A great help to get back to the outdoors

When I was younger and single, I enjoyed getting out for a camping trip or two a year and always loved going on day hikes. When my wife I had children, I assumed those days were over for a while. This baby carrier/backpack alleviated that concern.

I have never been what you might call John Muir, but I have always appreciated the outdoors, and as a father of two young girls, have wanted my daughters to grow up with the same love and respect for nature that I have. The Kelty Pathfinder has allowed my wife and I to take our children with us whenever we feel the urge to hit the trails.

For a child carrier, it is surprisingly light, less than 8 lbs. This is a definite advantage when you are also hauling a 35 lb. child around. It is very easy to set up for many different size children. There are so many different straps and adjustments available, it will fit any child and nearly any size person. I am about 5'8" and 175 lbs, and it fits me very well. My wife is about 5'4" and it adjusts well to her frame very easily. I am sure that it would adjust to people much taller with no problem.

A concern that my wife and I had about buying this carrier (any carrier for that matter) was the comfort level for the children. We were very excited about the opportunity to take the kids outdoors, but afraid that they would hate the packs and never want to ride in them. Fortunately, that fear could not be further from the truth. We tried them out in the store and my daughters did not want to get out! What a relief for us. Not only are there several adjustments for the carrier, but for the carried as well. Children of all different sizes can easily be adjusted to fit the seat easily and be comfortable, which of course is of the utmost importance to the child, and the parent.

The pack is very elaborate, and is probably too big and bulky for daily trips to store or mall, but it is perfect for long overnight hikes and short day trips as well. For little day hikes, the storage compartment in the sides and the zip out mini backpack on the back are perfect for storing water, hats, sunscreen and diapers. In fact, I often use the mini backpack as a diaper bag when my family goes out for a short trip to the mall and we do not want to take the whole house with us.

One other feature that I really love about this pack, and would recommend to any buyer looking at ANY pack is the rain guard. It is called a rain shield, but in Southern California where I live, it is truly more of a sun shade, and it works wonderfully as both.

The only drawback I can think of is that it would be difficult, though not impossible to use this pack for long hikes if you did not have an extra person to carry the gear. There is plenty of storage for daily trips, but add a tent and other gear to a pack with a child in it and you could easily be looking at a 60-70 lb. pack. Otherwise, this pack is great for those of us that want to expose our children to the wonderful outdoors.