We bought the Patagonia Baby Reversible Puff Ball Jacket when our daughter was 18-months-old (she's now 23-months-old...yikes!). We opted for the 2T size. It was a little big at first, but we spent a pretty good amount of money on this jacket (retails at $80, but we bought it on sale), so we wanted to make sure we sized up to get as much time out of it as possible. The Puff Ball Jacket comes in four different colors and prints. Our daughter loves owls, so we were not even mildly surprised when she picked the Owls and Friends (magenta) print with a reversible white side.
Patagonia also makes matching reversible puff pants and bunting. We have not tried either of these, but we imagine the things we like and dislike about the jacket would match up fairly reliably.
Material
We were drawn to Patagonia's use of recycled polyester. When we see it in products we need (or sometimes just want), we do our best to go with that option. This was obviously a huge plus for us when considering the purchase.
You can find all the specification information for this jacket at the Patagonia website. Here are the basics of the shell.
Shell Material - Ripstop fabric made from 100% recycled polyester (soda bottles, scrap and used fabrics) with a Deluge® DWR finish which supports long-term repellency.
Insulation Material - 100g Thermogreen® polyester (90% recycled)
What Else We Like
Aesthetics - This is a really nice looking jacket. Our daughter loves it and will often take a little time to stop and examine the print while wearing it. We were more than a little skeptical of having a white reversible side. You know, toddlers and white clothes don't always mix, especially when it comes to outside play. However, there haven't been any issues as she never wants to deviate from having the print side showing. I imagine most kids would choose the print side over the solid side for this particular model.
Form - The coat is shaped and fits well; it hugs at the right places while leaving room for layering beneath it. The spandex binding at the waist and cuffs seem to work at keeping heat in. There's also the nice addition of a zipper "garage" that keeps the zipper directly off of the wearer's neck while zipped all the way up.
Function - First and foremost, the jacket appears to be warm enough for the intended use, especially considering the relatively thin shell. I reached out to Patagonia customer service to see if they had a temperature rating for this jacket, and this was the reply: "We don't really temp rate our stuff, but I'd say on it's own it's probably a fall/early winter garment. With a little layering you can extend that." We will go ahead and layer a fleece underneath it when it's cold and windy enough, but it works well on it's own (for our daughter) in temperatures of ~45 degrees or above (this number is specific to our child and our comfort level).
Our daughter understands the concept of being cold, and we'll ask her periodically when she's wearing the jacket without additional layers if she is cold.She has yet to say, "yes." It should be noted for context that we are usually fairly active when outside in the cold. Sometimes we go lower without layers, but we typically layer anyway. We try to keep a fleece on her so we can take the jacket off before placing her in the car seat, which allows her to retain some warmth if the car is cold.
We haven't had the opportunity to have our daughter wear this in any significant rain for a prolonged period of time (not that we would with this jacket), but it's been through a sprinkle and drizzle here and there and repelled water nicely. The inside of the coat and underlayers stayed completely dry. Finally, the ripshot shell fabric is fairly durable and easy to surface clean. Our daughter has put it through the paces and beat it up on the playground, in the yard, on trails, etc. and there are no noticeable rips or tears, even upon close inspection.
Areas For Improvement
Aesthetics - It would be nice (and, yes, this is totally subjective) if the solid colored side were magenta or something a little more colorful than white. We admit that the contrast between the print side and the solid white side looks pretty cool on the hood, but still...it's white...and we have a toddler. Having said that, our daughter isn't concerned with displaying that side anyway. She only has eyes for the owls.
Form and Function - The hood has spandex binding to help hold it's shape, which is nice, but there is no way to cinch the hood any tighter around the head and face. It's wide, so if it is particularly windy it blows over her eyes or off of her head completely. We've been able to compensate for this with the right beanie, but on it's own, the hood doesn't do much to help with warmth or wind protection. Finally, there are only pockets on the print side, we do wish there were pockets on the solid side as well.
Do We Recommend It?
