After the absolute baby travel essentials of nappies and formula, my next most essential baby item is a baby carrier. It helps us get around, keeps my hands free and makes for a happy baby – all a win at any time but especially so when travelling and navigating airports and new experiences.
I have travelled a lot with our Ergobaby Original with my other two kids, but this time we were travelling with a younger baby – J was only three months old when we set off on our last international trip to Phuket, Oman and Abu Dhabi – and I needed a new carrier.
I love my Ergobaby Original but it is not well suited to a 3 month old. We didn’t want to take an infant insert to such hot destinations and although I did use it on our trip to Coffs Harbour and Byron Bay using the blanket trick, I felt like I always need to be holding J’s head when I was doing this which takes away from some of the advantage to wearing a carrier in the first place.
Thankfully, a fellow travel blogger told me all about the Ergobaby Adapt. It’s very similar to the Original but is suitable from birth. It turned out to be the perfect solution and we used it a lot on our trip and have been using it a lot at home too. Baby J is comfortable and happy and so are we.
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Ergo Adapt Review
We found the Ergo Adapt to be exactly as promised – with everything we love about the Original Ergo but being suitable for our little baby as well.
Ergonomic design
Ergo style baby carriers have an ergonomic bucket seat design and this one is no different. It ensures that bub has the M shape leg position that the International Hip Dysplasia Institute recommends. Because this carrier is for such a large size range (3.2 – 20kg/7-45lb), the bucket seat has three different sizes.
It’s also a comfortable way for bub to sit and it’s easy to get him set up inside.
Comfortable to wear
At the end of the day, all the other aspects of a baby carrier mean nothing if I don’t find it comfortable to wear. I won’t use it unless it’s super comfortable and feels like I am barely carrying any weight at all.
The Ergobaby Adapt is super comfortable. I have worn it with baby J in it for the majority of the day and have never started to feel sore or really even notice the extra weight (he is currently 7.8kg). I also tried it out on my 4.5 year old who is 19.8kg and, although I certainly did notice that weight, nothing felt like it was cutting into me and it was as comfortable as is possible with a tall 4 year old strapped to me.
The Adapt also comes with a new waistband with double adjustment and extra support. The shoulder straps are padded and can be criss crossed. It all felt very good to me!
This carrier is designed for adults 153-195cm tall. I am 164cm and hubby is 190cm and we have both found it comfortable to wear.
Easy to use
One of the biggest things I hear my friends complain about when it comes to carriers is when they are complicated to put on – especially if that stops their partners from using them. The different Ergo carriers are probably the easiest carriers to put on and off on the market and the Ergo Adapt is no different although I always do find the customary ergo back strap difficult to put on myself when I first start using it again after a long break.
The view from the back of the Ergo Adapt
After a couple of weeks of using it a lot though, I can do it myself quick and easy. I also like it that it’s very easy to check that I have bub in the right position. A quick look in the mirror when I was first trying out this carrier would confirm whether I had all of his tiny limbs right or not.
The back carry is something I find a bit trickier but wouldn’t use with a young baby anyway. Hubby is a big fan of the back carry in our other Ergo and found it easy enough once he did it a few times.
This carrier is machine washable. It takes up slightly more space than my Original but since I am always using it at airports anyway, this does not matter for Ergo travel.
3 carry positions
The Ergobaby Adapt has three positions for carrying bub – front facing, back and hip.
I am a big fan of the Ergo front carry as I like to see what’s going on and since baby J is still so young, I haven’t tried it out in other positions yet.
Suitable from birth
The thing that attracted us most to this carrier is the fact that it is suitable from birth and we have found it perfect for our 3-4 month baby. I wish we had had it right from the start! It gives him enough neck support and I feel like he is secure and snug.
The bucket seat has three different sizes – one for newborn, one for infants and one for toddlers. There’s a photo of this below and it’s super easy to adjust the velcro tabs to make it the right size. I put it back and forth between the baby and toddler size to switch it between my two kids in seconds.
Because I was writing this review, I thought I would also try it out on our big 4.5 year old. He thought it was absolutely hilarious. I thought wearing him would feel like my back was breaking, but it was fine. I carried him around the house and on a short walk and it worked very well. I am confident that this will be a great Ergo for toddler use as well.
A good way to see how the Adapt looks and works for different ages is to watch this short video from Ergobaby…
Handy sun cover
Finally, I like the sun cover that comes attached to the Ergo Adapt. I also like that it has a pocket to store it – on my Original it just hangs out.
This cover is super handy for an Ergo infant, not just to protect baby J’s head from the sun but I found it invaluable for keeping other people from disturbing him when he was alseep on our travels. In the places we visited, people were ultra keen to engage baby J and this was a good way to stop them!
Our verdict?
As you can no doubt tell, we love the Ergobaby Adapt. It’s a strong, quality and flexible carrier which meets all our needs – it’s comfortable, easy to use and safe and will suit our new baby throughout his baby and toddler years. We are big fans!
You can find out more information on the Ergobaby Adapt on the Ergo website. You can also see the latest prices and more Ergo reviews on Amazon.
Not convinced? Read about more carriers in our guide to the best baby carrier.
Disclaimer: I was given this carrier to try out on our travels. There were no conditions on what I had to do in return and I wrote this review simply because I love it and I think it will help others too. Where’s Sharon is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com and its partners. Amazon and the Amazon logo are trademarks of Amazon.com, Inc. or its affiliates. Thank you for supporting my site and helping me make it the best family travel resource on the internet!