Score: Moderate

Overall, the pressure relief is pretty good.

Lounging on the Moon Pod
Lounging on the Moon Pod

Since the beads slide past each other so easily and can change position, it’s always easy to change positions to relieve pressure and have the beads automatically adapt with you.

Support

Score: High

The beads interact together to create a supportive structure. That structure of course will change depending on how you’re sitting or lying on the Moon Pod.

Moon Pod beads
Moon Pod beads

Overall, we found support to be high. Since the beads have a confined space they have no choice but to create a strong, supportive area.

Firmness

Score: 7 out of 10

This beanbag has a medium-firm feel in my opinion, or roughly 7 out of 10 (with 10 being the firmest and 1 being the softest).

Sitting on the Moonpod
Sitting on the Moon Pod

It has a little give to it when you initially sit / lie down, but once you’re seated, the beads are pretty supportive and have a bit firmer feel.

🧬 Design

The Moon Pod is designed to be an ultra-lightweight seating solution that you can move around a space, but still have support when you need it.

It is sort of a kidney bean shape with a smooth, zippered cover.

What is it made of?

Exterior Cover

  • 58% polyester
  • 31% cotton
  • 11% spandex

Interior Cover

  • 92% polyester
  • 8% spandex

Fill Materials

The covers are made in China, but it is filled and finished in the USA.

Moon Pod materials tag
Moon Pod materials tag

By all accounts, the materials from top to bottom look and feel high quality.

Exterior Cover

The exterior cover has quite a bit of stretch to it, which makes sense. Since the beads need to be able to shift into new positions as you change where and how you are sitting or laying.

Size of the Moonpod
Exterior cover for the Moon Pod

This cover also has a good thickness to it and feels well made. I did not notice any loose threads or otherwise notable imperfections to the cover during our tests.

Interior Cover

The interior cover is simple, but seems well made. It’s all white and fairly thin, but overall it serves the purpose of containing the beads in the event that you need to wash the cover.

Interior cover for the Moonpod
Interior cover for the Moon Pod

The interior cover has a sewn-in zipper that you can unzip to remove beads (if needed).

The covers use a specialty child-proof YKK zipper, which has a special lock designed into it. There is no zipper pull so in order order to unzip the cover, you’d need to add a paperclip or other small tool to hook the zipper.

Fill Materials

The interior filling of the Moon Pod is 100% polystyrene foam beads and let’s be honest, you really don’t ever want to come in contact with these.

For support, these beads are great, but unless you absolutely have to, do not remove the beads from the inner cover. Moon Pod

Moonpod beads - inside filling
Moonpod beads – inside filling

They are extremely light and full of static electricity, so they stick to everything. As a result, it’s fairly difficult to get them all back into the bag if you take them out.

How big is the Moon Pod?

Length

50-56″

Height

20-24″

Width

20-24″

Moonpod beanbag chair
Size of the Moon Pod

How heavy is the Moon Pod?

Overall, the Moon Pod is approximately 12 pounds. The pod is “human filled” and not filled by machines so the exact weight can vary.

Due to it’s size, the entire thing still feels super light. You can pick it up with one hand and drag it around the room or around your house.

MORE: Modern Castle Best Furniture Reviews

Because it has a longer shape, as opposed to wider, it’s easier to fit in many living rooms. I was able to just sort of slide it right up beside our sofa.

Is Moon Pod comfortable?

In general, I really like the feel. It has a medium-firm feel to it and excellent support.

The beads automatically adjust based on your position. So no matter how I was sitting or lying, I felt well supported.

Moon pod profile view
Moon pod profile view

In addition, it also has a nice level of contour to it. Again, the beads are able to quickly adjust to your shape on the bag. 

I really enjoyed using it to watch TV. I sort of propped it up against the couch for a deep lounge position. The Moon Pod has a cozy type of feel.

And as it turns out, I wasn’t the only one to think that.

The Moonpod and our dog, Tibbers
The Moon Pod and our dog, Tibbers

My dog repeatedly jumped on the Moon Pod and seemed to really like the beads as well. I double checked with the manufacture and pets lounging on the pod is totally normal (and and a bit expected).

Two paws up for the Moon Pod from Tibbers.

🔰 How Does It Compare?

For comparison’s sake we looked at three other popular choices for bean bag chairs—CordaRoy, Big Joe, and Sofa Sack and wanted to compare them to the Moon Pod.

Here are of our findings:

CordaRoy

CordaRoy beanbag chair
CordaRoy – Full Chair
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  • Fill: Shredded polyurethane foam
  • Removable cover
  • 42 x 42″
  • 34 lbs.

Big Joe

Big Joe Nestle Chair beanbag
Big Joe – Nestle Chair
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  • Fill: Foam insert
  • More structured
  • Removable cover
  • 46 x 46 x 32″H
  • 41 lbs.

Sofa Sack

Sofa Sack beanbag
Sofa Sack beanbag
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  • Fill: Shredded memory foam
  • Removable cover
  • 36 x 36 x 24″H
  • 20 lbs.

Overall, the Moon Pod is significantly lighter than the competition. While it is the only one of these four bean bags that uses the classic “little white bead” filling, the trade-off is a lighter bag that has more of a floating feel, with less contouring than what you’ll get with classic memory foam.

All of these bags have a removable cover with interior lining that protects the cover from the interior fill.

RELATED: Want something with more structure? Check out our review of the eLuxury armless chair here.

Price-wise, the Sofa Sack is going to be the most affordable with CordaRoy, Big Joe, and Moon Pod all coming in at similar prices (exact total may vary based on colors, fabrics, and seasonal sales).

👍 Usability

Assembly is pretty straightforward with the Moon Pod. The bag comes fully stuffed, but without the cover on it.

You simply need to pull the cover on the bag. The instructions suggest using 2 people to do, but I was able to do it alone.

Reading on the Moonpod beanbag
Reading on the Moon Pod beanbag

It does take a little finagling to get the cover on just right. Unlike traditional bean bags, which are a complete sphere, the Moon pod is more of a kidney bean shape.

It’s elongated lengthwise so you’ll need to make sure the cover aligns correctly to keep it from looking lop-sided.

Once it’s mostly on, you may need to sort of stuff the bag into any void areas. During setup, I found that this technique helps it fill out the pod shape.

Daily Use

Daily use of the Moon Pod is straightforward and simple. Drag the beanbag where you want to lounge and plop down.

It is designed to be flexible for a variety of lounging positions and during our tests, I found that this chair did just that.

🥇 Should You Buy the Moon Pod?

I would recommend the Moon Pod to people who are looking for the following:

  • Ultra-lightweight: Considering its size, the 12 pounds weight of the Moon Pod is ultralight. If you’re looking for something you can easily drag around the room, the Moon Pod is a solid choice.
  • Removable cover: The cover is completely removable and machine washable, which are big bonuses for maintenance and product care.
  • Want a floating feel: If you like the feel of floating or suspension, the Moon Pod definitely has that. The trade-off is that it is filled with those incredibly messy white beads that many people despise. Even so, as long as you just don’t open the bag you’re going to be fine.

Click here to learn more or to check the price for the Moon Pod.

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ChangeLog

  • April 15, 2021 – Initial version of the page was published.

About Derek Hales

Derek HalesDerek Hales is the Founder and Editor-in-Chief of ModernCastle.com. He has been featured in Fast Company, Reader's Digest, Business Insider, Realtor.com, She Knows, and other major publications. Derek has a Bachelor's Degree in Business Administration from Kansas State University. Hales has been testing and reviewing products for the home since 2014.