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Safe Rings for Ring Slings, Onbuhimos & More

Ring Sources

If you need rings to use for a baby carry, you want to make sure that your rings are both designed for weight bearing and are made from baby-safe materials.

Rings from a craft store are NOT designed for weight bearing and should never be used as such.

Rings from the hardware store have not been tested for baby-safe materials.

Sources for baby-safe sling rings:

USA

Canada

United Kingdom

Australia

Misc Europe

Slingrings.com (USA-based family owned company with incredibly safe aluminum and nylon rings and fast free shipping!)

Some cloth diaper stores carry Sling rings

BabyweaRings.ca (these are the same rings that are sold in the US from Slingrings.com - incredibly safe, high quality, and a family company)

Slingrings.ca (these are NOT the same as slingrings.com but still appear to have good quality and weight rating)

Two Mothers in Edmonton

Babes in Arms in Calgary

Tiny Tree Hugger in Winnipeg

www.ringsforbabyslings.co.uk

FrangipaniBaby

Karri Tree Lane

The Sleepstore

Woven (NZ)

www.ringsforbabyslings.co.uk

Ireland: Snugglebugs

If you buy your rings from Amazon or elsewhere, please do so with extreme caution. Make sure your rings have been weight tested and are made from baby-safe materials.

Ring Materials

Slingrings.com sells both nylon and aluminum rings. Both of these are equally safe to use and are both tested and weight rated the same. In general, most people find that aluminum rings are both easier to adjust and hold fabric better, but some people prefer nylon rings as well, especially for water slings, or in situations when you might be going through metal detectors (like an airport) and want to minimize the chances that you will have to remove the sling.

Ring Sizes

Size	Inner Diameter (Aluminum)	Outer Diameter (Aluminum)	Inner Diameter (Nylon)	Outer Diameter (Nylon)	Recommended Uses
Large	3"	3.5"	3"	3.625"	Most ring slings. Good for tablecloths, wrap conversions, twill, duck, etc. Ideal for beginners or those who prioritize easy adjustment.
Medium	2.5"	3"	2.75"	3.325"	Some ring slings. Good for linen, osnaburg, single layer dupioni silk. Ideal for more advanced wearers who prioritize a grippy ring that won't slip.
Small	2"	2.5"	2.25"	3"	Good for water slings made from athletic mesh. Good for onbuhimos, reverse onbuhimos, and ring-waist meh dais. Usable for toys loops or ring-waist pouches.

In a pinch

SlingRings.com has notoriously fast shipping (most with the "free shipping" option tend to arrive within 3-4 days) but if you simply NEED rings sooner than that, you can sometimes find sling rings for sale at a local cloth diaper shop, or ask the moms in your local moms group or babywearing group if they any have any spare rings laying around that they could sell you.

NEVER use rings purchased from a craft store or fabric store. These rings are not rated for weight bearing and would put your baby in danger.

As a last resort, you can use large o-rings from a hardware store. Look for large (preferably 3") rings with a very smooth weld - any kind of bump or raised texture on the weld line will wear your fabric down unevenly and could eventually cause a tear. Keep in mind that hardware rings are not made with babies in mind, so they could be chewing on just about any type of metals. Plus, as one mama in our Facebook support group shared, hardware rings are significantly heavier than official aluminum sling rings.