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Carrier packs (for kids) reviews?

Coyl

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May 23, 2018
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Any of you have experience with certain models? Looking to purchase one to do some hiking with my 2 year old. Looking for some real world reviews. Thanks!
 
I have a couple of the Kelty Kid carrier packs. They are great for shorter walks with my 25lb kids. i used them for a backpacking trip last week and they failed. They did not have enough room for the needed gear which was probably good as the waistbelt did not transfer weight very well. i had about 45lbs total with kid and gear and I was cussing the pack pretty hard by mile 5. i have heard good things about the Osprey packs. I did use the kelty kid packs for air travel and they worked perfect. Small enough to fit in the overhead bin, held enough stuff to keep my kid fed, entertained and in clean diapers while making travel inside the airport a breeze.

I guess the best pack will depend on your intended use.
 
I have had 3 kid carrying backpacks. Over time I have come to believe that you should shell out money for them, and that skimping on them can be disastrous. When looking at them, don't only think about your comfort, think about the comfort of your kid too. Nothing worse than a 3 mile hike with a kid screaming in your ear.

The first backpack I had was a no name piece of $#!t, and was what I experienced the 3 miles of screaming in my ear in.

Backpack1.jpg

Next I purchased a Kelty Pathfinder 2.0. This was a good pack, and one I did an overnight with. Like JBS mentioned their isn't room for much else.

Backpack2.JPG

With the birth of our most recent, we bought a Deuter Kid Comfort 3. Pricey, but the best kid carrying backpack I've had by far for both the carrier and the rider, and has more storage for other things than any of the other packs we've owned.

Backpack3.jpg
 
I've got a Deuter Kid Comfort, it's well built. Not very comfortable suspension, so I zip tied it to on of our suspensions (Seek Outside).

My 33 lb son in a pack is fun....he likes to swing from side to side to push me off balance, then laugh hysterically.
 
Deuter is supposed to be good. We've always had the Osprey and they work great. Probably can't go wrong with either...
 
I have a couple of the Kelty Kid carrier packs. They are great for shorter walks with my 25lb kids. i used them for a backpacking trip last week and they failed. They did not have enough room for the needed gear which was probably good as the waistbelt did not transfer weight very well. i had about 45lbs total with kid and gear and I was cussing the pack pretty hard by mile 5. i have heard good things about the Osprey packs. I did use the kelty kid packs for air travel and they worked perfect. Small enough to fit in the overhead bin, held enough stuff to keep my kid fed, entertained and in clean diapers while making travel inside the airport a breeze.

I guess the best pack will depend on your intended use.

Thanks for your input!
 
I have had 3 kid carrying backpacks. Over time I have come to believe that you should shell out money for them, and that skimping on them can be disastrous. When looking at them, don't only think about your comfort, think about the comfort of your kid too. Nothing worse than a 3 mile hike with a kid screaming in your ear.

The first backpack I had was a no name piece of $#!t, and was what I experienced the 3 miles of screaming in my ear in.

View attachment 84502

Next I purchased a Kelty Pathfinder 2.0. This was a good pack, and one I did an overnight with. Like JBS mentioned their isn't room for much else.

View attachment 84503

With the birth of our most recent, we bought a Deuter Kid Comfort 3. Pricey, but the best kid carrying backpack I've had by far for both the carrier and the rider, and has more storage for other things than any of the other packs we've owned.

View attachment 84504

Thanks for the great review!
 
I've got a Deuter Kid Comfort, it's well built. Not very comfortable suspension, so I zip tied it to on of our suspensions (Seek Outside).

My 33 lb son in a pack is fun....he likes to swing from side to side to push me off balance, then laugh hysterically.

Haha I can definitely see this happening!
 
If you look at an Osprey, make sure that both your AND your wife try it on with weight if she might use it also. For some reason the hipbelt has a really sharp edged stiffener it it. Works fine for me, but it doesn't fit the different curves of my wife and will actually break skin on a long haul. I've heard similar reports from other women.

I also find them massively over engineered and complicated (i.e. heavy), but there aren't a whole lot of good options out there honestly. Plus side is that it's very comfortable for the kid vs the older Dueter we have. We just did a 5 day backpacking trip through AK and BC, and the kid thought it was a fantastic ride, although my wife is ready to sell it cheap!

fdCIruZ.jpg
 
Hey,

I looked at a few and ended up getting the "HappyTrails" by Mountain Equipment Coop (MEC).
https://www.mec.ca/en/products/travel-gear/kid-transport/child-carrier-backpacks/c/1258
Its a Canadian Brand, but you might be able to find one used online. I picked mine up off Kijiji for $80. Seems like a lot go for $400 so if you want to save a bit of cash that would be a good way to go. Its a great pack and the little guy loves it in there, done a few 6 hour hikes and with a few pit stops to let him run around, he is happy as a clam. He even naps in the pack.
It would be nice if one of these hunting frame pack companies had a baby attachment. Sucks to spend a fortune on a hunting pack, and then turn around and spend again on a kid carrier.
Thanks,
Mark
 
Gastro Gnome - Eat Better Wherever

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