Carrier Review: Mission Critical

Review by Trey Bender

The Mission Critical Baby carrier is an excellent carrier that seems to be specifically designed with male caregivers in mind. To begin with, the carrier has a few settings that are different from other soft structured carriers (SSC) such as a Tula or an ErgoBaby. Yet with only a few moments of adjustment one quickly realizes that the differences which this carrier holds are made to assist dads or other male caregivers.

To begin with, the carrier looks great. The basic black print allows for both comfort and style as the item resembles an item you might find in the hardware or sporting goods store rather than a baby gear store. The carrier features several straps and latches which help those men who may feel a little paranoid about the safety of a carrier. The carrier is easy to put on as the user secures the carrier to themselves and then slides the child into the carrier as easily as placing gear into a backpack.

To put the carrier on, the wearer slides the carrier over their head and shoulders and places their arms through the hold, like a vest would be worn. There are tightening straps at the sides of the wearer’s rib area. Two clips at the shoulders unbuckle to open the pouch for the baby.  The wearer places the baby feet first into the pouch section and secures the buckles at the wearer’s shoulders. Secondary adjusting straps of hook and loop fasteners are location above the buckles. There are also two straps with buckles placed across the baby’s pouch diagonally from the side to the baby’s seat.

Upon securing the child in the carrier one may feel a tad off if they are familiar with using other popular SSCs. The distance between child and caregiver is further than most carriers as a type of foam and mesh padding is between them. While at first this may seem odd, the thinking behind this concept becomes increasingly clear. By having padding between baby and caregiver, there still exists the hands-free ability of using a carrier, yet one no longer needs to worry about the sweat and heat which forms between baby and caregiver. Though, the skin-to-skin contact that encourages bonding in young infants may be hindered, this concept is especially wonderful for caregivers who like to perform yard work or go for walks in with carriers as the sweat zone is no longer a problem.

With the Mission Critical, baby’s weight seems to be evenly distributed across the entire upper body, making one feel as if they are carrying a backpack more so than a child. My only critique is that the piece of material that supports baby’s legs could be firmer and more supportive. I believe it was made flexible with a small baby in mind.

 Finally, the Mission Critical carrier allows parents to feel secure while wearing their child. As mentioned earlier, this carrier has more latches and straps than most carriers which add an extra sense of comfort to wearing your child. When bending over or moving around while wearing the carrier the child still feels secure and safe, not as if they are going to fall out or move in a way which compromises the security of the carrier. Overall, the Mission Critical carrier is a wonderful addition to the SSC world of carriers, and especially fitting for men whom are looking at entering the world of Baby Wearing. Ask to try one out at our next meeting! 

Our chapter was not paid for this review. Mission Critical generously donated two of their carriers and daypacks for our review and to be added to our lending library of carriers.

To learn more about Mission Critical visit:  http://www.missioncritical.cc/products/babycarrier

To learn more about BWI of Phoenix's lending library visit: http://www.bwiphoenix.com/library.html