Traveling baby!

I bought one of these four years ago when my first child was getting too heavy for a front carrier. I am currently using it to carry my second child, who is one. I have tried a lot of baby carriers, and I love this backpack so much! I keep it in my car, and take it everywhere I take my baby.

It is very lightweight, but very strong, and very well made. After a few years of heavy use, including plenty of hiking and international travel, as well as many errands and walks in the park, one of the shoulder straps (on the side that takes the most strain when I lift it with the baby in it), is starting to come unstitched a little. Otherwise not a fray, rip, broken zipper or latch to be seen.

The seat adjusts up and down for the child's comfort, and of course the padded shoulder straps and hip belt are fully adjustable for the adult's comfort. My skinny 6'1" husband and my average build 5'4" self both use it all the time, and it takes seconds to readjust the straps. The weight of the child mostly goes on your hips, and I have not had any problems with shoulder or back strain so long as I had the straps properly adjusted. My baby weighs about 20 pounds now, and I'm not in top condition but I can carry her in this for an hour.

There is a very roomy pocket under the child's seat, where we have put sweaters, a snack and water bottle, spare diapers and wipes, shoes, etc (not all at once!). There is a net pocket on the outside of this compartment which is convenient for toys, hats, or any other small baby items.

The fold-out loading stand makes it easy to stand this backpack on the ground and put the baby in, and then it's no trouble to fold the stand in once I have the backpack on. With the baby out of it, the backpack collapses flat and is very easy to stow in the car, in airplane overhead compartment, train luggage racks, the trunk of the taxi, in front of your knees on the bus, etc. Although in buses, we often just leave the baby in the backpack and hold the backpack on our knees, which is easy and comfortable for both baby and parent.

I also like that it is made in America, so few things are these days!

Both my children have loved riding in this, much prefer it to any stroller, and so do I. They get a great view of everything around you and in front of you, and seem to feel very secure and comfortable in it. Meanwhile I have more freedom - I can get through crowded places and over uneven ground almost as easily as I can without the backpack, instead of struggling with a stroller. I have even used it to do work around the house when I needed both hands and had a fussy baby clinging to my ankles - in the backpack they are almost always quiet and interested in whatever I'm doing.

We bought the rain/sun hood to go with this, and have not actually used it very much. It came in handy once when we were on vacation and it rained all the time, but the baby still needed a raincoat and hood. I think it would be most useful if you had a baby who refused to wear a hat and you were out for a long time on a sunny day.