ROAR, i.e. the middle one from the woven wrap children of Maciej Aleksandrowicz, is our old acquaintance – I have already written several reviews of these brand’s wraps (for example a review of the three wraps in this article: https://vhadru.cz/en/roar-hug-noir-neon-gorki-lamour-sailors-sun-wrap-review/). From their first release in March 2018, I have tried a lot of these “fun and playful” wraps – this review is just a hint of the amount of the wraps I had the opportunity to tie during this year. If there is something I can say without any hesitation about ROAR generally – the wraps certainly develop and move forward. They are not the somewhat uniform, ordinary and a kind of boring all-cotton pieces (although you can find a few blended ones, too) with the only difference between them being their pattern. The first and the second “generation” of ROAR were quite pleasant cotton wraps, but certainly anything that would make my world spin; however, beginning with the third and every other generation (if I can still speak about generations because in my eyes it is more of a continuous, uninterrupted, never-ending series of releases I am not able to keep track of anymore) there are certainly some pieces I would gladly and permanently welcome to our home.
However, there are certainly two aspects in which the ROAR wraps have not changed at all and which still bother me quit a lot – the first thing is that they are usually quite narrow (about 60 cm, but of course there are exceptions – for example Coquelicots – that measure 64 cm which is already fine and perfectly wearable in my opinion). The other thing is that the declared and the counted weight of the wraps differ a lot – that much that it cannot be explained by a mistake of measuring or the difference between the pre-wash and the post-wash weight (I have already discussed this matter quite extensively in the above-mentioned article and there is no need to open the wound here again).
In any case, it does not seem to bother the hard-core ROAR fans at all. This brand remains being popular in the Czech Republic, quite the contrary – its popularity grows and (in contrast to other brands) the wraps seem to retain their value and it is not a problem to sell them without greater loss of money. No wonder actually – they are relatively cheap, very pleasant to wear even with heavy toddlers, as easycare as can be and the patterns are joyful, fun and still quite original (I must admit that in recent months I find ROAR much more interesting than its high-end sibling Wild Slings). So yes, I am still a ROAR enthusiast, but a moderately excited one. 😉
ROAR L’Amour Viola
Composition: 100 % Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 307 g/m²counted by us, 270 g/m² according to the manufacturer
Size: 6
Russian Jordan’s carry
Violaan Italian custom and it had a rough start with me – I do not like purple and moreover, I am not particularly fond of this heart pattern. Also it came to us right in the beginning of the breaking-in tour (we were the second testers with Emilka and it surely influenced the outcome). I felt about the same about it as in the case of the yellow ROAR hearts I had the opportunity to test the last autumn which is not really surprising – the wrap seemed a bit tough, dense but very interesting to touch. The hearts are somehow “plastic” and a bit rougher than the rest of the wrap and therefore it is not that slippery that it would probably we without them in the pattern. Viola also differs from the “ordinary” ROAR wraps in its width – it is a bit wider and the hems are quite narrow (what I heard it was intentional and desired by the Italians who had the custom woven for them – some say that it makes the hems crooked but I did not really notice and it did not bother me at all). So, hallelujah, finally something I could create a really deep seat for my 86cm toddler. And to be honest, the wrap did not feel that much un-broken-in – I did not have problems tying it and my shoulder were just fine wearing Emilka in it in back carries (which is how I carry her predominantly in a few recent months).
ROAR L’Amour Muscari
Composition: 100 % Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 349 g/m²counted by us), 80 g/m² according to the manufacturer
Size: 6
Front cross carry with a ring
Muscari– well, this is a whole different heart story! This is the „right“, legendary ROAR cotton, praised by so many! Really fine, smooth, cuddly and cushy – I can only find superlatives to describe it (although it makes the wrap a bit more prone to pulls that I felt about its less cuddly L’Amour siblings I had the opportunity to try before this one). OMG, this is such a great wrap – if all the all-cotton wraps were like this I would not certainly need any blends anymore! It feels like a cloud on one’s shoulders, grip and glide in good balance, hold in the carry without any problems, being slightly elastic. And I must admit that this colour combination shifts the L’Amour pattern to a whole new level in my eyes – I would definitely invite this one to live with us forever and ever, if only it was not that narrow… 🙁
ROAR Oskar Skulls
Composition: 100 % Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 333 g/m² counted by us, 280 g/m² according to the manufacturer
Size: 6
Shepherd’s carry with a slip knot
Oskaris made of the legendary ROAR cotton, too, but it somehow does not match Muscari in its cuddliness and cushiness. It felt very soft, smooth and pleasant but quite inconveniently for it, we had it for testing right at the same moment as the above-mentioned Mr. Incredible. It had no problem with my 12kg toddler, same as Muscari but I must say – for the first time in my babywearing life, my toddler had problem with it! Emilka was truly afraid of the skulls and did not want to be wrapped in it at all (and she is not the one of those that need to choose a wrap to be worn in). So now I know – skulls on a wrap are a big no-no for us.
