Last Updated on 11 May 2023 by Colette
This post features product gifted for review
I’m a big fan of carriers and still regularly carry 21 month old Amy on my back using our fantastic Beco Soleil. Â She’s comfortable, feels safe and I know I can nip around busy places without the pushchair getting in the way. Â In fact we chose to use the Beco Soleil rather than the pushchair on the ferry to France last week and also around the busy French markets we visited.
However, although the Beco Soleil does carry up to around the age of three, in reality I know it’s days are numbered – whilst it does carry a substantial weight and I have even been known to carry Chloe in it out of desperation, there comes a point where your child outgrows their seated carrier. Â But what do you do? Â When your child no longer needs their pushchair but can’t cover the same distance as you before their little legs get tired? Â Step up to the plate the Hamahaki Hopp Child Carrier – I had never seen anything like this before and was really excited to try it.
Like most genius inventions, the Hamahaki Hopp came about as a result of a need, a need for a stepping stone between taking the pushchair everywhere and having to give piggybacks to exhausted children. Anyone who has tried to carry a child for any length of time be it on their shoulders, hip or back will know how tiring and uncomfortable it can get and surprisingly quickly. One of the things I love most about my Beco Soleil is that it spreads the weight of the load evenly over my hips and guess what? So does the Hopp. The Hamahaki Hopp is revolutionary in that it is designed to be worn with your child standing – I know, when I first read that I thought really? I had so many questions; surely it wouldn’t be stable? How would they feel safe? I knew we had to give it a go!
We have used the Hamahaki Hopp carrier with both Ben (who is at the upper end of the age limit) and Chloe on holiday and it was a complete lifesaver. It has also been used by my goddaughter Erin who is almost three so I’m confident we’ve given it a good testing across the age range!
What we love about the Hamahaki Hopp:
* It packs neatly into it’s own little bag, weighing just 1kg, which can either be stored in another bag, worn by the child or hooked onto something else with the handy carabiner
* The tidy bag makes it really easy to have to hand at all times unlike other much more bulky carriers for older children
* The majority of your child’s weight is spread evenly across your hips – so much more comfortable than them strangling you, making your back ache or kicking one hip out for a side carry.
* There’s adequate padding to allow for comfortable wearing of the harness
* The standing position allows for your child to see over your shoulders and get a great view of what’s going on around them and you can have a proper chat as well
* It’s surprisingly easy to put on. When you first get it out of the bag it looks really complicated however once you’ve had a quick check of the instructions it’s surprisingly intuitive.
* Once you and your child have mastered the Hamahaki Hopp you should be able to put it on without support
* The carrier can be used from the age of 2 right through to 6 (assuming your child fits within the minimum and maximum weight restrictions) meaning you can get many years of use out of it – that £120 is sounding good value now right?
* This bit of kit is made to last and I’m confident that it would easily survive being handed down to the next child (or two in our case!)
* The clips on the child harness are both a genuine safety feature and a confidence boost – once Chloe had seen she was fastened on and couldn’t actually fall off she was more than happy to be standing so high up
* The colour co-ordinated markings on the carrier make it easy to alter it to fit different sizes of children (and adults – both my friend Michelle who is 5ft nothing and Dave who is a lofty 6ft 5 have both comfortably worn the carrier. Michelle did say she thought she might struggle with a taller child though)
* Whilst being carried in the Hopp your child can’t get lost in a crowd (or in fact overwhelmed in a sea of legs)
* The child harness features reflective strips for added visibility
* The stirrup step keeps muddy feet away from your clothes (far better than a piggy back with wellies on your jumper!)
What we’re not so keen on:
* You do have to be aware of the additional height so as not to bump your child’s head on anything! (This is especially important when you’re 6ft 5 like Dave!)
* If your child shuffles about on the step it can fold up a little which is difficult to fix on your own but with an extra adult just takes a quick pull
As a family we love a good adventure and the Hamahaki Hopp is a perfect addition to our exploring – from festivals to fireworks, long walks or market places the Hopp allows you to go further and for your child to see better. The guys at Hamahaki are so confident you’ll love it they’ll give you your money back if you don’t like it and return it within 10 days – what have you got to lose?
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That looks so odd. I'd be terrified.
Honestly it's all really sturdy and secure. Chloe was much happier on the Hopp than she ever is on Dave's shoulders or when I give her a piggyback – she knew she was fastened on and safe.
This is BRILLIANT!
A stroke of genius isn't it!
This actually looks amazing!! I have agreed to review a side by side double pushchair purely because LP can't cope with walking for a whole day when we're out on adventures – this could be a great alternative! x
It would be perfect for you Donna – I think LP would love it.
