Rischino is one of those brands that had to grow on me. Good wraps – but discrepancies in what the manufacturer declares as to their length (a very well broken-in size 5 measuring only 404 cm in case of an otherwise great Blue Starlight wrap) and as to their weight (super-skinny Mint Diamonds wrap with the declared weight of 285 gsm vs. the counted weight of 217 gsm); good carriers – the very good adjustable Flexible carrier and the Half Buckle Flexi carrier I liked even more; but still, Rischino was not one of the runner-ups among the babywearing brands for me personally. What changed my mind? Not only this tester mega-packet (provided by the Czech Facebook Rischino group – hereby we want to thank for the opportunity!), but let’s not get ahead of ourselves. 😉
Rischino by Kenhuru Candy Elephants
Composition: 100% combed cotton
Weight: 295 g/m² according to the manufacturer, 274 g/m² counted by us
Size: 6
Reinforced front wrap cross carry
This is probably the sweetest, cotton-candy-like Barbie-style wrap I have ever held in my hands! The type that suits only the cute blondies and looks terribly infantile on every one else (including me) – I do not want to say that it is not pretty; on the contrary – it is beautiful and I fully understand its “unicorn” status among the Rischino wraps and that so many people would sell their kidney if they could buy it. But it certainly is not the right fit for me. 😉 Although my little girl loved it, no surprise here. 🙂
As to its functional properties, it is a very pleasant, universal cotton piece; not really suitable for newborns and not really comfortable with heavy toddlers in single layer carries. It is soft, maybe a bit too slippery for my taste, it requires two knots to hold in its place, but it is no tragedy I guess. It cooperated well while tying, held in the carry quite fine and we had a good time wearing it with my 12kg wearie in multiple layers. For me, a big plus is that it seems very little prone to pulls (just as “conversion wrap” should be). Anyway, these little cute elephants did not blow me away (although I suppose a carrier made out of it is very pleasant to wear) but I would not try to talk anyone out of buying it if s/he had the opportunity.
Pink Starlight
Composition: 90% combed cotton, 10% Egyptian cotton
Weight: 250 g/m² pre-wash and cca 300 g/m² post-wash according to the manufacturer, 249 g/m² counted by us
Size: long 5/short 6 (450 cm measured by us)
Double hammock
This pinkie is a twin of Blue Starlight – the same Blue Starlight that got me on my knees last year. When I got the opportunity to test its pink sister which is, except fort the colour, identical (I even counted exactly the same weight as in case of Blue Startlight – interestingly quite different from the weight declared by the manufacturer), I wanted to know how it would hold up with much more weight than the last year (8 kg vs. this year’s 12 kg). Well, it is not the most supportive toddler piece of all and I felt much more comfortable in Blue Starlight with 8kg wearie than this year. But this does not change the fact that it is otherwise a great (and oh-so-beautiful!) wrap. It is soft, pliable, I had no problem tying and tightening it, glide and grip is in perfect balance and the wrap holds in the carry in one knot only. Yup, I would still love to have the blue one at home permanently (but for a potential second baby, not my 2-years-old), although it is quite prone to pulls.
Vlčí mák (Poppies)
Composition: 50 % combed cotton, 50 % Egyptian cotton
Weight: 285 g/m² according to the manufacturer, 219 g/m² counted by us
Size: 5
Rucksack carry
Vlčí mák (meaning “poppies”) is a more girly variant of Mint Diamonds, the wrap I had the opportunity to test the last year same as Blue Starlight. Again, I was eager to compare how comfortable it would be with a heavier wearie. I thought Mint Diamonds wrap was a great newborn piece but I had to think hard how it is even possible that the manufacturer claims its weight to be 285 g/m². I had the same hard time figuring this out concerning Poppies – the real weight I counted is also only around 220 g/m². Well, why not, skinny mini-baby wraps are great for their purpose – and these two are wonderfully soft, pliable, super-thin and very pleasant to wear in high summer temperatures (not in a single layer carry with a toddler, of course – I untied the rucksack right away after the photoshoot and went for a multiple layer carry instead). Similar to the Starlight wraps it is quite prone to pulls while the threads are very thin and, not surprisingly, it makes repairing the pulls quite a pain in the bottom, to be honest. Anyway – bottom line, this one is a wonderful wrap for little babies!
