REASONS TO BUY
Easy to clean and adjust for baby comfort
REASONS TO AVOID
Harder to adjust for parents
Rougher mesh fabric
Onya Baby Outback Review
Unfriendly fabric and difficult adjustments are disappointing
Credit: Abriah Wofford
By Juliet Spurrier, MD ⋅ Mom-in-Chief ⋅ February 19, 2018
Contributions From: GearLab Review Team
RELATED: The Best Baby Carriers of 2025
Our Verdict
The Onya Baby Outback is a soft structured carrier with a variety of features and functionality not commonly seen including the ability to use it to turn adult seating into a safe seat for toddlers. This carrier has multiple positions including a front, back, and hip carry for children from 7 to 45 lbs. With multiple storage pockets, slick ripstop fabric, and thick padded straps, it feels like an all-day adventure pack. However, in our tests, this pack is hard to adjust for the wearer on the go, and it has rough mesh fabric that rests directly on little one's skin. We think this fabric could cause chaffing or skin irritation. Overall, compared to the competition, it isn't as comfortable for the wearer or the passenger and for the price we think it should be.
Our Analysis and Test Results
Onya Baby, a Santa Cruz, California based company, offers various baby carriers with ten options to consider.
Our little testers never seemed entirely comfortable or content inside the Onya.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Baby's Comfort
This carrier has rough mesh fabric on the inside against baby's skin, and it could chafe or cause irritation for some children. The carrier and seat do not have much padding or structure, and the lack of padding for a soft structured carrier leaves little ones strangely unsupported compared to the competition.
The Onya is difficult to adjust with straps that are hard to make smaller without considerable effort. This strap issue makes it hard to find a comfortable fit.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Parent's Comfort
While this carrier doesn't feel terrible, and some testers like it, it failed to beat the overall comfort of most of the competition. The straps are a little tricky to adjust and depending on your flexibility you may need help from another person. However, the straps and waistband are wide and firmly padded, some say more akin to a bay backpack. Perhaps, the harder adjustability is what results in a less than cozy fit.
The safety functionality on the Onya buckle takes some getting used to but once you use it a few times you'll get the hang of it.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Use
Often additional functionality translates to being more difficult to use. That is part of the equation with the Onya. The basic design is intuitive, and on a basic level, it is simple enough compared to some of the other soft-structured carriers in this review. The shoulder straps on the Onya need tightening on each side of the buckle. It is easier to pull the straps forward, so you need to leave the straps relatively short or cinch toward the back first. Unfortunately, you need to leave the straps long to get it on, and the side that needs the most adjustment is toward the back, which is the side that is hardest to adjust. This design makes it difficult to adjust the carrier on the go or with your baby in the pack.
The Onya offers a hood (above left) for additional head support, which tucks away when not in use. It also has a pocket on the back side of the carrier (above right). The carrier has multiple pockets, some of which have zippers, including a larger main pocket that expands somewhat.
The Onya is designed to attach to some chairs and has a feature to adapt the chair to create a safe place for little ones to sit.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
This carrier is the only option we tested or know of that can also be used to help your little one sit in an adult chair.
The Onya is machine washable and can be tumble dried, but it isn't easy to spot clean should you have an accident on an outing.
Credit: Abriah Wofford
Ease of Cleaning
The Onya is a machine-wash and wear choice that can tumble dry, so there is less downtime waiting for a hang-dry carrier. The only real downside is if you have an accident while on an adventure, it isn't as easy to spot clean or quick to dry, should you need to do a quick cleanup. However, outdoorsy folks will likely be attracted to the outer fabric despite the cleaning issue.
Manufacturer Video
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