It looks like it would be so much fun for a little one as it's one big long and very comfortable piggy back 🙂
This looks great, I always wanted something like this when mine were younger 🙂
What a great idea this is! I've never really carried mine but this is perfect for that in-between stage when they still get tired x
What a great idea! Our baby wearing days are numbered too sadly. This looks like a great solution to carrying x #TriedTested x
Never seen anything like it but it looks fabulous 🙂 #TriedTested
I've looked at these a lot! The are quite expensive but I think would be invaluable on days out
Personally I'm not keen on it but I can see the benefits, great review #triedtested
This looks like a great alternative to a pushchair and looks like it folds away well and isn't too bulky to carry when not in use.
What a clever idea! I wish I had known about this when we ditched the pushchair at 2.5 years. You are right of course that they don't need a buggy but their little legs still get tired and on long days out it can be very tricky! I shall be recommending this to my friends with slightly younger children than my 3.5 year old.
Katrina #TriedTested
That looks great, especially for longer journeys. I hated the awkward stage where you no longer take the buggy, but you know your child will get tired and need to be carried, so something like that would have been great.
What an ingenious idea, I love all the new products that keep emerging, this would have proved really useful when my boys were little x
As a baby wearing famy I am 100% living this! Never heard of it before but will be sending this review over to my sister who's 2 1/2 year old hates the buggy but wants carrying after a short while.#triedtested mum in a nutshell
This is brilliant – it's exactly the sort of thing we will need for Max soon as he doesn't go in a pushchair now but can't walk very far.
This looks like a brilliant interim solution for young children. We have pretty much said goodbye to the buggy, but like you, still carry our youngest (nearly three) loads. I'd never heard of it so thanks for the review. Thanks for hosting too, Colette. Hope you've had a lovely summer. x
We've got a carrier but it's quite bulky, this looks great! Not sure we could justify the price though
This looks fab and really sturdy!
#triedtested
Never heard of this. Our youngest would be just too old. Not sure whether they would have liked the standing posture though #Triedtested
That looks different, not seen that before – like the look of the feet stirrups #TriedTested
This looks amazing! What a clever ides! I haven't seen anything like this before x
I have never seen anything like this before. What a great product and great review #triedtested
Oh wow! That looks great. I love that the child can stand up and see everything, and you make such a good point about them being above a crowd.
Alana x
#triedtested
Wow I've never seen anything like this for older children – great idea #triedtested
What a great idea! We just got rid of our two backpacks but the kids now want shoulder rides – something it's really hard to keep up. They usually walk and it just got to be such a pain to carry the back packs most of the way for just a little use at the end. I love that these are so small they would be easy to carry along on a big walk to use when the kids got tired. #TriedTested
That looks really interesting! I had to do a double take on the pictures as I couldn't work it out at first. What a great idea for older children 🙂 #TriedTested
I have seen these around more and more lately, seems like a fab idea for those tired little legs!
I really want this!! My daughter won't go in a push chair, plus her 1 year old brother is in one. She walks for about 5 minutes (if I'm lucky!) and then she wants to be carried, so I can't take them any where by self with out hassle and tantrums!! #triedtested
I've never seen a carrier like this before, it looks brilliant. I can imagine my little boy loving this.
Great pictures as always.
Thanks for hosting #TriedTested
Wow, certainly looks interesting. I bet N would love it – saves giving piggy backs all the time, and they get to see everything!
I love carriers though I have never seen one like this! I would be worried about losing my balance though hehe!
I can just about carry Oliver in the sling, but it won't be for much longer. This is a great idea and like you say perfect for festivals or long walks. It is fairly expensive, but I suppose it does last for a long age range.
Becky- LittleOandme
Thanks for hosting #TriedTested
never seen anything like this! it looks great! we missed the boat a bit with carriers in general, my partner wanted one when we had Mia but i wasnt keen. Now i know the disadvantages of having a massive buggy, i wish we had got one. Because our buggy is so wide and heavy, i dont take it out with us much anymore but i do find Mia cant walk massive distances (shes 2) so we need something to bridge this short gap. I toyed with buying a little stroller but this carrier looks great, iam sure she would love it!
#TriedTested
This sounds fab though it does look a little odd! Definitely something to consider for when Aria is a little older.
#TriedTested
Wow. I like the portability on this when not in use. Carrying around a carrier when a child has decided they can walk is usually a bit of a back ache in itself. This looks like a really practical design #triedtested
This looks great, for older children who might get tired on a long walk and then you don't have to worry about a pushchair. I love the fact that they can see over your shoulder and have a giants eye view!
What a great way to carry older kids!
#TriedTested
looks interesting, didnt think that such a carrier exists