Manduca Duo Tragehilfe

The Manduca Duo was first presented in 2016 at the Kind und Jugend trade fair in Cologne as a prototype. For some time now, it is now available for purchase from Manduca and so I have tested it for you and report on my experiences in the test.

Contents

Information about the baby carrier and the manufacturer Manduca

Manduca is a brand of the company Wickelkinder, which was founded in 2002. Meanwhile, Wickelkinder has adopted Manduca as the company name to serve the international market. The aim of Wickelkinder/ Manduca is to combine the need for security of children and the need for freedom of movement and action of parents through babywearing. They write on their website that Manduca is a leader in the baby carrier and baby sling market.

In addition to the Manduca Duo described here, there are also the baby carriers Manduca First (described by me in the test report Manduca First), Manduca XT (described by me in the test report Manduca XT) and now also the Manduca Twist, which I unfortunately could not test yet. In addition, Manduca also sells elastic slings, carrying jackets and carrying covers.

The Manduca baby carrier is one of the older carriers and is very common and well-known. It is available in just about all baby specialty stores. But sometimes something new is needed and so the company with the caterpillar in its logo has developed a new baby carrier, the Manduca Duo. This carrier is a combination of sling and carrier and resembles at first glance the emeibaby baby carrier. I have already presented this in my review emeibaby baby carrier.

However, the Manduca Duo is a pure belly carrier, which in my eyes limits the usability of the carrier. The manufacturer writes in the instructions that the carrier is suitable from 3.5kg to 15kg. I find kilogram specifications usually not optimal, because they are not very meaningful. But more about that later. Pricing is the carrier at 149 € RRP, which is in the middle range for baby carriers. However, it is available in many stores from 100€ and used even significantly cheaper to find. Manduca also sells the carrying system via Amazon.

The Manduca Duo is available in many different colors. However, Manduca published in the Bellybutton and Cotton editions with all its products a uniform design.

Although the Manduca Duo is exclusively a carrier for wearing in front of the belly, but here allows two options. The belly strap can be removed with a zipper, so it can be used with or without a belly strap. The belly strap is tapered and well-padded, which should allow for good weight distribution.

Unlike other carriers, the straps are put on before I take my child in front of my belly. In fact, there is an "inside" part here that is between my belly and the baby's. The straps cross at the back and are very wide on the shoulders, but not padded. Below the cross, the straps are tightened with webbing.

The child's back section is attached to the straps with a click system when the child is in the carrier. The length of the back section can then be adjusted with drawstrings on the right and left. There is also a soft, stretchy fabric area at the nape of the neck so that the head can be optimally supported. The bar width is adjusted laterally with the ring system, so that no pre-adjustment is necessary. In doing so, the baby receives good lateral support at the same time.

When carrying

The carrier is initially a bit more complicated to put on than other carriers and is not self-explanatory in all points for parents who have not yet dealt with carrying or little. I have tried the Manduca Duo with demo dolls from my babywearing consultations, as well as with my son.

The straps are very comfortable on the shoulder. Despite the lack of padding, there is little pressure. They are very cuddly, so they hardly protrude, so the child's view is not restricted. However, the straps are a bit too long for me, so I can not comfortably wear it for a long time. Especially with my 3-year-old son this became clear.

The bar width can be adjusted very well with the ring system on the sides. However, I find the back part length more difficult to adjust because I put the carrier with straps on beforehand and then put the child in and take the back part up. The length of the back part can still be adjusted afterwards with two drawstrings. At the neck is also a piece of jersey fabric, which can provide a comfortable head and neck support.

I also tested the Manduca Duo with and without a belly strap. Here, wearing it without a belly strap (with a demo doll) was also quite comfortable. The longer testing was not possible for me because of the too long straps.

Instructions for the Manduca Duo

In the tying instructions in the video, I show you how to put on the Manduca Duo with a belly strap.

Washing

According to the manufacturer, the carrier can be washed at 30 degrees in the washing machine. However, I washed it only by hand, there were no problems. The drying of the belly strap takes a relatively long time, but this is normal for padded belly straps or carriers.

Conclusion on the Manduca Duo

Unfortunately, the Manduca Duo did not fully convince me overall in my review. For very narrow women, this carrier is not suitable. In addition, I find the price quite high for the fact that it is purely a belly carrier, also the donning is more complicated than with other systems.

The adjustability, on the other hand, is good. The bar width is easy to adjust, the straps are, despite the lack of padding, comfortable on the shoulders. I also find the cross at the back comfortable. Only the length of the straps is a problem here.