Manduca First und Manduca XT - What are the differences?

Manduca First and Manduca XT, that sounds very similar at first. But they are two different baby carriers. In what they differ, I describe in detail below.

Contents

The abdominal belt

The abdominal belt of the two carriers differs only minimally from each other. The abdominal belt of the Manduca XT is relatively straight cut, only has a slightly wider area at the front in a length of about 14cm. On the Manduca First, the belly strap is also slightly wider in the front than it is on the sides, with the overall belly strap being curved.

The width at the front is the same for both. At the side, the Manduca first is minimally narrower, which, at least for me, did not affect the wearing. On both models, the waist belt closes with a three-point buckle or safety buckle. It can be tightened on either side, with one side having a much shorter webbing so the buckle is usually on the pad. In addition, a rubber band should secure the buckle.

The bar adjustment

In terms of bar adjustment, the two models of Manduca differ greatly. The Manduca first does not have an integrated bar adjustment. There is only the newborn insert with a width of just under 14cm (which is clearly too narrow for almost all newborns to ensure a squat-spread posture) and the "normal" setting, which is approximately suitable for size 74, so that the fabric sits in the back of the knees.

Because the manufacturer is aware of the problem, they have also developed SizeIt to reduce the bar width and ExTend to increase the bar width.

The Manduca XT incorporates continuous bar adjustment, with part of the back panel fabric sliding on the waist belt with two tunnel pulls (one on the left and one on the right). The middle section is firmly sewn to the back section. This makes the carrier fit from size 50/56/62 (depending on proportions) up to size 104.

The back part

The back part of the Manduca First can be adjusted to two different lengths. For the longer version, simply open the zipper in the upper back section. In addition, the ZipIn Ellipse could be used at this point, which is slightly narrower at the sides. This is to help round out the back. There are also three snaps there, which are for attaching the newborn insert or the Manduca ExTend.

On the Manduca XT, the ellipse is already inserted, but can be removed if needed, making the back section even longer.

The diagonal strap attachment on the back section is underpadded on both models, although the padding is slightly thicker on the Manduca XT. The fabric extends beyond the back section in this case, so the buckle shouldn't pinch. The padding also goes all the way to the waist strap on the Manduca XT. By the way, due to the darts, the pull of the carrier attachment is well diverted to the waist belt in both models.

At the back of the knees, the fabric is padded on both carriers. The upper area of the carrier is also lightly padded on both models.

The head support

The headrests of Manduca First and Manduca XT differ in several ways, which, however, hardly affect the function. Both headrests are slightly gathered. With the help of elastic loops, they can be attached to the carrier with clips.

On the Manduca XT, the end of the headrest is lightly padded. There is also a button at the end on each side. On the Manduca First, the top end can also be gathered with elastic bands.

To roll up or hide the headrest, the Manduca First has a small pocket at the top of the back. The headrest can be rolled up here so that it can also be secured in the pocket with Velcro. This creates a soft bolster.

The Manduca XT has two fabric flaps on the inside to hide the headrest. Thereby, the headrest is not so tight and slips out again more easily, but can therefore also be taken out simply when it is needed.

The straps

The straps are similar in both models. However, the strap attachment on the back of the Manduca XT is slightly more angled, so that the pull should be directed even better to the waist belt. The length of the underpadded fabric is also minimally longer.

In addition, the straps on the Manduca XT are slightly wider and also softer padded. The length of the padding is the same, as is the strap guide. Here, the length of the straps can be adjusted with padding buckles, as well as two straps that run in opposite directions. The straps can each be used straight and crossed.

While the connecting buckle on the Manduca First is attached to the strap of the carrier, the Manduca XT has fabric loops around the carriers at the connecting buckle. In both variants, the height is variable and if necessary, it can also be removed completely. This is the case when always worn with crossed straps.

At the ends of the webbing straps, the Manduca XT also has elastic bands to be able to roll up very long scraps so that they do not interfere. These are not present on the Manduca First.

Usability and price

The Manduca XT is, as I mentioned briefly above, usable from size 50/56/62 (depending on proportions) and can be worn well up to about size 104. With the Manduca First, this is also possible with the mentioned additions SizeIt and ExTend, although it then sometimes fits a little earlier. Without these additions, it only fits well at size 74/80.

Price-wise, the Manduca XT is 159€ and is available at Natürlich Familie. The Manduca First costs just under 125€ at Amazon. The SizeIt bar reducer costs 12.90€ at Natürlich Familie, the ZipIn Ellipse is 14.90€ there and the ExTend bar enlarger costs 29.90€ at Natürlich Familie. Including these additions, the Manduca First is then slightly more expensive than the Manduca XT. The advantage here, however, is that there is the Manduca First very often used at significantly lower prices. The Manduca XT, on the other hand, is often not very much cheaper used.

Conclusion

The Manduca First and Manduca XT carriers, the further development of the First, have significant differences. The system itself has remained the same, but there are many innovations - from the bar adjustment to the head support.

If you want to know how I felt about wearing the Manduca First, feel free to read my article [review] Manduca (First). The corresponding review of the Manduca XT will follow.

In addition, the Manduca house appeared some time ago the carrier Manduca Duo, I have also tested this in the article [review] Manduca Duo for you and examined more closely.