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Looking to get a child carrier for either back or shoulders for longer walks.
Looked at a few options ranging from mini-meis shoulder carrier to the Osprey's.
Any recommendations at all? If Osprey comes out on too I'll look to get second hand as rather pricey.
Thanks in advance!
How big is the child is my question.
New born, cloth wrap worked for us.
Up to about 9-12 months depending on size baby born worked for us.
Now we have a babymore ( I think) that can be front or back. Which is comfortable for long walks.
We also have a littlelife framed carrier that we used from about 9 months until about 4 years. Pretty comfortable but no storage on board and can not be propped up like dekain ones. This doesn't sound like an issue but if you want to out the bag down and they are sleeping it is!
She is coming up 5 months old.
We already have an ergo for the front but just need something we can use on longer walks.
At 5 months personally I would keep to a soft carrier for a while but a back one ( I will hunt out the name of ours) unless she is big for age of course! I found with #1 (small girl) she didn't fit in a framed carrier well until 9+months, but #2 (chunky boy) fit well from about 6-7months.
I day this but it's worth trying in a shop, as I said what worked for us may not work for you. You can then buy second hand after you have a better idea.
Thank you. She is an odd shape! Fairy short but very stocky at the moment.
It looks like gooutdoors has a few, so will head down and try some on when she is able to fit a bit better in them.
We have had three different carriers for our kids and they all had good and bad points.
Started with a cloth wrap that was great on the front until about 3 months
Switched to a baby bjorn that could be front (front or rear facing) or rear (front facing). On the front, front facing it only really worked for me, was never comfortable for child 1 or 2 around my wife’s boobs. Rear facing on the front was fine for either of us. We never really used it on the back as it never seemed to get the baby into a decent position, but I wore it on the front for a good few 2 hour walks.
Last carrier was a framed rear carrier. Think they advise not to use before 9 months but as above baby 2 is pretty large and is just going into there at 7 months. He could have been in it earlier easily enough.
At 5 months I’d probably go try out a few proper framed carriers and if baby will nearly fit then get one, put up with the existing carrier for a bit. The baby bjorn was great but it’s expensive for something you might only use for 3 months. The framed rear carriers are by far the most comfortable to use.
We have a second hand baby Bjorn that works well but doesn't get that much use. I find the adjustment of it to get it comfy a bit faffy.
The Osprey has been the most used but it is heavy and expensive - great though. V useful to be able to sit it on the ground like a high chair. Even though it's heavy you can get it to be pretty comfy and well balanced. We've been up stuff like Conic Hill with him in it no problem.
I got a really good discount on the primo one with attached daypack, fold out sun shade etc, can't comment on the other models.
Pretty sure you're supposed to support their bottom and upper legs together for a while, to look after developing hips, Al la the baby born. We used this till 9 months ish, then went Osprey after trying loads. Carried ours up to nearly 3 iirc. No other felt as comfortable on the back and could easily spend a day walking in the mountains, if our kid felt inclined to sit / sleep.
Great to be able to stand it up when off your back and the top model had practical features and storage that were well worth the cost for us.
Keep it relatively clean and you'd sell it on for a decent % of the purchase price too.
I use a Thule Sapling Elite. Brought second hand for a little over 100. Great fit, adjustable back length for me and my wife, good storage etc. But the canopy is very fiddly, and so if choosing again would also go for the Osprey.
We had a used baby Bjorn when really young .
Moved to a used vaude of some kind with the self standing support
Both are still regularly getting the same prices we paid
Most (ours included ) don't get as much use as they could so don't tend to get worn out the same as prams do.
Baby Bjorn was great when our wee one was that age then we moved onto an ErgoBaby (forget the model, sorry but Omni rings a bell) - both front carry ones though.
We got given a couple of cheap backpack carriers and they were both horrible to wear. Lumpy, cumbersome and really bloody uncomfortable.
Osprey ones are great as are the Deuter Kid Comforts - whichever you can pick up clean and used will be perfect.
The ergo we have can be worn on the back, although I know there are others so maybe yours can't but worth a check? Very difficult to get young baby/toddler on the back without assistance but comfy once there. I've had my 4 yos in it a free times although probably not longer than an hour but all comfy. Once the Little'uns are big enough to follow instruction then single handed back wearing is easier.... With the aid of a wall or something to sit them on!
