Why the Ergobaby Adapt Cool Air Mesh is our favourite baby carrier

Ever since using the Ergobaby Original (in the cute version with the whales) with our daughter, we’ve been sold on the brand. So when our second one was about to make their entry, we decided to purchase an Ergobaby Adapt.

Our kiddo has been in there for hours every day since he was about 4 weeks old till about 1,5 years old, so you can say that we used it extensively!

This article is all about our experience with the Ergobaby Adapt Cool Air Mesh!

UNBOXING THE ERGOBABY ADAPT CARRIER COOL AIR MESH

When taking the Ergobaby out of the box, we couldn’t wait to try out this carrier. At this time, we had solely been babywearing with a stretch wrap, which is great and cosy, but also a bit of a hassle to put on, especially when the baby is already asleep.

We purchased a dark blue version of the Ergo Adapt and were pleasantly surprised by the color and the overall feel of the carrier. It was immediately easy to figure out the velcro to adapt the seat as it comes in bright colors.

ERGOBABY ADAPT CARRIER STATS

• Weight limit: 7-45 lbs
• Waistband: 26”-52”
• Crossable & padded shoulder straps
• Sun/sleeping hood included
• Machine washable
• Supports 3 carry positions: front (face inward), back, & hip
• Breastfeeding-friendly

OUR EXPERIENCE WITH THE ERGOBABY COOL AIR MESH

As a travel family, we never leave home without our baby carrier. But even when we are at home, we almost never use our all-terrain stroller (we didn’t even have one with our first child and #2 hated it until they were about 2 years old).

Truth be told, we carry a lot. Especially with a second child, there’s hardly any time to calmly sit down on the couch with a sleeping baby.

With Little Dragon in the Ergobaby Adapt baby carrier, it’s possible to homeschool Little Elf, vacuum, or even cook (very carefully!). And whenever we go out, the baby goes into the carrier with a baby-wearing jacket around the both of us if it’s cold. We just love the easiness of it all!

The hip belt

One of the main reasons we love Ergobaby so much is the sturdy padded hip belt. In the Ergo Original, the waist belt is a little thicker and goes all the way around your body.

The waistband of the Adapt is shorter and thinner but still offers enough support. There’s now also extra lumbar support. The combination of those two makes babywearing just as comfortable as with the Original.

Depending on your body type and preference, you can choose to wear the hip belt on your hips, or on your waist. I prefer the latter, while Kath always goes for the former.

The buckle is easy to open and close and I love that you can hear a loud “click”-sounds whenever you close it. This way, you know it’s connected well. Pulling the string can happen at 2 places (next to the buckle and the other further up the waist belt) and goes fairly easy.

The shoulder straps

The shoulder straps of the Ergobaby mesh carrier are padded and feel very comfortable. I usually wear them in the traditional H-shape, but the Adapt carrier allows you to wear them crossed as well.

The straps are attached in the middle of the back panel, which we found a little tougher to tighten since you have to pull them horizontally and towards your back (instead of pulling down as you do with the Ergo Original).

Adapting the carrier to your baby

I was a little hesitant at first about these baby carriers that grow with your baby, but I have to say that the Ergobaby Adapt reviews did not lie. Adapting it to our Little Dragon was a piece of cake! It helped that it was set to the newborn size to start with!

You can adapt the Ergobaby Adapt air mesh at 3 points.

• The seat: you can alter the size of the seat by attaching the Velcro to the red, yellow, or blue position (always make sure that you use the same colors)

• The back panel: you can make the back panel smaller or wider by using the snaps on the front of the Ergobaby Adapt Cool.

• The neck padding: babies under 6 weeks should be put in the carrier with the neck padding on the inside to give extra neck support. Afterward, you can turn it around and put it in the highest position.

We’ve noticed that the padding will stand up easily when wearing your baby, but this is actually beneficial when you want your little one to fall asleep – it gives a more snuggly feeling. When your baby is bigger there’s another setting to support their larger body.

The fabric, colors and print

The Ergobaby air mesh was designed with mostly mesh fabric to create airflow into the carrier and thus make it less hot when you’re living in or traveling to warmer climates. Or if you just have a little one that’s always hot (like our Little Elf).

Truth be told, when we’re carrying indoors, it still gets pretty hot when we’re wearing Little Dragon on the belly. We prefer to use a muslin cloth between our bodies and his head to avoid sticking together all the time (which is something he doesn’t like and keeps waking up from).

