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Ergo Baby vs. Baby Bjorn Carrier: Differences Explained

by  Katie -  Last updated on December 16, 2020

Last Updated on December 16, 2020

Baby carriers are essential baby products, especially if you’re an active parent. We care about obtaining the best possible gear for us and our little munchkins.

This is why we decided to look into the Ergo Baby Carrier and the Baby Bjorn, two of the more well-regarded baby carriers on the market today. Keep in mind, these are also some of the more pricey carriers out there and that is due to the reliable, big brand names behind these carriers.

We found that the Baby Bjorn is available at a more affordable price, depending on where you purchase it, but both carriers are similarly expensive. Just like with any quality products, we must think of it as an investment especially for our children.

Nothing is more important than their comfortability and safety. There are many things you have to keep in mind when making a decision on a carrier. Is it adjustable for when my baby starts to grow? How comfortable is it for my child and for me? What materials is it made of?

Luckily, we went ahead and did all the research, so you don’t have to! We know you want the best for your child and for yourself. Given the options out there today, there’s no reason why you shouldn’t get just that.

We’ll leave the decision anxiety behind, and lay out all the important information you need. That way, by the end of this article, you’ll be able to decide which baby carrier is right for you. We’re looking for something that is quality justifying quantity.

For prices this high, taking a look at all the finer details is a necessity. It’s not cheap to be a parent! A baby brand that is not looking to take advantage of this, is much appreciated. The Ergo Baby and Baby Bjorn are two carriers from well reviewed companies.

They are well manufactured products with a lot of thought put into the design of the carriers. Whilst keeping in mind that sometimes expensive products don’t always deliver on their price, we can move forward with these two carriers knowing that it will all come down to which features fit your preference.

Contents

Ergo Baby Carrier Vs. Baby Bjorn at a Glance

Ergo Baby Carrier Advantages:

  • 4 usable carrying positions
  • Privacy hood available
  • Adjustable seat width

Ergo Baby Carrier Disadvantages:

  • Original cotton model may cause hot discomfort
  • Must buy infant insert separately
  • Smaller babies will need more adjustment to stay safely inside

Baby Bjorn Advantages:

  • Manufactured with cool mesh material
  • Adjustable seat and head width
  • No infant insert required

Baby Bjorn Disadvantages:

  • Lower weight limit
  • No head coverage readily available
  • Doesn’t adhere to every woman’s body type

Winner: Don’t want to read the full article? The editor’s choice is Ergo Baby Carrier.

What’s the Difference Between Them?

Materials and Set-up

The materials they decide to use on these baby carriers is extremely important because it affects how breathable it is for you and your child. Utilizing a material like cotton can cause the parent or child to overheat and become uncomfortable during the really warm months.

The Ergo baby carrier offers a cool air model that comes in breathable mesh, but it is still also partly 100% cotton. Just be frugal about researching which model has which material. Because Ergo baby carriers will vary.

The Baby Bjorn’s come exclusively in breathable mesh with only the leg position zip guard using cotton. If you are concerned about the mesh keeping your child warm in the winter, the situation can be easily remedied by bundling up. It’s much harder to cool down with cotton, than it is to warm up with mesh.

Design is also an important factor, and will touch on the grand picture of it all, here. The Ergo Baby Omni 360 is just one of their models and to strap it on doesn’t take too much configuration. First, you’ll need to adjust the seat to your baby’s size.

Then the first strap you put on is around your waist, but be sure to buckle it tight and high. This is to ensure that your baby is close enough to kiss! Now, depending on which position you decide to use, this is when you carefully place your baby in the seat.

Using one arm at a time, slip them through the straps whilst holding your baby with your other arm. Then, there’ll be a strap to buckle in that sits on your upper back. Adjusting and tightening the straps will be fairly easy and reachable once these basic moves are accomplished.

The Baby Bjorn will have similar instructions, the only difference being that there is a clip in function in the front instead of solely relying on shoulder straps. To buckle in, the first one will be around your waist, high and tight, and then the shoulder buckle in is more towards your lower back.

