Are all wraps created equal?

[RockChick1984]

I love my SSC, but have decided I'm ready to venture into the realms of wrap slings. Problem is, there's just so much choice out there! How do I know what is worth spending money on, and what will suit me and DS the best?

I would prefer to spend no more than £60 unless there's something that is really worth spending more on.

I'm 5'7" and size 10, what length would I be best using?

DS is 15 months and 92nd centile, would want to get a fair bit of use (probably mostly back carries) but am planning another baby at some point so would ideally be able to use for front carries with a younger baby in the future.

Sorry for all the questions, I've had a look and there's no sling meet / library nearby that I can get to because of stupidly living in the middle of nowhere I hope someone can help!

if its back carries then you want a woven wrap not a stretchy like a moby or kari-me as stretchy wraps can be dangerous worn on the back, so something like an Elleroo.

What's the difference though between (for example) hoppeiz, Lenny lamb and ellaroo? And then there's ones for well over £100, are they really double the quality of a £50 wrap?

I'm reasonably new to wrapping too and have a Lenny Lamb, an Amazonas, a Didymos Indio and a (very old) Natibaby stripes. The obsession can take hold very quickly if it agrees with you! A month ago I had one stretchy and a mei tai...

Anyway - Amazonas are cheap, as are Calin Bleu's - often even cheaper on eBay. They're both fairly lightweight though. Great for summer, but may lose a touch of supportiveness because of their weight. Would recommend though for getting used to wrapping.

Both my Nati and Didy are robust, wondrous things, but weren't cheap. Really special though.

I definitely think that a Lenny Lamb wrap (maybe one of the bamboo blends) is a nice starting point. Midway between light and heavy, and they arrive nicely soft and floppy already, needing very little breaking in. I recently got one in exchange for a faulty mei tai of theirs, and I'm really chuffed with it.

Have a look on the Natural Mamas forum. Once you get past the new vocabulary and myriad acronyms, it's really helpful, and has a great FSOT (for sale or trade) board too where you might pick up a bargain.

YouTube has some brilliant wrapping instruction videos. I often practice after DS is asleep (with a big panda toy, not sleeping bairn!) so I don't annoy him faffing about when he's awake!

Thanks, I'll have a good google I think - just so different from the SSC I use at the moment, but definitely worth learning I think!