Baby-doo is a Czech wrap manufacturer – one cannot say that it is a wrap giant despite being founded quite a long time ago (well, in the wrap world, it is a long time), in 2009. This makes it one of the oldest wrap manufacturers in the Czech Republic. This was really surprising for me, because their wraps (although aesthetics- and design-wise it is nothing exciting to be honest) are among the absolute cheapest ones (maybe they in fact are the cheapest, I am not sure). Baby-doo offers only one pattern – stripes in several colour variants (or plain single-colour wraps), in diamond twill and does not experiment with the composition either – all the wraps are 100% cotton in low weight.
Well, why not, the wrap market certainly needs such cheap ‘working’ wraps. However, in case of Baby-doo, this does not seem to be the best business ever, while the wraps are only one of several articles that the Šrůta family (owners of the company) offers. You can find on their website that they also co-own a very popular brand of backpacks Corazon. Aside from wraps, they also used to sell their own ergonomic, not twice bad looking carrier named Dacony; however the carrier is no longer offered at their website and I have no idea why. But, what still remains in their portfolio, are hard structured backpacks Corazon (those backpacks used mostly for outdoor babywearing). In our ‘orthodox’ ergonomic babywearing world we are not very fond of these backpacks. If you look at this particular one, you can see that this one is ‘not that bad’, that the child does not dangle on his/her croch unlike in some other models, and that the manufacturer even thought of the sleepy kid leaning his/her head on pillow in front of him/her (however, I am not sure at all if this really works). But the main negative, as we see it, remains the same – the centre of gravity is considerably shifted up and backwards. The ergonomic carriers (that nota bene used to cost half the prize of the backpacks!) were definitely a step in a better direction in the babywearing world…
Our thanks for the opportunity to test both wraps go to the group Nosíme děti (i.e. We wear our babies)!
Baby-doo Orchidej
Composition: 100 % cotton
Weight: 220 g/m² according to the manufacturer, 235 g/m² counted by us
Size: 6
Reinforced Rear Ruck Rebozo/Candy Cane Chest Belt
Let’s talk about the Baby-doo wrap itself. For me, it is a re-test because we already tested one of these wraps last winter. I and my fellow-wearers from our local babywearing group unanimously thought it was a very decent universal (however, not very good-looking) ‘working’ wrap. The one that found its way to Ostrava was the brown-beige-white variant ‘Cinnamon’ – I think that this unpopular colour together with the unpopular striped pattern and low weight was the main reason why the testing was not a big hit that time. ‘Orchidej’ is much more beautiful – in my opinion the most beautiful of all the colour variants and actually one of the few striped wraps I kind of like. This is however also thanks to its diamond twill which I love in wraps.
Similarly to the situation approximately 6 months ago, this Baby-doo came to us only very little broken-in. Oh boy. I thought the wrap was stiff, felt like canvas in my hands, did not slide and was not springy basically at all. This is, however, a problem of an unbroken wrap. I already had the opportunity to try a broken-in Baby-doo before this one and despite of being grippy it was quite a pleasant and pliable skinny. Being grippy/not being slippery is however a property I like more in wraps than if the wrap was sliding as a sledge and I am used to work with such wraps; for example, my beloved Storchenwieges. Same as the ‘Storchs’, Baby-doo holds tight in a carry and is very little elastic, but if I tied it carefully it was quite OK both in winter with approximately 7,5 kg and in summer with 9 kg – but, it is not a toddler wrap, not at all. I think those 9 kilograms are the maximum weight the wrap can carry with at least a mediocre comfort for the wearer; I am sure (very sure) it would not be my ‘go-to’ wrap with a heavier kid. Therefore, all the classical proclamations of the manufacturers about suitability of a wrap from birth to preschool – not surprisingly untrue in case of Baby-doo, too, in my opinion. However, I still think it is a good working wrap for modest parents.
Similarly, the wrap still looks the same (although this particular one should have been from some new batch, as far as I know). The stitches on the hem of the wrap are, I would say, a kind of unusual – something like overlock, same as on the ‘Cinnamon’ wrap we tested in winter. No-one and nothing can convince me that this is not a locus minoris resistentiae and that such a stitch is not prone to tear and gape, and I am not talking about the aesthetic aspect. The middle tag also remained the same – the unreasonably big blue tag with colorful letters. Such a tag did not look very good especially with the Cinnamon’s colorway, in case of Orchidej it kind of blends in, but it did not make me very happy anyway – aside from not being pretty and moreover not being necessary, such a big tag might scratch the baby’s neck. A few lumps and irregularities of the twill can easily be forgiven when you consider the prize of the wrap.
Baby-doo Duha ring sling
Composition: 100 % cotton
Weight: 220 g/m² according to the manufacturer, 235 g/m² counted by us
Length: 170 cm (longer side)
Classical RS hip carry and a back carry that I do not know the name of 😀
I wanted to try the Baby-doo ring sling just to have a complete impression of the brand. Despite being a bit more broken-in than its long sibling, it was not the first wrap league either when it comes to pliability. It was also quite grippy and did not slide in the sling rings ideally which is not a very pleasant property for less experienced RS wearers – tying and tightening was not easy; however, it did not move an inch in the carry. As I already mentioned in the review of the Fidella ring sling, my back is not built to endure one-sided cargo for longer walks – I usually have to let the wearie walk at least for a moment after approximately half an hour. Therefore, even very thin ring slings do not have enough time to become really uncomfortable because of their low weight. Indeed, there is a difference between wearing a Baby-doo ring sling or a high-weight, fluffy Dekka one, that you can feel basically right away after tying one or the other, but I can assure you that wearing Baby-doo is not something that would kill you. 😉
By the way, the photos with the back carry (whose name I do not know – even Hedwych from Wrap You in Love does not give it a specific name), with Emilka sitting basically on my neck, were taken just for fun – it was a challenge for me to try a back carry with such a short ring sling! Well, and you can see the result yourself. 😀 At least, Emilka had a truly panoramic view! 😀
Overall resumé – Baby-doos are modest wraps for modest parents. If someone wanted to buy one for a smaller baby, I would not certainly try to talk them out of it; however, I would recommend looking for at least a partially broken-in piece; concerning the ring sling I would probably recommend it just as a makeshift wrap for those who cannot afford to spend more money.