Given that both of these products offer easy instructions and comfortable material, it all comes down to preference. Since the Baby Bjorn utilizes cool air mesh in their carriers as well as an extra safety feature with the clip in function, we’ll have to go with the Baby Bjorn on this one!

Verdict: Baby Bjorn

Washing Instructions

Babies can sometimes get adorably messy, and all we ask for as parents, is a product that is easy to clean. Nothing is more tedious and time consuming as hand-washing. Even worse, is a material that you can’t easily get stains out.

It’s good to pay attention to which brands think about every aspect of their product and what it’s like to have a baby. It shows care, attention, and an investment in quality. Luckily, both the Bjorn Baby and Ergo Baby Carrier have machine washable products that each come with their own respective instructions.

Ergo Baby Carrier

  • Wash in a mild detergent with cold water on a gentle cycle
  • For 20 minutes, dry on a low heat.
  • Afterwards, the carrier will still be damp, just hang to dry.

Baby Bjorn

  • In a separate load, machine wash warm with an eco-friendly detergent that is bleach free.
  • No tumble dry.
  • No ironing.

As you can see, each carrier will come with their respective instructions, but both remain easy and simple. For this aspect, we’ll have to go with the more machine washable product. The Ergo Baby Carrier seems more durable to the whims of the washing machines and that fits right into our type of household!

Verdict: Ergo Baby Carrier

Comfortability and Ergonomics

We’ve talked about materials and the process of putting on the actual carrier, so let’s talk about how it feels on the parent and for the little one. The Ergo Baby is a certified hip healthy carrier, which is really important.

Some concerns have been had about the long time effects of babies staying in a certain position that carriers can sometimes put them in. The Ergo Baby does not have this problem and neither does the Baby Bjorn.

Though the Ergo Baby is a little more complicated to get strapped on, it is reported to be a very comfortable carrier. The padded shoulder and back straps rest easy on the parent’s back as well as help to alleviate any pressure. Needless to say, they really put the Ergo in ergonomics.

The Baby Bjorn is a tad larger, which might pose a problem for smaller and petite women. Besides that factor, the carrier’s share the same ease of adjustability. This ensures that your little one can be bundled up tight, whilst still adhering to their comfortability level.

Both the Ergo Baby Carrier and the Baby Bjorn feature seat width adjustability, but the Baby Bjorn solely offers head adjustability as well. This is to help with your child’s neck support in case it becomes a concern.

For the purposes of choosing between these carrier’s, we’ll have to go with the Ergo Baby Carrier. Their design is based on ergonomics and is built to adapt and customize to any person’s body type.

The lumbar support they offer is also key to ensuring your health as well, since your back is meant to do the heavy lifting. Doesn’t mean your back has to go it alone. Another feature that coincides with comfortability is privacy!

Sometimes you want to cover your little one’s head or if a mom needs to breastfeed on the go, there’s a privacy hood that both the carriers come with. Except, one carrier offers more coverage with their hood and the carrier that offers this, is the Ergo Baby Carrier.

It’s a nice, well thought out feature that also helps us sway towards picking this product.

Verdict: Ergo Baby Carrier

Adaptability

We’ve touched a little on the two carriers’ ability to adapt to a baby’s shape and size. Other important things to consider when it comes to adaptability is the carrier’s ability to fit the shape and form of any parent as well as fitting to the ever changing form of a baby.

The Baby Bjorn and Ergo Baby both utilize seat width adjustability, with the Baby Bjorn also offering head and neck support adjustability. This is to allow optimum customization for your child.

The adjustable straps come in easy to reach places on both carriers so you don’t have to flail around and struggle to make sure everything is tight and secure. The Ergo Baby may require a bit more patience when tightening your own shoulder straps, but the comfort you experience once the task is accomplished is well worth it.

