Reader Mark wrote in with a gear question that I don’t really have enough experience to answer:
I have an 11 month old daughter, and we’re at the stage where she’s outgrown the Baby Bjorn that I carry her in when going hiking together.
I was wondering if you could recommend a child carrier. It seems that I get the same thing everywhere I go online to look at reviews for child carriers…some people love a certain child carrier and other people hate it. It makes it very difficult to feel confident about shelling out $150-$250 …
My wife suggested that I email “that guy who writes that hiking website that you’re always talking about.” So here I am contacting you. Any advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated.
So, I don’t have a kid, and haven’t done any hiking with kids, myself – but I’ve definitely seen a lot of parents getting their little ones into the wilderness with some well-designed backpacks … and I’m hoping a few of them read Modern Hiker and would be willing to help a fellow outdoorsy-dad out.
So if you’ve got any experience with kid-toting backpacks, please feel free to share!
The Kelty Kids FC 3.0, being used by Flickr memberKris247.
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{ 4 comments… read them below or add one }
We have used a Sherpani baby carrier (I don’t recall the particular model) for the past 2 years, since my son was about 8-9 months old, and it has served us well. It even has storage: a fixed lower compartment and a detachable pack that Junior can carry when he’s not in the pack , which has become an increasingly large part of our hikes. We have used it on day hikes and even a (very short) backpacking trip.
Our two biggest gripes are that the storage isn’t very large (this has really only been an issue on the backpacking trip) and there are ’stirrups’ to put Junior’s feet in, but they don’t work terribly well. I’ve noticed that more recent models have elastic straps to hold the feet in the stirrups, so that may work better. (Fortunately, my son has not yet decided that kicking the transportation is a good idea.)
I used both a hiking backpack carrier and a soft structured carrier hiking with my kids and much preferred the latter. I found it hard to get the hiking backpack on while alone and I couldn’t use it around town – because it couldn’t be rolled up and put away. I really liked my Beco Baby Carrier – and similar ones like the Ergo and the Pikkolo. I found them much more comfortable overall – plus they can be folded up when not in use and used around the house or out on the town. They can be worn on the front or back as well – which is much more versatile than a backpack carrier. I also like that the weight is distributed more evenly with the soft structured carrier. My backpack carrier hurt my shoulders because it rode so high. I actually did a hike with my almost 4 year old son in May. He couldn’t walk the whole way and so I carried him in my Beco. Even at 40 lbs it was still pretty comfortable. I never could have put him in a backpack carrier because it sits too high. Downsides I’ve heard from hikers are that the child is right against your back – so you both get sweaty. This never bugged me. Also – the Ergo has a backpack attachment but they don’t generally have as much storage.
I also had a suggestion from a Twitter follower for the Kelty TC 2.1 –
described as “small enough to use as a standalone backpack, comfortable to wear (and ride in).” http://ow.ly/FxnH
I use the Deuter Kid Comfort II and it has worked well for me. I’m 6′3″ and my wife is 5′2″ and we wanted something that was highly adjustable for both of us. My wife never ended up wearing the pack but it has been great for me.
- Very comfortable for me, I chose the bigger framed backpack since I thought it would be easier on the shoulders. I’ve had no issues so far. I don’t really notice the weight although it does ride a bit high.
- Plenty of storage for all the kids stuff plus my essentials. There’s a hydration compartment too.
- Sometimes it looks uncomfortable for the baby, she seems to always be leaning to one side. Sometimes we stuff a rug by her head to keep her aligned. Not sure if it’s the pack, me or her. Also there’s no chin cushion. She doesn’t seem to mind since she passes out on every hike.
- It is tough to put on alone. It’s weird to swing a pack around with a kid in it.
- Probably not the best around town pack.
- I think there’s a 45 lb weight limit. Depending on the weight of your child it might not last that much longer. My kid is about 25 at 15 months and it’s still fine. It’s weird to get occasional kicked in the back while hiking but it’s worth it.