At the risk of being sexist I'm thinking this product would be more of interest to women than to men, and I'm wondering, Elon, if you have any idea of the gender mix of Cool Tools readers. I don't mean to imply that if 70% or more of the readers are men that this product is not a fit for Cool Tools; I'm just curious.

We've used the Moby Wrap and I have to agree it is very comfortable and portable- t is a little awkward and confusing to figure out initially, but once you understand the proper technique, this is a lifesaver if you're out and about with your young ones hiking, walking through a park, or what have you. It really makes "hands-free" carrying a possibility, which is incredibly useful if you would like to do other things with your hands, like hold a camera, a water bottle, etc.

@pauld

...because fathers /never/ have to carry their offspring.

Are you for real? I'm guessing you're not a parent.

A better way to solve a baby problem is absolutely cool tool territory.

We had something similar to this, and it was great. A lot of people are put off because it takes a bit of getting the hang of, but well worth the effort.

How could this be of more interest to women than men? Men are parents too. I am a man and if I had a child would doubtlessly be sharing the baby-carrying duties.
That being said I would imagine just off a guess that the Cool Tools readership is overwhelmingly male...
What I'm interested in knowing is: are there any commercial solutions to carrying the baby on the back, to put the weight on your hips? I suppose it would be very similar... or perhaps the same thing, just reversed.

Mea culpa, mea culpa, mea culpa.

I guess my caveats didn't prevent the PC backlash. As a matter of fact I have three children, and I changed diapers on all three, but the youngest is now 18.

As I said, I'm really just curious about the gender mix. Pardon me for having that thought triggered by a product which would traditionally be associated more with women than with men.

My wife and I both used this with our kids. It's great for both parents and very cozy for the kids. Sometimes it was the only thing that would stop my daughter from crying. One thing I will say is that it is a lot of material and better for the colder months as it can get a little too hot in the summer. We usually buy this as a gift for new parents as it was one of the favorite gifts we received.

If you've been a reader for a while, you might remember the time there was a request for suggestions for a good rifle or BB-gun or somesuch for a 10-year old boy. Women (and men) came out of the woodwork to say it should have been specified for a 10-year-old child since girls like to shoot too. :)

I am female, and have been reading Cool Tools for several years, and have even made comments now and then. I don't have kids though - so this tool doesn't apply to me. I'm personally more interested in home improvement tools, computers, and gadgets to use when travelling to odd places around the world. But I'm not going to knock this as a cool tool just because I personally have no use for it. It certainly seems to be useful, and the review said why it was better than other options available. Fits the definition of cool tool for me!

This is a good wrap, though I used the Ergo as my go-to carrier until my son got too heavy for it. As a father I carried my son 3-5 times more than my (female) wife did. I didn't go out and buy a Moby wrap, but instead just sewed a hem on a length of stretchy fabric. This kind of wrap is definitely the best choice for low-cost, -weight, -complexity baby carriage.

i would say its for a narrow segment of readers who have kids under age 2.

does gender matter in picking cool tools?
how would anyone know the gender of readers?

Is anyone else convinced that this period in (future) history will be considered one of the most shrill, self-dividing ever to be? Just curious... Great tool.

I'm a dad, and I used the Moby wrap pretty extensively when my son was first born. I would put him in it almost every day. I'd highly recommend this carrier for newborns and infants. Once my son got to be about 5 months old, however, it got to be a little tougher on the back - I switched to the Ergo then and couldn't be happier with it.

My son was one of those infants that wouldn't be put down, so we've used every carrier on the market. I liked this one when I was committed to a long haul with the baby... times I knew I'd be wearing it for a while. It was more comfortable than the Baby Bjorn, but took much longer to "assemble" everyone together. Great for hiking with a baby too small for a backpack. But, like someone said earlier, not the best for bigger kids, especially ones who are squirmy (they're tough to wrap).

