I love, love, LOVE my Boba Wrap (formerly sleepy wrap), but I had heard so much about ring slings, I really wanted to try one with this baby. The wrap meant I’d have to put the baby down to wrap or unwrap it, and it was yucky to have it drag on the ground in public if I had to take it off and put it back on. I was also never able to easily nurse in the Sleepy Wrap, which meant I’d have to take the baby out to nurse, which was kind of a pain. I still love it though! Most comfortable and easy to use thing ever!! I got a Maya Wrap Ring Sling and liked it, but the padded shoulder was really kind of narrow, and always ended up sitting on my shoulder like a purse, making my back and shoulder really hurt, even though my son is just a newborn.
I’ve heard a lot about Sakura Bloom; they seem like the Cadillac of slings. They have some beautiful and amazing slings that cost up to $1,000+ for rare, hand woven silk slings, though they do have single layer linen slings for $88 (still not cheap!)
Anyhoo, I really like the ring sling because I can put it on and take it off while holding my son, and when Sakura had their winter sample sale, I couldn’t resist. I got a $160 2-layer Essential Linen sling in Raven/Maple for $98 (almost 39% off) though I nearly abandoned my cart when I saw the $12.77 shipping! It was a huge splurge for me and I wavered back & forth before I finally bought it. Maybe I’m off base but I figured I could always re-sell it when I was done with it and recoup a good bit of my money.
So since it was a sample, I wasn’t expecting it to come with a box or any documentation, but it did!
The box was sturdy with a magnetic closure (couldn’t bring myself to recycle it, I kept it!) and it came with the instruction booklet as well.
It must have just been used for photos, or at a trade show as a display, because the only way I could tell it wasn’t brand new is that it was pre-threaded (which is like score! bonus for me.)
I’m not very good at using ring slings. I can’t just put it on and have it adjusted just right every time. Sometimes it’s perfect, but the next time I can’t figure out what I did last time, LOL. My son doesn’t seem to mind though, and it just means I have to re-adjust the rails in the ring, and spread the fabric on my shoulder and back differently. Sometimes I have to loosen it and shift my son a little bit and try again, but it’s all good! I find it helps to have the bottom rail tightened before putting the baby in, and also pulling the tail to the sides, instead of down, tightens without as much bunching in the ring.
My camera took a dive off the tripod and is currently in parts in a body (Ziploc) bag, so forgive the cell phone self-portraits. 
My older kids love it too, because it means it’s easier for me to do things for them, including taking them to the park on a wacky 65 degree January day!
Since the Sakura slings aren’t sized, the tail is very long. I have been wrapping it around the ring once, so I don’t feel quite like I’m going to step on it, and it covers the ring, but it’s not hard to unloop it to take the sling off.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but overall, I think it was worth what I paid for it. I’d love to try a silk sling too (especially to see if it’s easier to adjust), but even the least expensive one is really far out of this girl’s budget!
FTC compliance: I purchased this item from a sample sale that was open to the general public. Post contains affiliate links. I was not asked to write, nor was I compensated for this post, and all opinions are my own.
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