This is pretty much just a review of the Osprey Poco Plus child carrier. Easily one of the best kid-gear purchases we made, we have used ours extensively over the past 6.5 years. In looking back through the picture library, I see that we have so many precious memories associated with that carrier. I have hiked a child up a Colorado 14’er at least five times in our carrier. The 14’er Mt Elbert is a 9.5 mile roundtrip hike with 4,700 feet elevation gain and Jasper weighed 30lbs when I carried him up and down. I’ve used this carrier in the desert heat, summer rains, and winter snow. Without this child carrier, we would not have been able to do many of our adventures.
(some images featuring the kid carrier in action–these bring back memories, let me tell you)
I have not used any of the other carriers out there, so I can’t speak to their qualities. One comment: this carrier may not be the largest available; other carriers may boast of being able to carry larger kids. Honestly: that’s stupid. Once your kid can’t fit in this one, you definitely don’t want to be carrying them on your back.
The rain cover is extra, though if you’re serious about hiking with your kids just buy it and count it as part of the package (it’s the yellow thing in one of the pictures in the image gallery). Personally, I can’t imagine going out on a hike with any chance of rain at all, and not take a rain cover to protect my toddler. The rain cover also dramatically increases the warmth for winter outings, and kills the wind when necessary.
They’ve updated the basic design slightly from when we bought ours, but it still looks largely the same. Karen and I can both use this carrier, the adjustment mechanism for torso length is easily accessible and quick to use.
For some of our hikes, I needed more room than the carrier provides, so I rigged up the shoulder lifter straps to suspend a small osprey pack (I used the Talon 11) from my front. I just swapped the buckle gender on the load lifters of both packs, then I clip the straps together. This makes is really quick and easy to get in and out of the setup. I really only use this front/back system when I’m solo dad’ing on a long hike with multiple kids, with no other adults along to share the burden (as in our recent all-boy ascent of Huron). Let me be clear: I didn’t want more room in the carrier, as it was already way heavy. I would not wish for extra space in the pack. The side slings, back pocket and zip-up rear pouch are sufficient for carrying small water bottles, your phone, a nalgene, diapers, wipes, a few snacks, and a toddler’s jacket or extra set of clothes. I only use a second pack for longer hikes where additional food and supplies are necessary. Suspending a front pack is very helpful on longer excursions, as it helps to counterbalance the weight hanging off my back. Overall, I think it’s a healthier (for my back) setup when I’m carrying 50+ lbs, to divide the load between the back and front. Karen has used this carrier on shorter outings with the boys and it has seen numerous plane trips (folded down, it fits in the overhead bin) and a train trip as well.
Here are a few random videos exhibiting a kid in the kid carrier on real-world adventures.
