I am planning to write a long review to post online when I have the chance, but for now here is my short verdict on the WildBird Aerial (in Sparrow XS-XL):
It is fantastic for long front carries, especially for me as a petite woman who has found other carriers problematic. The well-fitted, soft, thick waistband truly sits at my natural waist and distributes the baby’s weight excellently, while being at the right distance from the shoulder straps. The shoulder straps are meant to only be crossed for front carrying—instead of merely being supposedly capable of being crossed for front carrying, as in other carriers—so they mold to my particular shoulders and back and fall where they should. And it fits so incredibly well that I can easily wash dishes while wearing my baby on my front!
The Aerial is very good for short front carries. Compared to a more typical soft structured carrier with H-straps rather than crossed straps, the Aerial takes some seconds longer to put the baby in and to take the baby out. But I believe the far superior support and comfort of the Aerial more than justify the negligible sacrifice in time.
After trying the LILLÉbaby Complete All Seasons and the Happy Baby Original, this is the only soft structured carrier I have found comfortable for back carries, largely because of the waistband and straps going in the right places. However, converting to back carry mode takes enough time and hassle that I believe that if you decide you like the back carrying, it would be logical, if financially feasible to buy a second Aerial, and keep one Aerial in front carry mode while you keep the other in back carry mode. In our case it looks like I am going to just use the Aerial in front carry mode and look for a different carrier to serve for back carries. The reason is that I only need or want back carries for cooking and cleaning, and our kitchen is very narrow, so since my baby’s arms are freer in the Aerial than in any other carrier because the Aerial’s fabric is very low profile on the baby (a feature I generally love), he can grab too many things in our kitchen when he is on my back. I hope that one day we will live somewhere with a bigger kitchen, in which case I would be thrilled to have hopefully a second Aerial in back carry mode.
I hope this summary helps! If you have any questions, just let me know!