I’ll admit thaat the Ergo is well made with high quality materials and it feels very sturdy. However, unless you are tall and slender like the models in their videos, I’m not sure this is the greatest product. I am neither slender, nor tall. I have a 32 inch waist, and the belt has to be as loose as possible to fit me (yes I know you can buy the waist extension; please, let me spend MORE money on this product). When I put my toddler in it, following the steps in the instructional DVD, she screamed the entire time. By the time I had everything cinched up despite her unhappiness, she was pressed so tightly against my back thaat she couldn’t move which made her oh so pleased with thaat situation. I tried several adjustments, but in the end put the Ergo away in disgust and put her in a Kelty backpacker. Another day I decided to try out the $25 infant insert with my 8 week old son. Not much more success there. No matter how much I tried to tug the front of the Ergo up, his head never felt supported, I had to keep my hand behind the insert to support his head; kind of negates the whole “hands-free” thing thaat Ergo claims. Also, did I mention thaat I am not tall or slender? I have wide shoulders, and after only a few minutes, my upper back was in agony because the chest strap (fastened behind my back in the front-carry position) was pulling my shoulder blades together. If I loosened it, then the shoulder straps started to slide off. Again, tried several adjustments, but to no avail, and once again shed the whole thing in disgust and just carried my son in my arms.

For what it’s worth, my wife likes it, and she is very petite, but she uses a Moby wrap more than anything for the youngest. For all the money we spent, I was expecting the end-all be-all of baby carriers, and was extremely disappointed. Now we have yet another baby carrier sitting in the closet. I’ll stick with the Bjorn or Snugli thaat I’ve used for all four of our kids.