Zumbucca stretcher

After a long time I have once again participate in a test trip of the dear Katrin of LovesBabywearing. Katrin organizes for about two years test trips for various carrying products and I was already allowed to participate in some of these test trips. This time I had two baby carriers from the company Zumbucca here.

About the manufacturer

Zumbucca is a manufacturer from Slovakia. It was founded by Zuzka after she was allowed to get to know the world of babywearing in the first years of her now 8-year-old son, as she herself writes on the website www.zumbucca.com. There I can also read that Zumbucca is composed of ZU, as an abbreviation for Zuzka, and BUCCA, which implies face-to-face carrying. It then translates the brand itself as "Zuzska Carriers face to face".

In addition to the original Zumbucca carrier, there are now several other models and sizes, such as an Onbuhimo or a half-buckle carrier in the store. I can also buy accessories and doll carriers there.

The baby carrier

The carriers that I was allowed to test are full-buckle carriers, i.e. carriers that can be completely buckled. They are priced between 115€ and 159€, depending on the chosen model. Unicolored models are cheaper than carriers with a motif sling sewn on. In terms of price, the carriers are therefore in the middle price range.

The carrier is available in the "normal" size, which I was allowed to test, as well as in size XXL (Toddler). According to the manufacturer, the smaller size fits from 3.5kg to about 20kg. There I have to disagree after my test, but more on that later. The Toddler size should fit approximately from one to 3.5 years.

The Zumbucca Ergonomic Baby Carrier is available in two different variants, which differ in the strength of the waist belt. I was allowed to try both variants and will report on my experiences with each.

In general, the belly strap is tapered, so it's a little narrower on the sides. It is closed laterally on the padding with a safety buckle.

The web width can be adjusted with the help of cord straps. At the back of the knees, the fabric is softly padded. The back part can be adjusted in length with two side straps, in which case the fabric stows in the middle.

The straps are relatively wide, thick and softly padded. They can be adjusted in length by three webbing straps.

The padding buckles are tightened upwards on the Zumbucca carrier. Otherwise, there are two adjustments in the lower area, which are pulled in different directions, similar to the Manduca First, for example. You can learn more about the Manduca First in my article "Test report Manduca (First)".

The straps are then sewn tight and straight to the back section. The last section is slightly padded.

The connecting buckle at the neck can be adjusted in height. A rather small headrest can be hooked to the straps with elastic bands. When not in use, it can be easily hidden in a small pocket at the top of the back section, creating a soft bolster.

Also included were matching harness protectors, as well as a storage bag.

Wearing

I have both carriers now extensively with my 9-month-old daughter could test. I quickly noticed that the carriers are incredibly large cut.

I had to reduce the back part to the smallest possible setting so that it fit my daughter at all. This made me wonder how it would fit a newborn or a baby weighing 3.5kg, as the manufacturer states.

In addition, a lot of fabric jammed in the middle area of the carrier, which could provide insufficient support for small babies.

So I tried to reduce the back part further to avoid the side integrated reduction if possible. To do this, I opened the bar reduction and tied off the bar. For this I used the Size It from Manduca^.

I also deliberately placed my daughter low in the carrier. Even here, however, I still had to reduce something on the back part. I can therefore not imagine that the carrier should really be suitable for small babies.

Also, the neck area was very wide overall. In addition, the straps attached to the back, exert a visible pressure on the baby's back, which is not optimal for small babies who can not yet sit.

For me, wearing the Zumbucca carrier with the fixed belly strap, so the standard model, was very comfortable. The belly strap provided good support and the thick, soft padded straps were very comfortable on the shoulders, while also fitting snugly.

I could easily adjust the length of the straps, although the rear pull of the straps was not quite as easy to tighten and loosen. When wearing in front, however, I did not notice this at all.

When wearing in front of the belly, the straps can also be crossed. However, I found the straight straps more comfortable with the Zumbucca carrier. With the crossed straps bothered me that they stood out relatively far at the cross, due to the thick padding.

The variant with the soft waist belt, however, I felt not really comfortable. I had the whole time the feeling that something presses me, both on the abdomen and the straps, although the settings were the same as in the other stretcher.

I personally would therefore prefer the fixed belly strap in any case. But this is just very individual, as is the overall wearing experience. I would generally recommend testing a carrier before buying.

Washing

According to the manufacturer, the baby carrier should be hand washed at 30 degrees. I personally have not washed them, but can not imagine that there are problems.

Conclusion

I would definitely not recommend the carrier from 3.5kg. With my 9-month-old daughter, who wears in sth Gr.74, it was just fitting.

For me, the carrier was very comfortable when wearing, although the soft belly strap was not for me. I find the workmanship clean, I could not find any defects.