The woman behind Mirkine is a Slovakian mum called Mirka (“Mirkine” means “Mirka’s” in Slovak, not really a surprise, right?) who sows clothes for children, purses and backpacks and last (but not least) onbuhimos that are quite unique in several aspects (I am sorry for such a short “historical introduction” but this is everything the Internet gave me when asking about Mirka).
There are two things about these onbuhimos that are very different from any other carrier of this type (i.e. carriers without a waist belt). The first difference is that the back panel is shaped for the bum of the wearie and creates a deep pocket itself – everyone who ever tried an onbuhimo must realize how difficult it might be to create a deep pocket with a big heavy wearie on her/his back in an ordinary “onbu”, while in case of Mirkine, there is no need for this struggle. The second big advantage of this carrier (and what makes it truly unique) is the chest buckle on rails – the same ingenious rails I love so much and praise all the time in the Kavka Multi-Age carrier! In an onbuhimo, this type of chest buckle is especially great, because onbu is a carrier designed for wearing on the back, therefore I am twice excited about it in case of Mirkine! To be clear – “ordinary” carriers have the chest buckles attached to the shoulder straps by loops that encircle the padding of the strap and when wearing, whether you want it or not, the padding tends to deform more or less in every single one of them. However, not the case of the rail-attached check buckle and no need for me to suffer and endure the deformed shoulder straps pressing on my chest! And in onbuhimo in which the whole weight of the wearie lies on the said shoulder straps, this is twice as important.
The third thing that is specific for Mirkine but not really obvious at the first sight, is that the onbuhimos are sewn in three sizes, all with admirable recommended age range – I will not nag that much about this in case of an onbu, but (as I mention basically all the time) I would prefer recommended size/height. Anyway, most brands offer only one or two sizes of onbuhimos and I have never seen any other manufacturer that would offer an onbu recommended up to 5 years of age, like in case of the size 3 Mirkine onbuhimo.
I was also pleased that the upper shoulder straps are directed upwards (in case of back wearing to the front) and that there are loops on the straps that make manipulation with them easier. The only thing I did not really appreciate was the enormously long hood – however, you can choose also a “normal” flat hood if you decide to have a Mirkine custom made.
All summed up – Mirkine is probably the best onbuhimo on the Czech and Slovak babywearing market and currently it is my favorite among all the candidates for my own custom made onbu!