I bought a used littlelife for 30 quid, used it loads, wee yin loved it, then sold it for 30 quid.
Would echo what most folks have said on here...
Carriers – we tried several but the ergo was by far the most comfortable. Works front and back and up to about age 2 in reasonable comfort. Tricky to get on single handed. We tried baby bjorn and found it absolute agony on your back.
Rucksacks – I’m not sure exactly what minimum age is but maybe about 9 months? Anyway, osprey is the way to go. We tried lots in a shop and it was way better than anything else we saw*. It’s made by rucksack people not baby people, so it’s actually comfortable. Sunshade is brilliant and raincover pretty easy too. Make sure you go poco plus or premium so you get a useful storage pocket underneath. Basic poco doesn’t…
[We have a used osprey poco plus we’re looking to sell. Seen some good walks but plenty more life in it. PM if you’re interested.]
*Shop lady tried to demonstrate a little-life rucksack with rain cover. She gave it up after trying to get the cover together for about 5 minutes with fiddly poles and cover everywhere. She abandoned the attempt halfway through whilst trying to persuade us it was “very easy”. We didn’t buy it.
Little life was good for us. It had some storage underneath and a sun/ rain cover which could be slotted on top as needed.
Once you get to rucksack age, child number two is currently in our Deuter Kod Comfort 3. It’s been epic - excelled on every front!
We had an osprey that did our 2 boys . I really miss using it now the youngest is to big , all our adventures are a bit smaller now as we try to get him to do things under his own steam .
We had an osprey. Sold well secondhand. Don’t underestimate how much the little buggers weigh.
We have the Osprey ones (pricey when buying for twins) I was originally looking at the LL ones as they had good reviews but Mum got the last word and went for the Osprey, i'm glad we did, they have the stand built in, plus the sunshield and rain hood is built in, from memory the LL SS and rainhood have to be bought seperatly so adds up to similar to an Osprey if you can get them in the sale, Go Outdoors were doing 10% cashback when we got ours
They've been great though, they've done a few walks around the Beacons over Fan Frynych for a couple of hours, and are great for going to places like Hay-on-Wye and places that don't cater for a twin side by side buggy!
My lads are two this month and getting to a decent weight but the hip belt does a lot of the work so you don't notice it as much on the back, they've been great, just hope the we get a few decent weekends weather in the spring to get them used more.
I think we had one of these, or a very similar model, purchased from Mothercare back when they existed:
Was good, kept the child secure but never complained that they were uncomfortable. The storage had enough room for the essentials plus some sandwiches.
Tried a few and people told me how good theirs were of various manufacturers.
Nothing was as easy as the osprey. When your swinging it about with your kid in its worth it
Not read all of the above but my ex did some fairly exhaustive research into these.From what I remember the baby Bjorn types weren’t well regarded for babies hips. The big frame things seemed big and heavy. A simple cloth sling is very effective for the very young. We then got something from https://www.buzzidil.com/gb/cms/7-babycarrier-guide which was German I think. Cloth,very adjustable and comfy. Used for town trips,festivals but also Lakes hikes and one all day effort up and down in the alps. Worked perfectly with a three year old strapped in and no complaints. Could be worn front or back. Had a flap to cover/secure the head and keep the sun off. Now I think about it a really well thought out bit of kit that helped make some happy memories. Even got a pic of the alps trek in the dining room and I’m wearing the old STW whisky themed jersey!
Osprey one is great for longer walks, etc. We took No. 1 child everywhere in it, including multi day backpacking in New Zealand. Sunshade is great for summer. It's quite bulky, both when wearing it but also folded. We have a Stokke for day to day use. It's been brilliant for that, and the other half tells me it's a lot better for kids hips than some of the other designs.
We had various baby bjorn wrap things which when small, then a little life backpack that we bought 2nd hand. Unfortunately all our kids hated being in a carrier so it's been used a dozen times at most.
We've still done loads of walks with them including all kinds of hills and rough offroad. We just carry them in arms and let them walk bits where they can. It takes more arm strength and perseverance, and you obviously can't go as far but had great days out like this.
I know others have got on great with them but just never worked for our kids. Defo worth trying out or getting 2nd hand before investing
I've used a little life back pack carrier thing and also an ergo baby convertible front/back carrier. The ergo baby is by far the lightest and mode comfortable to wear and doesn't take up half the boot space when you go places in the car.