Hockey Club

A Great Carrier for wearer and child (2008-07-31)
We wanted to get a nice backpack carrier to carry our 21-month old daughter for our upcoming trip to Montana. We were doing lots of hiking around Glacier National Park, but we also wanted it for walks around the neighborhood. We narrowed it down to the Sherpani Rumba and the Kelty FC 3.0, and bought both so we could try them out (then return the one we didn't like). I really wanted to like the Sherpani, but it was just not as comfortable as the Kelty. No matter how much adjusting I did, both my husband and I always had aching shoulders after not even an hour walk. Also, our daughter was able to wiggle halfway out of it, then would cry because she would get stuck halfway. She was just not comfortable in that pack, and would even try to avoid being put in it. Not so with the Kelty! It fits like a dream, both for the wearer and the child! Our daughter literally begs to get in it. We had some very long hikes, and she was always happy as a clam in the pack. We even wore her around the airport. She would be sitting in the airplane for hours, be tired and cranky, yet still got excited about climbing back into the Kelty carrier when we got off the plane. When adjusted correctly, you never feel the weight in your shoulders. I even walked around town for a few hours with my (at the time) 18-month old daughter in it when I was 4 months pregnant, and I didn't feel it at all until I got home. Then, I felt like I just did a 2-hour step workout, but still no shoulder pain (my legs sure did feel that I was walking around with an extra 20-30 lbs, though!).

After using this pack a lot around town (and even around the house while making dinner and such), and taking it across the country for hiking, I still absolutely love it. The storage space is more than enough for your daily needs, and, because the small backpack unzips from the back, I was even able to leave my diaper bag at home and just use the small Kelty backpack. In the small pack, I usually brought fit diapers, wipes, changing pad, lots of snacks, plus personal items like wallet, sunglasses, sunscreen, bug spray, antibacterial gel, etc. Then in the bottom part we would fit lunch for 5, plus sweaters for the baby, hats, a large digital camera, and maybe a few other odds and ends.

The ONLY complaint I have is that the load lifters are accessible to the child, and they can easily pull up on the buckle and release them (quite a shock when you're hiking and all of a sudden you feel all the weight on your shoulders). Our daughter usually can't get to them when the sunshield is on, but when it's off, she always plays with them. Besides that, it is the perfect pack. Our daughter fell asleep in it 3 times while hiking, and she is NOT one of those kids who just falls asleep wherever. I think that says a lot about the comfort of this pack. It is worth every penny.

Daughter and I are impressed (2007-12-28)
I've been looking for child carriers that appeared suitable for true in-the-woods hiking and which could carry supplies as well as a toddler. I'm using this pack to carry a 20lb 15 month old in Arizona and I'm impressed so far. There are multiple adjustments for different torso sizes that allows you to make sure you're carrying most of the weight on your hips. The padding is substantial and similar to what you'd see on a higher end internal frame backpack. You don't experience any pressure points if you've adjusted it correctly. Your passenger has multiple seating adjustments so you can position her high or low depending on size and to make sure her arms are free. The shoulder straps and leg straps are also very adjustable and easy to access. The kickstand pops out automatically which is very nice and has a pinch resistant rubber hinge insert to keep fingers out of the way. They did a great job in trying to cram as much storage into the pack as possible without throwing off your center of balance. There is storage under the seat suitable for lunch, water, and a first aid kit. And storage in the form of a small daypack that zips behind the seat. This is big enough for kid supplies, diapers, lunch, change of clothes. You could use this for a long day hike but there is no way you'd consider trying to carry anything more, i.e. a sleeping bag. The rain/sunhood is also a requirement in my opinion for Arizona and is easy to attach. My daughter hasn't squirmed or complained in it yet and actually tries to climb in it when she sees it in the living room. Pre-kid I've done a lot of backpacking with a variety of frame styles and now I've carried my daughter with slings, wraps, baby bjorn's and on my shoulders. In my opinion this carrier is very well designed by somebody who has done a lot of both.