Hiking with babies and young children ?

Our oldest is expecting and a first grandchild on the way next month. It's been a LONG time since I knew this kind of stuff, but am trying to get re-educated on hiking with babies and young children.
We toted our kids around in primitive, Gerry kiddy packs until they were old enough to walk and then hike. A lot has changed since then.

Looking for advice as to how young before children can safely ride in the new day packs? And does anyone have recommendations for models and features to look for?
Am also interested in a baby jogger - the ones with large wheels, shock absorbers, runaway straps, brakes, etc. Any recommendations for models and features ? I probably won't be doing much running, but am interested in models that might be able to work on improved woods roads, golf course cart paths and places that are a little bumpy.
I've seen them from a couple of hundred dollars up to almost $1,000. Not looking for a Rolls Royce but safe and serviceable.
Any advice from new parents or others who are a generation closer to raising young kids. New experience for us in a lot of ways.

Thanks - Alan

I had kelty snuggy when the kids were very young (goes on the chest) and a LL Bean kid pack. The baby jogger never had.

I used slings with both the girls. Properly tightened, a sling will securely hold your baby as close to your chest as you like, leaving your hands free for hiking poles. As the baby grows, you can loosen the sling and adjust as needed.

We've been doing lots of this kind of research over the last year and we ended up with an early 2000s hand-me-down Kelty backpack and a BOB stroller.

The BOB does just about everything and so far it has allowed us to resist the quiver of strollers that most parents seem to have. The wheels roll over everything and we've taken it over plenty of woods roads. It's a bit pricey but not if you consider you won't need to buy three others. It has an adapter to allow the infant bucket seats to click in so you can use it from day one.

The Kelty has been great for hiking and skiing so far. The newest ones definitely seem to be a tad better (ours has a bit finicky harness system for the baby) but the price was right and it has worked very well for us. We started using it when our son was about 5 months old but he is pretty big so he seems to reach the appropriate size for things earlier than some babies. Before that we swore by a Baby Bjorn chest carrier. I think there are other brands that are trendier now but I can't imagine a better product than the BB.

Enjoy your grandchild!

I used a sling to take my Granddaughter on walks and a couple of hikes until she was ~6 months old. I then purchased a Kelty pack and took her out many times hiking the fire towers in the summer/fall this year. She really enjoyed the Kelty pack and looking around at everything while we hiked.

I use an ergo-carrier, http://www.ergobabycarrier.com/

My boy is 2.5 now/35 pounds (at least). He as done quite a few hikes, a couple of 4000 footers. He rides in the carrier some of the time and hikes the interesting stuff. I can still carry a pack as well. We have a Bob stroller that he will ride in if he is tired enough. He mostly walks.

We have a 2.5 yr old toddler and twin infants. so tired. Anyway long post ahead ...

Until the baby can fully support itself by sitting up (around 6-8 months), you'll want to use something that provides good head and neck support. For the little ones, we use the BabyBjorn Carrier Air. (pic) This is good for children from about 8-25 pounds. It's lightweight, breathable, packs down pretty small and you can wear a backpack without having buckles and straps digging into your back. It can also go right into the washing machine. We tried a sling with our oldest, but it didn't feel safe or comfortable enough.

A little older we switched to a Kelty TC 2.1. (pic) This is for children up to 40 pounds. There's a lot to like about this pack. You can make all kinds of adjustments to get a good fit so it's comfortable for long distances. It has a lot of storage space for a carrier (around 1400 cu) with side pockets for bottles. It's flat on the bottom and includes a top handle to help get it safely on your back. The kid gets a good view of the surroundings, although he won't be as high up in this type of pack as in one that's more like an external frame pack. Another nice feature is that you can cinch the straps tight to collapse the child seat area flat when he's not in it. The only negative I can think of for this one is that because the kid is sandwiched between your back and the pack you wouldn't want to use it on very hot days.

