Close was founded in 2004 by Martine Carroll and Claire Scott, these ladies are both mums who at the time, had been running their own businesses focused on baby carrying and reusable nappies. Since starting, the company has gone on to create the pop in nappy and the close baby carrier, both of which have been evolved and improved over the years since. Close have continued to expand and have added other products to their range including feeding, bathing and potty training items. This year sees the launch of their newest carrier, read our Caboo NCT Carrier review below.
What do you get?
The Close Caboo NCT Carrier
Wrap/pouch
Instruction manual
Price
The carrier has a RRP of £44.99
Colour
The carrier is a grey/charcoal colouring; this is the only colour available.
The Close Caboo NCT carrier is the newest edition to the Caboo carrier collection. Close have worked closely with the NCT (the UK's largest charity for parents) to create a soft carrier that is accessible to all new parents.
Close Caboo NCT Carrier Material
The NCT carrier is the lighter version of the Caboo+ organic carrier. This carrier is made out of 60% cotton and 40% polyester. The material is lovely and soft. The straps don't have padding but because of the softness of the material and how light weight it is, you can spread the straps out over your shoulders and still be very comfortable. The NCT carrier comes in a grey colour, this is neutral so would suit any parent, although I would love to see more colours being made available.
Close Caboo NCT Carrier Features
Padded back cross: This not only provides extra comfort for the parent, it also provides added support whilst carrying too.
Rings: Instead of buckles that you see on most carriers, the Close Caboo NCT carrier has rings on each side, making for easy adjustment of the wrap.
Elasticated wrap: This is an added part to the NCT carrier that is designed to provide extra support. It has been made with less fabric to make it lighter and cooler for both baby and parent. It also has a second use as a pouch because your carrier can be folded away in it when not in use.
Close Caboo NCT Carrier - The Fit
This carrier boasts four different ways of carrying your little one, from newborn right up until around 14.5kg. These are upright arms in position, cradle/breastfeeding position, upright arms out position and upright facing out position.
Each position uses the same basic method of fitting the carrier. You put the carrier over your head and shoulders, the padded back cross should be positioned in the middle of your back. You then tighten the carrier by pulling the straps down and forward through the rings. Your little one is then placed in by guiding their legs one at a time through each of the straps, you then lower baby's bottom down and spread out each strap over their body. This is super easy to do and the best part, is that your baby is held in the correct "M" position, best described as froggy legged.
Once baby is secured, you then take the separate wrap and tie it around yourself, double knotting at your back, making sure that the shortest elastic edging is always at the bottom by your baby's legs. I'm not overly keen on this part, I don't feel that it provides a lot of extra support, I think it would be better if it was integrated into the wrap some how rather than being a separate component.
It says that the carrier is suitable up to around 14.5kg but I have to disagree, I tried this carrier with my 12 month old, she weighs 9kg and I have to say I didn't find the carrier very supportive, the material has a slight stretch to it, so I found that my little one was able to lean back far too easily. Personally, I would say it is probably more suited up until around 9-12 months depending on the size of your baby and how much they are moving independently.
The carrier is just as simple to take off as it is to get on by lifting the front/top ring and pulling the fabric back through the rings and lifting off over your head. I think this makes it ideal when out and about as you won't spend ages trying to wiggle out of it.
Close Caboo NCT Carrier Conclusion
The Close Caboo NCT carrier is a well made carrier that would definitely be appealing to a lot of parents. Not only for how easy it is to use but the price is very reasonable too, I think the reason a lot of people don't consider babywearing is because of the cost of the carriers as most parents will also want to buy a pushchair too.
Being suitable from newborn is great, especially for the mum's that breastfeed as they can do this easily and discreetly using the cradle position, meaning that you don't need to be stuck indoors all of the time.
It is comfortable for both baby and parent and gives you that extra closeness with your little one.
The only real negative is how supportive the material is for heavier babies. The flexibility of the material works well for when they are little and for getting them in and out but as they grow and start leaning back, I think you need a carrier with a bit more structure to it
We give the Close Caboo NCT Carrier 4 out of 5 stars
