Last summer, we had the opportunity to test the new version of the Austrian carrier Emeibaby with by-that-time-2-years-old Emilka. The carrier is still unique in several aspects, as well as its older version which we tested a year before when Emilka was about 1 year old. Both the tested carriers were Baby size, i.e. suitable for children from birth to 3 years according to the manufacturer, and it was small even for the 1-year-ld (you can find the review here).
The most evident thing that is specific for Emeibaby carriers, is the construction of the back panel which is adjusted by a system of sling rings on its sides. This is still the same in the “Easy” carrier and I honestly do not think that there is anything “easier” about it compared to the older version. What is supposed to be easier, according to the manufacturer’s website, is that the “pocket” you place the baby in, is already prepared and there is no need to adjust the fabric under the knees of the wearie. Well. If you hold Emeibaby in your hands for the first time, you will not probably find anything “easy” about its system of adjusting (although I must admit that with every other encounter I had less and less problems adjusting it, so it is probably just a matter of habit).
As you can see in the photos, the carrier was hopelessly small for Emilka once again, mainly in the vertical dimension (however, I think that the newer version is slightly bigger and therefore the hopelessness was not that evident as last year despite the wearie being one year older and longer). As to the width of the back panel, I must admit that it reached from Emilka’s knee to knee when properly adjusted – but it was all just “for the picture” – one hop up, one hop down and there was no longer anything ergonomic about the carrier… On the other hand, I personally had the opportunity to adjust the carrier for a really tiny baby, weighting about 3 kilograms and I must admit that it looked quite fine and wearable.
What remained the same, aside from the unique back panel, is the wide, hard and very comfortable waist belt (comfortable for me) and the adequately padded and shaped shoulder straps that were comfortable for me even without the possibility to wear them crossed, even with a 12kg toddler. My final verdict is therefore the same as in the case of the older version of Emeibaby – a good carrier for small babies but the maximum recommended size/age is complete nonsense in my opinion.
