Bondolino von Hoppediz

The Bondolino of the German company Hoppediz belongs to older carrying aids and is therefore widespread and quite well known. So here finally the test report on this baby carrier.

Information about the manufacturer Hoppediz and the baby carrier Bondolino

Annette Schröder, the founder of Hoppediz, had her first child in 1999 and since she wanted to carry her child, she quickly developed her own slings that met her needs and desires. As acquaintances asked more and more for these slings, she finally founded Hoppediz. The company grew bigger and bigger over the next few years, and in 2005 her husband became Germany's first babywearing consultant. Since 2007, Hoppediz has also been offering the Bondolino baby carrier, and in the meantime, Hoppediz also offers many other family-related products. You can find more information about Hoppediz on the company website www.hoppediz.de.

The Bondolino is only available in one size. Regarding the suitable size of the child, Hoppediz simply writes that it can be used up to a weight of max. 20kg. I don't find kilo specifications very helpful for baby carriers, so I looked to see when the bar would roughly fit. In my experience, in the smaller setting it fits approximately at Gr.62, in the larger setting at approximately Gr.74/80.

The carrier belongs to Mei Tai's, even though the belly strap is not classically knotted, but closed with velcro. The straps are for tying. There are now several versions of the stretcher, which differ in the fabric of the stretcher. In the test I had an older classic model. Price-wise, the carriers are between 99€ and 110€. Thus, the Bondolino rather belongs to the cheaper carrying aids.

As already mentioned, the abdominal belt of the carrier is closed with Velcro. A red area here shows how much of the belt should be closed at least. At the front of the abdomen it is reinforced padded, after that the belt has virtually no padding. It has two small pockets inside, in which enlargements for the web width can be put when they are not needed.

In general, the web width is not very variable. Thus, there are only three integrated settings. The web width can be increased somewhat with small tabs that are attached to the back panel with buttons. Otherwise, there is no integrated adjustment option. However, the manufacturer writes in his instructions that the bar should be tied with the help of a band for small babies, so that a squat-spread posture is possible.

The back is padded on the sides and has a small pocket on the right side, which can be used for keys, for example. The headrest is also attached with Velcro and can be well adjusted in height here. At the top it has small loops. On the carrier are each drawstrings with cords, which should facilitate the pulling up of the headrest when carrying back.

In the beginning, the straps are very wide and also thickly padded, then become narrower and narrower. Loops are sewn into the straps for carrying on the back, so the straps can be connected with a strap as a chest strap. In addition, a plastic cross is supplied, which is to optimize the carrier guidance. In my experience, tying the carrier is much easier without this cross, also the carrier cross can be adjusted better.

When carrying

I have tested the Bondolino several times with my son, but also tried with the dolls from my consultations. It was a hindrance that the bar is not infinitely adjustable. The carrier is generally usable approximately between Gr.56 and Gr.74/80. The waist belt can be easily adjusted by the closure with Velcro. For very narrow women, however, it is not necessarily suitable, so I could not get it completely tight.

The head support is also easy to adjust with Velcro. The downside to Velcro, however, is that most sleeping children wake up from opening it when they are put down, for example. I find this very impractical, which is why I prefer other closures. Wearing itself is also very comfortable on the shoulders over a long period of time. The plastic cross could, in my opinion, be omitted, because it makes it more difficult to put on and the adaptability is limited. Whereas for insecure parents the fixation of the straps thereby initially conveys security.

Washing

The baby carrier is machine washable at 40°C. I myself have washed it only by hand, so I can judge this area only limited. However, since it is pure cotton fabric, machine washing should not be a problem if the Velcro is closed. Open Velcro could cause damage to clothing or the carrier itself.

Conclusion on the Bondolino

The Bondolino is a relatively inexpensive baby carrier for which I could not find any qualitative defects.

The closures with Velcro I personally do not find optimal, because when opening are very loud. The bar width is overall moderately well adjustable, meanwhile there are better options to allow infinitely variable adjustment.

When worn, the carrier was surprisingly comfortable, the thick padding was a real boon for the shoulders. I don't find the plastic cross to be absolutely necessary.

At the Kind und Jugend trade fair in Cologne, the Nabaca was presented some time ago. Of course, I also tested it. My experiences with it besschreibe I in the article Hoppediz Nabaca [test report].