Nalakai Ring Sling Review
Pros: Easy to use, comfortable to wear, cozy for baby, lower price
Cons: Hang to dry
Manufacturer: Nalakai
The Skinny
Compare to Similar Products
 This Product
Nalakai Ring Sling | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Awards |  |  | | ||
| Price | $65 List $61.95 at Amazon | $50 List $59.95 at Amazon | $40 List $44.99 at Amazon | $45 List $44.99 at Amazon | $40 List $34.95 at Amazon |
Overall Score  |
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| Star Rating | |||||
| Pros | Easy to use, comfortable to wear, cozy for baby, lower price | Budget-friendly, easy wrap, machine wash and dry | Machine wash and dry, comfy for baby and parents, economical | Easy to clean, comfy for baby and parent, economical | Inexpensive, machine washable |
| Cons | Hang to dry | Size specific, no adjustability | Need to hold baby while you put it on, lots of fabric, hard to wrap | Hard to use, lots of extra fabric in the way | Less secure feeling, not as supportive, line dry |
| Bottom Line | Easy to use, comfortable sling to wear and sit in | Inexpensive, easy to use, wrap style without the wrap hassle | Budget-friendly wrap that is comfortable but harder to use | Comfy option that is easy to clean but much harder to use | Average with no stand out features for comfort or convenience |
| Rating Categories | Nalakai Ring Sling | Baby K'tan Original | Boba Wrap | Moby Wrap Classic | You+Me 4-in-1 |
| Child Comfort (25%) | |||||
| Parent Comfort (35%) | |||||
| Ease Of Use (30%) | |||||
| Ease Of Cleaning (10%) | |||||
| Specs | Nalakai Ring Sling | Baby K'tan Original | Boba Wrap | Moby Wrap Classic | You+Me 4-in-1 |
| Min/Max Weight | 8 - 35 lbs | 8 - 35 lbs | 7 - 35 lbs | 8 - 35 lbs | 8 - 32 lbs |
| Carry Positions | Facing In (8 - 35 lbs) Hip Carry (8 - 35 lbs *BGL recommends Head/Neck/Torso Control) |
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) |
Facing In (Newborn - 35 lbs) | Kangaroo Position (< 8 lbs) Facing In (Newborn - 35 lbs) Hip Carry (5 mo - 35 lbs) |
Facing In (8 - 32 lbs) Facing Out (head control - 32 lbs) Back Carry (20 - 32 lbs) |
| Weight | 0.9 lbs | sm 0.89 lg 1.04 lbs |
1.41 lbs | 1.3 lbs | 0.97 lbs |
| Packable Size | Small | Small | Small | Small | Large |
| Fabric | 58% Bamboo 42% Linen |
100% Cotton | 95% Cotton 5% Spandex |
100% Cotton | Not Specified |
| Hood | No | No | No | No | No |
| Storage Options | Pocket on the tail | Pouch on the belt. | Storage Pouch | None | None |
| Other Features & Notable | None | Azo Dye-free | None | None | None |
| Included Accessories | None | None | None | Stuff Sac | Bandana Bib |
| Care Instructions | Machine wash cold, hang dry. | Machine wash cold, tumble dry low. | Machine wash cold, tumble dry low. | Machine wash cold, tumble dry low. | Machine wash cold, hang dry. |
Our Analysis and Test Results
Pura Vida means "pure life" and the natural lifestyle was the inspiration for the Pura Vida slings. The simplicity of the ring sling is what makes slings better in the mind of Pura Vida than other kinds of carriers and the straightforward design and use helps keep little ones close and comforted and parents free to do other things.
Performance Comparison
Baby's Comfort
The design of the ring sling makes it one of the comfiest for baby.
The fabric of the sling is soft and somewhat stretchy to help offer support and conformability to the child. The large swath of fabric can move and adjust to the seat size of your baby and support them from the bottom to the top despite the lack of padding and structure.
You can pull the extra fabric through the ring to bring your baby closer to your face increasing bonding and feelings of support for little ones. As your baby grows, the hip carry gives more freedom for little legs and helps support their bottom for comfortable side carrying. We also like that you can raise the fabric up to support the child's upper back and head should they fall asleep.
Parent's Comfort
The sling-style carrier has a wide strip of bamboo and linen fabric that wraps around your shoulder in a cross-body configuration that is very comfortable for the wearer.
The material is soft and conforms to your shape and manages to be comfortable even without padding or structure. The ring design allows you to raise or lower little ones to change the weight distribution on your body for on the go comfort adjustments. Even when the fabric is pulled tight, the snugness is comfortable and the fabric is breathable.
Ease of Use
This sling is really easy to use with a simple design that only requires a single hand to put on.
The Nalakai is the easiest option in the review to use and the lack of straps and connectors and adjustments make it the easiest to learn and adjust on the fly.
All you need to do is pull your head and one arm through the opening, widen the sling fabric (above left) and place the child's bottom on the fabric for support (above right). Further adjustments can happen once your little one is in the seat. Most users can execute this by themselves which is a boon over styles that require two hands or a helper.
The Nalakai has a small pocket on the pull side of the sling fabric good for teethers, pacifiers, burp cloth or other small items you might need close at hand. While it will hold a smartphone or keys, the open-top design could result in dropping or losing heavy items.
Ease of Cleaning
The Nalakai is machine washable but you need to hang the fabric to dry.
While we wish the sling could go in the dryer we appreciate the machine wash capability and the thinner fabric and lack of padding makes the line dry time shorter than much of the competition. Spit up and accidental soiling are fairly easy to clean on the go and dry quickly compared to the competition.
Manufacturer Video
— Juliet Spurrier, MD and Wendy Schmitz
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