Ergobaby Original Carrier Review

I bought my Ergobaby Original Carrier right around when Nora was a month old, so we have had it just over a year.  I'd been eyeing one and drooling about having a fancy ergonomic carrier for some time.  Ergobaby had been THE brand when Pete was born and still is considered one of the gold standard companies in the realm of baby wearing.  I saved up my money and bought myself one as a birthday present.  It was instant love! I rolled a blanket under her bum so she'd fit since she was still a bit small for it, instead of buying the infant insert, which was an extra $20 and has a reputation of being too hot for actually carrying the baby for any amount of time.  It was my go-to carrier for months. 

At the zoo fall 2014

 I used it at the zoo, grocery store, walks to the park, vacation, MommyCon; it was pretty much another member of the family and came with us everywhere. Phil used it occasionally but not a ton because he had to adjust the straps since I'm bigger than him and he found it a pain to adjust and preferred the Infantino mei tai for that reason.  In May I decided that I wanted to expand my babywearing and branch out to a ringsling, so I bought a Sakura Bloom linen.  Thankfully I did buy it then because the beginning of June I discovered the chest clip on my ergo was snapped. I contacted the company and sent in all the required pictures to get the snap replaced. Now this all started on June 4 when I contacted them.  I did not receive the part until July 1.  It took 3 phone calls and numerous emails to finally successfully get the piece shipped to my home. Now I'm left the task to figure out how they expect me to actually get the buckle on without either breaking the clip, shredding the strap, killing my hands, ripping the seams and re-sewing it, or cursing the company for the rest of time.  I just do not see how it is possible; I've tried, Phil has tried.  We've used tools and sheer force of will still with no avail.  The only help I was given when I called into customer service again was,"work the strap in your hands to loosen it up and make it pliable and then it should thread through and be easier to pull through all the way with pliers, but not on the elastic because it might rip off" I've worked that strap through my hands for some time and still it hasnt' become very pliable and don't think it really will.  So my final thoughts on the Ergobaby Classic Carrier:

On the train on vacation in Salt Lake City

It was good while it worked, it was comfy for both mom and baby. I'm highly disappointed in their customer service and their inability to meet the needs of the customer without being contacted multiple times and that it took an entire month to get a single piece.  I also think that their expectation of a customer being able to replace this particular clip is a bit ridiculous considering it was within the warranty time period and I called saying I was unable to fix it personally.  Price-wise the ergo is in the same range as the beco, lillebaby and tula.  I expect quality in the carrier and in the customer service, and both seem to be lacking in the Ergobaby company, which is sad because it was great while it lasted. But I need a $100+ carrier to last more than 11 months before being unusable.

snoozing at mommycon Chicago