Both are hanging seats, both are sold for calming and both hang from the same hardware, so the names get mixed up. The short answer: a nest swing is an open, round seat on a rigid frame, like a bird's nest, that one or more people share and that swings properly, and a sensory swing in the narrower sense (a wrap, a pod or a Cacoon) closes around whoever is inside and is for sitting, lying and gentle movement rather than swinging. Which one to buy depends on who will use it, whether they want to be held or to move, and where it will hang. This guide sets the two side by side using the capacities and sizes from our product manuals, and ends with the cases where the answer is one of each.
What Counts as a Sensory Swing?
On our site, and in most occupational therapy clinics, sensory swing means one of three things. A wrap swing is a 450cm length of body forming nylon tied to two carabiners, so the fabric hugs whoever is inside; the large 450cm by 250cm wrap is rated to 100kg and the medium 450cm by 180cm to 90kg. A pod swing is a semi enclosed seat in waterproof Oxford polyester, 140cm by 70cm and rated to 80kg, that closes around the child on three sides. A Cacoon or hangout is a fully enclosed swing that a child climbs into, from the 122cm Bebo at 100kg up to the 153cm Single and 183cm Double at 200kg.
What the three have in common is pressure and enclosure. The fabric or shell surrounds the user, the movement is gentle, and the wrap and pod hold one person at a time. That is why they are the swings most often specified by occupational therapists, with the wrap the most requested of all. Individual children respond differently, so if a therapist is involved, ask which type of movement and pressure they have in mind before choosing.
What a Nest Swing Does That a Wrap or Pod Does Not
A nest swing has a rigid round frame that keeps its shape, like a bird's nest, often with padded tubes around it, and a base of either rope or fabric (a smooth mat). Four or eight ropes come up from the frame to two hanging points. Ours come in 100cm, rated to 100kg, and 150cm, rated to 140kg, and the 150cm size is the largest nest swing sold in Australia. For schools and clinics there is also a heavy duty 100cm rope nest on steel core rope and chains, rated to 500kg when it hangs from a beam or stand just as strong. It is open rather than enclosing, so it does four things the wrap and pod cannot.
- It swings. Hung from two points, a nest moves forwards and back like a playground swing, and the manuals allow more swinging on a nest than on any other type in the range. Wraps and pods are for sitting, lying and gentle rocking.
- It is shared. A 100cm nest seats one or two children and a 150cm nest seats a group of small children, or an adult and a child, within the weight limit. A wrap or pod holds one.
- An adult can lie flat in it. The 150cm mat nest is wide enough to lie back in, which is why it is the nest swing that adults and teenagers buy.
- It lives outside. The mat is a micro weave polypropylene like trampoline matting and the rope web is waterproof, so a nest can hang from a tree limb or a swing set stand in the garden all summer. A wrap is nylon and should not be left outside.
What it gives up is the hug. Nothing closes around the user, so a child who calms by being held will get more from a wrap or pod, and a nest hung from one point spins, which suits some children and unsettles others.
What a Wrap, Pod or Cacoon Does That a Nest Does Not
The enclosing swings give pressure, privacy and a small footprint. A wrap tied from a single point pulls in around the body and can be spun slowly; tied from two points it opens into a seat that rocks. A pod sits the child in a fabric shell with a cushion, low to the floor (no more than 35cm up, against 40cm for the others), and hangs from the compact 2.1m X-Stand, so it fits in a bedroom corner or a classroom reading area. A Cacoon is the private option: shaded inside, roomy enough for a teenager or adult in the Single and Double sizes, and used as a retreat rather than a ride.
They are also the easier ones to hang indoors. Each needs a single point, and a wrap adjusts to any height simply by where you tie the knots, so it fits every stand we sell. A nest needs two points about a metre apart, or a swing set stand, and more clear space around it.
Where a Cacoon Fits
A Cacoon sits between the two. Like a nest, the larger sizes are big enough to share, and like a wrap or pod, it closes around whoever is inside. It is a fabric shell of polyester and cotton held open by an inner ring, and it hangs from a single point on its own rope and carabiner, so it is for sitting, lying and gentle swinging rather than the forwards and back ride of a nest on two points. It comes in three sizes.
- Bebo, 122cm wide, rated to 100kg. The snug size, used most often by one child, and the easiest to fit indoors. Hang it from 220cm or higher.
- Single, 153cm wide, rated to 200kg. About the width of our 150cm nest swing and roomy enough for several children at once. An adult can lie back in it, possibly with bent knees. Hang it from 245cm or higher.
- Double, 183cm wide, rated to 200kg. Wider than any of our nest swings, and the size for adults or a group of children. Hang it from 255cm or higher, and check the room height first if it is going indoors.
