We all know the Polish ROAR wraps very well – we have tested them numerous times (you can read the reviews here or here). Now, we have a review of 4 other ROAR wraps – two of them are were released just recently, during the last six months or so, and the other two, taken the overall ROAR portfolio, are basically historical pieces.
ROAR Sakura red custom (tussah, linen)
Composition: 50% Egyptian combed cotton, 30% tussah, 20% linen
Weight: 260 g/m² according to the manufacturer
Size:6
Double hammock
This red Sakura custom was created for the Czech Wild Slings/ROAR fan group, and together with the pink merino/mulberry silk variant it is one of the few blended ROAR wraps (before Sakuras, these were only the sparkly wraps with rexor viscose, cats and dogs with tussah and the two legendary heavy-weight, ehm, carpets L’Amour Orchidée and Zen Aksamitki, with bamboo viscose). Speaking of multi-blend wraps, they are the only ones among all the ROAR wraps, as far as I know.
And once again, I regret bitterly that I forgot to measure and weight this wrap, because – again – as in case of almost all the ROAR wrap – I have a feeling that the weight of this wrap is much higher than those 260 260 g/m² the manufacturer declares. I would estimate that Sakuras weight about 300 g/m², i.e. they are not the “lower middle weight wrap class”, but a toddler piece that is quite thick (not that it could compare to the above-mentioned chenille chubbies; however, I would not dare to wrap a little baby in it).
But whatever – this Sakura custom is a great wrap. It is beautiful, at least from the lighter side (the wrong side really looks „wrong“ and is not that beautiful; however it shows the structure of the tussah nicely). The white cotton side is soft and pleasant to touch – just the typical ROAR combed cotton, as the legend says. Although it contains quite a lot of linen, it did not seam prone to wrinkling and despite it came to us for testing quite new and unbroken, it was already very soft and pliable and I had a great time tying it. Speaking of ROAR wraps in general, it is also quite wide. Well, „wide“ – it measures 64 cm which is a bordeline width for me to create a comfortably deep seat with my toddler, but considering most of the ROAR wraps meausere something around 60 cm or just a little bit more, these 64 cm are luxurious. The wrap held in the carry without any problems and felt very comfortable on my shoulders even with my 12kg little lady after an hour-long walk while she took her afternoon nap.
ROAR Hoo Hoo!
Composition: 100% Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 270 g/m² according to the manufacturer, 278 g/m² counted by us
Size: 6
Double hammock, candy cane chest belt
The bug-eyed fuzzy owls are the newest release from this review; they were released in December 2019. To be honest, I do not love the ROAR animals very much (the only exception is the old-time minimalist fox forest Zen), but these owls… they are so funny and cute that even the most strict and conservative art critics must forgive them their slight infantility!
Besides their looks, the owls surprised me that the counted and declared weight is nearly the same! Again, it is the soft combed cotton, pliable and cuddly (okay, it is not that fully and cuddly as in case of the L’Amour Muscari wrap, but they are cuddly quite a lot). This wrap is really universal in my point of view – not that I would choose it as a newborn wrap, but I would not hesitate to wrap a slightly older baby in it. On the other hand, it felt very comfortable even with Emilka’s 13kg on my back – and probably, the manufacturer reconsidered the width of their wraps; the owls measure 64 cm!
ROAR L’Amour Framboise
Composition: 100% Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 270 g/m² declared by the manufacturer, 319 g/m² counted by us
Size: 5
Christina’s ruckless back carry
The raspberry hearts are, in contrast to the owls, quite old, speaking of the date of their release in summer 2018 (and also one of the first wraps from the “second generation” of the ROAR wraps that followed the minimalist black and white wraps like Zen, Kap Kap or Hug). As I realized before, not all the heart wraps are the same. Framboise, not surprisingly, are the same as the L’Amour Sailor’s Sun released around the same time, or L’Amour Viola (released later but otherwise, in my opinion, the same, too). Even though it was broken in through by through, the wrap is not that soft to touch, it is a bit stiffer and less pliable compared to Hoo Hoo, for example.
It was not the love at first tying and wearing (or better said, not even at the third tying, because this wrap is really identical to the yellow and violet L’Amour) although the weight I counted is definitely toddler-worthy, i.e. around the 310-320 g/m². On the other hand, compared the its cuddlier and softer siblings, their weave is relatively dense, therefore they can be the perfect durable “working” wraps (and it also makes them suitable for a wrap conversion).
ROAR Coquelicots prototype
Composition: 100% Egyptian combed cotton
Weight: 270 g/m² declared by the manufacturer, 336 g/m² counted by us
Size: 6
Front cross carry
This wrap was in the same tester box as L’Amour Framboise. It is basically a legendary wrap nowadays – it was the first of the red poppy wrap which started a sort of “poppy-mania” in the babywearing world. I must admit I did not really fall for it, but I always wanted to give this piece a proper try.
I suspected that this one will be different than the mint Coquelicots I tested last year just from the bare look at the folded wrap. At the first sight, this wrap is really thick and the declared weight is quite far from reality. It is fluffy and soft like Dekkas, for example, and I suspect that it would be also similarly prone to pulls. Although it is very cuddly, again it is not that cuddly as Muscari (can anything ever be cuddlier…?). The tying and tightening was easy, it felt slightly elastic on my shoulders and the carry held quite fine even with my bouncing toddler. It would be nearly perfect as a toddler piece, only if (yup, I am repeating myself again) it was a bit wider – in this case “a bit wider” means a lot wider in fact, because it measures only 59 cm.
We want to thank all the owners of the wraps for the opportunity to test them!