For us, the main downside of the Ergobaby is the colors and designs. There’s little fun in the print like you have with Tula or Boba carriers.

However, for many people, this might be an advantage because dads might like them better or they’re easier to combine with your clothes. In any case, we went for the Ergobaby Adapt Admiral Blue, but they come in grey, black, and Oxford blue as well.

Extras oF the ergobaby adapt cool air mesh

Because of the mesh fabric, there is no room for a large pocket on the back panel. That was something we used frequently when babywearing with the regular Ergobaby.

When it’s cold and your also wearing a baby carrier hoodie or coat, it won’t matter that much, but it can be a bit annoying to have to retrieve your smartphone from your backpack.

It’s understandable though, because of the fabric and there are easy solutions to fix this such as wearing pants or a skirt with pockets or using a fanny pack.

There is a tiny pocket in the waist belt, but we don’t see ourselves putting anything in there anytime soon.

There’s also a small pocket at the top of the back panel that holds the sleeping hood. The hood is UV-proof but made out of raincoat material rather than cotton or another soft fabric. We don’t like it that much, but it does what it has to do.

Transport

Because of the larger hip belt, you can’t really fold the Ergobaby cool mesh into a tiny pack and put it into your diaper bag.

You can’t easily stuff it into your backpack either (well, you can, but you won’t be able to add many more things). So, if you’d like to transport the carrier, you’re best off putting it on your body without your child. That’s what we always do anyway.

Putting the carrier on

It’s not difficult to put on the Ergobaby Adapt. Newborn babies should only be carried face inward and you keep on carrying them in the same position when they grow older.

Once they are about 6 months old (but more importantly, once they can go from lying down to sitting on their own!) you can also wear them on the hip or on the back.

With the Ergobaby Adapt front-facing isn’t possible. We don’t mind that as we are not a fan, but if you think you would miss that feature, go for the Ergobaby Omni 360 cool air mesh!

OUR OPINION AFTER THE ERGOBABY ADAPT TEST

What we like

• It’s easy to adapt the carrier to your little one. The Ergobaby Adapt instructions make it very clear but you can do it even without the manual as there’s a tiny explanation about the Velcro attached to the carrier as well.

• The mesh fabric allows airflow which should make it less hot for your baby if you’re wearing it in warmer temperatures.·

• The shoulder straps are crossable which is great for people with shoulder or back problems as the weight can be divided more across your upper back and torso.

>> Convinced? Choose your favourite color here! <<

What we like less

• We find the Ergobaby colors to be a little boring, but that’s because we like flashy colors and cute prints.
  
  In the past, we’ve solved this by buying the Ergobaby Original Marine which is dark blue but with a print of cute whales on the sun hood and inside.
  
  However, with the Ergo Cool Air Mesh, there was no such option so we decided to go for a dark blue instead of black or grey.   

• The shoulder straps are attached to the middle of the back panel, which means that you have to pull back to tighten them. We find this a little harder to do than pulling straps down as it is in the Original and with other carriers.

What’s New in the Updated Version

The Ergobaby Adapt Soft Flex Mesh is the newer version of the Ergobaby Adapt Cool Air Mesh, released in 2021 and completely replacing the older model. It’s more breathable and streamlined, with diamond-shaped mesh covering about 90% of the carrier, compared to the smaller mesh panels on the Cool Air Mesh.

The waistband has ventilation holes and lumbar support, which help with airflow around your core. The shoulder straps are slimmer than older versions, and it also has reflectors, which are helpful if you’re out later in the day or walking near traffic.

CONCLUSION: IS THE ERGOBABY ADAPT 3 POSITION BABY CARRIER WORTH IT?

Although we are not the biggest fans of the design of the cool air mesh Ergobaby, we do love babywearing our son in it!

Even so we’ve only started to carry him in this carrier at 4 weeks old, it would be entirely possible with newborn babies and we could see ourselves doing this too.

We like that the Ergobaby Adapt positions don’t include an outward-facing feature, but we can imagine people missing this (good news, the Omni 360 has it all!).

We are very curious to start using the Adapt cool air mesh Ergobaby as a baby carrier for hot weather, but we can understand it gives a lot more airflow than regular carriers.

All in all, yes, we do believe this carrier is worth every penny!