White Little Hearts
Composition: 90 % combed cotton, 10 % Egyptian cotton
Weight: 256 g/m² counted by us
Size: 5
Robbin’s hip carry
I am SO glad that there is still someone who still have the guts to weave wraps in neutral colours and simple patterns even though it is not currently “in”. This one is such a beautiful and elegant piece! And I will repeat myself again, Rischino really knows how to weave a wrap and it is such a pity that it is mostly perceived as a “carrier brand”. In my opinion, these hearts seemed a bit tougher to me than Pink Starlight and Poppies but I had no problem tying it, the tightening went smooth and it held only in one knot in the carry. Moreover I think it is quite resistant to pulls in contrast to the two latter wraps with diamond twill. If I had to choose the winner among the Rischino wraps I tested this time, White Little Hearts would win by a landslide!
Rischino Flexible made of Rischino by Kenhuru Gerlach wrap
Again, a repeated encounter one year later – last year I was not super excited about the Flexible carrier, mainly because of the recommended age range (from 50/56 to the enormous 92/98 cm). The minimum size was not surprisingly the one I was unhappy about – it was the maximum size we were not sure about because the carrier was obviously too small for a 92cm Štěpán by that time. Not to repeat myself you can read everything about the construction and the system of adjusting of Flexible in the previous article. 😉
I will begin with discussing the minimum recommended size. YES, Rischino does not lie. We estimated last year but this year we are sure – this is really a carrier which I do not hesitate to recommend even for little babies younger than one month. I personally adjusted one of the Flexible carriers for a 3-weeks-old little girl and I cannot say that it was “okayish” – I must say that it looked really well! Hats off to Rischino, this is something I cannot say about basically any other fully adjustable carrier.
As to the upper limit I must confirm our last year’s conclusion – no way this one could fit a 98cm kid. This time I could see it for myself and it is not only my estimate – Emilka currently measures 86 cm and there was not a single centimetre to spare when talking about the width of the back panel (in fact it was already a bit too small). I did not like the soft waist belt very much previously and this year, I must say, it made me miserable… With a bigger wearie I cannot wear it in the level of my waist and when wearing it lower on my hips the buckle pressured my hip bone so much I was afraid I would have bruises. After some time of wearing it became bearable but to be honest this was probably the first time I was considering to put the carrier down after bare 10 minutes.
All in all, this is probably one of the best fully adjustable carriers on the Czech and Slovak babywearing market! The only problem I have with it that it is not comfortable enough for wearing a heavy toddler and it is better to buy a toddler model instead.
Rischino XXL
XXL is an old model of a Rischino toddler carrier. Honestly? Thanks God it is not longer produced (although you can still find some last pieces in several Slovakian e-shops). How to describe it while being diplomatic? Well, it is kind of a “weird” carrier. The recommended size range from 80 up to 104 cm is far too big considering the back panel cannot be adjusted vertically and the system of adjusting of its width comprises of strange kind of integrated extenders you either buckle up to tiny buckles on the waist belt or you do not – therefore you have two choices, the carrier is either very narrow (I estimate that it would be too narrow even for a 80cm child) or very wide with the extenders. In my opinion, another problem is that the extenders do not provide enough support for the wearie’s knees and therefore her/his legs cannot be in the desired “M” position (this may be a detail but I think that in case of this carrier it is very obvious).
On the other hand I have nothing to reproach when it comes to the comfort of wearing (okay – a huge and obviously useless pocket on the back panel – does anyone actually use this? And the little pocket right in the middle of the waist belt right under the wearie’s bum probably only an apt contortionist could reach – well, these are not deal breakers, of course). The waist belts of the toddler carriers from Rischino are tougher than in the Flexible carrier (not actually hard as in Tula or Manduca) and are pleasantly wide and shaped; the shoulder straps are padded adequately for my taste and it is possible to wear them crossed (hurray!). Summary – if I did not try the other Rischino toddler carrier, I would probably say something like “meh” about this one and proceed to forget all about it…
Rischino Flexi XXL
OMG, why did they keep this one secret from me when I was choosing my own toddler carrier?!!! It is marvelous and I want it (actually this particular one – it is turquoise and moreover, the polka-dots, do you get me?)! The system of adjusting of the back panel with “double-tunnels” is great, the waist belt is close to perfect (the same one as in the XXL carrier), the shoulder straps are comfortable, with bidirectional buckles and with the plastic loops on their ends (aah!), the strap protectors are simple (no studs or Velcro) yet ingenious – just two “tunnels” you do not need to fasten but they are tight enough that they hold in their place without problem. This carrier is simply THE BOMB – including the possibility to position the wearie very high while wearing on the back (which I did not really achieve during the photoshoot probably because Emilka was not really willing to cooperate). The only detail I do not like about the carrier is the tag which is quite big and placed right in the middle of the back panel (which is actually the same in every Rischino carrier) – thankfully the hood covers it. 😉
