The Hiking Backpack – Love it or Hate it!

06. Aug, 2010 0 Comments

If you’ve never tried it, the hiking backpack (a real one, not a front carrier worn on your back) is something you’ll either love or hate. Love it for the freedom and fun or hate it for the hard work it entails. The hiking backpack carries a grown baby or a toddler in a canvas seat suspended high on your back in a metal frame. The hiking backpack can have different variations and accessories including a rain canvas, extra packs to store your hiking gear and various attachments, but the one at my house was simple – and I happen to be one of the parents who loved it.

Our backpack was extremely lightweight and fixed with padded straps that reached over the shoulder and fastened around the waist and across the chest. While not a fashion statement, it did help to distribute the weight of the baby properly when he was in the carrier making it much easier to walk correctly with an easy stride.

I didn’t just use the backpack while hiking, mind you. I did use it once while actually hiking in the woods, but I used it most often during spells of teething or irritability around the house when an older baby wanted to be picked up and I wanted to do something outlandish - like the dishes. I also used it to walk around the neighborhood. Pushing a stroller might burn some extra calories. Carrying thirty pounds of baby on your back while hiking on some hills will take the weight right off.

The backpack keeps baby separate from you so that you don’t wind up making each other hotter with body heat. Because baby sits in her own pouch across your back, this isn’t the place to put little babies. It’s also a bit of a bouncy ride without a lot of head and back support in some backpacks, so be sure your baby is old enough to ride in the backpack correctly.

The only downside of the large backpack is that it is hard to get in and out of. It’s a safety risk to load up baby and then wiggle the backpack into place. If you opt for a backpack, be sure you have someone to help you lift the backpack into place to keep everyone safe. Remember, too, that baby’s head might be higher than your own thanks to the high ride, so watch for low hanging branches and doorways.

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