Review & Giveaway: The Action Baby Carrier

Thanks to the creators of the Action Baby Carrier, someone it going to come away from this giveaway with an awesome carrier!

Thanks everybody for your shouts, this giveaway is now closed.

Don´t forget to enter for a chance to win 2 EcoUsable bottles! Plus, I appreciate any help spreading the news of these giveaways from you all. Thanks so much and enjoy!

So, The timing was perfect when I received the carrier because we were getting ready to head to the Caribbean and decided to bring it, along with my Ergo. We rented bikes the whole time we were there so we had to use both carriers to carry our girls. I tried out the Action Baby Carrier with Tabi while Jon and my father-in-law used the Ergo with Naomi.


Here you will see me using the ABCarrier while we were touring the amazing chocolate plantation near Puerto Viejo. Overall, I really enjoyed the ABCarrier and found it to be very similar to the Ergo with a few exceptions.

Before I continue… please know that I was given the Action Baby Carrier to review for free. This review is totally my opinion and has not been edited or reviewed by anybody. I am not being compensated in any other way for this product review.


There are a couple things that really impress me about this mom & pop business based in Alpena, MI. All their carriers are handmade in the USA and sold at affordable prices. Along with the carrier, I received a letter sharing about the manufacturing of the Action Baby Carrier:

The Action Baby Carrier was designed by Angela and Scott Alexander in 2007, they are owners of Optave Inc. The design of the carrier was based on the idea of a simple, compact and affordable baby carrier that was made in the USA.


When looking at other carriers, we wanted something that we could easily throw in a diaper bag and we did not want to spend $150+, so we set out to make our own. We came up with the Action Baby Carrier. The Action Baby Carrier may not have all the bells and whistles of some other carriers, but it is light weight at about 1 pound and can fold small enough to fit into a diaper bag.


Once we had a design for our carriers, the next issue was production. We did not want to have a page on our site explaining the working conditions of our factory over seas. There are a lot of Americans out of work here in the US. After contacting several sewing houses in the US that said we were better off shipping production to Asia, we decided it was best to just set up our own shop.


Currently all of our carriers are sewn by hand in Alpena, MI. We are proud to manufacture our carriers in our own shop. In a town with 23% unemployment, we are glad to be doing our part.

My Thoughts
Now, I mentioned above that the ABCarrier is very similar to the Ergo… it is very comfortable with foam-padded shoulder straps that can be worn backpack style w/ a chest strap or criss-cross (Ergo does not do this), it has an adjustable hip belt, sleeping hood, can be worn front & back, beautiful fabric designs and folds into a compact size to fit easily in a diaper bag. Click here to read the details.

I really like their carrier and love the fit, but there are a few things I did not like about it and hope they can make improvements on these things if possible:

• The straps - the straps are a little awkward to use because you have to pull them back & up towards your back to tighten them and that’s not easy to do. The Ergo’s straps are made that you can pull them forward & down to tighten comfortably without feeling like your arm is going to twist off. But I have to say that the scraps do feel very secure and strong… that’s a good thing!
• The fabric – I LOVE LOVE the outside fabric design… so bright and beautiful! The fabric is made of 100% cotton canvas so it is very durable, but the inside fabric is made of polyester… not my favorite fabric. I would prefer it if they use 100% cotton for the inside to make it even lighter and more breathable. Tabi was a little hot inside it because of the humid, tropical weather.
• The chest straps – I almost lost one of the straps when I was getting Tabi in the carrier. I did the criss-cross and didn’t noticed the strap missing till a little while later when I wanted to change it back to the backpack style. Thankfully we rode our bikes back to the spot and found it. The straps aren’t sewn on so they can easily fall out when you unhook the straps.

Really, these are minor things that will not endangered your baby. You can simply ignore those things & enjoy it as it is! It is a very well made carrier that will last you a long time.

