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By Emily RisingThe Tula Explore Baby Carrier is perfect if you’re looking for an ergonomic front-facing carrier that stands out from the crowd. Tula are known for their stunning prints and colours, but it’s not just style over substance!
The Explore is Tula’s most versatile baby carrier and is ideal from birth to 18m+. It’s ultra-supportive, super easy, and has bags of personality. No wonder we love it for both Mums and Dads.
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FITS EASILY FROM NEWBORN
The Tula Explore is suitable for newborns from 7lbs (3.3kg). Clever popper adjustments hidden away in the waistband easily reduce the seat width to fit your newborn. The bucket shape of the carrier means that as the width is narrow, the height is adjusted at the same time.
There’s a super comfy padded head support section that can be folded up, down, or inwards to the right height and support level for your baby giving a secure, safe fit. We find that many newborn to toddler carriers in reality aren’t ideal for the first month or so, however, the Tula Explore genuinely does work from newborn.
The cotton fabrics hug around to support little babies safely, and the leg padding – which in some carriers can feel very bulky for a newborn – is soft and squishy for a comfy seat.
THE TULA EXPLORE CARRIER GROWS WITH YOUR BABY
Here’s where that adjustable seat comes into play – as your baby grows it’s super easy to increase the width of the seat.
The extending seat panel simply slides along the waistband, using those neat little poppers to secure into place in one of 3 settings. That squishy leg padding softly cushions under your baby’s legs at every setting. The seat width reduces to just 6″ (15cm), and can be extended to 13″ (33cm) using the sliding waistband.
So this carrier gives a supportive seat – in that comfy, hip-friendly ‘M’ position – for bigger babies and smaller toddlers too.
That supportive headrest allows the Tula Explore to adjust in height, whether your baby wants to be free and active with their arms out over the top, or snuggled in and supported with the back panel and hide-away hood extending the height of the carrier.
The upper weight limit for the Tula Explore is 45lb (20kg). However, it has a smaller body panel than other newborn-toddler carriers so in practice may not give the best fit beyond 18 months – approx 25lb (12kg). You may find you need to size up your carrier (the Tula Toddler or Lenny Lamb Upgrade are great next-stage options) if you’re still carrying your toddler.
Saying that, remember that those other carriers often don’t actually fit from newborn. So if you want to carry from the get go, or your little one is slimmer or more petite than average, the Tula Explore is an ideal option that still offers excellent ergonomics and great longevity.
EASY TO PUT ON AND TAKE OFF
The Tula Explore offers 3 carrying positions: front carrying facing you (from newborn), front facing out (from around 4-5 months), and back carrying (from about 6-8 months). It has just 2 buckles and super easy adjustments to fit the shoulder straps to whoever’s wearing it. SO simple!
First, you buckle around your waist and hold your baby, bringing the body panel up over their back. The shoulder straps fit like a backpack (in an ‘H’ position), with the two straps as loops over your shoulders, connected with a buckle at the back (or front for back carries). For carrying your baby facing out, there’s a simple button adjustment to set the seat to the right shape.
And that’s it! No faffy settings to get your head around and dangly webbing all over the place – just simple and straightforward to get you on the move without fuss.
If you struggle with doing up a clip behind your back, we have lots of tips and tricks for fastening and adjusting your carrier on our YouTube channel!
COMFY FIT FOR MOST PARENTS
Most carriers aren’t as universal in fit as they’d like to make out. Whilst it’s deceptively simple, the Tula Explore has the adjustments you need to fit a wide range of babies and adults. The neat shape of the body panel means it doesn’t swamp petite parents, whilst the waist and shoulder straps adjust to fit a wide range of shapes and sizes.
The shoulder straps contour really well around the shoulders and offer a comfy balance between softness and padding. The straps have a wider range of adjustments than many others and – unlike some big brand carrier models – adjust tight enough to comfortably support petite parents, even for back carries.
The generously deep, firmly padded waistband adjusts from 24″ – 52″ (62 – 133 cm) to fit a huge range of adults. It feels very supportive for everyone; it’s a particularly good option for plus-size parents who find other carriers dig in, though sometimes a bit more difficult to get a perfect fit if your waist is significantly narrower than your hips.
There’s even an optional lumbar support pad if you feel you need even more support!
STYLE AND SUBSTANCE
The Tula Explore is incredibly well made and will last as long as you need it. Constructed from soft, strong, and super durable fabrics, with top-quality buckles and webbing, you really feel safe and secure in your Tula Carrier.
Tula’s lush cotton fabrics are light and soft compared to many similar carriers, and get comfier and softer the more you wear them – just like your favourite jeans! There’s a fantastic range of gorgeous, unique designs to suit every taste and style so you can really stand out from the crowd!
There’s also a ‘Coast’ fabric option if you’d like more airflow for your baby in hot weather – this offers a breezy mesh panel for warm weather wearing.
CLEVER EXTRA FEATURES
The Tula Explore features a helpful sun hood, which tucks neatly away into its own little pocket when not in use. Once adjusted to fit you, the leftover lengths of webbing can be neatly rolled up and secured with small elastic loops. So you’re left with a neat and streamlined carrier that looks great!
There’s even a handy pocket in the waistband to fit your phone and keys!
Plus loads of accessories you can add on: Tula offer a separately available Lumbar Support Pad – fab if you do want that extra support for your lower back. Any accessories designed for the Ergo Omni, Breeze or Dream fit the Tula Explore perfectly, including drool bib and rain / weather covers.
THE DOWNSIDES OF TULA EXPLORE (A.K.A THE SUPER HONEST TULA EXPLORE REVIEW!)
Because the Tula has a safety clip that fastens behind the back (when carrying your baby on your front), some people with less shoulder mobility can find it a little tricky to do up. This important little clip is essential, as it secures the shoulder straps in place.
This little clip is attached to the shoulder straps on little sliding tracks, so you can shift it around to make it easier to reach. But be carefully not to position it too close to your neck, as this can alter how baby’s weight is distributed and lead to sore shoulders/upper back.
Luckily there are ways around this! If you struggle with doing up a clip behind your back, our experts give alternative ways to fasten it, plus lots of tips and tricks for adjusting your carrier on the Wear My Baby YouTube channel!
However, some people may find a carrier that also gives the option of crossed (‘X’) straps more comfortable, such as the Ergobaby Omni 360, Isara The One or the Manduca XT.
OVERALL…
The Tula Explore Baby Carrier really is an all-singing, all-dancing carrier, offering ergonomic carrying in all positions for parents of all shapes and sizes. It’s very simple to use, however, compared to it’s main competitors it has fewer options for how to adjust and fasten the straps.
Whilst the Tula Explore fits better from newborn, it doesn’t offer quite as much longevity as similar carriers and so unless your child is on the petite side, you’ll need to size up for carrying your bigger toddler.
The major advantage of the Tula explore is its fabrics; softer than most and hands down the most gorgeous options for patterns and colours.
So if you’re looking for an easy-to-use outward-facing baby carrier that’s comfy and supportive from newborn, and looks fantastic then the Tula Explore Baby Carrier is an ideal choice.
.UPDATED JULY 2022
