Review: Beco Butterfly Carrier
August 27th, 2008I bought a Beco Butterfly carrier in July (at The Portable Baby), and I feel like it deserves a review. Here’s what it looks like (from the Beco website; our photos of mine are below):
I should say up front, I’ve got mixed feelings about it. I’m hesitant to write up ‘cons’ because this product is truly a mix, and the ‘cons’ list always makes it sound like it is a dud. It would be accurate to say this carrier may work perfectly for you, and you will need to try it for a week to know. There ain’t no other way…as I’ve now learned.
Here’s Little Capucine, asleep (her arm should be above that strap but she tucks it under sometimes):
Summing it up as briefly as possible:
PROS
- Really pretty. Did I mention how pretty the fabric options are? Gorgeous. People will stop to gaze and say how beautiful the carrier is, outshining even your baby. A huge thumbs up to the company for great, genuinely contemporary fabrics worth getting excited about. I wanted at least five of the patterns. (The one I have is ‘Avery’.)
- Awesome slip-in pouch for newborns; beats the heck out of those weird infant inserts.
- Comfortable to wear, especially the back carry. I wore it for three hours of walking, no problem, the first day.
- Comfy firm padded waist.
- Comfy arm straps. Or at least, I don’t notice them.
- Better sizing for smaller-framed women than, for example, the Ergo. Generally narrower and less bulky.
- Safety buckles that take two hands to open, seems mighty safe to me compared to the elastic ’safety loop’ other carriers have.
- Nifty design for strapping baby in first, then putting on like the baby is a backpack. You can take baby off and pass the carrier to someone else with the baby inside…maybe even still asleep.
- On a back carry, baby is distributed more along the length of the back instead of lower down as with, again for example, the Ergo or a mei-tai.
CONS
- Either a buckle or webbing, depending on your adjustment, is directly in baby’s face while sleeping. When Little Capucine falls asleep, it’s either heading aiming down into the buckle, or leaning back (I move her head backward to save her skin from rubbing the webbing). Note in the product photos above from their website, the buckles look like they are miles from the baby’s faces. Which makes me wonder if I got a lemon or they redesigned or something?
- Very short chest strap. This is what keeps the straps on the shoulders, so it’s important. Weird, because the waist clip has a ton extra - if you were large enough to need the extra around the waist, you for sure couldn’t get the chest strap closed.
I have a small frame, but even with the chest strap fully tightened there still is hardly more than a nubbin of webbing:
- Overall smallness makes it unusable for average guys, especially the short chest strap. So not a carrier you can share.
- No neck/head support from carrier body (for babies over, say, four months). Wouldn’t be a problem if the hood worked.
- Hood is useless (sorry, there isn’t any other way to say it) . This merits saying more about…
Notice the gap between head and carrier. The fabric basically sits on top of the baby’s head, providing zero support. In a front carry, I have to hold her head in one hand. In a back carry, she fusses around forever and falls asleep with her head bobbing around. I’m guessing the rings the hood clips onto should be moved up, the attachment should have three points instead of two, and it should be elasticated to support a sleeping baby’s head?
The hood is removable and slides into the waistband for storage, leaving the pretty fabric on display…except in actual use, this makes no sense with a back carry because you can’t attach it during a back carry so you have to leave it on all the time in case the baby falls asleep.
The hood issue is more obvious if you look at the Ergo, which snugs the baby’s head against your back so it doesn’t bobble around while they sleep; this is the Ergo hood in a photo from their website:
- The combined buckle-in-face/lack of hood/lack of neck support basically make it difficult for baby to sleep in carrier.
- Not quite long enough for the long-waisted, but it is OK for comfort anyway.
- Supposedly, you can nurse while in a front carry - but the safety buckles can’t be loosened on-the-fly, so I think maybe that feature doesn’t work now they’ve got the new snazzy safety kind.
- It’s expensive, about $130.00.
OVERALL
I probably wouldn’t buy this again, personally, but I have a feeling it could work for different body types and baby sizes (for example, our friend with a small twin the same age as Little Capucine tried it and the buckles weren’t an issue at all). If I had bought it for $20 second-hand, I would be willing to do some ‘hacks’ to make the hood work (put elastic in the sides) and cover the buckles and webbing with a fleece tube, but for $130… not unless the three big issues I ran into were fixed would I pay that much. This carrier is attractive and comfortable, and I feel like it’s so close to excellent. I know mamas always have gripes about details on products they use every day, but these are so major they make the carrier barely useful for me because Little Capucine can’t take a nap well. If they could just fix this:
- Lengthen the chest strap.
