Thank you so much to Laura from the SoCal Disneyland area for her in depth review of the new Babyhawk Soft Structured Carrier, the Oh Snap!, and the new 16″ Olives & Applesauce Full Buckle Soft Structured Carrier! Keep in mind that the Olives & Applesauce does come with an attached infant insert, which you can fold to the back of the carrier when your baby is too tall for it. The Babyhawk Oh Snap! also features a key clip on the waistband!
To make things easier, here are a couple of acronyms that we will use (repeatedly!) in this post:
BH = Babyhawk
OS = Oh Snap!
SSC = Soft Structured Carrier, meaning a meh dai style body with shorter straps that buckle instead of tie and a padded waistband
O&A = Olives & Applesauce
FB = Full Buckle
DH = Dear Husband
If you have any questions, please let us know!
We have the Oh Snap! SSCs in stock or available to order as customs, and the O & As are just getting finished up over at O & A headquarters, and we are taking pre-orders on them now!
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My overall impression is that these are different enough carriers that you could definitely have one of each in your stash. Before I had the BHOS I was in love with my O&A’s and I still am. They are beautiful carriers and very comfy. I do however find the BHOS a bit more comfy for me. I love all the adjustments. I can get a great fit, DH can get a great fit, and we can cinch it down super tiny for the smaller kids. If you’re passing it among very differently sized people, constant adjustment may be a PITB. Once you figure out the right adjustment for you though, it is easy to use.
Babyhawk Oh Snap! SSC is on the left. Olives & Applesauce 16 inch FB SSC is on the right. The strap fabrics are different, but in some of these pictures, they look alike.
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The O&A on top of BHOS. You can see here how the body of the O&A is slightly curvy and contoured. The BHOS is pretty much straight up and down. They both have leg padding, but the O&A is fluffier.
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The headrest of the OS can be folded down. It is tricky to fold it down in a back carry, and you probably would need a friend to do it for you. It does not have a seat insert. Our four month old is on the small side for what is recommended with any SSC (which is 4-6 months usually) but we used SSC’s with our older son from about 3 months on. We froggied his legs inside, then moved to one leg out and then finally to two legs out, you could also use a receiving blanket inside the bottom to get him seated a bit higher in the carrier if you want.
Up close picture of the waist padding. The O&A is more curved. The BHOS is also curved but because of the adjusters (mine are all the way out) you could make it more curved or less curved. OS has slightly wider webbing here.
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The BHOS headrest is great because my son can see out the sides, and when he puts his arms out, there is no scrunching of the body. The back of the headrest comes up high enough to support him during a nap. I still need to bounce him down and into the carrier once he falls asleep, but I like the way the BHOS feels…it is a very comfy carrier.
Both carriers have seat darts. The seat darts on the BHOS are just not as deep as the O&A, so they are hard to see, but they are there. On the left is the BHOS, on the right is the O&A. The O&A has a bit of a trough by the waist band, and the BHOS is less deep.
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A couple of things in this picture. You can see the differences in the width of the straps. The BHOS are slightly curved. O&A are straight. O&A has wider webbing than the BHOS. The chest straps are very different. The O&A chest strap is free floating. The BHOS chest strap is fixed but removable. There is adjustable webbing on the BHOS that allows petite users to shorten the straps past the padding (mine are all the way out here).
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The BHOS waistband padding is 4 inches wide. The body is 17 inches tall for a total height of 21 inches
The O&A waistband padding is 3 3/4. The body is 16 inches tall for a total of 19 3/4 inches. With the hood up it is 30 inches.
Shoulder padding. O&A on top. O&A straps are wider with less padding. BHOS are narrower with more padding (though I think as the BHOS breaks in, it will get a little more floppy)
Really, I think everyone should give the OS a try. I went back and forth on them for a while thinking that I was happy with my O&A’s and I wasn’t going to rock the boat trying a bunch of new things, but I finally caved and I am really glad I did. It does feel different than the O&A which I still love, but for a back carry napper who hates hoods, the BHOS is really great. We have been using it for naps and I really am loving it. The 16 inch O&A is a great size and definitely works for a toddler!