Wearing the ABCarrier on My Side
The instructions only tell you to wear the carrier on the front or back, but I was able to wear it on my side. Check out the pictures below… it was so easy to do and very secure. Tabi was happy because she wanted me to hold her on my hip so she could see everything, but I wanted to take pictures too. The ABCarrier did a wonderful job of holding her securely while I took pictures through the jungles of the chocolate plantation.

We all know the benefits of wearing our babies and I love the way Scott & Angela put in their own words:

More than a Carrier.....
It is more than a baby carrier. It is more than an image of a child who is peacefully snuggled against their parent. It is a blink in time, a moment you will never get back. It is the smell of your skin close to your child. It is the moment your baby looks up and slowly closes his eyes and drifts off to sleep. It is the ability to fold laundry, trim flowers, go to the market as your baby is happy and close to you.
It is the strolls down old cobblestone streets, across open fields and busy cities. It is the security of knowing, feeling, touching your child. Knowing that you can not look away or just a split second and them be gone, because he is part of you, connected, bonded and secure.

It is what every parents wants- security of knowing what they are doing is the best, safest, and healthiest thing for their baby.

That is the power of Action Baby Carriers.

So, overall… I highly recommend the ABCarrier to those who desire to purchase things handmade & sold in the USA, want a good quality carrier at an affordable price and love bright color fabrics (they do have plain versions too). You cannot buy the ABCarrier directly from them, but you can locate a store near you that sells their carriers. Here are my ratings for the ABC:

Ratings: 1 - 7 (terrible - excellent)
Quality: 7
Style: 7
Ease of use: 4
Baby's comfort: 6.5
My comfort: 7
Ability to nurse: 6
Overall score: 6.2 [Very Good!]







Now, the Giveaway…


A free Action Baby Carrier of your choice! Thanks to Scott & Angela! I really do enjoy this carrier and love that it is handmade with integrity & love.



How to Enter...


Head over to the Action Baby Carrier website and pick your favorite print. Then come back here and leave me a comment sharing what your favorite print is. The print you choose will be the print you will receive if you win, so choose well! That's one entry... please read on for more entries to increase your chance of winning!


Extra Entries...
You must do the main entry first (above) before doing the extra entries. Remember that each entry is a separate comment. Thanks and have fun!

1. Subscribe for my email updates. Leave a noisy comment below telling me that you signed up. You also get an entry if you've already subscribed...again, make sure you tell me that! (1 extra entry)
2. Follow my blog (publicly). Leave me a comment that you've become a follower. (1 extra entry)
3. Follow me on Twitter. Be sure to include your Twitter username in the comment telling me that you are following me. (1 extra entry)
4. Tweet the giveaway. Here's a suggested tweet: "WIN a free Action Baby Carrier @ [enter URL here]". Leave a comment with the URL of your tweet! (1 extra entry)
5. Friend me on Facebook and post about the giveaway on your Facebook status. Be sure to include the URL to this page in your status update. Leave a noisy comment below telling me that you did those two things. (1 extra entry)
6. Become a Just Making Noise Fan on Facebook. Leave me a shout below telling me you became a fan. If you are already a fan... you get that entry!  (1 extra entry)
7. Blog about the giveaway. Make sure to link back to this page on your blog. Comment below with the URL link of your post. (That is 2 extra entries!)
8. Email 4 friends about the giveaway. Make sure you put a link to this page on the email. Leave a comment below telling me that you emailed your friends. (That is 4 extra entries!)

Okay, there is a total of 9 entries and 13 opportunities to win.

The Rules...

PLEASE, every comment must have an email address. The giveaway ends on ------- and is open to those who have US mailing addresses (hint: if you live outside of the US, but still have a US mailing address and a way to get the product to you... you are qualified!).

I will chose the winner via Random.org and he/she will receive an email from me. The winner will be annouced on May 31st and will have 48 hours to contact me with his or her full name, address and phone number. Thank you!

Enjoy!!
Mare