- Make the hood snug enough to support baby’s head.
- Fix the buckle/webbing-in-face problem.
If you decide to try out this carrier, I liked it enough to put it in our store for now until I hear back more from other moms. It is beautiful and comfortable, which is truly something in carriers. Our store keeps the blog going, so if you want to try out this carrier, why not from our store? The Beco Butterfly is right here in a bunch of cute prints! And thanks for keeping us blogging!
A NOTE: I’ve tried this carrier with straps tight, straps loose, and a mix of both, as well as on the front and on the back, and with Little Capucine in and out of the infant insert. She’s not unusually long or heavy (she’s eight months in these photos), so I feel secure in saying I haven’t missed anything obvious with fit…but if you know better, by all means, comment away!
ANOTHER NOTE: If you’re curious, I arrived at the Beco Butterfly by reading a zillion posts on carriers on message boards. I even joined The Baby Wearer so I could read reviews on message boards there. Nobody else mentioned the issues I ran into, so bear that in mind - although I think reviews of the retired ‘4th Generation’ and the ‘Butterfly’ got mixed up a lot. The Beco Butterfly and the Mama By Design ‘Calyx’ were my two finalists. The Calyx straps rest on the baby’s legs, which I thought looked a little un-ideal, so I went with the Beco. (I didn’t go with the Ergo because it felt too large on me when I borrowed one, and as a footnote they’ve got a lot of mamas hating on them for barbaric business practices I know nothing about firsthand.)
Tags: beco butterfly, calyx, carrier, ergo, review
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September 6th, 2008 at 11:42 am
Thanks a lot for a very thorough review! I just ordered one and I’m exited to see whether I’ll meet the same problems. I hope not (-:
September 16th, 2008 at 10:51 am
Congratulations, they really are so pretty and comfy - hope it works great for you and your baby, please post back about what you think! I’m especially curious about the buckle-in-face thing, if you’re feeling like sharing your thoughts at that one after you try it out…
September 25th, 2008 at 10:58 pm
hi, i am struggling with the hood thing right now and unfortunately wished i found your review first
i SO MUCH want to like my addison beco since its so pretty. but after being told off yesterday by the older grandma types at the local market yesterday for letting my sleeping baby’s head hanging backwards (ykwim) and trying so hard today to try to fix it on him while doing a back carry, i don’t see how i can hang on to this 
sigh, barb
September 26th, 2008 at 8:19 am
I hear you, barb! Are the buckles not a problem for you, then? About the hood, if you can sew you might want to try what I’m considering doing, which is elasticating the two sides of the hood and adding a third buckle or snap to the existing two attachment points - or maybe just sewing that hood on permanently, now I think of it! I’m currently agonizing over whether to sell it as-is or modify…I’ll post about it if I do the hack!
You might want to weigh in on a general question I have about wearing babies on the back - I think with most carriers, even my beloved Moby wrap, they can be head-out and looking around, then when they fall asleep…how do you get their head tucked in? Is head-bobbling just a reality of wearing a baby on the back? Obviously, with the Ergo, they solved the problem via the hood. And this Beco Butterfly went for the same strategy, although it doesn’t work. Any experienced back baby-wearers out there want to weigh in on head bobbling?!
September 26th, 2008 at 10:43 am
I own a moby wrap, a K’tan baby carrier, two baby bjorns (one with back support), an ergo, and a metal framed Kelty Kid backpack carrier. I’d say, depends on the size and age of the infant, each has its own charm. I bought the ergo before I found Beco, but after reading your review, I’d say, I’m glad I did not get the Beco because of the sleeping hood and the buckle issues. Though I really like the prints and the safety insert concept.
Anyway, about the head bobbling thing, baby bjorn, moby wrap, and K’tan are great when baby is very small, and you can carry them in the front. There is no need to hold the baby’s head. Ergo is the only one I find great when carrying baby in the back. The sleeping hood really works, unless you are not too flexible to bend your arms to the back and take it out to cover your baby’s head (like my husband, who needs a hand to help him wear the baby.)
I’m very petite, only 5′2″ and weigh around 110 lbs, ergo does feel big when used in the front, but can’t feel it when wearing it in the back. If they can combine the safety insert from Beco with the sleeping hood and straps from Ergo, and perhaps baby bjorn carrier cover for winter, then I’d say, that’s one perfect baby carrier that I’d definitely buy.
