Can anyone recommend a child carrier?

[paulgraham]

Hi, my wife and I are planning on getting back into bushwalking again and are planning on doing day hikes. We were wondering if anyone could recommend a child carrier? We have a one year old who is about 10 kg and a three year old who is about 13 kg.

Thanks in advance, Paul.

[casey79]

The Possum http://www.macpac.com.au/shop/en_au/gea ... m-new.html

or

Vamoose http://www.macpac.com.au/shop/en_au/gea ... rrier.html

Cant beat either.

Have friends who use them for overnight walks and another who owns a child care place and has used the Possum for years. If your tall you will need the vamoose for the longer harness. The possum is fine for most people and if your partner is shorter she will be able to use it too.

[Lizzy]

You & your wife
Sorry that was not real helpful was it- I have heard the Macpac possum (I think) backpack is good....

[Son of a Beach]

We've been using an old Macpac (borrowed) for a few years and it's great. We used a very old Kathmandu (also borrowed) for a while before that, and it was terrible.

We have friends with a much newer Kathmandu which seems to be quite good.

Sorry, I don't know the models of any of these.

[paulgraham]

Hi, we brought two new Macpac Possums yesterday, and after a simple 40 min bushwalk we and the kids were very happy with them.

Thanks for the advice, Paul

[Robatman]

Anyone with an idea what the max Kg the Vamoose can "comfortably" handle? Obviously comfortably depends in part on the capacity of the adult and length of walk, but couldnt see any recommendations on the website,
Thanks
Robert

[paulgraham]

Hi Robert, I found Andy at Macpac, Chatswood very helpful (plus they are currently on special!). He said that the child carrier part was the same in all three models (unfortunately, the Vamoose is out of stock at the warehouse end, so they may have to ring around to get one) . You'd need to check, but from memory they could hold a child up to 20kg?

Cheers, Paul.

[Drifting]

I have a kathmandu child carrier I'll sell you cheap (and you have to pay shipping). It's a good pack, very serviceable. I've used it extensively in Victoria.

[tasadam]

Nothing constructive for me to add.
So, a tip...

How to / How not to...

babywalking.jpg (43.18 KiB) Viewed 16252 times

[ninjapuppet]

Nothing constructive for me to add.
So, a tip...

unfortunately there have been observed cases of this situation happening...

[Bill P]

Hi Paul,

WE used the Kathmandu one. It would be about 5 years old now. It seemed OK. We bough the extra sun shade which was never used. The carrier stands up by itself which is handy for loading the child in. Only got a couple of years out of it before they grew too big.

The child's head sticks up a bit so you need care in low hanging branches etc. Although 13kg is getting a bit heavy for these things I reckon- the load is dynamic- the child can lean out to grab stuff etc and test your balance.

Bill P

[Bron]

I have the Macpac Vamoose which we have used extensively over the last 5 years. I have a 4yr old (21kg) & a 2yr old (15kg) and the carrier was used with the oldest up to 14kg and is still used for the 2yr old. My partner has mostly carried this pack on daywalks - in excess of 700-800km of walking. It is a very comfortable pack and easy to adjust.
I think the limitation with one of these packs is what you yourself wish to carry. I recently carried the 2yr old + lunch + 2l water when we climbed to the top of Rangitoto in Auckland Harbour so would have been over 20kg.
We also were given a tatonka child carrier but it is fiddly to adjust and not as comfortable as the Macpac.

regards
Bron

[ninjapuppet]

I got a Vamoose today from Macpac website with very reasonable postage rates I think $14. For me, it made more sense to buy online since to get there physically would cost more by toll charges, petrol, car wear and tear, time cost in traffic jams and mostly: PARKING at $32/hour on Kent street.

UNBELEIVABLE! they're on sale at half price for another week if anyone wants to grab a bargain. 50% off from $450 down to $225.
http://www.macpac.com.au/shop/en_au/gear-and-clothing/clearance-macpac/packs-backpacks-clearance/vamoose-child-carrier.html

Loaded 1 year my old munchkin into it and he cried and screamed madly. i'm not sure if its uncomfortable for him or if he's just scared.
As for me, it definitely feels every bit as comfortable, if not more comfy than my old 65L MacPac Cascade pack. My One Planet McMillan still has a more comfortable harness because the belt buckle doubles up from the attachment and gives a more thicker and supportive feel. too bad they dont make child carriers.

Nice treats on the vamoose, is that the waist padding on the Right has a little zip pouch to store little stuff, its got trekking pole attachments, and the backpack at the back is removable. I much rather prefer a product from a backpack manufacturer adapting to carry babies instead of camping gear. Compare this to a baby goods company trying to make some dough by expanding into the complex backpack territory. If i dont feel comfortable, i dont walk as often and baby misses out.

BRON, are you supposed to leave the frame open and unzipped with bubsy loaded? or is that zip at the bottom only meant to be closed up when stored away?

[DanH]

WE Wildchild... IMHO streets ahead of the new Macpac in real life features... I was able to try the Vamoose for a week and while it is a good pack (way better than the walk-around-the-city stuff) the usability of the Wildchild is tremendous and the new WE harness system is probably one of the best in the world if heavy loads (and if you are multi day bushwalking with a little fella it is going to be heavy!) and the weight of the pack is not so much of an issue - the Wildchild in large is 3.1kg + raincover setup another 300g.

[Bron]

Not sure what you mean about the zip on the bottom, mine is the NZ made model so there must be some differences.
I agree about the WE harness system, but you are limited by what is available out there at the time. For instance my partner loves his WE backpack, he bought it because my brother had one, then another friend bought one and so on. However I have a Macpac backpack as when I was shopping for a pack, the WE was not available in my size as they were shifting their manufacturing offshore. Shortly afterwards Macpac also shifted overseas and my pack says "Made in NZ" in about 4 different places so they must have been trying to use up the labels!

regards Bron