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Average Price: $35+ S/H
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Rating:
Product Link: Wallababy Solarveil Sling (Khaki) (Note: other colors are available- simply click the “Mesh” link at the top to view other options.)

Wallababy makes a variety of slings and pouches, including a mesh-style solarveil sling that is ideal for use in the shower/bath/pool or other watery environments. Solarveil is UV-protectant and blocks up to 80% of UVA/UVB rays, offering a great backup for sunscreen and additional reassurance that your baby won’t suffer from sunburn.

The Documentation: The support people at Wallababy are very friendly and can help point you to additonal resources, or you can check out the huge number of babywearing sites that exist on the web for more detailed instructions. The “how to” booklet that comes with the Wallababy is a little bit less detailed than the how-to that came with my TaylorMade sling, but often slings don’t even ship with instructions at all. The Wallababy sling comes with a “how to” pamphlet that covers a variety of positions in which you can carry your baby. It’s not quite enough to get you up and running if you’ve never had experience with a sling before, as it doesn’t cover beginner concepts such as the “rails”- where you pull one rail or the other to bring the baby closer to your body in different ways.. But it’s a great illustrated look at the different holds, and it provides good information about what age the holds are most appropriate for.

The Shoulder: This is the first sling that I’ve used where the shoulder pleat isn’t pleated! It’s an interesting change from my other slings which range from a wide to narrow pleat. The nice thing about the lack of pleats, is that the sling is fully reversible without looking as if it’s been turned inside out. If the baby spits up on one side, unthread the sling, turn it inside out, and re-thread it and you’re good to go. It also results in the shoulder fitting and distributing weight differently over the wearers body. The downside of the lack of pleats is that the sling slides around a bit more on your shoulder while you’re initially adjusting it. The upside is that you have a bit wider a range of motion once the sling is in place- the pleats can really be constraining.

The Rings: My sling has nickle-plated steel rings, and even though I love the look and strength of the steel and the less bulky appearance of the rings I’d choose the nylon rings for my next solarveil sling. The steel rings are thinner and more slippery than nylon rings and have just a little bit of slip with my 20lb son in the sling- not enough to be dangerous- certainly not while swimming, but enough so that I feel a little safer tying the tail up over and around the rings after my baby is secured in place.

The Fabric: I went with the khaki solarveil Wallababy. It is a subtle tan color with slight green undertones to it. It is slightly more opaque than my white sling, which yeilds slightly higher protection from the sun and also makes it a better cover-up for nursing. When I first reviewed a solarveil sling I was pleasantly surprised by the fabric- some shots that I saw on the internet of the fabric made it look like ugly curtains that your grandmother would have. In person, though, the sling fabric actually has a very pleasant gauzy look to it. Very breathable open knit that is UV resistant far beyond what you’d imagine from looking at it. I used some Huggies “sun sensors” that came with my son’s swim diaper, and placed them on the beverage tray of our stroller, then covered them with a single layer of the solarveil sling. After 30 minutes in direct sunlight on a bright July day they stayed mostly yellow, indicating “no” or “slight” to moderate exposure to UVB rays. The second sun sensor that was left on top of the solarveil sling turned dark orange after less than 5 minutes. Yet, it’s airy enough for me to use as a sun cover on my son’s jogging stroller- I just un-thread the rings and drape it over the stroller with the rings acting as a weight in the back.

The Stitching: The stitching was very nice, no loose edges or hems, which is no small feat considering the rough texture of the solarveil fabric.

The Width: The width of the Wallababy is about a half inch wider than the KimzKreations ring sling reviewed here and about 4 1/2 inches more narrow than the TaylorMade ring sling reviewed here. Because of the way the shoulder is sewn, it feels wider throughout the body and provides great coverage and support for your baby or toddler.

How it Feels in the Pool:

Unlike mesh slings, this sling holds onto a bit more of the water when you leave the pool, but it wrings out very easily and the UV protectant factor is more than enough to make up for the slight water-logging. In the pool it has a pleasant lightness and swish to it, much lighter than the teeshirt that I used to swim in when I was a teenager.

How it Works as a Cover-Up:

While the sheer fabric doesn’t provide quite enough modesty to satisfy my mother in law who would have me nurse in a tent if at all possible, it provides more than enough coverage to sheild the casual onlooker. It also works really well as a summer cover-up as it’s very breathable. My son sweats if I cover him up with even a super-light birds-eye weave cloth diaper, and finds the solarveil material to be a more pleasant cover-up. The khaki solarveil seems to be the best cover-up for as it’s tan tones are similar to the color of my baby, so it’s less obvious that they can see through the weave of the fabric.

The Conclusion:

This sling is quite comfortable and its unique non-pleated shoulder allows a great freedom of movement that most pleated shoulders do not offer. My one slight kvetch with this sling is the slight slip of the steel rings, but that’s easily resolved by choosing the nylon rings at checkout. I love how versatile the sling is- in addition to being a baby carrier it works wonderfully as an impromptu high chair in restaurants (Simply thread the sling around the baby and tighten it at the rings and spread the fabric over the baby.) It works great as a nursing cover-up, a light blanket, a sun-shield for your stroller, and it folds up small enough to tuck into your diaper bag.