I never had much luck w/ a pouch. I found it hard to get baby comfortable, there was little support for the carry my baby liked and there was no support for me and it would hurt my back and shoulders. Wearing a pouch for more than 1/2 an hour was just downright uncomfortable for boath of us LOL! And, I was never able to get the hang of nursing in it either.
With a ring sling I was able to get a huge variety of positions including nursing positions which allowed me to be nearly hands free. I also liked that I could just toss the tail over babies head once he was latched so we had a bit of privacy. B/C the ring sling allows you to pull baby close to your body there isn't any weight pulling forward hurting my back or shoulders. And again, b/c of a tighter tie, baby felt much more secure.
To tell you the truth, I keep reading on other boards about Mums who buy a pouch and come to the conclusion that babywearing wasn't for them or baby didn't like to be worn and gave it up. It's a catch 22... Pouches are really cute and look really simple and that makes a lot of moms give babywearing a try who may not have w/ something like a Maya or Ella Roo. But the down side to that, I really don't believe pouches like the peanut shell or hotsling are the best choice and like I said above, it can turn some people off from wearing baby and often times people won't venture out and spend the money on other alternatives which would more than likely work for them.
BUT! I think a pouch can be a really fun thing to have in your sling wordrobe as long as it isn't what you have to depend on day in/day out. 