Yes, for mild cold weather or for layering with a good baselayer and/or fleece in colder weather. We're basing this review on it's actual intended functionality (based upon our communication with customer service as referenced above), and not as a cold weather puffy coat. If we were basing the review on that alone, then we may not recommend it. If you want a stand-alone cold weather puffy coat, there are better options out there. However, this jacket works really well for our needs here in Nashville, TN, and as we said, works well for it's intended use. Our daughter loves it; it looks great, is warm and layers easily. The jacket handles a variety of weather conditions and is durable enough to hold up to a toddler beating (which means it's pretty durable!). We definitely recommend buying it a size up so you can try and stretch the wear to two years. We also recommend keeping a good beanie or two on hand.
Thanks for reading and please feel free to ask questions or make comments. If the cold ever gets here, enjoy it!
-Pablo
Disclosure: (1) The 4 small pictures of the different puff-ball models at the beginning are affiliate links to backcountry.com. (2) We bought this jacket with our own money and had no communication with Patagonia regarding a review of this or any other garment. The only direct communication we had with Patagonia was through customer service on-line with regards to temperature rating/recommendations. (3) All of the opinions are complete our own based upon four - five months of playing outside with our daughter.
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This was our second year as a three person family, and we're definitely starting to discover that certain holiday traditions are developing and evolving. Our last post was about going to Opryland Hotel to see the Christmas decorations, which Nea and I had already been doing for the past five years. These types of events are hugely and wonderfully different with a little one in-tow. Maybe we were the ones in-tow? Either way, it was fun.
This year we started two brand new traditions. The first is gear as Christmas presents. Our daughter (22-months-old) really cleaned up in terms of new gear. She got some new Marmot Split mittens, REI hiking pants, Therm-a-Rest ProLite Plus Mattress, Deuter Wizard backpack (light, perfect for toddler play), Petzl Picchu climbing helmet, Trango Junior climbing harness. We also received a rain cover for our Deuter Kid Comfort II. She's well on her way to being fully equipped for another year of Family Wilding thanks to grandmothers, aunts and uncles!
Our second new tradition was taking a Christmas day hike. We decided to head to Edwin Warner Park for a short afternoon hike. It's been one of our favorite hikes over the past year, so it certainly seemed appropriate to kick off our new tradition there. We would have loved snow, but, in it's absence the weather we were dealt was perfect. It was a cool 56 degrees and sunny when we hit the trailhead. We finished the hike just as the sun was setting, and right in time for dinner.
It was a great Christmas, and hope you've all had a great holiday season as well. Did you start any new traditions?
Happy Trails!
Pablo and Nea
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Disclosure: The individual pics of the gear above are affiliate links.
We love our climbing gym. One of the the biggest positives of Climb Nashville is the friendly, helpful and knowledgeable staff. We've never had anything but a great experience with any of them. This is especially true with regards to their interactions with our daughter. We started to take her climbing when she was 18-months-old. We happened to have her with us as we dropped by to renew our membership. We saw a 3-year-old harnessed up, mentioned we looked forward to bringing her to climb, and 5-minutes later they had a harness on our daughter and urged us to hit the kid routes. We did, and have been bringing her at least once a week since. Climbing with a toddler has definitely been a learning experience, and it continues to be, but it's been a remarkable experience.
Why are we starting a review about climbing shoes with a discussion about our gym? Well, because it's important to have a safe, happy and welcoming environment to try something new and different. It's not necessary, but it can make many things much easier. The people there, staff and other members alike, provided us with the comfort and confidence to get her started. In addition, and most important to this review, it was a staff member that handed us a pair of Evolv Vengas for the first time when she was about 19-months-old (she's now 21-months-old).
Review: Evolv Venga, A Climbing Shoe For Kids
We had been taking our little climber climbing in her conventional play shoes, but this experience was very different in a very good way. First of all, she thought they were really cool. She's a shoe fan anyway, sothese new anddifferent looking shoes awed her. Second, she enjoyed putting them on, and eventhough the shoes were sized bigger then her play shoes, they adjusted nicely to fit her feet. Third, they immediately helped to improve her climbing skills, which made an already enjoyable activity seemingly more enjoyable for her. Let's talk about each of these points in more detail.
Aesthetics
On the surface, these shoes are really nice to look at. The purple sun design on the top strap is simple and clean. The colors are bright, but not overly so. The brand logo and written name are well placed in the design; they don't overwhelm the rest of the shoe. We thought they looked really nice, but most importantly, so did our daughter. To quote her, they're "cool", which is high praise from our little shoe lover.