ROAR Au claire de la lune
Composition: 100 % Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 329 g/m² counted by us, 270 g/m² according to the manufacturer
Size: 6
Back wrap cross carry with a chest belt
Oh yes, I will repeat myself – this cuddly cotton with all its great properties is in this one, too – but again, it is narrow and also it is basically impossible to tie the wrap in a manner in which the whole pattern would be visible (I tried really hard but I was not able to find any suitable carry in which the moon and the spaceship would end up on Emilka’s bum 😀 ). And the fact that it is my beloved monochrome does not really make up for it (but honestly, it is a really beautiful monochrome – the white is as white as snow and the black is as dark as night – no „halfway“ colours here). What surprised me quite unpleasantly was the number of weaver’s knots in this supposedly first grade wrap. Well, I do not really want to discuss it much further because I do not want to be uncessarilly mean and (maybe) even unfair – but if it was my own wrap I would be really pissed off.
ROAR ZEN Arc en ciel
Composition: 100 % Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 270 g/m² according to the manufacturer
Size: 7
Russian Jordan’s carry
ZEN, or so-called „Foxes“, is the first of the first ROAR designs – meaning still in the minimalist Scandinavian style – and yeah, the Foxes are great! The black side makes up for the blatant neon rainbow and honestly, I would not be unhappy if it was mine. 😀 Once again, soft and pliable, cushy and cuddly – and I will not hesitate to compare this one to Muscari! It feels more of a medium thick wrap; I forgot to count its real weight but I estimate that the counted number would be quite near to the declared one for once. It is certainly not a piece I would consider truly toddler worthy and on the other hand I would not have a problem to grab it to tie a little baby (I actually tied a tiny „borrowed“ 2-months old in it during one of our babywearing meet-ups and it went fine 😉 ).
ROAR Coquelicots Mint
Composition: 100 % Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 309 g/m² counted by us, 280 g/m² according to the manufacturer
Size: 6
Front cross carry
These poppy flowers are a huge hit among the ROAR wraps – to be frank I did not fall for them at all, similarly as in the case of the L’Amour pattern. Coquelicots have been released in probably every basic colour variant you can imagine (there is even a sparkly one with rexor viscose), but still – nope. These large scale flowers evoke 70’s drapes in my mind and the polka dot background does not do the trick for me at all here (sorry, poppy/opium lovers! 😉 ). Moreover, the mint colour is quite surreal in case of any flower and I liked it more on the wrong side of the wrap – which is unfortunatelly very visibly „wrong“ and not pretty at all. As to its properties, I would say that Coquelicots are more similar to Viola than to Muscari or ZEN, but they are not that dense. Thanks to that it was quite pleasant to tie them and as to the comfort of wearing, I have nothing to reproach.
ROAR HOT HUG
Composition: 100 % Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 280 g/m² according to the manufacturer
Size: 6
Rucksack carry with Tibetan knotless finish
I used to own one of the very first HUG released – much thinner one, black and white with neon nubs. I love this pattern and it combination with the vivid fuchsia pink is just marvelous! HOT HUG came to us in couple with one all-cotton Wild Slings wrap and I must say that the ROAR won this contest in my eyes. I would probably compare it to Oskar – soft and smooth, pliable and very pleasant to tie and wear even with a heavy kid but still lacking the cushy-cuddly wow-factor. As to its weight I estimate that it is higher than the declared one (over 300 I suppose). I had a good time testing it but I was not too sad to send it to the next tester (only maybe a little bit).
Once again we want to thank all the owners of the wraps for the opportunity to test them!
