Beco Gemini Review

Item: Beco Gemini
Rating: 3
Author: Juliet Spurrier, MD

Price: $140.00 List

Pros: Comfortable for parents, machine washable

Cons: Hang to dry, not as cozy for little ones with limited adjustability

Bottom line: Below average carrier but there are easier more comfortably options with lower prices

Editors' Rating:

Min/Max Weight: 7 - 35 lbs

Carry Positions: Facing In (Newborn - 35 lbs) Facing Out (4 mo. - 35 lbs) Hip Carry (4 mo. - 35 lbs) Back Carry (4 mo. - 35 lbs)

Weight: 1.21 lbs

Manufacturer: Beco

View ratings and full specification table

The Skinny

The Beco Gemini is a soft structured carrier that works for little ones between 7-35 lbs. This carrier can be used front facing, on the back, or as a hip carry option. The Beco has an adjustable width seat bottom, a waistband pocket, padded shoulder straps, and is machine washable. While this carrier is more comfortable for parents than some other soft structured options, it isn't as cozy for baby and many of our tiny testers indicated discomfort during testing. The Beco has limited adjustability which makes it hard to find a good fit and the design is tight with limited room for baby. There are more comfortable and less expensive carriers of this kind that would be easier for most parents to use.

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Our Analysis and Test Results

Review by:
Juliet Spurrier, MD and BabyGearLab Review Team

Last Updated:
Monday
February 19, 2018

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Beco was started in 2005 by Gabby Caperon. Gabby built a base of admirers thanks to her carrier designs that modern parents feel are functional and stylish. Beco makes four different kinds of soft structured carriers.

The Beco Gemini is a soft structured carrier that is front or back carry and can be used for little ones up to 35 lbs.

Performance Comparison

This chart shows the Becco's overall score (blue) in comparison to the scores of the competition tested in this review.

The information below includes details of how the Beco's performance compared to the other carriers we tested.

Most little testers indicated their discomfort in one way or another when using the Beco.

Baby's Comfort

The Beco earned a 5 of 10 for baby's comfort. Five is the lowest score for baby comfort in the group, though it does tie with two other carriers. Child seat adjustment happens by changing the parent straps so it is limited in how much adjustment you can do to increase comfort or change positions. This change also impacts the headrest position making it hard to fit larger children in the seat. Our older test passengers verbally said being in the Gemini hurt, which is easy to believe given how tight it feels in the carrier.

The seat width on the Beco is adjustable depending on the type of carrying and the size of the passenger.

The seat width is adjustable based on the carry position and somewhat on your baby's size. Adjustments need to happen before you put your baby in the carry, so if you get it wrong, you'll likely need to start over.

Some testers will find that the padded portions of the straps are too short and the non-padded portions can dig in under the baby's weight.

Parent's Comfort

The Beco earned a 7 of 10 for parent comfort. This score is just above the average with nicely padded shoulder straps and waistbelt. However, the shoulder strap padding stops short of being useful for larger wears (most dads) so you still end up with a simple strap supporting baby's weight in some positions. Some testers also felt it was more restrictive feeling than other soft structured carriers, and the feeling increased as the size of the passengers did.

Some features of the Beco are easy to use, but overall making adjustments is harder than similar products.

Ease of Use

The Beco earned a 5 of 10 for ease of use. The Beco is relatively intuitive, but you will probably need the manual for the seat width adjustment. The manual is okay but has a lot of pictures that interestingly take away from understanding how to use it. Putting it on is okay, but there are easier soft structured carriers to put on, adjust and put a baby into like the BabyBjorn One. However, in fairness, the sling carriers are by far simpler and, therefore, much easier to use than the soft structure style.

The Beco waistband pocket has a Velcro closure and can hold some smartphones or perhaps your keys.

The Beco waistband buckle has a safety feature that makes it slightly more difficult to use but once you get the hang of it it can be done fairly easily.

The Beco has a waistband pocket with Velcro closure (above left). It isn't a very big pocket, but it will hold some smartphones and possibly your keys. The buckles have a safety feature mechanism (above left) that will take some getting used to and may require two hands until you do. They aren't necessarily hard to use, but there is a learning curve.

The Beco needs to hang to dry and is harder to spot clean.

Ease of Cleaning

The Beco earned a 4 of 10 for ease of cleaning. Four is the lowest score in the group. While the Gemini is machine washable, you can only use cold water, and you'll need to hang it to dry. This drying method could take more time than you have before your next adventure, leaving you without a carrier. Worse than the hang drying, however, is the poor spot cleaning capabilities. If you need to do a quick cleanup on the go, it can be harder to get the material clean, and the spot will take longer to dry.