One year ago today we were shopping at our local REI in Reading, MA to find the perfect kid-carrier. Little did we know how useful it would be over the course of this past year! From autumn hikes in the Catskills, NY to winter trudging through our own towns' Thanksgiving Forrest, from grocery store shopping to crazy outdoor waterfall & cliff hiking in the NH White Mountains: this pack has been AMAZING!!
For all you adventure folks that think having a child ends all those excursions, think again!
After much research, last year we purchased the Osprey Poco Kid Carrier. It was the best $200 we have ever spent! There are obviously both cheaper and more expensive options out there but there are many reasons we chose this one. First: we are not paid to review this, nor were we given a free one for reviewing it. Paying cash was a painful $200 (use coupon codes to get it cheaper or buy a used one!!) but it was the exact one to fit our needs. Both Brian and I take turns carrying this pack on our family adventures so it was absolutely necessary to have a "flexible frame." That's right, this pack is adjustable! Brian is over 6ft tall and needs to set the shoulders to XL where I am 5'6" and need to set the frame to small. You wouldn't think this would be a big deal, but when you are carrying a child and gear in the below-pack, the weight can quickly become unbearable if not distributed on your hips correctly. There are SO many options on the market with great kid-carrier packs that are less expensive, but many of those are not adjustable. If there are more then one of you to share the heavy load then I would highly recommend spending the extra money for the ability to pass the munchkin back and forth. The pack itself weighs just over 5 lbs with an aluminum frame and can hold a child weight up to almost 50lbs (check manufacturers specs for better details). There are also more expensive options out there which include a backpack and sun shade but we typically hike together and have another supply pack and generally hike in wooded area or use sun screen so the sun shade was more of a luxury for us. Of all the many options and brands available this one has worked tirelessly for us and not failed us yet on our rugged trips and we are very happy!!
Have you tried a pack with your little munchkin? What has worked for you? Feel free to share your disasters and successes -let us learn from each other!