Infantino Upscale Baby Carrier Review

When Elian was born, Chantele loved her Kanga wrap, but as much as I tried to, I wasn’t a huge fan of the whole wrapping business. I wanted something I could wear quickly and easily without all the faff, so we knew I’d need a baby carrier. As part of the Infantino family, we were lucky enough to be gifted an Infantino Upscale Carrier to test out, so we took it for a walk this week with our small human inside.

This item was gifted for review purpose, but all opinions are our own

First Impressions of the Infantino Upscale Carrier

First impressions out of the box are that it looks really smart. It’s black (I like black!), with big padded shoulder straps and heavy stitching. A quick read of the box and I could see exactly how it should be worn with a few variations from newborn with head support, up to using as a back carrier for the bigger little monkeys. Once I got all the straps extended to fit around my 6ft1 18 stone frame, it had plenty of room for madam and felt reassuringly secure. Chantele helped me get Effie in to the carrier and tighten up the strap for the back of shoulder straps to secure her in.

The Pros

Effie weighs in around 11lbs and feels really comfy on me in the carrier on my front. The waist band really helps lighten her load and helps provide a sturdy seat area for her to rest into while there’s plenty of space for her to hold her arms to her face.

She spent around an hour and a half in the carrier without a murmur before we got back to the car, and I didn’t feel any strain around my neck or back which was awesome. The material of the carrier is lovely and thick with some padding for comfort while the waist belt reminded me of the ones you find on a hiking bag, so my lower back was supported too. The one downside to such a padded carrier is I, like my daughter, radiate heat, so on a hot summers day it left Effie a little sweaty on her back and also on my shoulders.

The waist strap has a lovely big clip that snaps together and apart with one hand, but contrastingly the head support fixings are large buttons with nylon hoops which can be a fiddle one handed and a smaller clip like the waist band would work so much better.

The Cons

If I was a single parent however, using the carrier on my front just wouldn’t be possible. Once Chantele helped me get Effie in to the front, she had to close and tighten the strap that pulls the shoulder straps together on the back, and also tighten the shoulder straps to snug her in, as being a large lad, they were near fully extended and I wasn’t able to reach up behind me high enough to pull on them without straining my shoulder. The same issues meant I wasn’t able to loosen the carrier off on my own to be able to lift Effie out. I could have secured the shoulder (what would be the chest) strap and pop it over my head but this leaves the shoulder straps resting on the very edge of your collar bone and almost sliding off. As a back carrier this would be totally different though as all the adjustments become accessible on your front with it facing the other way, making everything much easier.

In conclusion

Overall I did like the carrier once wearing it. It felt secure, comfortable and looks good too, but the practicality of it as a front carrier means I’ll have to only use it as a back carrier when I’m on my own.