I have been almost exclusively wrapping for a while now, but Onbuhimo carriers have caught my eye, so I am going to review my first non-wrap carrier: Soul’s 100% Linen Onbuhimo in Matcha!
Soul is a family-owned and -run baby carrier company based in India that is doing great things in the babywearing community to increase accessibility & representation. I previously reviewed a Soul wrap, Flyaway, here, and yet again I am blown away by the quality of their carriers! When I received Soul’s Matcha Onbuhimo, the first thing that struck me was how tiny it folded up. I thought there was no way that such a small carrier could carry my big LittlerHill, but I was so, so wrong!
Full disclosure, I tried to carry LittlerHill in a visiting onbuhimo once before Matcha visited us, and it did not go very well, including *one of us* yelling “NO ONBUHIMO!!!” (hint: it wasn’t me). Needless to say, I was a bit apprehensive about getting LittlerHill up in Matcha, but as soon as I took it out of the bag he said, “Ooooh, what is that GREEN? I loooooove it!” and began rubbing the fabric. Matcha is 100% linen, so it is incredibly smooshy and soft, while also being very supportive. The straps are a beautiful dark grey with padding that is more than adequate for long carries, but is also pretty low profile and not bulky at all even for a petite caregiver.
So I mentioned that I was concerned about whether Matcha would fit us. LittlerHill is in size 4T pants now, and weighs at least 35 lbs. Matcha offered a perfectly comfortable ride for LittlerHill. Even though it didn’t reach all the way from knee to knee, there are nice darts in the seat of Soul’s onbuhimo carriers that make it comfortable and supportive for a bigger kiddo like LittlerHill. Carrying him was definitely comfortable for me, which was surprising to me since I usually use a chest pass to distribute his weight when I wrap him, and onbuhimo carriers place the child’s weight on the shoulders by design. I was able to carry LittlerHill all over the city and through a rain storm pretty comfortably, although toward the end of our journey I began to feel his weight on my shoulders. I think I would have continued to be comfortable if I wore this style carrier more frequently.
My favorite thing about onbuhimo carriers is how high they carry the kiddo! LittlerHill could easily see everything, talk directly into my ear, and give me lots of kisses!
I think Soul’s Matcha Onbuhimo is great! It would make an especially excellent summer carrier for any kiddo that can sit comfortably and has good head control, but especially for a bigger or more independent child that likes frequent ups and downs, but sometimes needs a supportive and comfortable carrier for a walking break. The linen is airy and cool, and the carrier folds up very small for ease in carrying around in a bag.