Form
The Venga is a really easy shoe to put on small feel and adjust. We've seen some climbing shoes for kids with laces and complex tightening systems. They probably work great, but the Venga is super simple. The Velcro is strong on the top strap, and equally as strong on the heel adjustment strap. Our daughter's Vengas are size 11, which is bigger than the size 7 she currently wears, but the heel adjustment strap helps to equalize this difference. Here's a quick video showing how easy it is to put these on and to adjust the fit accordingly.
Most important to wearing this shoe is that they appear to be comfortable to wear, and here's why we feel confident in stating that. There is a soft nylon lining and a bit of stretch in the places stretch is needed, which add to the comfort of putting on, wearing, and taking off. She usually gets excited about putting the shoes on. She says "yes" when we ask her if they feel good and "no" when we ask her if they hurt. Her gait isn't different when she walks in them, and she often does not want to take them off when we're ready to leave the gym.
Function
The Venga has a well-designed structure for learning feet. It has an asymmetrical toe (weight distribution) with a nice thick rand, a TRAX high-friction rubber sole, and a half-length midsole with a good balance of stiffness and flexibility (great for smearing). All of these features work together to provide support for foot balance, weight distribution, and compensation for foot displacements and misses. For more information on shoe sturcture check out this information page at REI.com.
We saw an immediate increase in her climbing skills when we switched from her non-climbing toddler shoes to the Vengas. She had more support in her foot for unusual and novel foot positions, her foot slips decreased considerably, and we even saw her actively attempting to smear during her first climb in these shoes. With these increases in success came increases in skill and confidence for her, as well as increases in confidence and comfort level for us.
This may sound silly, but we must admit that it did surprise us to see such a big difference; the handholds on the kid routes are big, so there is no shortage of surface area for foot placement. She was doing just fine in her regular shoes, but would get frustrated from time to time with foot displacements and misses from the low-friction soles she was wearing. In hindsight it makes perfect sense that we would see gains with actual climbing shoes, and as such, something she enjoyed before is now more enjoyable than it already was. We'll keep taking her to climb as long as she wants us to, and as long as we can keep the climbing gym fun for her, we have no doubt we'll be taking many more trips there.
The Bottom Line
Cost: $45
Sizes: 11, 12, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
Aesthetics: Bright, simple, clean
Form: Well-designed, easy to wear, comfortable
Function: asymmetrical toe + thick rand + TRAX rubber sole + flexible and supportive half-length midsole = increased skill, comfort, and confidence for our toddler while climbing
Does our daughter like them? Yes
Do we recommend them? Definitely. In fact, we're currently not wearing Evolv shoes, but we may both make the switch when it's time for new ones.
What some of your kids' favorite gear and/or what is your favorite gear for your kids? Are they usually the same?
Happy climbing!
-Pablo and Nea
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Disclosure: We received these shoes without cost for review. There were no expectations with regards to the content of the review, and there was no offer of compensation for a positive review.
When we received that initial email from them we were thrilled. We were equally thrilled when they emailed a few weeks ago to ask us if we would be interested in helping them develop images for a "Tips & Tricks" page for the Deuter Kid Comfort line. Since we had already spent a lot of time on this exact topic, we decided that a) we could do it without embarassing ourselves, and b) it would be a lot of fun. We took a hike with a really good friend of ours, John, during which time we shot some video demonstrating how to put on the Deuter Kid Comforts by yourself. Then, we took an evening at home to shoot some photographs for the images we would later send to Deuter.
It was a cool experience for an outdoorsey family of novice bloggers. We really appreciate the opportunity to be involved. It was obviously flattering to be asked, and especially becuase of the previous posts we had thoroughly researched and published. It defintiely added some much needed validation to all of the work we put into them. Those of you who are fellow bloggers can appreciate how nice that is. We think you'll appreciate it even more when we tell you that the "All About The Deuter Kid Comfort II and III" posts are BY FAR the most visited posts on our site, yet we've received zero comments on either!
