Cliff notes: dense, heavier weight, supportive, flat texture, easy passes, single or multilayer friendly, big kid friendly, not squish friendly, not heat friendly, beater.
First of all: I’m really pleased.
Upon American Quilt’s arrival the first thing I noticed was the weight. As I pulled it out of the package I could feel there was a bit of a heaviness to it and I immediately thought to myself, “oh yes, let’s beat it up.” As first ups often go, I was all “ooh. ahhhh” as I noticed the impressive support, the flat texture, and the dense blankety feel of it. It was also quite comfortable on my shoulders with my ever-growing toddler (since when am I a mother to a ~25lb 14mo??) and I distinctly remember thinking that it was a lot easier to wrap with than I might have expected. Passes glided easily, knots were no sweat to tie, all in all a really well rounded first up. But this was all in a DH and L was totally compliant so… not exactly pushing it to the limits.
Next up: ruck test.
Rucking in general hasn't been a big part of our daily habit lately but American quilt was ready to meet my hyper-curious mega-leaning seat popper at the battle line. When L decided to be a cooperate ruckee, AQ had a slight bounce and stretch, and it cupped nicely around my shoulders. I was able to comfortably wear her for a moderate amount of time (read~30 min) without feeling any digginess or sag. I don’t generally ruck her for much longer than that at her weight (and with her leaning tendencies a ruck is rather easily destroyed) but I was totally confident selecting AQ when I knew we were heading into a ruck situation. If owned it in a 3 I could see us reaching for it to RTIF regularly.
American Quilt also accompanied us for several bedtimes and I was happy with my choice to use it. FWCC is our go-to bedtime carry and I didn’t have any complaints while wearing and nursing her to bed which usually takes about 30+ min. Getting FWCC snug wasn’t an issue and my shoulders were happy. Win.
Lastly: rebozo.
It’s no secret. I am the anti-rebozo. BUT I figured it would be worth a try (and I wanted to get a #knotshot). SURPRISE! A moderately comfy rebozo! My shoulder wasn’t dying and I was actually able to get the slack out and feed it through the knot. Total shocker (I’ve only been able to do that 2 other times in 2 other wraps so this was a real pat on the back for AQ). The knot held nicely and had just the right amount of grip to hold without being a PITA to loosen or slide. I awarded American Quilt a fist full of brownie points for this.
All in all I was genuinely pleased with my experience with this fun yet simple wrap. I most often used it in a DH, drs2s, and FWCC, but on the occasions that I used it in single layer carries I was not disappointed or regretful. I would say AQ feels like it lands on the light-mid end of heavy when folded in your hands but it doesn’t feel overwhelming once it’s wrapped IMO.
The tight weave and smooth/flat texture coupled with fantastic support and casual design shouts “BEATER!” I will say that if you’re looking for something thin, lightweight, airy, and heat friendly that AQ is certainly not for you. It also wouldn’t be my choice for a squish or someone relatively new to wrapping. On the other hand if you’re on the hunt for a supportive, jeans friendly, single OR multilayer friendly ‘whatever’ wrap then make some room in your stash because American Quilt is just what you need.
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