The stand made for them is the Heavier Duty Tripod Stand (Cacoon Approved), rated to 204kg and 257cm tall, but it is large, at 260cm along each side of its base. Indoors, a daisy chain strap from a beam or ceiling point takes far less room and lets you move the Cacoon up or down. A Cacoon Cover in dark polyester taffeta is sold for the Single and Double, and the Single cover can also be fitted, oversized, to a Bebo.
Side by Side
| Nest swing | Wrap swing | Pod swing | Cacoon | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Seat | Open, on a rigid round frame (often padded) with a rope or fabric base | 450cm of nylon tied to two carabiners | Semi enclosed canvas seat with cushion | Fully enclosed shell |
| Users | One or more, adults in the 150cm | One | One | One child in the Bebo, several children or an adult in the Single and Double |
| Movement | Proper swinging from two points, spinning from one | Gentle rocking or slow spinning | Sitting and gentle rocking | Sitting and gentle swinging |
| Capacity | 100kg (100cm), 140kg (150cm), 500kg (heavy duty 100cm) | 90kg (medium), 100kg (large) | 80kg | 100kg (Bebo), 200kg (Single, Double) |
| Hanging points | 2, or 1 to spin | 1 or 2 | 1 | 1 |
| Seat height above floor | Up to 40cm | Up to 40cm | Up to 35cm | Up to 40cm |
| Matching stand | Medium swing set stand (100cm), large (150cm) | Any stand | X-Stand, U-Stand or a swing set stand | Heavier duty tripod stand |
| Outdoors | Yes, all season | Fine weather only, store dry | Yes, waterproof canvas, store dry | Yes, bring in over winter |
| Suggested age | 3 and up | 3 and up | 3 and up | 3 and up |
Which One to Buy
One child who calms by being held. A wrap swing, or a pod if the child is younger or prefers to sit up. The wrap is the one therapists ask for most, and the large size will still fit when the child is a teenager.
Siblings, a classroom or a clinic waiting area. A nest swing. Two children can share the 100cm and a group the 150cm, it takes real swinging, and the mat wipes clean. Schools usually pair it with the large swing set stand so it can move between rooms and out to the playground. For heavy daily use, the heavy duty 100cm rope nest is rated to 500kg, but it needs a beam or stand as strong as the swing, because our stands are made for the regular nests.
An adult, or a child who will grow. The sizes rated for adults are the 150cm nest at 140kg, the large wrap at 100kg and the Cacoon Single and Double at 200kg. The pod, at 80kg, is the one to skip.
A rented home or a room with nowhere to hang from. A pod or wrap on the X-Stand takes about 1.1m of floor and needs no fixings. A nest needs the swing set stand, which is a much bigger footprint at 2.6m wide for the large.
A child who wants privacy rather than movement. A Cacoon. It is the only fully enclosed type, so it is shaded inside.
Outdoors most of the year. A nest on tree straps or a swing set stand. The pod is waterproof too, but the wrap and the Cacoon should come in.
Can You Have Both?
Yes, and many families do, because the two do different jobs: the nest is for play and sharing, the wrap or pod is for winding down. The large swing set stand takes a 150cm nest swing on two points, or a wrap or pod on one point, and it can carry two smaller swings at once, so one stand serves both. Indoors, a pair of ceiling anchor plates hangs a nest from two points, and one of the same plates hangs a wrap or pod from a single point. The hardware, heights and stand capacities for every combination are in How to hang a sensory swing: ceiling, beam, tree or stand.
Common Questions
Is a nest swing a sensory swing?
In the broad sense, yes: it gives movement input and is used in sensory rooms and by therapists, and the 150cm mat nest is one of the two swings occupational therapists request most. In the narrower sense used on this site, a sensory swing is a wrap, pod or Cacoon that closes around the body, and a nest swing is the open alternative. If a therapist has written "sensory swing" on a plan, ask them which they mean.
Which is better for a child with autism?
Neither is better in general, because children differ in whether they settle with pressure or with movement. A wrap or pod gives pressure and enclosure; a nest gives open movement and can be shared. Where an occupational therapist is involved, follow their recommendation. Where there is none, the wrap swing is the most common first purchase, and a nest is often the second.
Can a nest swing hang from one point like a wrap?
Yes. Clip both ropes to a single carabiner and the nest spins instead of swinging, which some children prefer. Fit a swivel so the ropes do not wind up. From two points, about a metre apart, it moves forwards and back and does not need a swivel.
Which holds more weight?
The heavy duty 100cm rope nest is the highest rated swing in this guide, at 500kg, as long as it hangs from a beam or stand just as strong. Next are the Cacoon Single and Double at 200kg and the 150cm nest at 140kg. The large wrap holds 100kg, the regular 100cm nests 100kg and the pod 80kg. Where a swing hangs from a stand, the lower of the two ratings applies.
See the full range of nest swings, wrap swings, pod swings and Cacoons and hangouts, or all sensory swings and nest swings together. Every product page links to its PDF manual.