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As you may or may not now, we have recently become Deuter Family Ambassadors (check out our official ambassador profile to find out a little more about us). This is a new program for Deuter (pronounced Doy-ter), and there are some other excellent Family and Sport Ambassadors on the growing Deuter roster. We are honored to be able to participate in this ambassadorship and excited to be able to share our Family Wilds point of view with the Deuter fan base. We can honestly say that we view Deuter is a great company that makes some of the best packs and kid carriers on the market. Their products are well designed, durable and versatile. We can also honestly say that this was our perspective before we became ambassadors.
Two months ago we published our first post about a Deuter product. It was called All About Deuter Kid Comfort II and III: Part 1 - Choosing. Within the next three weeks we posted Part 2 - Wearing and Deuter Speed Lite 30, a review. Since that time around 12% of our total page visits have come through online searches which include "Deuter" in the keyword phrase. The even better thing for us from a blog standpoint, is that these visitors stayed for longer than average and visited more pages than average. Also, folks, the international strength of this brand is strong. We've been visited by people in 48 different countries since our first Deuter realted post, and a little over 75% of that international traffic was driven to us by "Deuter" keyword searches.
We feel very fortunate to have this opportunity, and will do our best to ensure we make it worthwhile for Deuter as well. Look for more Deuter related posts by us here and on the Deuter blog, The Last Mile. Having said that, rest assured that this is not a Deuter blog, nor will it become one. We'll discuss other brands fairly, and most importantly, we will continue to focus on being outside with out amazing daughter.
As a side note that has nothing to do with anything, we saw Robert Plant at the dry cleaners yesterday afternoon. Nashville rules.
Happy Trails!
Pablo & Nea
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Disclosure: We bought the KC II with our own money, and won the SL 30 on the Deuter USA Facebook page (they frequently give away packs). Part of our ambassadorship includes the opportunity to put some Deuter products through the paces. These products were provided to us by Deuter without cost. We'll write about these in the near future.
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Outdoor Gear To-Get List
We want, we want, we want, we want!!! There are so many things we want! We were thinking this week about things we need, and realized the things we need aren't all things we need, but whatever...we want them. Anyway, we put a list of what we had and what we have yet to get, and the list is pretty big on both sides. So, the point of this post more-or-less is to organize ourselves and discuss, with you, what the essentials actually are.
We've been spending a lot of time researching, planning, and prioritizing the gear we need. We have plenty of gear to make it through camping, backpacking, and kayaking trips (or any combination of all three), but much of the gear we have is in need to upgrading. Where to even start? Here was/is our order:
Kayaking
This was easy; we have two kayaks ( Wilderness Systems Pungo 120 and Jackson Kayak Daytripper) that we like very much, good paddles, and PFDs for all three of us. We have not been out on the water as much as we had been before our daughter was born (she's now 18-months), but are hoping to make it on some lakes and river more this Fall. The summer here has been really hot, and planning times and places to take our daughter was difficult given the heat, our needs to take frequent stops, and frankly, our trepidation about getting her into open or moving water. This Fall though, we're going to make it happen.
Hiking
The biggest additions we needed to make here were a new kid carrier, new day pack and hydration system. We purchased the Deuter Kid Comfort II after a great deal of research. We have two day packs, a women's Osprey Sirrus 24 and a Deuter Speed Lite 30 . We really like both, and have used both comfortably. We have been leaning more heavily on the Speed Lite 30 recently, primarily because of the weight (2 lbs!), and the compression potential. All of these new purchases allow for a 3 L hydration system, which we now also have one of. A second one would be great. As far as hiking goes, we're pretty set, although we do need some new lightweight trekking poles.
Camping
We just ordered three new Deuter sleeping bags that should be great for camping in the Southeast this time of year. The Deuter Dreamlite 500 is an adult backpack that weighs 1.5 lbs. We love the low weight, and if we car camp we can easily bring extra blankets if needed, and whether we are car camping or backpacking, we can always layer up. The light weight bags will definitely be worth the trade off. We also ordered a Deuter Little Star EXP sleeping bag. It is designed for toddlers to grow into and weighs just 1 lb 10 oz. Again, we may need to add layers to the little one for sleeping while backpacking, but we'll all bo okay with it.
