Child carriers

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Child carriers

Postby wildernesswanderer » Mon 18 Aug, 2014 7:38 pm

Well I've been very quiet here for a while now, my wife and I welcomed a little baby boy two months ago. But already I'm starting to research a carrier to get back into day trips, although still a while away. At the moment he comes with me in a Ergobaby but thats not made for hiking. Any suggestions

And of course just have to add a pic of our little guy

10495357_476415359161824_7780451458281325902_o.jpg
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Re: Child carriers

Postby neilmny » Mon 18 Aug, 2014 7:55 pm

My daughter and son in law have bought an Osprey Poco Plus. It seems to do the job very nicely for their son (my first grandchild :D :D ) who is now 6 1/2 months.
We've been on a couple of family day walks with them and the little fella generally ends up snoozing. :D I think basically they had to wait for him to be able to
hold his head up unsupported and all has been good since. It is also handy as a kind of high chair (not so high though) for feeding him when they are out and about
as it can free stand on the ground. Very tempted to put up a bragging Grandad photo here :lol:

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Re: Child carriers

Postby Strider » Mon 18 Aug, 2014 8:24 pm

I also have a Poco Plus and it is a great pack. We also have an Ergobaby but I found it very hard on the shoulders and the hipbelt really didn't seem to bear much weight. Our son usually sleeps when in the Osprey, so is obviously very comfortable. My only gripe is the raincover (optional) doesn't cover the whole pack.

Shame you weren't a few days earlier as there was a Poco Plus in near new condition on Gumtree for $100 just recently :(

Congrats on the little guy too! :D
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Re: Child carriers

Postby geoskid » Mon 18 Aug, 2014 8:57 pm

neilmny wrote:My daughter and son in law have bought an Osprey Poco Plus. It seems to do the job very nicely for their son (my first grandchild :D :D ) who is now 6 1/2 months.
We've been on a couple of family day walks with them and the little fella generally ends up snoozing. :D I think basically they had to wait for him to be able to
hold his head up unsupported and all has been good since. It is also handy as a kind of high chair (not so high though) for feeding him when they are out and about
as it can free stand on the ground. Very tempted to put up a bragging Grandad photo here :lol:



Hey Neilmny, congratulations on becoming a Grandad - awesome achievement mate! :)
Go ahead, put the photo up Gpop! :wink: :lol:
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Re: Child carriers

Postby Travis22 » Mon 18 Aug, 2014 9:09 pm

Congrats on the family!

We bought the first carrier we looked at (completely unlike me, seriously lol I'd normally research research research then research some more. But with a bubs now sometimes you just need to get it done!) ;)

We purchased the Kathmandu carrier on sale of course, it was around $100. The harness fitted me 100% perfectly and the zips are YKK so I was sold.

We've used it a bit over the last 12months, from the flinders ranges, all around central oz and the Vic high country. No complaints at all. Our little girl absolutely loves going for walks in it.

No.2 arrives any day now, I think we will get a second hand MacPac when we require another.

Travis.
Last edited by Travis22 on Wed 20 Aug, 2014 12:51 am, edited 1 time in total.
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Re: Child carriers

Postby geoskid » Mon 18 Aug, 2014 9:22 pm

wildernesswanderer wrote:Well I've been very quiet here for a while now, my wife and I welcomed a little baby boy two months ago. But already I'm starting to research a carrier to get back into day trips, although still a while away. At the moment he comes with me in a Ergobaby but thats not made for hiking. Any suggestions

And of course just have to add a pic of our little guy

10495357_476415359161824_7780451458281325902_o.jpg


Hey WW, can't help with the carrier, but congrats on fatherhood - too cute for words. :) :wink:
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Re: Child carriers

Postby Kainas » Mon 18 Aug, 2014 9:49 pm

I carried both my girls from birth. Not hiking but all day long. (Ring slings for shopping, Mei Tais for arround the house).

I love my Ergo. I bought it to do some walks with. While we never really took to hiking as a young family (6mo, 3yo) I can attest to using it every year in the city-2-surf. Which for me (mid-30s woman) meant carrying my daughter (6mo, 6mo, 18mo) for the entire 15-20km. It was incredibly comfortable, very easy to put on by myself. My husband carried the pack with the bits and pieces. Two accessories can be attached to the ergo (small front and medium back) packs if needed, though we have never really used those either.
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Re: Child carriers

Postby Pteropus » Tue 19 Aug, 2014 10:57 am

I have also been looking at getting a child carrier for my little boy in the next couple of months. I have had a brief look at Macpac and Phil & Teds, but haven’t had a good look yet. Obviously the Macpac carriers appear more suitable for bushwalking and I am leaning towards them. In the next month or two I will start to have a more serious look, since my little fella is only 3.5 months at the moment.
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Re: Child carriers

Postby nq111 » Tue 19 Aug, 2014 6:38 pm

We had the Deuter child carrier (the 3? model with the rain cover etc.).

Not a bad pack, tough and plenty of room and options. But the strap buckles slip a bit, a few features lack refinement and my experience with other Osprey packs would have me favour them (they didn't make child carriers when I got the Deuter).

Overall though a child pack is a great investment - I can honestly say we almost never used the pram over two kids - the pack was so much easier even in urban environments. And the kids get very comfortable in them, I have a distinct memory of hauling my maybe 14mth old (At the time) down the side of a hill, through rainforest, over boulders, under logs and he slept the entire way.
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Child carriers

Postby bmak » Tue 19 Aug, 2014 7:46 pm

I used the Kathmandu version until my daughter weighed about 20kg. It was great.

The only bad experience was when it filled with snow and still at 6 she remembers and reminds me of the day.

I still have it If anyone is after a cheap one
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Re: Child carriers

Postby wildernesswanderer » Tue 19 Aug, 2014 8:00 pm

Thanks for the replies, I was looking at the Osprey one as well as a Kelty Pathfinder, the Kelty is very well reviewed but I haven't found a stockist in Australia yet
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Re: Child carriers

Postby Strider » Tue 19 Aug, 2014 10:05 pm

A few Kelty's on Gumtree recently I think?
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Re: Child carriers

Postby Pteropus » Fri 16 Jan, 2015 5:58 pm

Several months ago I got the Macpac Vamoose child carrier. It was on special and so I got a considerable discount. My 8 month old little mate and I have been using it for the past two months and it’s pretty good. Its quality made, carries a child up to 20 kg, and has plenty of storage space in a huge compartment in the base of the pack, and two rear pockets, one which can be zipped off as a day pack. The pack harness is typically comfortable, which one expects of Macpac. The child harness is straight forward and secure, with plenty of padding around the seat (for want of a better term), and if my little mate could talk I’m pretty sure he would say it was comfortable. There is a small head-rest cushion for when the child’s head rests forward when they sleep, and I also bought the optional pillow, which for my little one is a must, since he falls asleep after about 20 mins of walking.

The pack has a sun-shade with built in fly-screen and a rain cover. Unfortunately there are no water bottle pouches on the sides or hip belt of the harness, so stopping to get a water bottle out of the pack is a pain in the bum, though there is a pouch which is apparently for a bladder. The pack also comes with a reflective card which is supposed to be a mirror to see how the cub is travelling, though this is next to useless and so I use a little hand mirror I bought for a couple of bucks elsewhere.

Overall from our experience with this child carrier over the past two months I’m happy with it and totally recommend it.
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