We also use an older Kelty Elite that looks like an external-frame pack. (pic) This is for children up to 50 pounds. The padding and straps on this one make it comfortable as well. The kid is up higher for an unrestricted view, but this is good for Mom or Dad, too since the height makes it feels well balanced when they're twisting and turning to see everything. It has a kick stand for loading and unloading. The pack also cinches flat. The big negative on this pack is that you can't carry much else - not that you'll want to with bigger kids. Because there's a lot more exposure in this pack more clothing layer s are needed.

After the twins were born, we bought a Baby Jogger Summit XC - one of the double models. (pic) It may be the most expensive piece of baby-gear we own, but worth every penny. It has about a 100 pound total capacity. All of our kids were preemies, so we'll be using this one for a long time. It is extremely well designed. Folds in one quick step. There are seat back pouches and a large store basket underneath. It has a hand brake, parking brake, runaway strap, and large air-filled tires with independent suspension. Two very important features not available in all joggers are clear windows in the canopy and reclining seats. You can lock the tires straight or let them swivel and the steering is so smooth, I can carry a toddler with one hand and steer the twins with the other. We keep a Bjorn in one of the pouches, so When our oldest gets tired we switch one twin to the Bjorn and let the toddler ride. It works well. We use the Jogger off-road on pretty rough terrain and the kids are so comfortable they fall asleep the same as if they were riding in the car. I would recommend it anyone.

One final note - because most people only use these types of packs for a very short time, there's a glut of barely-used kid carriers on the used gear market.

One more thing about a sling -- you can get one that will carry children from age newborn through toddlerhood. If you find that a sling works for you, it's a great investment. Keeps all parts of the baby supported (best NOT to have the legs hanging down in those early months) while they're young, and allows for full range of movement (if that's what you want) when they're 2 and 3.

Here's one of the ones I used --

https://www.mayawrap.com/

Tim, lol! Yes, at 4, Sage was a bit old for the Maya.

I keep thinking 'thank you' for all the great replies and wanted to say THANK YOU.

Alan

Another Ergo user here (on our second Ergo and who knows how many miels - Norah's been everywhere in that thing). Norah was born in November and we didn't start any real hiking until the spring. By that time she had good head control and we used the Ergo as a backpack (it can also be a front carrier). And we're still using the Ergo (she's 3, about 32 lbs or so).

We've tried a Kelty frame carrier several times, but always come back to the Ergo. Steve carries her 99% of the time and it's just more comfortable and his balance isn't thrown off as she's close to his back. Being right up against him is great for napping (one of the main reasons we used it when she was young) and there is a hood to snap to the straps to keep the head from bouncing around too much. It's also a plus when it's cooler weather for keeping her warm. But as you can imagine it can get hot in the summer (we always carried extra outfits for multiple changes). Another drawback is that you can't put up a sunshade or bug screen like you can on a frame carrier (although that hasn't limited us at all).

Soft carriers are also nice for packing easily since they don't take up too much room. However they lack any storage space. We always hike together, so Steve carries Norah and I carry everything else. If it was a different situation, a frame carrier with extra pack room might be necessary. If we had another we would've seriously considered a Sherpani carrier.

I don't know if you'll be having a grandson or granddaughter, but one of our most used items with Norah was, and still is, BabyLegs (legwarmers). These are great for an extra layer because you can put them on without having to take the kiddo out of the pack. They are also really cute, so that's a bonus.

And when Norah was old enough we also got a lot of use out of the Snack trap (hard to dump out food and we attached it by tether to the pack).

We never used a stroller, but I would def. recommend hitting up Craigslist and yard sales - can often find something like that for pretty reasonable.

Congrats!

for what it is worth, I found using either a snuggly or backpack, and would assume a sling, was the best way to take a small child around town shopping or to the mall. A lot easier than pushing a stroller in crowds.

baby jogger

we purchased this model:

http://www.babyjogger.com/fit_dtl.aspx

with the car seat adaptor. have not used it much yet (baby is not even 3 weeks old yet), but so far so good through the snow and ice. seems like it will work out fine.

my wife has been mostly using the sling when walking/shopping etc...