–Rita
September 26th, 2008 at 12:53 pm
Wow, thanks for the pro baby wearer input! I’m starting to put together a wishlist of pieces from different carriers myself these days - it’s a great idea, maybe the manufacturers will get some ideas to match, eh?
Your comment reminds me why I’m so hesitant to do reviews sometimes…like I said, the other baby who tried out my Beco was down lower in it and quite comfortable asleep. I don’t want to knock it without really saying again that it seems all-important to borrow one to try, or buy a returnable one, somehow. Impossible to know in advance!
September 26th, 2008 at 1:07 pm
hi, i don’t have problems with the buckles. i paid close to Singapore dollars $200 for this and i am *not* going to modify the hood (but i had the same idea to add elastic to the sides :D). i wrote to the local distributor yesterday and if she doesn’t solve my problem, i was going to write to gabby! i think a possible good solution is to send back the carrier and have the hood properly modified and sent back to me. what do you think?
ps we used maya wraps for the last couple of babies.
September 26th, 2008 at 10:01 pm
Hmmm, I’m really wondering about my buckle problem now! I hear you on the not wanting to do a hood hack after how much it costs, mine was $150 after shipping!! To be frank, I doubt the company will modify it or they would have designed it that way to begin with, but you absolutely have nothing to lose there! I’m curious to know what they say if you contact them, I’m shy about calls like that myself but maybe a few more would make a change!
We have a Moby wrap, like a Maya I think, that my god I totally love for comfort and snugness and all. I’m looking for a carrier that feels like a wrap, if such a thing exists!!
- Good luck -
September 27th, 2008 at 7:29 am
The Beco Butterfly II (newest model) solved the issue with the hood and it is now similar to the ERGO hood. It is designed different else you could just purchase a new hood and fixed it on the Butterfly Original.
December 19th, 2008 at 4:21 am
Hiya
We never had/have any problem with the buckles, or with the hood, we managed to tighten it so that it really holds our baby’s head close to my or my husband when in the back carry. We started with the Butterfly at age one, and now also have the Butterfly 2. I definitely agree the hood on the Butterfly 2 is easier, but really had no problems either way. I’m wondering if it might also be related to the size/shape of the babies head. Never noticed the chest strap being too short either, and my husband and I both use it for carrying.
The reason I bought the Beco was because of the high quality fabric and that it in the summer there is not so much useless padding on the carrier body to overheat the baby. I find it very, very comfortable and we live in Europe with no car, so use it allll the time for public transport, errands, etc. I actually bought it in black, but even with the solid colours I find the fabric really pretty and excellent quality. I also appreciate that the carrier is made in California with high ethical standards (unlike the Ergo, made in China, and business practices I don’t agree with).
I completely agree with you tho that no matter what you choose, always, always, a good idea to test for a week first!
February 28th, 2009 at 8:24 pm
I have loved my Hotsling type in combination with a similar “non-adjustable circle” sling I made… I wear them crossing over my little one. she can sit face in or out with the “X” between her legs. When she falls asleep I pull an edge of fabric over her head…when she fqces in…no head bob at all.
She has just turned one, and is getting heavy… plus wants to get free. I need a carrier that I can put her on & off SOLO…that is comfy for my shoulders . I LOVE the pretty fabrics of the beco. I want to test drive one but there are not any retailers close to me in Maryland.. Anyone willing to loan me a beco. or sell your old Butterfly II?
Thank you all for your your opinions and helpful comments.
January 26th, 2010 at 10:11 am
HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!! First of all. Second of all, UGGGGGGGHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!
I agree with you 100% Mama Capucine. These were the EXACT same issue I had with my Beco Carrier that I purchased yesterday, and one day later, I dont like it. I just finished wearing the baby in it this morning, to do some errands around the house. if she looked to the left, her face was directly in a strap, more like her mouth was smushed against the strap. So she was licking the strap away, but still, I dont like that. Her right arm was above that dangling strap so that wasnt in her face. They say you can wear your baby with the arms above the strap, but I dont feel comfortable with that. The baby feels too floppy.
Then the head issues. My baby was getting a little fussy in the carrier, I knew she was getting tired. She did end up dozing off to sleep, but her head was bobbing around. I had to walk nearly on tippytoes I didnt want her head to bounce around too much-uggh!! And clearly I cant put on the head rest, I took it off earlier.
Another issue,
Are you sure it doesnt interfere with the babys physical development i.e. in the hip area??? I just thought the baby looked uncomfortable with the legs spread wide open.
Anyways, so I still havent found the carrier of my dreams……..SIGH!!!!!