22 GENERAL CAMPING: Backpack:
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This article is from the Outdoor Activities for Young Children FAQ, by Gloria Logan glogan@atk.com with numerous contributions by others.
22 GENERAL CAMPING: Backpack:
>"I'm going to go ahead and order the Tough Traveler Kid Carrier,
>okay?" "I don't know. I think it's too fancy." "I think we need
>it." "But what if we don't end up doing much backpacking with the
>baby?" "Well, if we get the equivalent of a daypack to carry the
>baby in, we WON'T do any backpacking--it will be impossible!"
>"What's wrong with that old Gerry backpack our friends picked up at
>the garage sale for $5?" "It's not a real backpack. Remember how
>tired Patsy got when she went backpacking with us and carried her
>stuff in a daypack? It wasn't even a very long hike. I want a REAL
>backpack to carry the baby in!" "But we don't really need something
>with all those bells and whistles, do we?" "WHAT bells and whistles?
>What features do you want to do without? The good hipbelt? The extra
>bags so I can carry something besides the baby?" ...etc. (I'm the one
>who wants to spend the money.I think it will be well worth the cost.)
>
>Has anyone taken a baby backpacking in a Gerry pack without intense
>suffering?
My recommendation -- get a Tough Traveller!! For me, it was one of
the best purchases I made. It TRUELY makes a difference - TT has a
backpack-like hip belt that puts the weight on your hips. At least
the Geri packs that I have seen have only shoulder straps. Weight on
your shoulders gets HEAVY FAST. On my hips, I have been known to
carry half my weight as a load and for several hours; on my shoulders,
I could carry less than half that weight at all and much less than
that for any length of time.
The alternative if you backpacking: One of you fit a Geri pack into
the TOP of your regular pack (they ARE smaller and lighter than a TT).
Make sure it is fastened in so that it can not come out. Then load
the pack and position the kid in the Geri. Walk away - the kid is up
high where he can see and is near daddy's head so they can talk. (I
said daddy, because it would be a heavy load and usually the man can
carry the bigger weight. If this is not true for you, you might want
to carry the kid.) The other person can carry a normal pack.
Acutally for the friends that I saw do this, the "normal" pack was
very heavy, so the wife carried the kid. They actually had two kids,
with the older one walking. However, the parents had to carry an
awful lot.
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