Kangakid to the Rescue

  I am not a parent but there has been a single piece of gear that I am so completely amazed by that I could be talked into parenthood just to receive and use this item. The kid carrier! When working at the shop, I helped a lot of families choose their kid packs and I knew the ones we carried inside and out. No matter how much I knew them though, it's still very different than being the owner, strapping MY child into a piece of outdoor equipment.
  And since I am not really irresponsible enough to have a child in order to accumulate any thing...I have taken it upon myself to subject my best friend's newborn to gear testing. B is less than 6 months old and a true nature girl. Since she lives several hundred miles away, I don't often get to see her awestruck by nature. Her mom tells me that she could sit under a tree for hours, watching the leaves blow in the wind. Seriously, just the thought of this makes me emotional.
  Recently, little B made her first of what I hope to be many treks to Aunt Jessie's place in Colorado. To assist in our outdoor endeavors and as an early Christmas gift, I gave B a Deuter Kangakid. There are lots of great child carriers but I chose this one for a few reasons:

* B lives in Omaha and while I know firsthand that there are plenty of hiking trails in that area, her parents are more likely to be "urban active." B gets outside plenty but as many who have kids probably know, it takes a unique individual to load up a baby for an extended backcountry trek. B is far more likely to be playing in the backyard and strolling through the neighborhood parks with mom and dad so a lot of those big pack bells and whistles just weren't necessary.
* Grandma loves to walk! B stays with her athletic minded Nana several days a week and I wanted something that would be easy to transport to/from Nana's house. Something less cumbersome than the big packs when it came time for Nana to walk with B. I don't know if B's grandma (or grandpa) will ever really use it but I wanted to keep that in mind...just in case.
* Mom and dad travel. A big pack, loaded with metal stands and sunshades are awesome on trail but would you really lug one through an airport? I didn't think so. The KangaKid looks just like a backpack, but with better stability and more comfort. A great alternative to even a stroller while pacing the airport halls. It is small enough to fit under the seat in front of you or in the overhead storage on a plane, eliminating one of those in-transit annoyances...no stroller to check at the gate.
* Storage. There's plenty of space to stash bottles, snacks, diapers, toys etc.
* It's sleek. While appearance should be way lower on the priority list than say...safety, it does matter. I purchased a nice looking blue/gray version that I felt either mom or dad would be comfortable carrying on trail, in the airport or cruising downtown. It's nice when technical gear can have some level of fashion sense.
* SAFETY! Deuter is a reputable brand and this pack has a 5-point harness system similar to most carseats. I would never put B in an unsafe pack and while all kid packs are held to strict safety standards, I felt the KangaKid met these standards while being a great combination of everything else I have listed here.

But what did out biggest critic think of her inaugural trip in it??
After a little squaking while being loaded, as soon as we started moving, she slept for 2 hours. And since you all don't know B, I will tell you that she does not often nap for that long. If that doesn't say something about the combination of warmth, comfort and a cool breeze in her face, I don't know what could.

 The KangaKid's load will max at 33 pounds so this should last them for a while.

As for mom, she felt the KangaKid was comfortable although it was a bit tricky to carry a pack with sleeping weight favoring one side. Once we tightened up a few of the straps it eased the shoulder stress (shame on me for not remembering those load lifters!). It will take mom and dad a few times to practice getting B in and out of the pack safely as there is no frame to set her down on. And while mom might have chosen a more stable activity than cross-country skiing for our first go-around with the pack, we were all able to enjoy a full day of outdoor activity...with a 6 month old. And really, that's what owning a kid carrier is all about!