Nova Baby Carrier Review

The eagle eyed amongst you may recall some of my Instagram images from a few weeks ago showing a lovely carrier pattern. I like to try a range of carriers and when Steph from the fabulous Snugiwraps contacted me to see if I would be interested in reviewing one of her carriers for her new venture, Nova Baby Carriers, I of course jumped at the chance.

Steph has a special place in my baby carrying adventure as her stretchy wrap was Emma’s preferred carrier for a long long time, and enabled me to get on with so much more than had we not had it. Now that Steph has launched Nova I was really interested to see what the carrier would be like.

I was sent a Classic Full Buckle which is quite different to the carrier I usually like to use. The Ergo, R&R & Tula which I use regularly all have structured waistbands whereas the Classic Full Buckle Nova doesn’t. Instead it is a panel of fabric, similar I guess to the Connecta in style. I didn’t really like the Connecta I had with Daniel as I found it needed regular adjustment to get the fit right and comfortable for prolonged use, so I was a little hesitant with the Nova.

I had a play around with it and I was pleasantly surprised at how easy it was to get Emma into a front carry. The straps cross over at the back (unlike the carriers I am used to) and with the Connecta I could never seem to get the hang of it, but with the Nova I managed it first time (whilst looking in a mirror). after two or three attempts I was able to get Emma into the Nova as quickly as I could with any of my other carriers. It was comfy and Emma was happy to be there in it, despite rarely being on my front these days.

I had a go at a back carry but I wasn’t happy with her seat in this, and I’m not sure she is big enough, at the moment, for me to feel comfortable in getting her on my back with this style of carrier. This may just be a confidence thing and getting use to using the Nova, but for now she is fine on my front in the carrier.

I have used the Nova regularly when we have been popping out and about and Emma is always happy and content and it is really easy to get her into the carrier. I am also really pleased that once fastened I don’t find myself having to keep tightening it again and again. Emma weighs in the region of 19lbs so she is only light so this might change with a heavier child.

Whilst we were away on holiday, I carried Daniel and Damian carried Emma. Damian opted to use the Nova carrier and he really liked it. Often Damian struggles carrying the children, finding that his back aches after a while. However Damian found the Nova really comfy and this is now the carrier of choice for him when he is carrying Emma. As Damian is much taller than me, he always carries the children on his front, so he didn’t try to put her on his back. She was however happy and content snuggled up on his front.

I am 5’1 and Damian is 6′ and we both found this carrier comfortable and easy to use. It can take a bit of getting used to to get the straps correct, and in the first picture above really they should cross slightly lower down my back, but this was only a short walk so it wasn’t uncomfortable. There are some great videos on the Nova Baby Carrier site (see here) that are really useful for helping to get the positioning and carry correct. They are well worth a look.

The carrier itself is well stitched, the straps are sunk well into the body panel and the stitching is neat. The quality of stitching is as good as any other carrier I have been sent, neat and straight and I can’t spot any skipped/missed stitches or wonky lines. Where the straps are sunk into the body there are a good number of stitches across the straps to secure them in. The fabric seems to be a good quality and the one that I was sent was cut well to maximise the fabric design to best effect – important if you are opting for a custom carrier design.

I don’t have any concerns about the quality of the carriers. The straps are well padded and this helps with the comfort of the carrier. I like the wide range of design choices available and you can also choose a custom design to create something truly unique. As the carrier doesn’t have a padded waistband it rolls up really small so it is great for popping into a bag – it will certainly come in handy now that Emma is walking more and more for when we are out in the park and she inevitably starts to tire out. With a padded waistband I find myself wearing it when I’m not carrying Daniel or Emma as they otherwise take up too much space in the bag, not the case with this Nova carrier.

The price at £54.99 for the Full Classic Buckles makes the Nova carrier one of the cheaper ones I have tried but this doesn’t detract away from its quality. We will certainly get our use from it. I also think this would be a lovely carrier to use with a younger baby, the lack of structured waistband makes it much softer which I think would be good for a smaller baby.

All in all I am really impressed with this carrier from Nova Baby Carriers.

There are a range of  carrier styles available at Nova, and I am really intrigued by their new one, the Buckle Onbu carrier – it looks really interesting and is one I will be keeping my eye on and hoping to try at some point with Emma. There is a great ‘what carrier‘ section on the website which is well worth a look if you are not too sure which one you should opt for.

I am thrilled that to celebrate the launch of Nova baby Carriers, I have a £20 voucher to giveaway to one of my readers, to be in with a chance to win, please complete the Gleam widget below.
£20 Nova Baby Carrier Voucher

I was sent a Nova Baby Carrier in exchange for a fair and honest review. All words, images and opinions are my own.