The wee man is about 12 kg now, and outgrowing his carrier that you wear on the front. Can anyone recommend a good backpack with a frame, of the type you might use to take the little man out for a hike on your back?

We had a bush baby – I found that the macpac frames dug into my lowe back/buttocks.

The bush baby was great – comfy, big luggage capacity, well made and came with a full poncho for bad weather that covered little un and carrier.

We just sold it onto a couple of mates after 3 kids/7years hard work, and it still looks good condition.

If I was buying again, I would buy second hand, and a Bush Baby.

Oh, and the other good bit was how much of a back variation it could adjust to (I am 6′, wife is 5′) – the others all seemed to be less variable in sizing.

My boy 2yrs (now 14kg), has been using the ‘Littlelife – cross country’ for over a year now and loves it. It has a good amount of adjustability for him and me as the carrier. The ‘saddle’ height is adjustable to allow him to rest his head on the sml cushion-rest in front of him. We also got an additional ‘blow-up’ neck pillow which attaches securely to his shoulder straps allowing him greater comfort on the longer jaunts – his head is supported if/when he falls asleep.
Would recommend the extra waterproof cover though as the canopy supplied with it is really only a shade / quick shower proof one. (Before we got the waterproof canopy and when caught short in a downpour we covered his legs in carrier bags – did the job)
Would def recommend trying many carriers for fit though, as e.g. the most expensive one is not necessarily the most comfortable.

Highly recommend Bush Baby – We have the Lite version perfect for day’s out and looks comfy too whilst giving Daddy a work out as well

Littlelife is worth a look. I have one for junior and it’s comfy.

Not a Dad but,
Friend of ours have a Macpac thingie (sorry don’t know what model, but it appears to have all the bells and whistles) which seems very good. It can stand up on it’s own, maybe thay all do this, for putting junior in and then reversing yourself into the harness, and has a very good wateproof cover. What impressed me most though is the range of (easy) adjustment on the back system. My freinds are both mini people, she’s easily under 5′ and it only took a couple of minutes (with nipper sat in it) to adjust it for me to carry in comfort and I’m 6′
Suprising how heavy the little darlings are though!

I have a Deuter Kid Comfort 2 that I bought on a summer alpine walking holiday. Brilliant! It can be adjusted for me (6ft) and my wife (5ft 6) although muggins here always ends up carrying it. Sadly(!) it has lots of storage for nappies, waterproofs, lunch etc etc so actually I end up carrying everything. Still comfy tho’

It even has a sleeve for your hydration pack

Deuter Kid Comfort 2

PS I strongly recommend getting the sun/rain cover for an extra few quid

and another vote for littlelife…not silly money for compared to the macpac.

Gary
If you wanna save a bit of cash and go second hand ive for a B-Square backpack for sale for £30 posted. We only used it for 5 hours but then realised we are just not walking type people. Its got all the features of the branded ones including a sun cover.

Can email you photos if you are intreasted.

To give you another option we had a VauDe. Pretty similar to the Macpac and nice and comfy.

Where are you?

Ive got one of these in pretty good nick

As you can see they arent exactly expensive and so I cant be arsed ebaying it on account of the postage hassle/charges as its such an awkward shape

Cheers

I have a mac pac vamouse which is great but quite expensive. It also has a sun shade and waterproof cover which have both had loads of use. They are reduced at field and trek at the moment as well.

Oddie Jr gets carried about in Macpac top of the range one (vamoose – i think).

Truly excellent bit of kit with a proper trekking harness so spread the load across your hips.

Would def buy again. The 2nd hand ones however go for about £10 less than a new one though, so you might as well buy new.

Another vote for Deuter. Hard wearing and comfy for a long hike.

Little life owner here very adjustable and very comfy,ex army so I know about having a good fit pack with weight in.
I even use it for when I pick the little un up from nursery on my post bike its very stable

Another Deuter vote here. Very good, fairly cheap and widely available (including decathlon). Unfortunately kiddo now won’t sit still for long enough for it to be much use…

Another Macpac user here – excellent kit, if you can get it at a decent price it’s wel worth it. Their climbing packs had always been my favourites so ti was an easy choice for me (and my comfort). And as you can see he always found it pretty comfy too – I’m spectating at the Fort William World Champs… he’s seen enough fast bikes for the day 😉