I have an older, mid to late 90s, Kelty backpack carrier. It's pretty much the base model and I used it when my kids were toddlers in the early
2000's. Sounds so long ago. I added some side pockets to it, and a travel pillow. There's plenty of other accessories that can be added. I carried my 20 month old daughter up Algonquin in it and also used it for my son on Cascade. Definitely not the most comfortable thing out there, but it gets the job done. Having seen the recent ones they look a lot better.
I thought I was done using it, but with a surprise that's now 6 months old, it will be hitting the trail again soon.

Another vote for the Mayawrap. I loved mine - used it for both my girls. It was always reliable, no straps or buckles to break or malfunction, plus, you can get baby right up against your skin if you want/need to. When the girls got older I used a hand me down Kelty carrier and liked that alot too.
Another plus for the mayawrap is that it can be a light blanket when you put baby back in the car for the day

Such a fun part of being a new parent: figuring out how to lug your little ones into the places you love.

To add just a little to what has already been said:

For first several months (4-8ish, varies a lot) babies need head support, so a backpack type carrier won't work. We have a sling (hand-me-down that's not as sweet as the Maya...but was free) and a Babybjorn. Sling is GREAT for day to day. But I like the bjorn for hiking since I can easily wear the baby on the front and a backpack on the back full of supplies. In fact, they balance each other out really well! Maybe the Mayawrap works fine for that as well, but the sling we have has a buckle right where backpack shoulder pads go, so it's uncomfortable to wear underneath a backpack.

At about 6 months our baby could hold his head up, so we switched to a Deuter backpack baby carrier, which we like a lot. Weight is very well balanced. My wife carries supplies for herself and me, and I carry the toddler and all his stuff.

Fast forward a couple of years - now that we've got a one month old and a two year old, I'm hoping to be able to carry the baby in the front and the toddler on the back, while my wife carries overnight supplies for all of us. It'll end up being ~45 total lbs of kiddo for me, and supplies for two adults for my wife, so we'll see how it goes once the weather gets a LITTLE warmer!

Finally, we have a Bob stroller, which I highly recommend. I'd advise against a fixed front wheel, unless the parents are hardcore runners and plan to use it ONLY for races. Our Bob can function as a fixed OR free front wheel.

On a related topic, be prepared for your young one to SLEEP while being carried and jostled. My wife tells me both our kids were more active when she was at rest or sleeping, and this continues for a while once they are born. We put them in the car to get them to sleep.

So, as an example, we took Amanda XC skiing when she was 6 months - she slept in the car both directions, and again in the backpack and again in the pulk. And she was awake most of the night which followed.

When she got older, she loved to ride in the Burley behind my bicycle... "FASTER DADDY!! FASTER!!!"

Tim

hikerbrian said:

At about 6 months our baby could hold his head up, so we switched to a Deuter backpack baby carrier, which we like a lot. Weight is very well balanced. My wife carries supplies for herself and me, and I carry the toddler and all his stuff.

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A friend of mine LOVES the Deuter packs. I used a Kelty and liked it, but not loved. I have a long torso, and the hip belt didn't sit low enough for me and I would often get sore shoulders from the child's weight sitting so far behind me. I was never pulled off balance, but I could certainly feel the rearward shift in my center of gravity. That being said, both of our kids were quite comfortable in it and like Tim's children fell asleep on any hike longer than an hour which led to other "issues" - the need for a pillow so baby didn't repeatedly bounce his head off of the aluminum bar at the top of the pack while descending the trail.

Good luck in the pack search and the ensuing hikes. My kids loved it! I only wish my daughter let me use it a little longer. "Miss-I-do-it" wanted to hike on her own at 2.

spencer said:

The BOB does just about everything and so far it has allowed us to resist the quiver of strollers that most parents seem to have. The wheels roll over everything and we've taken it over plenty of woods roads.

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Update on the BOB. We used it for ice skating last weekend and it was a blast. Between the wheels rolling smoothly when going straight and gliding around the corners, it was perfect on the ice and I never worried about a thing. I would have been worried if I had fallen while our son was in the backpack way above the ice.

How's grandparenthood treating you, PB?

I used a Keltie Carrier for my son when he was about 1. It worked out just fine and had good safety features.