Over the past few weeks I have had the privilege of temporarily trading one of my wraps for a local Mum's. You see these wrap are almost identical to look at, other than the obvious colour, but they were made in different years. The wraps that I am talking about are Didymos Pfau 2007 weave (anniversary weave), mine the re-weave in the colourway Aqua and the other the original '07 Black and White (B&W). The reason for the trade was to discover if there were differences in wrapping qualities and comfort.
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| Didymos Aqua Pfau 2012 size 5 |
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| Didymos Black and White Pfau 2007 size 5 |
I was a bit hesitant to send mine off because it is so lovely, but I would assume so was the other Mum, especially because the original '07s carry a hefty price tag. So let's get right into the comparisons and really talk shop.
I will refer to mine as Aqua and her's as B&W, just so we are all clear here.
So when we first exchanged I was immediately taken aback, I was expecting the wraps to be somewhat similar, but they definitely were VERY different. The Aqua is quite thin, airy, floppy and smooth to the touch. Whereas I found the B&W to be heavy, dense and somewhat coarse (I should note, B&W was freshly wash, adding some crunchiness). We were both eager to take them home and try them out.
As for looks I couldn't find a difference at all, they were identical. The '07 weave is truly beautiful and the most delicate looking of all the Pfau weaves. I personally have not tried other Pfau weaves, but if I am going in looks alone, these would be hands down my number one choice.
As for wrapping qualities I speak to what I know most, first. The Aqua was always a go-to wrap for me, especially if I knew that I might be in a time crunch for wrapping. This wrap easily tightens and makes getting all the slack out of a chest pass a breeze. So pretty much every time I had a perfect wrap job. This makes it hard to find critiques on this wrap, because a wraps weaknesses really shine in a substandard wrap job. But once wrapped Aqua is lovely to wear, it has a lovely bounce to it, as the wrap kind of moves with you. If I was to pick a deterrent of this wrap, I guess it might be the same bounce that I love. This is because as your baby grows into a toddler their weight can take that bounce and become saggy. My son is just an itty bitty kind of thing, so the Aqua still works wonders for us. The Aqua is also incredibly thin, 185 g/m2 (grams per meter squared). This is one of the reasons it is so easy to tighten, some people swear by thin wrap because of this. But with a thin wrap it is sometimes hard to find enough support as your child grows, luckily this wrap is a longer length so perfect for multi-layer carries, adding that support.
Personally to sum up the Aqua it is a beautiful, easy to use, comfortable wrap and I love it!
The B&W, this is really the older brother of my Aqua. It is much thicker than the Aqua (couldn't find the m2 on this one, if someone knows it, let me know!). The B&W surprisingly though was just as easy to use, it kind of shocked me, even out of the wash crunchy. It must be in the smoothness of the weave, because it just glided into a double hammock. The main difference I found when wearing these two wraps was where the Aqua bounced with you through your movement, the B&W was rock solid. I actually didn't even notice my 20 pound son on my back when I went on a 45 minute walk. This wrap would make a wicked shorty, it was really made for a Ruck! But that being said if I had the chance to buy one I would have to opt for a longer one, just for the variety, because I would want to use this wrap on every long walk. I think I could carry myself in this wrap. In the Aqua I find I always need chest belts, Ruck straps were never super comfortable; but in the B&W I could wear Ruck straps for hours! The added thickness really had the perfect amount of cush on my shoulders, there wasn't even a trace of digginess. All in all I think this is a perfect wrap other than one tiny detail, the price.
I am sure all the people who owned the '07 Pfau (and probably paid a premium) did a collective gulp when they heard about this release. But really the worry that this wrap would devalue their gems shouldn't be there. These wraps are completely different, other than looks. I think the target wrapping audience is a completely different person for each. Some people would for sure prefer one over the other, but in my opinion, if you have the chance to own either of these lovelies you will have made an excellent choice.
I sadly said goodbye to my Pfau, yesterday in fact, and I am already feeling the pangs of regret. I was culling my stash to free up some funds for a new release, which is so hard when you love all your wraps. But I said farewell-for now to the Aqua the same day I say goodbye to the B&W, and I am missing Peacocks in my life. (one day you will awkwardly fly home my dear Pfau)
