Have you seen the new soft-structured carrier from Didymos?
It’s ok if that sounds like a trick question! There are now two different soft-structured carriers from the same great company: the DidySnap and the newest release, the DidyFix! Here’s a thorough breakdown on the differences between them and where each really shines.
COMPARISON BETWEEN THE DIDYMOS DIDYSNAP AND DIDYMOS DIDYFIX
Fabric Options
As you wear your DidySnap, the fabric breaks in and becomes softer and floppy. This allows it to mold to your body when wrapped around you and your baby. The DidySnap has many different fabric options, allowing you to choose a thicker and more supportive option for wearing an older child or a thinner, more cuddly option for wearing a young baby. That said, any DidySnap can be used from the newborn stage through the toddler years.
Once the DidyFix has been around longer, it will probably be available in more Didymos woven fabrics, but in the meantime it’s limited to mostly block colored fabric plus the Oceanis pattern. These are great jacquard woven fabrics that mold to the baby's body. However, you simply cannot beat the softness and bandage-like stretch of a Prima or Ada design. If you’re a die-hard fan of those weaves, the more tightly constructed wovens, of the DidyFix, may feel stiff in comparison.
Wasitbelts
Since both carriers are from Didymos, at first glance you notice a lot of similarities. If we start from the bottom, it’s the same 4U contoured waistbelt threaded through the bottom of the carrier panel. This is a firm foam, waterfall style waist belt. As far as foam waistbands go, it’s not bulky, like many other brands. It is also short enough, so that, for most wearers, it won’t get in the way if worn while sitting.
A nice touch with the DidyFix is that the waistbelt is covered with woven fabric that matches the main panel. The DidySnap 4U waistbelt is covered with black twill fabric and is the same waistbelt used in the DidyKlick 4U.
Panel Adjustability
All Didymos carriers with the 4U waistbelt can easily adjust the carrier panel width by compressing or pulling the panel sides to the desired width. This is then secured by a track of velcro the runs along the waistband and the panel.
For the DidySnap, the hook pieces of the velcro line the outermost side of the carrier, whereas the DidyFix has the hook pieces of velcro lining the inner most side of the carrier. This just means that the front of the DidyFix panel has less stitching, and to adjust the panel width you peel apart the velcro on the “wearer” side of the waistbelt.
All carriers with the 4U waistbelt also have an area of padding sewn inside the panel along the outer edges, so that children’s knees/thighs are comfortable.
Moving upwards, we encounter our first big differences: The DidySnap has a drawstring and toggle as an extra measure to secure panel width. It also has an M Buckle on the outside of the panel. This is designed for smaller babies, to better maintain the C-curve shape to their spines.
Once baby is bigger, the shoulder straps can disconnect from the M Buckle and connect to the upper set of buckles on the panel. When the M Buckle is in use, there are built in pockets you can use to tuck away the unused upper set of the buckles. On the flipside, when it’s time to move on from the M Buckle, you can detach it from the carrier completely. While it’s nice to have the option to remove it, it doesn’t get in the way if left on the carrier.
Above the upper buckle sets, elastic gathers the fabric between the buckles all the way to the straps. This provides a snug fit, without fabric puffing in one direction or the other, especially when carrying smaller babies.
The DidyFix skips the drawstring, M Buckle, and elastic gathering, instead opting for a set of perfect fit adjusters (PFAs) that adjusts the panel height. This makes it fast and easy to customize the panel height to your child’s torso length. The webbing is a bit stiff out of the bag, and there isn’t much margin on the end nub, so if the webbing gets pulled to its limit, it can take a bit of fiddling to get it back to a position where it’s easy to pull and adjust.
A great way to break in the webbing is simply by running it through the adjusters repeatedly and avoiding leaving it in one position for an extended period of time -i.e. multiple days to a week. If the webbing is always in the same position, eventually it will crimp, and it will be harder to pull the webbing smoothly while adjusting. This does not compromise safety, it just makes it a little bit harder to use. Breaking in the webbing might sound like a chore, but it really is part of taking care of any style carrier with webbing. The panel height adjustment is so useful that it more than makes up for some stiff webbing!
At the top of the panel on both carriers, you’ll find an attached hood. One end has a drawstring and a toggle that can be cinched to form a headrest or simply adjust the hood size. The other end is for securing the hood to clips and is functionally the same, just a little different in appearance.
On the DidySnap, the hood pieces that connect to the hood clips on the shoulder straps are made from the same drawstring and toggle as the cinching side.
With the DidyFix, the drawstring pieces that connect to the hood clips on the shoulder straps are made from the same fabric as the main panel. Both are secured to the plastic hood clips on the shoulder straps in the same way: just adjust the clip to the desired height, then pull the drawstring across the clip with the nub above it so that the hood is held up and is taut. Both carriers have two sets of hood clips on each shoulder strap: one for using the hood in a front carry and one for using the hood in a back carry.
Shoulder Straps
Moving along the shoulder straps, you can see they both have the same sliders for adjusting the height of the connector buckle. Both carriers support parallel/ruck strap configuration and crossed strap configurations. Users with narrow shoulders may find the crossed strap configuration more comfortable. The buckles connecting the shoulder straps to the main panel have moveable pads for comfort and dual direction adjustment capability. This comes in handy for providing ergonomic tightening whether in a front carry or back carry.
The DidySnap also has a set of adjusters at the end of the strap padding, which allow the user to pull in an easy and intuitive downward motion to tighten.
Weight Limits
The specs are very similar: both carriers are safety rated for 3.50-20kg or 7.7-44lb. They both support a front newborn carry, a front carry for older babies/toddlers, a back carry, and crossed straps. The DidyFix has the additional option of a hip carry.
Additional Features
The DidyFix really shines in fast micro-adjustments, making it easy to customize the carrier between differently sized children and differently shaped wearers. There is a small learning curve as you get a handle on what-adjusts-what. Once you are familiar with the different pieces, you get a custom fit for each use, which is absolutely the key to comfort!
The double set of PFAs makes breastfeeding in the carrier easier too, but it’s important to recognize that the extra adjustability doesn’t eliminate the need for the majority of users to lower the waistband when breastfeeding.
In a busy home with four littles, my husband and I find ourselves automatically using the DidySnap more for our 13 month old. Like Ada and Prima, the Hearts design by Didymos is so soft and molds incredibly well. We love how the panel feels over his body, and let’s face it: Malachite is a fun, vibrant colorway!
The DidyFix has been an excellent fit for our 2.5 year old, especially since he’s a strong, wiggly guy. Graphite is very supportive and all his constant squirming means micro-adjustments are what we need throughout an “up” to stay comfortable and fully supported.
The carriers shown in these photos are the DidySnap in Hearts Malachite and the DidyFix in Graphite. The children shown are 13 months old, approximately 19lbs and 32 months old, approximately 30lbs.
Kit is a Babywearing Educator who loves nerding out over carriers and helping others to carry & cuddle comfortably!
