Beco Soleil Vs. Beco Gemini

We are a predominately Beco baby carrier family. I loved my Beco Butterflies. The Pastor loved his Beco Gemini.  So when I got the chance to try out the new Beco Soleil, I was thrilled. After wearing it around for a couple weeks, I now have a good feel for the similarities and differences between it and the Beco Gemini. 

The new Beco Soleil in Micah print from Carry Me Away.

You’ll notice on this comparison shot that the Soleil is wider than the Gemini. (And by the way, this is Topher, my 3 month old. He’s about 15 lbs. right now.) You can also see how much shorter the Gemini is on Topher. He seems to prefer the Soleil right now because he likes the snuggles and gets easily overwhelmed. (I can tell you that when Imo was a baby, she would have preferred the Gemini. She hated not being able to see absolutely everything going on. Just proof that every baby is so different.) If you were a Butterfly lover, the Soleil does not have the fabric sling inside, so you can’t move the baby around as well. You can, however, breastfeed much more easily.)

The Gemini has a flip up hood. It clips onto the straps. The Soleil has a detachable hood like the Butterfly had. There are two attachment spots on the Soleil.

Snaps under the flap.

Snaps above the flap.

The flap.

And unlike the Butterfly, the Soleil has an actual pouch to store the hood in! This pouch is on the waistband. You can also get a Carry All bag to go on your Soleil. On that note- go “like” Carry Me Away on Facebook for special deals periodically. Like, right now if you buy the Soleil, you can get the Carry All bag for FREE! Add both to your cart and use coupon code CARRYALL. Only good through tomorrow!

The Soleil also has this nice leg padding for baby. That is one of my favorite new features of the Soleil!

You can back carry with both. (And once again, you can see how much wider and taller the Soleil is. If you’ve got little babies, you may want to stick with the Gemini.)

You can also do a hip carry with both. I like the Soleil better for the hip carry because the extra width makes them feel more secure in the carry. I don’t use a hip carry very often. You can see The Pastor is having trouble with the hip carry because, well, boys don’t have hips like girls do.

The Soleil has a key hook! How awesome is that? (I can also fit my cell phone in the hood pouch with the hood. FYI.)

The Soleil also has a toy loop! You’ll notice that the Soleil hooks like the Gemini, on the side, not like the Butterfly at the shoulder. I always hooked toys or a paci around the Butterfly strap and it was easy because it buckled there. I have more trouble getting things to stay on the Gemini. On the Soleil, the toy loop solves that problem entirely.

This is my two year old in a back carry in both carriers. (We usually only back carry beyond 18 months. For me, I can’t see over their heads anymore beyond that. For The Pastor, well, he doesn’t want to get kicked in the you-know-whats by a long legged toddler.) You can see that the Soleil holds his legs up properly and they kind of dangle a bit with the Gemini. He is still well within the weight range for both.You can also see that the Soleil comes up higher on his back. Both hold him in securely and he likes both.

This is my four year old in a back carry in both. You can see he is too big for the Gemini but still fits in the Soleil really well. He prefers the Soleil. And surprisingly, it is easy to carry him like this. (You know those times you take the kids somewhere and they all suddenly refuse to walk? Yeah? 4 year old in the carrier can solve that problem for you.)

Both carriers can criss cross in the back or be worn over each shoulder with the strap in the middle. I don’t like crossed straps. The Pastor loves crossed straps.

This is the only thing the Gemini does that the Soleil doesn’t. I do not like wearing my kids facing out. The Pastor likes wearing the kids facing out. So, he prefers the Gemini and I prefer the Soleil. You can see with a smaller baby, the hips are in the correct position facing out. (Hips and knees bent.) As they get bigger, not so much. (Which does not stop The Pastor from forward facing them from time to time.)

And this is why every adult in the family needs a baby carrier! Sometimes, you’ve got to haul more than one! (And with a wagon and two baby carriers, we can get all 5 tired souls to the car after a long zoo trip.)