Baby Carriers

For those in the market for nearly any kind of baby gear, the latest edition of "Baby Bargains" offers excellent research and analysis. The authors offer suggestions on which baby carriers are best and… which ones to avoid. Front carriers, slings, hip carriers and backpack carriers are all discussed. While favorites are listed and features of many more brands discussed, they aren't necessarily ranked using a numerical or grading system. The authors also maintain a website where updates are posted, as well as a user forum where owners can rate their own baby carriers and other baby gear, and a blog with information on recalls and other news.

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Diapers.com is the official store of parenting website BabyCenter.com. Similar to other consumer-review sites, parents are allowed to rank and review products, including baby carriers. Baby Bjorn Original… is a favorite among reviewers here, earning an average rating of 4.5 out of five stars, based on over 275 consumer reviews. Moby Wrap is also well liked, earning 4.5 out of five stars on average, based on over 80 parent reviews. A few other brands are rated highly but only have a handful of reviews.

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Mireille Hyde tests five well-known baby carriers. According to the article, parents were enlisted to participate in testing, although specific testing methodology isn't described. Each baby carrier is… rated on a scale of one through five based on comfort and ease of use, and one tester comment is included after each baby carrier description. The ErgoBaby baby carrier gets the highest rating here, with a five out of five stars for comfort and four out of five stars for ease of use.

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Epinions.com is a consumer-review site that allows owners to rank and rate products. Carriers are sorted by price and rating, and there are more products listed here than at Amazon.com. Unfortunately, there… are not as many reviews for each carrier as at Amazon. The Over the Shoulder Baby Holder baby sling/wrap and the Crown Crafts Babysling baby sling/wrap get high ratings, reviewed by more than 130 and 115 owners, respectively. The Ergo Baby carrier receives good reviews, as well.

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Lilaguide.com is part of the group of sites that includes TheKnot.com, TheBump.com and TheNest.com. Designed to be an online resource guide for parents, LilaGuide features a clean, modern look, but… navigation is tedious. It's difficult to tell how many reviewers have contributed reports, which is important, as some products only get a handful of comments, while others garner lots of feedback. Diaper bags are lumped together with baby carriers in this category. Since some diaper bags are also referred to as backpacks, it can be difficult to determine whether the product you're looking at is a diaper bag or baby carrier. Moby Wrap gets good comments from most, although one user notes that the extra fabric can be a little warm during the summer months. . BabyBjorn Original gets more than 300 reviews and maintains a high rating, while the Ergo Baby Carrier and Peanut Shell also maintain an average four out of five stars based on over 90 and 45 reviews, respectively.

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While there aren't as many reviews as one might expect to find on a popular retail site like Target.com, a few of the more popular baby carriers have accumulated over 40 reviews. Baby Bjorn has accumulated… over 150 reviews and maintains an average rating of four out of five stars, although the Baby Bjorn City reviews appear to be lumped together with the Baby Bjorn Original reviews. The Baby Bjorn Active and Baby Bjorn Air Carrier, reviewed separately, have accumulated more than 60 and 45 reviews, respectively. Moby Wrap and Hotslings have also garnered a fair number of reviews, so it might be worth visiting if you're considering one of these more heavily reviewed brands.

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TheCradle.com is a site that provides information on a wide variety of baby products and selects their top picks in various categories. On the plus side, there is a lot of valuable information here for… parents needing to decode the various types of baby carriers available. Top products are selected in many categories, including hammock slings, ring slings, wraps, front packs, backpack carriers, Asian style, eco-friendly baby carriers and hip carriers. No information is provided about the specific carriers listed as favorites, and it's unclear how these particular styles were selected as best compared to other available baby carriers.

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