Bushwalk Australia

For the G'Kid this time and at 3YO he's a real lump and like all toddlers as hard as hell on the gear
But he really loves his current bag and worn it out as it was a hand-me-down from his sister
Any ideas on something not too expensive that will last him for another 2 years of daycare and still be usable for day walks when he starts school/ No self respecting young person will willingly carry their school bag to go bushwalking will they?
He is already used to having to carry a full water bottle, change of clothes [ still a toddler after all] and a hat etc so the bag needs to be about 12/15 litres
Something like the old Karrimor Pipsqueak that I bought my own kids way back but if possible with dinosaurs and a T-Rex would be perfect
Had a quick look at the MacPac Pioneer 15 and that is OK but no second front pocket

Kids backpacks multiply in this house. My DS 2 years has a dinosaur back pack that was handed down from a friend. Check out the local op shops I saw a heap of them there that would be suitable for a little tacker today. Or maybe friends who have outgrown their day care bags.

As there isn't going to be much weight in it anyway, I can't see why you would have to buy a specific hiking type back pack.

My kids school bags are awesome, but not suitable for hiking. I just brought one of these nto share between my 8 year old daughter & 6 year old son. I'm jealous. It's lovely. http://www.clearancemountaindesigns.com ... -af?tier2=
I'm going to squeeze in some 1:1 time with my kids before puberty hits, and doing stuff with their parents ain't cool

Ahh... just saw grand- kid! Thinking you might like to spoil them.
These are apparently the 'cool things' kids are into right now. Smiggle. Just in case you are after a christmas gift or the like. Not sure on their durability, but all the school kids & parents, seem to love the shop.
http://www.smiggle.com.au/shop/en/smiggle/yums-backpack

He carries about 5 kilos with ease on long walks and he really does need a proper pack, the current one sits on him like a hunch. He is only 3YO soon to be 4 but he masses 25 kilos and it's mainly muscles and bone and the little pink box thing is about 8 litres

I feel bad letting my daughter carry 4.5kg's.
That is her pack, her clothes, her sleeping mat, her sleeping bag, some food & the first aid kit. + some water and she will be around 5.5kg's. I feel that is a stretch for a 8 year old to be honest. She is a tall girl, around 145cm tall. The smallest setting on that hiking pack above.
I think it would be difficult to deck out a 3 year old with a proper hiking bag, because of their back length.
Yet again, new at this, so feel free to enlighten me about kids backpacking and carrying gear, and buying gear for them.

As long as they can carry the weight and maintain posture, they should be alright. A good pack will help with that. I know MEC makes a kids pack, but obviously harder to get here. Maybe do a small daypack like an ospray talon, and paint it up?

We just discovered that REI no longer ship to OZ for the rucksacks we want but they aren't available here
DIY isn't an option at the moment and won't be until we finish the house renovation

MD, which REI packs did you want? We got the 'Deuter Fox 30L Pack - Kids' and 'Deuter Fox 40L Pack - Kids'. ( https://www.rei.com/product/781283/deuter-fox-30-pack-kids) He is welcome to try it on for a walk.

BTW, if you like a product in the USA that they won't mail here, why don't you get it delivered to family and have them post it here? Postage inside the US is often free over a certain, usually reasonable, amount.

Too big; he is after all only 3 going on 4 YO
The REI branded kids pack; 11 litre capacity
Family in the US have their own problems at the moment

Probably, has an adjustable harness system but I am not sure what size it reduces down to.

The Osprey Jet 12 seems about perfect but postage is greater than the cost of the sack so not a worthwhile exercise

Moondog55 wrote:The Osprey Jet 12 seems about perfect but postage is greater than the cost of the sack so not a worthwhile exercise

Interesting way of looking at it. I tend to look at the overall cost and whether it fits within my budget.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Strider the cost outweighs the benefits in this instance

If we are going to spend $120- we'll spend the money here rather than overseas
Or DIY when we get the time

Have you seen the ones from Penny Scallan? Our son is also 10 and he loves his Large Dino Rock backpack. He is using it for everything from going to school to sleep overs, and also when we go on holidays.

You can check it out here! https://www.pennyscallan.com/collections/travel

megankioul wrote:Have you seen the ones from Penny Scallan? Our son is also 10 and he loves his Large Dino Rock backpack. He is using it for everything from going to school to sleep overs, and also when we go on holidays.

You can check it out here! https://www.pennyscallan.com/collections/travel

I suspect if he hasn't found something in the intervening 5 years, it's a bit late.

We bought this pack for our small 8 year old son for hiking and backpacking trips. For the price its an amazing little pack.
We bought it about 6 months ago from decathlon but they are either currently sold out, or not stocking them any more (which would be such a shame). From what I can recall it was around $49 ish.

I am posting a link to Decathlon Malaysia as I cannot find it in our Australian online stores

https://www.decathlon.my/p/8520533_kids-hiking-backpack-mh500-30-litres.html

Said young person is now well past the look of "Baby packs" and has no intention of ever being a bushwalker like his grandad but that Decathlon would have been OK, as would the small Macpac I bought for the other, young GD and then passed on here at a massive loss