Child Bearing: Baby Carriers for You and Yours

AMC Outdoors, June 2000

By Michael Lanza

Penny and I leaned over the little strip of white plastic, waiting for what seemed like a long time. Slowly, the solid pink bar darkened. "Oh, boy," I muttered. And we both laughed out loud.

After my head cleared, I thought about the big concern that haunts all first-time expecting parents: Yup, money. Nope, I don't mean saving for college tuition. I was thinking about all the new outdoor gear we would need.

For parents who want to hit the trails with their new hiker, the child-carrier pack becomes as critical a baby accouterment as a crib and car seat. A baby is ready to ride in a child carrier when she can support her back independently or sit up on her own, usually by six months. Prior to that, use a soft front carrier. Either way, it's important to take the baby out of the carrier to stretch every hour or so.

What to Look For
Like any pack, child carriers are designed for specific uses. Those intended for walking around town or the mall don't have a suspension system—the hipbelt, shoulder straps, and connected parts—built for long days on mountain trails. While cheaper, an around-town model won't seem such a bargain when it feels so uncomfortable that it dissuades you from hiking. Look for solid construction, nylon pack cloth, aluminum tubing, a well-padded hipbelt, stabilizing straps that tighten the pack bottom against your hips, and load-lifter straps that pull the pack to your shoulders.

Look for these important features, too: an adjustable safety harness that holds the child securely in place; a padded cockpit with high back and sides to support and protect the child from branches, but a low front for visibility; spring-loaded stirrups for the child to rest his feet without being able to climb out; a retractable sun- and rain-hood; toy loops; a collapsible frame with a kickstand for setting the pack down upright, which retracts without pinching your child; ample cargo space and pockets for mandatory gear (read: diapers); and reflective tape on the back.

Choosing a Model
When picking out a child carrier, think about how important comfort is to you and how many years you'll use it. Some parents take it on hikes when the child is three and four, as a backup when he tires of walking. All carriers fit small children, but only deluxe models fit bigger kids. Decide who's going to wear the pack, you or your spouse—or at least, who's going to wear it more often. As with a backpack, you size a child carrier by measuring your torso length: Leaning slightly forward, have someone extend a soft tape measure from the prominent vertebra at the base of the back of your neck to the top of your hips, which is located by placing hands on hips and drawing an imaginary line connecting your thumbs. Many child carriers are adjustable to a range of torsos, but it can be hard to find one that fits both of you well. For day-hiking, you may want the stronger adult lugging the baby while the other person carries a light day pack. When backpacking, the stronger adult might prefer to shoulder the bulk of the gear while the partner hauls the child carrier.

Buy a child carrier the way you would a backpack: Load it in the store—with your kid aboard—and walk around in it. And be sure to try out a few different models.

• The Kelty Kangaroo ($70, 1 lb. 14 oz.; 800-423-2320, (www.kelty.com) is a soft-framed front child carrier with a harness and belt that are separate from the carrier itself, designed to provide good lumbar support and transfer much of the weight from the shoulders to the waist, as a good pack does. It fits torsos 13 to 25 inches long and hauls infants up to 25 pounds. The carrier can be attached to face the baby inward or outward. It has a zip-out hood (which affords nursing privacy) and zip-off storage sack for bottles and diapers.
  
  
• Kelty has three child-carrier packs that differ in the amount of space they have for non-child cargo and in their designed use. All three fit torsos from 13 to 21 inches; hold up to 60 pounds; and have a reflective strip, removable sun/rain hood, and removable child's day pack. Each pack's precise weight depends on the accessories purchased with it.
  • The smallest is the Kelty Elite Child Carrier ($180, 5 lbs. 15 oz. to 6 lbs., 14 oz.), with just 350 cubic inches of cargo space and a suspension designed for all-day hikes.
  Two Kelty carriers with the padding and suspension needed for day-hiking or backpacking are the Explorer and Expedition.
  • The Explorer ($230, 6 lbs. 6 oz. to 9 lbs. 7 oz.) has nearly 2,800 cubic inches of space for non-baby cargo.
  • The Expedition ($260, 7 lbs. 5 oz. to 9 lbs. 4 oz.) boasts nearly 3,600 cubic inches of gear space. Both have a hydration system and removable diaper-changing pad.
  
  
  
• Tough Traveler (800-GO-TOUGH, www.toughtraveler.com) has a pair of child-carrier packs for all-day hikes or weekend backpacking, which differ primarily in sizing for adults and slightly in cargo capacity. Both hold up to 60 pounds including child and gear, have a water-resistant underseat pocket with bottle holders, a security pocket, and a seat that's removable for washing.
  • The Stallion ($160, 4 lbs. 10 oz.) has a capacity of 1,000 cubic inches which expands up to 2,840 cubic inches with accessory pockets. It adjusts to fit adults from five feet, five inches, to six feet, six inches. (Tough Traveler sizes packs by adult height instead of torso length.)
  • The Filly ($155, 4 lbs. 6 oz.) has a cargo capacity of 850 cubic inches that expands to 2,690 cubic inches with accessory pockets. It fits adults up to five feet, six inches tall, though Tough Traveler recommends this pack when one spouse is taller and one shorter and both intend to wear it.
  
  
  
• Madden Mountaineering (303-442-5828, www.maddenusa.com) makes a pair of child-carrier packs built for backpacking with loads up to 75 pounds.
  • The Caravan ($249, 5 lbs. 9 oz.) is the larger, with 2,800 cubic inches of non-child cargo space. It comes in either a medium or large suspension system, which is adjustable, and has a removable diaper pocket.
  • The Voyager ($179, 4 lbs., 8 oz.) has 1,500 cubic inches, comes with a non-adjustable medium suspension system, and does not have the removable diaper pocket, but it does have a mesh rear pocket. The Topper sun/rain hood comes with the Caravan, and can be purchased for the Voyager for $39 extra.
  • Madden makes a smaller carrier for day trips called the Hike ($139, 3 lbs., 15 oz.), which can handle up to 65 pounds; it has the mesh pocket and a Topper hood.
  
  
• REI's Piggyback ($100 to $130, 5 lbs.; 800-426-4840, www.rei.com) is another deluxe carrier for hiking or backpacking. It fits torsos 13 to 24 inches, holds 60 pounds, and has 500 cubic inches of cargo space. The child's padded back panel features a breathable mesh cover with brushed polyester lining on the seat, sides, and head and lumbar pads. The cargo compartment has two elasticized side pockets for bottles and a pleated front mesh pocket. The cockpit material is removable for cleaning. A rearview mirror lets parents keep an eye on baby without craning their neck.

—Michael Lanza writes from Idaho and awaits the arrival of his first child in September.