Manufacturer – Joy and Joe

Design – King of the birds

Colour – Brown (Chrysaetos)

Blend – 100% cotton

Weight – 255gsm

Width of wrap – 63cm

Size tested – Medium (4)

Retail price of tested design and size – £110

Provided to me by – Joy and Joe

Website – Joy and Joe Baby

Initial thoughts on design, colour and feel

Anyone who’s seen my posts involving my personal wraps will know this is very much ‘my’ colour! It’s stunning! It’s a really vibrant colour and the fabric has a beautiful sheen to the ‘right’ side thanks to the sateen weave. It’s been difficult to photograph how it shimmers in the light so you’ll just have to take my word for it. The eagle design feels a very strong and confident design to me, and would look totally at home on either a man or a woman. The name of the brown weft (Chrysaetos) is the latin species name of the Golden Eagle, and the other colourway King of the Birds comes in has a black weft (Verreauxii), named after the Black Eagle, which I think is a nice touch. This wrap came to me brand new, and was soft and floppy straight out of the bag (a nice touch from Joy and Joe is that their wraps come in lovely bags).

Front carry thoughts

I tried King of the Birds out in a front wrap cross carry, tied under bum. Reu was getting a little grumpy before bed but he quickly settled once wrapped. I found it easy to wrap with and it was comfortable. There’s not too much stretch to this wrap so it didn’t move from where I placed it and was fully supportive for my toddler. Although it was easy to use, because it’s new I ended up with what felt like quite a big knot, but this will decrease as the wrap gets further broken in. Having said that it’s not at all stiff to use and I wouldn’t say it needed breaking in, just that it will get even softer with further use.

Back carry thoughts

I put King of the Birds to the test in four different back carries. We tried it with a double hammock with single ring finish, a ruck tied at waist, a ruck tied at shoulder with candy cane chest belt, and a ruck with single ring finish at waist.

I always forget how comfortable double hammock with single ring finish is, and this wrap was perfect for it. The ‘odd’ side of the wrap gave good grip for the ring finish and the wrap held perfectly and really comfortably. It didn’t budge at all, the passes were easy to make and stayed exactly where I put them, and the wrap felt very supportive.

Reu was in full wriggle mode for the ruck tied at waist (he was excited as he’d nabbed my selfie stick so he was enjoying waving it around and banging it on Mummy’s head!). Despite this, the wrap was still comfortable and didn’t pull on my shoulders, and the seat held well despite all his bouncing up and down!

We went out geocaching with King of the Birds and I had Reu in a ruck tied at shoulder with candy cane chest belt. I found it supportive and sturdy, even when climbing across ditches, searching and bending down frequently.

The ruck with single ring finish was also a comfortable and supportive carry with this wrap.

Ring finish thoughts

I tried two different ring finishes with King of the birds (double hammock with single ring finish and ruck with single ring finish at waist), and both times the wrap held well through the ring. The sateen side was easy to pass through the ring and the textured ‘odd’ side provided good grip. I used a large sling ring for both the double hammock and ruck, but maybe would have been better with a medium sized ring for the ruck.

Overall thoughts

I have really enjoyed having King of the Birds here to stay. It’s a beautiful wrap with a vibrant colour and the design is really striking and powerful without being overwhelming. As with other Joy and Joe wraps I’ve tried it’s lovely quality and really nice to wrap with. It’s very supportive and would suit toddlers as well as newborns. Although it’s not as instantly floppy to wrap with as Joy and Joe’s new Fountains of Love range (see my review for Fountains of Love here http://slingsally.com/?p=18 ), it’s still easy to use from brand new and will just get even softer and more flexible with further use. Ben had a quick go too and really liked the colour and design. Overall, King of the Birds is a great wrap and it’s a shame it has to fly on to a new home.

Manufacturer – Joy and Joe

Design – Fountains of love

Colour – Mustard yellow

Blend – 100% cotton

Width of wrap – 70cm

Size tested – XXL (7)

Retail price of tested design and size – £275

Provided to me by – Joy and Joe

Initial thoughts on design, colour and feel

This wrap has a very classic design that would suit anyone, and it also comes in black and pink colourways for those with different colour tastes but I really like the yellow. The colour seems to shimmer in the light and the wrap is nice and wide (I measured it at 70cm). Despite not having been travelling for very long before arriving with me it was already beautifully soft and flexible. Joy and Joe say they have been working on an innovative new weave that will not need any breaking in, and judging by this wrap, they’ve cracked it!

Front carry thoughts

I used Fountains of Love for a front wrap cross carry with spread passes. I found it really easy to use and tighten, there was no stiffness at all and the wrap was lovely and floppy to manipulate. There was enough stretch to the wrap to make it easy to work with, while still being strong and supportive. I used it with my toddler Reu, who is 15 months old and about 19lbs and it didn’t slip or pull at all, but it’s so soft it would also be lovely for a newborn.

Back carry thoughts

I tried three different back carries with Fountains of Love, and as the tester was a size XXL (a 7), I got the opportunity to practice some fancy finishes. I did a ruck finished knotless tibetan, a double hammock with saltwater finish, and a back wrap cross carry with chest belt.

I found the wrap really easy to use for all these carries and totally supportive. I bunched the ruck straps and was really impressed that they didn’t dig at all, as sometimes happens with other wraps (I sandwich the straps to solve this when necessary). The double hammock was so comfortable Reu felt almost weightless! I sometimes struggle to open passes behind me but the width of this wrap made that much easier, and the passes were easy to make. This was my first attempt at a back wrap cross carry and I found it nice and easy to do. It was very easy to make the passes and tighten the wrap, and as before, I found the wrap comfortable and supportive.

Knotless finish thoughts

I tried Fountains of Love with a ruck finished knotless tibetan, and due to the texture of the weave it held the knotless finish really well, with no slipping at all. I hope you can see from the pictures that the pattern is almost embossed. I find that sometimes when a wrap has a lot of texture to it, while this can make a knotless finish nice and secure, it can also make the passes harder to make and tighten due to the level of friction, but I didn’t find that at all with this wrap as passes were easy to make.

Overall thoughts

Fountains of Love is a stunning wrap, both in design and ease of use. It’s so soft, it would be lovely to wrap a newborn in, but I also found it lovely and supportive for my bouncy toddler. Joy and Joe really do seem to have done what they have said with the new weave, it didn’t feel like it needed any breaking in at all. I have bought a new wrap from them in the past (Luceo non Uro), and while it wasn’t at all stiff it’s certainly softened with use, but is still no where near Fountain of Loves texture and ease of use. This wrap also got Ben’s vote and he loved the colour, design and texture of the wrap, and kept asking if we could get one (let’s see when they are released!). Overall, we all loved having Fountains of Love to stay, and were sad to see it go.