Ideas for a framed backpack for a 3yo?

I actually bought a kelty pinnicale before my dd was born. Now that she's here and able to use it, it's been sitting in a closet. For hiking, a mt or ergo seemed to work better for us. One was space issue when we went camping. the mt and ergo took up little space. Both were comfy. I used the mt for my older child (4yr) since I was able to adjust it to fit both great. The ergo worked okay for us.(Fluffy mama and 4yr old) didn't feel as comfy. My dh used the ergo with dd and liked it. The padded waistband is what I think helped him the most.

If you are able to, I would go to REI or a camping store like Sportsman's warehouse to try on a framed backpack. The framed ones also weigh a couple of pounds up to 10 pounds without a child or gear in it, so it could get even heavier than expected.

Also it's alot easier to get a child in and out of a mt or ergo than the framed pack. I found that I would have to have dh help get the pack off of me when we were "test driving" it around the house.

hope this helps and others will chime in for ya.

We have several of the Kelty packs (dw used to work in an outdoor shop and we got them all for free) from the base model right up to the fancy shmancy model. We also were gifted the tough traveler pack, so we've got that one too. Honestly. . . Soft carriers are MUCH more comfortable to wear (Ergo, Mei Tai, etc.). I would also think that they would be much more convenient to take hiking since they are so much lighter and can be packed away.

I also can't imagine putting one of my boys in the framed packs now. They are 30 lbs and 37 inches tall, and they would be really big in the packs (if they would even fit). That said, they also don't really like being carried for long periods in the Ergo or Mei Tai because they say it hurts their penises . That's been an issue ever since they ditched the diapers, so maybe just putting some padding between his crotch and the back of the wearer would help if your ds also complains about that.

I really think anyone who tries both types of carriers out would choose the soft carrier over a framed backpack.

HTH!

Lex