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You are in the CalmFamily

You are in the CalmFamily

The knowledge hub

Why would you want to hire a sling or baby carrier? You could just buy one, right? Well, that’s exactly what we’re going to explore. There are many reasons you might want to hire before buying, or sometimes instead of buying. Hiring a sling can be a really practical and flexible option.

 

 

Hire a sling, because it's easy

You can arrange sling hire from the comfort of your own home, at any time of the day or night. There’s no need to change out of your pyjamas! You can browse the huge selection on our website, pick the carriers you want to hire, and pay online; we send them on the day of your choice. At the end of the hire, pack them in the postage bag provided, affix the prepaid label and get the parcel scanned at your local post office. OK, you have to leave the house for that bit, unless you can persuade someone else to do it!

If you’d like to speak to someone first, you can give us a call; we can set up your hire, take payment over the phone, and help you select what to try.

Hire a sling because the CalmFamily free stretchy wrap hire scheme is free; you only pay for postage!

With our free stretchy wrap hire scheme it’s only going to cost the price of postage to hire a sling. If you have a newborn baby and want to try a stretchy wrap without buying one it’s the perfect option. You can choose from a huge selection of brand new stretchy wraps, we’ll post it out to you and it’s yours for four weeks. If you don’t get on with it or want to try something else, simply post it back to us. If you decide you want to keep it, we’ll send you an invoice to buy your stretchy.

 

 

Find out more about our free stretchy wrap hire scheme. 

 

Find out about stretchy wraps, and how to use them.

Perhaps you'd like to try a sling before buying?

If you want to carry your little one in a carrier, but you’re not sure which is right for you hiring lets you test it out. There’s lots of options to choose from. Just pop onto the website, make your choice and rent one of those for a few weeks. If you like it and it works for you that’s awesome, you know exactly what to go and buy.

If it’s not quite right, that’s a shame, but we can help. Call us during your hire, we will find out what you like and don’t like. We’ll offer advice to get more comfy, and can suggest other options that may work better. The good news is hiring the ‘wrong carrier’ costs you a lot less than if you’d bought it.

You might hire a sling because it can save you money

Hiring a sling is a great way to ensure that if you buy, you buy something that works. Many parents simply buy the sling their friend had, but all slings fit different people differently. What worked for your friend may well not work for you at all. That can be an expensive mistake. We have a ONEPLUS discount code when hiring more than one carrier. So you can hire a few slings, compare them and be really sure you’re making the right choice for you. We email a discount code for buying through us when you hire, too. Often, if you love the one you’ve hired, we can sell you that one at a preloved price.

 

 

Hiring can be a great way to figure out what you want

confused hire a sling

With so many to slings and carriers choose from hiring can help you recognise your preferences. Our Choose a sling article can be great for helping you consider your options. Our free 15 minute telephone consults can help you to pick a sling to hire, or narrow down your options. If you’re new to carrying then our guide to the five main types of sling is a helpful starting place. Hiring allows you to have a play and discover what you like and don’t like. Many parents think they want one thing they’ve seen, but find it isn’t comfy for them. Hiring takes the risk out of any purchasing decision you may eventually make.

Hire a carrier for one off carrying: holidays, and day trips!

You might be planning a holiday or a day trip that a carrier would be useful for. Perhaps you’re taking a toddler to the beach, or somewhere inaccessible for your pushchair? Maybe you’re attending a festival and anticipate late nights with a tired baby/toddler/child. If you usually don’t need a carrier, buying a sling can seem a bit pointless. Hiring is a great option here! You can rent a sling for just the time you need it, use it for that short space of time then send it back. And, again if you’re not sure what’s the right option for your trip or holiday, we can help.

Hire a special sling for a special occasion

If you have a birthday or a wedding coming up, you might want to choose something a bit special or something that goes with your outfit. Even if you carry a lot, the carrier you use for everyday may not be the one you want to wear when you are dressing up and going out. Similar to borrowing a carrier up for a day out, hiring a sling for this occasion is a lot cheaper than buying one, especially if it’s not something you’re likely to wear again. We have many gorgeous options, and our ring slings, woven wraps, and meh dais come in some especially stunning options, we’re sure there’s something to complement your outfit!

 

 

Hire a sling because you want to discover something new

Even if you’re already carrying your little one regularly, sometimes it’s nice to try something different. Renting is a great option if you want to try out a new brand or style of carrier to see if it’s right for you, or just for fun. People who want to try different options often benefit from our membership scheme getting them 25% off all hires.

Discovering new things is particularly relevant to woven wrap fans or those who want to learn more about the world of woven wraps. There’s so many brands, lengths, fabric compositions out there it can be hard to know where to start, what to try first and how to afford to own a wide range. This is where our wrap club comes in. We’ll send you different wraps to try each month, or two months, so you get the chance to play with lots of different options without the cost of owning them.

Avoiding purchasing unnecessary items, or ones that aren’t right for you, helps cut down on excess consumerism, and waste. When you hire a sling you’re more likely to only buy something that works for you. We can also point you towards preloved buying options, such as Little Possums Preloved. The rush to buy baby items before they are needed and before parents are sure about what they want means people often end up spending more money on the wrong thing, which is a waste of time, money, and resources. We can help you to avoid that. 

Where possible, all of our hires are packed in reused packaging. Our bags are fully recyclable. We use washing products from a company that offers closed cycle recycling, so we return the packaging to them for reuse. Returned postage bags that cannot be reused are recycled.

Because you want to try them all

You might not want to buy just one sling or carrier and stick with that for your whole babywearing journey. Hiring can give you the flexibility to try something new every couple of months, you can choose one or two, keep them for a little while and then send them back to swap for something else. This can be fairly cost effective too, especially if you’re someone who like to try new things, the hire cost goes down with each addition weeks hire, so you only end up paying a fiver a week after your initial hire. Plus with all your postage costs included in the hire fees, that’s a lot less than buying something new several times a year!

hire a sling wompats

So there you have it, lots of reasons why sling hire might just be the perfect option for you! Can you think of any others? Why did you rent your carrier? Get in touch and let us know how sling hire worked for you!

What next?

CalmFamily carrying safety information and guidance.

Our helpful guide to choosing a sling.

Advice for carrying in the hot weather. Stay cool and safe in summer.

Advice for carrying in the cold weather. Stay warm and safe in winter.

Recommend0 recommendationsPublished in Carrying, Hiring from CalmFamily, Sling choice & fit