In-depth reviews guided by a Pediatrician

LILLEbaby Complete All Seasons Review

Disappointing comfort for parents and harder to use with a higher price
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Price:   $140 List | $90 at Amazon
Pros:  Multiple positions for various ages, soft mesh fabric
Cons:  Uncomfortable to wear, harder to use and clean, expensive
Manufacturer:   LILLEbaby
By Juliet Spurrier, MD and BabyGearLab Review Team  ⋅  Feb 19, 2018
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46
OVERALL
SCORE

RANKED
#14 of 15
  • Child Comfort - 25% 6
  • Parent Comfort - 35% 4
  • Ease of Use - 30% 4
  • Ease Of Cleaning - 10% 5

The Skinny

The LILLEbaby Complete is a soft, structured carrier with a variety of seating options for children from newborn to toddlerhood. This carrier can be used in a front carry both rear and forward facing or on your back. Unfortunately, the Complete is one of the more expensive options in this review, which may be justifiable if it offered more for baby's comfort or the comfort of the wearer. Wearers had trouble adjusting the carrier and learning how to narrow the seat for little one's comfort. This difficulty results in frustration, hasty adjustments, and short duration trips. We think at this price that a carrier should be easy to use and comfortable enough for everyone that you never want to take it off.


Compare to Similar Products

(change comparison)
 
Awards  Editors' Choice Award Editors' Choice Award Editors' Choice Award Best Value Award 
Price $140.00 List
$89.99 at Amazon - 36% off		$65.00 List
$59.90 at Amazon - 8% off		$95.00 List
$94.95 at Amazon		$190.00 List
$159.79 at Amazon - 16% off		$50.00 List
$49.95 at Amazon
Overall Score Sort Icon
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Star Rating
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Pros Multiple positions for various ages, soft mesh fabricEasy to use, comfortable to wear, cozy for baby, lower priceComfortable, easy to adjust, pocketEasy to put on, super comfortable to wear, cozy for kidsBudget-friendly, easy wrap, machine wash and dry
Cons Uncomfortable to wear, harder to use and clean, expensiveHang to dryHang to dry, rough fabricLong drying time, lots of buckles and straps, expensiveSize specific, no adjustability
Bottom Line Hard to use and wear option that isn't as cozy as the competitionComfy sling to wear and sit in with an easy to use designComfy for baby and parents but the fabric could be softerComfortable and easy to attach with a cozy place for babyBudget-friendly wrap style that is easy to use and comfy enough
Rating Categories Complete All Seasons Nalakai Ring Sling Maya Wrap... BabyBjorn One Baby K'tan Original
Child Comfort (25%)
10
0
6
10
0
8
10
0
8
10
0
7
10
0
7
Parent Comfort (35%)
10
0
4
10
0
9
10
0
9
10
0
10
10
0
7
Ease Of Use (30%)
10
0
4
10
0
9
10
0
9
10
0
7
10
0
7
Ease Of Cleaning (10%)
10
0
5
10
0
7
10
0
6
10
0
5
10
0
9
Specs Complete All Seasons Nalakai Ring Sling Maya Wrap... BabyBjorn One Baby K'tan Original
Min/Max Weight 7 - 45 lbs 8 - 35 lbs 8 - 35 lbs 8 - 33 lbs 8 - 35 lbs
Carry Positions Facing In (7 - 45 lbs)
Facing Out (6 mo - 45 lbs)
Hip Carry (6 mo - 45 lbs)
Back Carry (6 mo - 45 lbs)		 Facing In (8 - 35 lbs)
Hip Carry (8 - 35 lbs *BGL recommends Head/Neck/Torso Control)		 Facing In (0 - 3 mo)
Facing Out (3 - 6 mo)
Hip Carry (6 mo - 35 lbs)		 Facing In (0 - 36 mo./33 lbs)
Facing Out (5 - 15 mo./26 lbs)
Back Carry (12 - 36 mo./33 lbs)		 Kangaroo Position (8 - 35 lbs)
Hug Position (8 - 35 lbs)
Adventure Position (8 - 35 lbs)
Explore Position (8 - 35 lbs)
Hip Position (8 - 35 lbs)
Weight 1.97 lbs 0.9 lbs sm 0.92
lg 1.16 lbs		 2.26 lbs sm 0.89
lg 1.04 lbs
Packable Size Large Small Small Large Small
Fabric Polyester, Cotton 58% Bamboo
42% Linen		 Cotton, Polyester Cotton, Polyester, PU Foam 100% Cotton
Hood Yes No No No No
Storage Options Storage pouch below headrest, Lumbar pad, Mesh back panel Pocket on the tail Zippered pocket on tail None Pouch on the belt.
Other Features & Notable None None None Adjustable Seat Width,
Oeko-Tex Standard 100, Class 1		 Azo Dye-free
Included Accessories None None None None None
Care Instructions Machine wash warm, hang dry. Machine wash cold, hang dry. Machine wash cold, hang dry. Machine wash warm, hang dry. Machine wash cold, tumble dry low.