I'm a Dad and I loved using my Moby! Before buying it I researched many different baby carriers and settled on this one for comfort, versatility, and portability. Since there are no rings or buckles or padding the whole thing wads up into a tiny carrying bag. Perfect for those times when we weren't sure we'd need a carrier but brought one just in case. The ONLY downside is the time it takes to put on and take off. Usually I'd put it on and then leave it on whether the baby was in or out. For speed we had a Baby Bjorn, but of course that suffered the bulky portability issue. And yes it is sexist to think that only women want to/should carry the baby. ;)

Not to make a mountain out of a molehill, but the more I think about my original post (#1), the more I regret it. ej is correct; gender is not a factor in the choosing of a cool tool. More importantly, just by raising the issue of gender mix among Cool Tool readers, I have suggested that somehow women don't belong. Everyone has felt excluded at one time or another, and it is definitely NOT cool. Thanks also to Amy for your thought-provoking response.

Well-done, @paulD!

I appreciate the civil dialogue, as always. My wife has a regular job, and I have a bunch of irregular jobs, and so ended up doing a lot of baby wearing a few years ago. I loved it. I used the New Native to mild satisfaction, but having seen the Moby in use since then, think I'd prefer it. --es

My wife and I have moved from the Bjorn to the Evo. We have a Moby as well. Our big problem is our baby runs hot, and being next to one of us in a sling causes massive sweaty baby issues.

Anyone have a solution? I've been thinking about some sort of air gap pad to throw in between... but haven't found anything that fits the bill yet.

Another chick reader of many years... I am curious about the readership of cool tools, not just from the gender perspective, but also from the non-techie perspective. My parents were back-to-the-land hippie homesteaders, and I grew up with no hot water, no electricity, no indoor toilet. I'm now an IT-experienced gadget geek and a scientist; my life is filled with typical American conveniences. I still find myself much more interested in the fundamental workings than your average bear seems to be. I wonder how much the non-techie tools are wish-fulfillment and how many of us have some use for them. I find many of them to be wish-fulfillment for me. Some I adopt, but mostly I like the newsletter for the inspiration.

We have a Moby-D (Same as the boby, but with a different Fabric panel at the front. Three kids later, we still love it (although at the moment our 9 month old spends a lot of time in a Becko carrier (it's great, too BTW).

Regardless of your gender, you WILL get funny looks from people - get used to it. This is a comfortble, resilient carrier that will lasy a long time with colours and patterns to suit most people.

It can get a tad warm but, as I live in England, that doesn't matter much - our weather doesn't really do "hot".

There's just nothing like the feeling of a sleeping baby in a wrap. Thanks for the memories.

One reason I like it here is the eclecticism of what's presented, the broad notion of what a tool is. The sensibility reminds me a bit of my dear, dear friend of youth, the Whole Earth Catalog: access to tools, you can do it, you can do it cleaner, safer, with less injury to self and planet, and even enjoy yourself. The Whole Earth Catalog, back in the day, included, amongst other things, the book 'Our Bodies, Our Selves'. I read it in consequence, and found it deeply moving. Just sayin'...

RE: Gender Wars:

It doesn't have to be FOR the reader, it could be for the readers spouse, friend etc.

RE: The wrap:

We had one. Neither myself, nor my spouse (one of whom is female) cared for it. We both much preferred the ones with straps and buckles. I do think the child likes being held that way, either on the front when they are young, or on the back when older.

No real man would be caught DEAD wearing this contraption-

I'm a father, and I did wear this one on a few occasions, although my wife nearly always reserves the baby carrying to herself.

This wrap is absolutely fantastic! You can wear it on the back, sideways, she can nurse in it (here's something we men are definitely excluded from... outside of "Meet the Fockers"). Highly recommended.

Oh, Julian. Your machismo is so quaint.

I'm a dad too, used a wrap like this for the first 2 years. PERFECT for traveling with babies: you can make them comfortable (and go to sleep) pretty much anywhere. Also works great in bumpy taxi rides in India.

Don't get one with a ring or any other hardware piece, it puts pressure on 1 point, just get the style that's 1 big piece of fabric.

Be very careful when using this wrap. Our second daughter fell out while my wife was using it at 3 weeks of age. I am certain that it was user error, but we never used it since. My wife watched the video and had used it for several days, but all it took was one poor wrap to cause a trip to the emergency room. Fortunately at that age, children are very pliable and there were no ill effects besides my wife's guilt. Just be careful.