PSA: photos above and below do NOT show safe carries, in fact, I panicked when I looked at my camera screen after taking these images with my remote, and realized how unsafe my son was. He could have fallen out any second.
The following is slightly improved in the height of the carrier on his back, but I still wouldn't consider this entirely safe. It should come up completely under baby's armpits to hold them securely.
Above: dual waist buckles make a very comfy fit of the comfy waistband. Below, wide shoulder buckles.
This is a Baby Hawk Oh Snap, an entry-level carrier that is readily available to the general public.
Baby hawk is primarily known for their entry-level and affordably-priced Mei Tais. This is their SSC (soft structured carrier), also called sometimes called a buckle carrier. It is supposedly toddler-size.
I bought it to give as a gift to a retired military single dad friend of ours who had a run-away inclined foster kid. After testing it out, I decided to resell it and get him a camo Kinderpack toddler instead.
The small double buckles on the waistband made this the most comfortable waist of any SSC I have tried. Other than that winning feature, I didn't like this carrier at all.
The camoflage fabric was sooo stiff and uncomfortable. I imagine their non-camo fabrics are softer, but this was awful.
The structure of the body of the carrier that holds the baby, is awkward to say the least. It is more narrow horizontally, the head rest is funky, and there are no seat darts. Seat darts and a wider width help the baby sit deep and comfortable in the body of the carrier. They also help prevent what is shown in my first few photos. I pulled it up over him, thinking it was supporting him, but the body for bunched under his bum and only came up to his lower back. I want to stress this is extremely unsafe and I when I figured out what had happened, I was so relieved he was hanging onto my shoulders instead of arching backward.
At a bare minimum, the top back of a carrier should come up to baby's armpits. If it is getting lower than that, it is time for a bigger carrier, since baby could arch backward out of it. This is scary enough when the baby is worn on your chest where you could grab them, but really scary if they are worn on your back.
I tried this on several times, and could not get it on high enough by myself adequately pulling it up behind my son's shoulders. If my husband came along and pulled it up for me after I had it on, he could get it placed properly, but I was unable to do it myself. I felt this resulted from both the stiff thickness of the camo fabric, and the construction and shape of the carrier.
I have never had this problem with over fifteen SSC brands I have tried, so it's not like I don't know what I'm doing. I do sometimes have trouble getting the back of it high enough, but if I work on it or adjust my technique of getting baby in it, I have been able to get it on properly. Not so with this carrier.
While it is on the cheaper side for an SSC, there are plenty of other brands within the same price range that are much better choices in my opinion. Sadly, I wouldn't recommend this one.
