Easycare Rainbow (#1)

I love rainbows and have long lusted after Easycare #1. This wraps has all of my favorite wrapping qualities. My rainbow stash is large and it is my favorite to wrap with. She has a good amount of stretch, smooth but not slippery, airy, thin but not super thin and nice and wide. The blunt ends don't bother me at all but might with a thick wrap. This rainbow has 7 bold colors with a yellow weft. I'm not a huge fan of yellow but I think it plays an important role in keeping this cheery rainbow bright. This would be a good summer choice for all but the hottest days.

Measurements

Thickness: 20 mils

Width: 69cm

Weight/Area: 207 grams per square meter

Didymos Double Face Linens: Rosa, Robert & Agave

In the first half of 2010 Didymos released a series of wraps with 50% linen & 50% cotton. Of these I have the three most common Rosalinde (Rosa), Robert & Agave.

Rosa & Robert are quite similar, supportive with a lot of structure. They are both quite dense but Robert is slightly thinner. Enough that the breaking in process was noticeably quicker. While the cotton side starts off soft the linen side takes some work. If you need your wraps to be moldable these are not the wraps for you. I generally prefer moldable wraps but enjoy having wraps with different qualities. While without much moldability getting a good wrap job is harder, they are both extremely supportive. For me comfortable even with a sloppy wrap job. I would say not a good summer choice in a long wrap for very hot temperatures. Both are more gorgeous in real life than in pictures. The blue in Robert appear to be the same cotton used in Forget-me-not.

Agave is another story, molable, thin and great for the heat. Some wrappers find Agave diggy but I don't. Maybe because I have many wraps even thinner than Agave. Not as supportive as his cousins but supportive enough for my needs. My original intent was to dye this beauty but have since fallen in love. Because I have Agave in a 7, I will probably not be using him mid-day outdoors in the summer. However, otherwise he will be in heavy rotation for the next 6 months. I would love to see another double face linen in a similar weight soon from Didymos.

Measurements (Rosa/Robert/Agave):

Thickness: 22.5/21/18.5 mils

Width: 65/67/66 cm

Weight/Area: 250/243/187 grams per square meter

Hoppediz Light (Montreal)

After hearing several glowing reviews I ordered a hopp light before last summer. Lets just say it wasn't love for me. While it was cool to the touch, beautiful & soft, I also found it dense & slippery. The texture reminds me of a really nice bed sheet. Not my favorite feel for wraps. For those reasons I just never really used it. It is very thin. In fact one of the thinnest I have ever owned but it just didn't work for me. Currently, it is traveling to it's new home.

Measurements:

Thickness: 14 mils

Weight: 540 grams

Weight/Area: 179 grams per square meter

Width: 69 cm

Hoppediz Miami & Timbuktu Review

Living in a hot place, I stayed away from hopps for a long time thinking there were too thick for me. In December, I received Timbuktu which I was planning on using for a conversion. I ended up loving the wrap. No plans to chop now. It is much thinner than I expected. Certainly not among my thicker wraps. Will I use it on a hot summer day? No. But still totally worth having in my stash. Hoppendiz makes a high quality wrap. I appreciate the different colored rails, the flat hem on the taper & straight sewing. It is soft, dense, moldable and a pleasure to wrap with. The only problem is that Timbuktu makes the perfect swing. So I rarely get a chance to wrap with him.

A couple of weeks ago, I got a great deal on Miami. She is a gorgeous trio of pinks. While slightly thinner than Timbuktu, Miami wraps very similarly.

Measurements Miami 6/Timbuktu 7:

Thickness: 21.5/23.5 mils

Width: 67.5/69 cm

Weight: 820/1025 grams

Weight/Area: 259/263 grams per square meter


Swingee: 35-lb 3 year-old. Although even my 11 year-old swings on him.

Vatanai Glaciar & Valensole Review

I received Valensole a few weeks ago and love it from the start. It is all the things I love in a wrap; soft, moldable, thin, smooth & wide. Slightly thinner than my whales but thicker than kipawa. Passes slide effortlessly across my back which is welcomed relief for my injured left shoulder. Clearly a wrap that can be used in the heat of the summer here. My stash is size 6 heavy but still this wrap sees regular use. Having fallen so hard for Valensole, I decided to get Glaciar in a shorter length.


Glaciar wraps very similarly but is not quite as wide. I used him at a recent Costco trip in a knotless ruck which was comfy & secure. Both wraps have a good amount of diagonal stretch but almost no stretch parallel & perpendicular to the rails. My only reservation is that they are so nice. I'm not sure I will want to be sweaty in them. I guess I will have to wait and see. The heat will be here before I know it.

Measurements Valensole/Glaciar:

Thickness: 17/17 mils

Weight: 550/400 grams

Weight/Area: 175/178 grams per square meter

Width: 69/64 cm

Wrapee: 20-lb almost 1 year-old

Nautilus Black Pearl Review

After several week of nautilus pining we received black pearl. I love this pattern and color combination. It measures medium thin. Similar to forget-me-not (one of the 2010 summer cottons). Out of the box she was stiffer than my fish or double faced cottons but is softening up well. Due in part to her color, I will not be using this wrap outside in the summer. In more moderate climates black pearl may make be a good summer choice but not here. Pearlmutt has moderate stretch and is supportive and sturdy.

Measurements:

Thickness: 20 mils

Weight: 630 grams

Weight/Area: 205 grams/square meter

Wdith: 65cm

Wrappee: 20lb almost 1 year-old.

Ellaroo Kristen Review

With temperatures over 100 degrees for more than 5 months of the year it is helpful to be a thin wrap lover. Unless you seclude yourself in air conditioning all summer. In my case, my older kids keep me outside all year round. On Saturday we received a new Ellaroo. Kristen in a 3.6m length. She is three gorgeous greens with a striking blue weft which gives a little shimmer. After a quick wash and bit of braiding, I used her for nap in a snug knotless ruck. We were content & comfortable.

She measured similar to the other Ellaroos living here at:

Thickness: 16 mils

Width: 61cm

Weight: 400 grams

This puts her in what I call the super light catergory. Surely not as supportive as thicker wraps but not as hot either.

Wrappee: 20 lbs, Almost 1 year-old

ETA: This wrap is on the stretchy side as far as wovens go. I like a bit of stretch.

A Little Preview of Summer

Today temperatures hit the upper 90s and we had an a few errands to do and an outdoor swim meet. Both things we will be doing a lot of this summer, even when it is 110+ degrees outside. For errands we used an ellaroo shorty in a rebozo hip carry. Once I got the knot tight enough the carry was very comfortable and the wrap was light enough that I left it on in between errands.

For the swim meet I chose a 3.7m ellaroo in a double rebozo with blueria finish. I added a double knot to keep the carry secure. While I was wrapping (with one of the tails in my mouth) my 5 year-old jumped at the opportunity to ask me for something taking my silence as approval. I didn't get my babe quite as high as usual which caused her to do some leaning but we were otherwise comfortable.

Do you ever not want to fuss too much when you are wrapping in public? I find myself wanting to make it look easy thinking others will be more likely to give it try.

Wrapee: 20 lbs nearly 1 year-old