When the new Ergobaby Omni Breeze came out, I was really curious how it feels.
Ergobaby promised that it is lightweight and airy while keeping the good fit for the baby.
Compared to the Ergobaby Omni 360 it feels indeed less bulky.
The whole body is a mesh-type and looks airy on the first glance.
I am a bit skeptical when it comes to non-natural fibers and their cooling effects since for me it feels as if I become sweaty more easily.
In my test it behaved like all other fullbuckle carriers in Japanese summer: hot and sweaty!
It didn’t feel much cooler than the other I own!
While polyester mesh is very moisture wicking, which means that moist will be transported to the outside, it is not moisture absorbent. So in case you are sweating where no full mesh is used, like at the waistbelt or shoulderstraps, you will feel the sweat. It is also better to wash synthetic fibers frequently, else they will produce a not so nice smell.
Your baby however, will probably be cooled because the fabric at it’s back is a thin mesh layer.
This comes, however, also with a downside, especially for tiny newborns (approx. the first two months). Babies can’t regulate their temperature very well by themselves. This means, they can overheat, but also cool down very easily. When sweating inside the carrier and coming into a cooled room, the mesh fabric will not hold the body warmth of your baby and you will need to use a cover for prevent your baby from cooling down too much.
Besides being less bulky, the Ergobaby Omni Breeze Mesh comes with some more new features.
My favorite are the reflective strips on the backpanel and on the shoulderstraps, giving the feeling of security when being out in the dark. I am very sad that Ergobaby didn’t implement them in their cotton line too.
The shoulderstraps are narrower than before and the padding is shorter. This allows smaller people to fasten the shoulderstraps more. It was a huge problem with the previous model, the Ergobaby Omni 360. Especially here in Japan. Even I, not as small as Japanese, couldn’t fasten the straps enough to give a newborn a good support. With changing that, the Ergobaby Omni Breeze became safer and more comfortable for smaller parents.
The last thing that changed is the position of the World Facing Sliders which are, again, combined with the buckles for the shoulderstraps. The bucket seat stays the same but the new positioning reduces bulk in the carrier’s fabric.
While I am happy about all the changes and the carrier giving a good fit on my babywearing doll (only tested me-facing!!), I also tested it with real babies!
How did it behave with real babies of different ages?
The over six month old baby sat in the carrier very well. The mom liked the lumbar support but didn’t feel so comfortable with the 100% polyester and found it sweaty. She sticked to her one layer Emeibaby carrier.
The newborn who tested was one months old but had a long body. This made him already fit in carriers that aren’t really newborn-friendly but mainly useable from two months.
However, with him, the fit also was very good! But he and his mother still found it too bulky and tried two simple halfbuckle carriers instead. One of those, both found most comfortable. The baby gave clear signs when he didn’t find a carrier super comfortable!
The Ergobaby Omni Breeze promises to be useable until 20kg. So I tested with my 20kg “baby” – means 4 years old – too.
As expected, the 20kg only refer to the safety testing but NOT that the carrier is actually fitting until that weight😉
If you would like to try this or other carriers before buying, feel free to contact me 😊