If you get the right fit, the next thing you will tell yourself is how comfortable is it? It’s always a meticulous process to get the right product, that you think will accomplish everything you are hoping for.

An infant insert is something that helps newborn babies find that extra coziness by adding an extra pad into the carrier. This is needed when they are super small and before they’re ready to be in the carrier without it.

Interestingly enough, the Ergo Baby comes without an infant insert, causing parents who pick this product to outsource that essential feature. You can find the Ergo Baby insert online for sale at around thirty dollars.

It is a bit of a drag when an all around good product forces you to buy more pieces along with it. We suppose the silver lining here is that this is the only extra piece that the Ergo Baby will require. Everything else is up to industry standard and included.

The Baby Bjorn already comes with an infant insert, leaving us to go with the Baby Bjorn for it’s adaptability. We have to recognize that they have made the process of having a carrier a bit easier on its consumers.

Though they are very similar, this one aspect becomes a delight with one carrier and an inconvenience in another. With the other great qualities that the Ergo Baby possesses, it’s puzzling that they would leave parents to spend extra money on a much needed insert for their baby.

Verdict: Baby Bjorn

Positions and Age Range

Just like the comfortability of these products for yourself are important, it’s also good to know what positions you’ll be able to strap your baby in. The more positions, the more opportunities for your child to be comfortable and not statued into one place every time mom or dad wants to go on an errand run.

Different carrying positions also allows more flexibility when it comes to the different seasons and types of outings. The Ergo Baby has a multi-range of positions that include: rear facing, facing forward, on your back, or on your hip.

All of these positions are industry standard and the Baby Bjorn also encompasses them, but not the hip option. This is an extra position that the Ergo Baby specifically offers! The perks about this is having more options for your child.

It’s uncomfortable to be contained to the same position all the time and it helps with the weight distribution for the parents back. Since the two carriers share similar adjustability and customization, it makes sense to go with the Ergo Baby.

The extra position is definitely something, that not everyone embodies. Here are some important safety tips to remember when picking the right position for your child. Babies under four months old are safest when put in an inward facing position.

This is to ensure they are in a more secure position. Then, when they start displaying confident head and neck strength, they should be about 5 months old. During this time you can begin settling them into outward facing positions.

A rear facing carry should be avoided in children under a year old, because the loose independence can be dangerous with their curious little minds. A little research into what positions are safe for your child, will go a long way when it comes to safety.

A product that’ll last throughout your child’s early years are rare given the fast rate at which they grow into adolescence. It’s almost tiring to consider the expensive price of products that you’re always switching out that never seem to last long.

The Baby Bjorn is proclaimed to last about 3 years of your baby’s early life, but the Ergo Baby is stated to last 4 years! The age range is unlike many other carriers, and can be well worth the price if it means it’ll last one more year than the others.

Finding products that can last throughout the fast growing baby years are deeply appreciated. We know how disheartening it is to invest in an expensive item and come to realize that it’s usefulness will dim after a small amount of time.

We want something that can fulfill its promises to adapt with our growing child. A baby product that is durable, reliable, and long-lasting is everything we could ask for.

Verdict: Ergo Baby Carrier

Conclusion

When it comes to two great products, you have to look into the details to be able to make a decision. It’s never “one size fits all,” when it comes to buying a carrier. Both of these items have great advantages and equally concerning disadvantages.

The Baby Bjorn is an affordable carrier with a cool mesh material that is reliable and safe for your little one. On the other hand, the Ergo Baby has a comfortable fit for parent and child, plus more range for growth and adaptability.

We find that the qualities we care for most, is whichever carrier can provide excellent lumbar support whilst giving the maximum comfortability. For this reason, we go with the Ergo Baby Carrier over the Baby Bjorn.

Yes, the Ergo Baby is more expensive and maybe a tad complicated to get used to, but the quality is there. We believe the ergonomics and back support should take priority because it takes a physically healthy adult to carry the little munchkin. Spending money on something you plan to wear often, better be comfortable, and be built to last.

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