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A mei tai is entirely made of cloth, with long straps that you wrap and tie. The pikkolo is, at heart, a mei tai that buckles. Mei tais are a traditional Chinese carrier, and the inspiration for our version of the mei tai. The long straps and relatively unstructured body panel offer great flexibility in tying the carrier in various positions to obtain a highly customized fit. We developed the pikkolo in 2007 to offer the feel of a mei tai with the convenience of shorter straps with buckle closures instead of ties. Both the mei tai and pikkolo may be used in 6 carrying positions: front facing inward (legs in), front facing inward (legs out), front facing outward, hip, back, and high back. Prefer a visual? Check out our comparison chart.

Both! The carriers function similarly and while many people end up having a personal preference for one or the other, it usually comes down to factors other than ease of use. Some people prefer not having long straps to wrap and tie; others find this fast and intuitive while adjusting the webbing and buckles of the pikkolo takes them longer. 

No! Our carriers are designed to work with newborns and adjust to accommodate your growing child. Both carriers will work with children from birth to 2 years (at minimum). 

The weight range for the mei tai carrier is 8-35 lbs. The weight range for the pikkolo is 8-40 lbs.

The pikkolo requires a heavier weight fabric than the mei tai. Unfortunately, not all of the fabric designs we choose for our mei tais are suitable for the pikkolo. Insert sad face emoji here.