Anmol Baby Seher Khaki Toddler Soft Structured Carrier

Anmol Baby Carriers is the love of wearing babies in the form of a carrier.  Owner, babywearer, and babywearing educator Rashmee Bhatia- Gajra is quite used to creating something beautiful. An architect by education, she has applied her knowledge of structural design to her newest passion.

The logo for the Anmol carrier is actually the Hindi Vowel अ – that makes the sound “uh” for umbrella and the starting sound of Anmol.

“I was keen to ensure the the roots from where these carriers came is evident! Hence you see the precious bond of the mum and baby depicted in the alphabet. Anmol means precious in Hindi.  Anmol – For A Precious Bond is our tag line.” – Rashmee Bhatia-Gajra

All the Anmol carriers, from their handwoven wraps, paneled stretchy wraps,  hybrid woven wraps, and soft structured carriers are made with love in India with all of the fabrics woven in India.   With several handweaving communities within their resources, Rashmee is able to ensure you get different kinds of fabrics and designs promoting the continuity to these handcrafting communities.  Wearing an Amnol is a work of artistry from the very hands of the community, uplifting the craft, and continuing family based businesses.

Beautifully constructed must begin with the right materials.  Our Anmol SSC features a handwoven wrap conversion panel with soft khaki brown twill waistband and shoulder harness.  The panel is grad deep red to vibrant red, orange, lemon yellow, Chartreuse all against a Kelly green weft.  The waistband buckles have a snug safety elastic and are locking buckles to prevent accidental release.  The hood is sewn in to a pouch at the top of the body panel.  The carrier features legs out padding for baby and a generous seat pleated with seat darts.  The attention to detail is incredible with perfect stitching.   Extra bartacking in addition to X-box stitching on stress points reinforce the weight-bearing seams.  This extra touch can be seen in places such as at the buckles on the waistband and where the shoulder harness and webbing attach to the carrier body.  The personal fit adapters (PFA) allow fine adjustment of carrier fit for all body shapes.

The carrier is sewn with an amply padded wide waistband with half an inch thick compressed foam.  The waistband is easily expandable from as narrow as 30 inches up to 59 inch waists.  The legs out padding forms a crescent shape extending from the waistband up to the middle of the carrier.  The shoulder harness is extremely soft and plush, padded with almost two inch thick compressed foam. Shipped with a lovely note on recycled, handmade paper adds a fantastic touch, almost like a gift, to the carrier.

All the adjusters on the shoulder harness of the Anmol SSC adjust away from the wearer.  If baby is in a front carry the adjuster pulls back, away from the body of the wearer.  The perfect fit adjuster allows an extra two inches of adjustment for the shoulder harness fit.  The PFA also pulls back, away from the wearer so they should be adjusted prior to wearing baby.

The tapered body panel has a wide seat allowing my two and a half-year old toddlers to have a knee to knee seat very easily, supporting those long legs for extra comfort.  Widest at the top, the carrier body design provided full coverage of my baby without open sides adding security to the carry.  The hood provides extra head support for a sleeping toddler when tucked inside the built-in pouch at the top of the carrier.  Secured  with a paracord loop and hook to the shoulder harness the hood is functional, providing privacy or sun cover as needed.

As with any soft structured carrier, it is important to make sure your baby can sit unassisted so that they can reposition their heads and protect their airway from suffocation.  The carrier is compliant with the new Consumer Product and Safety Commission and ASTM compliance standard F2236, having been tested by an independent laboratory making it the first soft structured carrier in India to pass testing.

What I loved about this carrier

My ladies call the Anmol SSC a wrap and it is frequently requested.  I love that this is an affordable wrap conversion SSC, allowing all the comfort of an expensive custom wrap conversion without the strain on the budget.  My girls designate their favorites by look and the way the wrap or carrier feels.  They are very clear when they don’t want to be worn and have singled out a few carriers in the past as not that one, more a sign the carrier was uncomfortable than of the aesthetics of the carrier.  Frequently requested by Ms. M, when asked she said it is “comfy”, a tall amount of praise from a toddler.  Long wear at the zoo or on a hike meant comfort for us both.   This SSC is frequently taken on outings because of the ease of wear and comfort.  I enjoyed wearing the Anmol SSC and found the weight was evenly distributed and not centered all on my hips.

The attention to detail on the carrier increases the value of the carrier.  The stowaway hood, right where you can reach it was a thoughtful design.  You are not having to attach the hood to the carrier nor are you concerned with possibly losing the hood on a hike or other outing.  This feature also appealed to my vain thread as the hood is stowed and never hanging over the carrier body obscuring the beauty of the panel.  Secured with Paracord to the shoulder harness meant one-handed attachment of the hood when in use, no buttons, clips, or snaps when in use.  The khaki of the hood is soft to the touch and matches the fabric on the shoulder harness and waistband.  The gentle curved shoulder strap, so abundantly padded never put any pressure on the shoulders so the full 28 pounds of my toddler was easy.

The buckles are another favorite feature of mine on this carrier.  The locking buckle is used on a few SSCs on the market.  Usually they are just the locking buckle and do not also include the safety elastic.  The use of both safety elastic and locking buckles gives an extra security for what is the most precious of cargo.  I never had to worry that the buckle would fail or accidental release.  The buckle does require a little more pressure to simultaneously release and unlock.  As a single side adjust buckle it rests atop padding for the hip so that the pressure of the buckle against the hip is never felt by the wearer.

What I am looking forward to seeing in the next release

The only improvement I would have for the Anmol SSC is to have the shoulder harness adjust pull away from the body of the wearer to the front rather than toward the back.  The angle backward is difficult on the wrist and often provides a tricky angle to achieve maximum tightening.  When pulled forward this would allow much more even tightening of the carrier straps and even permit PFA tightening or loosening while wearing to get the best possible fit.  

I am excited to see little accents like the side pouch on the wasitband and the extra bartack stitching along the carrier.  These accents may be small and not noticed by many wearers but it instills extra confidence in the carrier and a feeling of getting more than your money’s worth.  We are very excited to call the Anmol SSC our favorite.