My local sling library had not heard of it before so I researched myself and found this lovely website and facebook page with pictures and satisfied customer comments. The UK agent was very friendly and helpful in helping me to decide whether the carrier was for me.
www.africanbabycarrier.co.za
http://www.facebook.com/pages/UK-SA-Front-and-Back-African-Baby-Carrier/207521155953216
I was not disappointed. As soon as I got it out I could see how beautiful it was.
Colour: My carrier is green with a lovely brown striped accented pocket and sleep hood and hood straps.
Texture: Its a nice cotton canvas style material which is strong and durable yet soft. The body is not padded so nice and soft on the baby's body.
Dimensions: This is one of my favourite as many carriers are either too narrow, too wide, too short or too high. The body on this carrier is just the right height for my big 6 month old AND there is a fab zip at the base of the body which will allow me to extend it when he gets even bigger. Another fab part is the width as it goes nicely from knee to knee on my son and has soft cuffs to protect his legs. The belt looked very big in pictures but it is close to perfect. I have tried many padded waist belts on carriers and some have buckled under my baby or sat uncomfortably on the unpadded part but the wide belt on this carrier is very snug and comfy. The straps are long enough to be adjusted for male, female and different body sizes. The hood is nicely shaped to hug baby's head and can be adjusted to suit baby's height which I have not seen before in this way. Its lovely. The shoulder straps are in fixed rucksack position.Support:If you were to use it with a little baby I would look into getting an insert like the one used for the ergo. Ive not tried it but I would investigate whether it would work. For my 6 month old however it is just right. The padded shoulder straps protect me nicely from his weight and the belt seems to help spread the weight well across my hips making my son seem very light, especially in front carry. He is well supported as the seat is deep enough and to make him snug the un-padded part of the shoulder straps can also be tightened.
Sleepy test: He soon fell asleep in the carrier and the hood was perfect to stop his head falling back. The hood straps are nice and long so can be reached easily when doing a back carry.
Recommend: This carrier is definitely worth buying if you are looking for a comfortable, beautiful, 3 months to toddler carrier. It is currently a small company in South Africa with an agent in the UK, but I believe if they traded here they would sell like hot cakes as they have all the good elements from other ssc's put into one.
This is my personal opinion and every carrier is different for different people depending on body shape and baby shape and size. So I would always recommend seeking out a sling library to try before you buy.
