From the Manufacturer
The Joovy Room2 Ultralight takes all of the popular features of our Room2 playard and eliminates the only complaint we've ever gotten on the Room2 (too heavy). At just over 21 pounds, it's over 30% lighter than the Room2. The Ultralight is 90% as big as the Room2 (it's 9 square feet vs. 10 square feet). The difference is due to the tapered design of the side rails; the top rails are 4 " shorter than the bottom rails. This design significantly increases the difficulty of climbing out of the playard and makes the Room2 Ultralight super stable. The fact that the Ultralight uses the ground as its floorboard decreases the weight and increases stability too. It has an awesome, super comfortable memory foam mattress and a Joovy 100% brushed cotton sheet (very popular feature). The Ultralight has two easy folding features, it can be quickly folded in half or super compact for travel. When folded in half, it takes up only 3.5 square feet of storage space… you can put it next to the wall, underneath the bed, behind the door or in a closet and it unsnaps back to full size in seconds! The Ultralight is perfect for travel; it folds into a compact size and fits right into the travel bag (included). Another clever feature is a solid 600D side panel instead of mesh; it acts as a protective curtain against wind, light and noise on one side of the playard. Positioned properly this can be a huge feature at nap/bed time. There's a large pocket on the outer side – it's great for storing all of the essentials! The playard and travel bag are made of durable 600D fabric. Joovy's Room2 playards are the biggest, most durable playards on the market today. The fitted cotton sheet adds a level of comfort un-matched in the industry. Now you can have all that and more in a lighter weight, better looking playard that outperforms everything else.
First of all, I have both the regular joovy room2 and this ultra light model. I started off with the regular room2 and liked it so much that I sold my Chico 3-in-1 on craiglist and bought the ultra light.
Anyways, the huge advantage of the ultralight is that you don't have to disassemble it to move it. With pretty much every other play yard you at least have to take the bottom mattress out (including the regular joovy room 2). This can be a pain in the butt/back as it involves bending over/getting on your hands and knees to remove various retaining straps and snaps. Then, when you get it set back up you have to refasten everything.
However, with the ultralight you just pull up on the middle handle, push two buttons to collapse the sides, and fold it in half. No messing with little straps or snaps. This makes it an awesome play yard to take out on the back porch to give the baby some outdoor time and then quickly take it back in if it starts raining/etc. It also makes it super easy to move around the house.
There are two disadvantages of the ultralight. One is that it is a smidgen smaller than the regular room2. The second is that its mattress sits directly on the ground, rather than on "legs". This means that, if you have it on a cold basement floor, the heat is more likely to transfer through the mattress. This is why I use the regular joovy room 2 in my basement. It also means that, if you do use the ultralight outside, you shouldn't place it on uneven/rocky ground as the rocks/bumps will be felt through the mattress. The regular joovy would be much more useful in this situation.