Our Analysis and Test Results

LILLEbaby is grounded in Scandinavian design principles of stylish, functional and obtainable. The company was founded by designer, Lisbeth Lehan, with the goal of creating baby products that reduce hassle, simplify the process, and improve quality of life. For their first product, they spent researching and designing the Complete to be what they hoped would be comfortable, functional, comfortable, and stylish.

Performance Comparison



Our little testers had trouble being truly content in the LILLEbaby Complete.
Our little testers had trouble being truly content in the LILLEbaby Complete.

Baby's Comfort


The Complete has a softer mesh fabric than other mesh we saw in this review, but overall baby comfort is still lacking. This carrier has some adjustability designed for little ones of different ages and sizes but it still struggles for true comfort for everyone and our testers need some help staying content in the carrier indicating some discomfort.

The added back pad on the LILLEbaby Complete is stiff and somewhat awkward making it not as comfortable as it could be if it were less substantial.
The straps on the LILLEbaby Complete are almost too thick and stiff making them uncomfortable with the edges digging in or failing to fit on the shoulders.

Parent's Comfort


The Complete earned one of the lowest scores in the group for parent comfort indicating it is not very comfortable to wear, especially for longer periods of time.

Larger parents (mostly men) liked the wider padding on the shoulder straps and waistband, but more petite users (mostly women) felt the padding was uncomfortable and remarked that the super thick padding on the waistband rubbed while walking and dug into legs while sitting. This is a problem during the front carry (above left). Making adjustments for comfort was difficult as the straps are stiff and some testers ever did find a comfortable "fit", especially in a back carry position (above right).

Flipping up the LILLEbaby Complete headrest can be difficult to operate with a single hand because it has a safety feature that requires some dexterity.
The waistband belt on the LILLEbaby Complete has a buckle that is somewhat stiff and the strap is harder to lengthen than it needs to be for functionality.

Ease of Use


The Complete is not user-friendly out of the box with very few testers being able to adjust the straps intuitively. The directions are particularly confusing for changing to "Narrow Seat."

Adjusting the LILLEbaby Complete is difficult when wearing the carrier and testers struggled with on the go changes due to stiff straps.
Adjusting the LILLEbaby Complete is difficult when wearing the carrier and testers struggled with on the go changes due to stiff straps.

We had difficulty adjusting the straps and putting the carrier on for back carry and eventually determined that putting in on front carry and rotating is really the easiest way to do it for many testers. Overall, getting everything adjusted was cumbersome and frustrating.

The LILLEbaby Complete is harder to clean than some of the competition because it is harder to spot clean and must hang to dry.
The LILLEbaby Complete is harder to clean than some of the competition because it is harder to spot clean and must hang to dry.

Ease of Cleaning


The Complete is not the easiest to keep clean despite being machine washable in warm water. While we appreciate the machine washability it would be nice if it was tumble dry instead of hanging dry. However, more importantly, it isn't that easy to keep clean on the go with poor spot cleaning and taking longer to dry than some of the competition.

Manufacturer Video




— Juliet Spurrier, MD and BabyGearLab Review Team