"Give me a place to stand and I will sling the Earth"
- Archimedes, perhaps.
It's not often that the Product Review Bell tolls ominously down the hallowed hallways and into the sprawling offices of LeesKoreaBlog.
*Donnnng!* *Donnnng!* *Donnnng!*
But indeed it does, from time to time. At which point some kind of product review usually occurs.
This story starts in the early spring of 2012. Outside, bouncy Korean sparrows chirp cheerfully in the warmer air. Sunlight twinkles through dewdrops on newly budding leaves awakening from winter slumber.
And long after morning nappies have been changed, a solitary baby sits in quiet contemplation.
We shall call her Big Baengy.
"Hello, what's this?"
As if by some miracle of postal express, a strange device Designed in California appears by her side.
Upon touching the plastic buckles and closely woven fabric, it expands gracefully to reveal its true Function.
It is a harness that can be used to ride Mother.
Much like how one can ride a Banshee, if harbouring appropriate courage.
Courageous banshee pilot, with appropriate safety headgear. Note the facial expression of confident exhilaration.
A sling is a device for carrying that which would normally be carried by arm and hand. This frees them for other important activities, like resting or administering gentle reassuring pats to a baby's bottom.
But our newest device is no ordinary sling. It's the Boba Carrier 3G.
The G's, I assume, stand for Gentle Gentrification (of the) Gwanak (area).
The Carrier is a comfortable and customisable carrier of cids (kids). We previously owned a sling whose brand shall remain nameless. Suffice to say, this one is better.
The Norwegians have a saying: Bad is called good when worse happens. And so in the case of slings encountered by the Korean Farrands, I guess we could say: Acceptable becomes undesirable when super-duperness appears.
Why so much fuss over a simple sling, you inquire?
For those happily unacquainted with Baby-Related Backpain, Newborn-Associated Nausea or Infant-Induced Insomnia, anything that eases the predicaments of parenthood is worth its weight in gold.
The Boba Carrier is thoughtfully designed and surprisingly comfortable. It's kind of like a Ferrari, I imagine, except affordable. The padding is in the right places and it fits the wearer snugly like a good shoe. And the clips all clip like clips should clip. That is, with smooth and easy action, yet reassuring sturdiness.
And the design is good. There are other styles available from the same company, but the main strap on ours can be flipped over to hold newborns. That means only one sling is needed per unit offspring.
If you've seen a sling or two before, well the Boba has two hidden pockets in the front, a handbag clip on the side, the dangly bits all tidy up nicely and the secondary clip on the upper back slides far enough to be opened and closed without dislocation of a shoulder.
If James Bond needed a sling, I'm pretty sure he'd use one of these.
Most importantly, this sling distributes more weight to the hips and less to the shoulders.
Which means that happy parents and gleeful babies can venture further on foot to more exciting destinations.
The other day we went slinging out in good old Nakseongdae Park. I couldn't help but wonder about the extra victories possible if General Gang Gamchan's horse had worn a Boba Carrier instead of a regular saddle.
Einstein once postulated that a chair, a table, a bowl of fruit and a violin was all that one needed to be happy. My recommendation would be: a lovely wife, a lovely baby, a lovely sling and a lovely park.
If you have a baby or know someone with a baby, have thought of having a baby or know someone who is thinking of having a baby, then buy a Boba. They ship fast and have excellent customer service.
The best place to get them is via their website: http://www.bobafamily.com/
Happy slinging!