The most pressing issue we have for camping is a new tent. We have an old $50 Coleman, which has actually served us well. However, we need a tent with better ventilation, a little more room, and maybe most importantly, a tent that is lighter. We don't want to have to buy two tents, so we need one we can use for car camping and backpacking. We'd love to find a good 4 person backpacking tent that weighs less than 8 lbs, but isn't super expensive. There are some good options out there, but we're still saving up, so we have a bit of time to decide.
Other upgrade needs include light weight sleeping pads, cooking equipment, and a flask. We need a new flask...for Bourbon...sweet sweet bourbon. If you've never tried Woodford Reserve, you need to. It's pretty perfect, especially since you can do this to it (Woodford Reserve + Bacon - I'm thinking Benton's Bacon, btw).
Backpacking
We've already discussed the tent, trekking poles, sleeping pads, etc. The two big things we need to add to our gear here are a new GPS device, and a SPOT device. We feel like having both of these are important, and even more so since we'll be going back country with a toddler! We needed a new backpacking pack, but we've got that covered now too.
We also just ordered a Deuter Aircontact 75+10 Backpack . Why would we need something so big, when the chances that we'll go out for more than a few nights is really slim? We'll, we have the toddler, remember? One of us will be carrying her in the carrier when she needs a ride while the other carries the pack. We have can add about 12 pounds of weight to the KC II, which will mainly be our daughter;s diapering needs and clothes. We can fit everything else in the 75 + 10. This means I'll probably be carrying that, while Nea handles the little one. I'm not sure which is easier? Anyway, we're really excited about this pack. If we pack it light enough, Nea and I could switch off, which is made really easy and comfortable by Deuter's Vari Quick system and ACT Lite SL shoulder straps (for Nea). We can switch between carrier and pack by changing shoulder straps. Piece of cake! We could use some rain covers for our packs and kid carrier too.
Climbing
Truthfully, we'll never be great climbers. Nea and I both got into climbing around the same time, because it was something we could do together that was fun and would help us get into shape. We joined our local climbing gym, Climb Nashville, and went regularly for about 6-months. We stopped at the end of our first trimester of pregnancy. We recently rejoined Climb Nashville, but this time as a family; all three of us are members now. We take the little one once a week to climb, and Nea and I climb a few evenings a week after work. The hope would be that our daughter develops an interest, and if she does we can climb vicariously through her. If not, no big deal, we have a gym we can keep going to together.
Okay, so what do we need? We have no idea. Nea and I each have shoes (La Sportiva Nago) and Black Diamond Harnesses and chalk bags. We would love to get into outdoor bouldering, so the next obvious purchase would be a crash pad. Anyone have other recommendations? Oh, we also need to get Little Climber her own full body harness. Renting one at the gym is $4 a pop. Not much by the week, but it would be cheaper in the long run to get her one of her own.
The To-Get List (in order of appearance)
3 L Hydration System
Trekking Poles
4-Person Tent
Sleeping Pads
Cooking Equipment (suggestions?)
Flask!
GPS
SPOT
Pack/Carrier Rain Covers
Child Climbing Harness
Crash Pad
Everything on this list adds up to about...one billion dollars. It's a lot, but we've whittled it down quite a bit so we're feeling like there's definitely been progress made! Any suggestions on what we need to add to our ever growing list or what we need to corss out? What do you need and how do you prioritize your list?
I won the opportunity to review the Women's Organic Cotton Hat by Tilley from the Outdoor Blogger Network. If you're an outdoor blogger you should definitely join the network f you aren't members already. Besides the frequent review opportunities there is also an ever growing community of bloggers supporting one another. Okay, onto the hat.
The first thing I noticed as I turned the hat over and over in my hands was a label proclaiming it had been "handmade with Canadian persnicketiness!" This label was covering a really cool little pocket with velcro that contained the owner's manual. My first thought was of concern that I now have a hat the requires an owner's manual, however there was no need to worry.
Just like the proclamation of who made the hat, the owner's manual was full of funny little anecdotes about it, as well as a humorous and easy to follow description of certain aspects of it. By the way, that pocket I mentioned earlier can be used to store a key, a little cash, credit card, etc. After reviewing the accompanying literature and playing around with the hat a bit, I was excited to take it out for a hike as soon as possible.
The Women's Organic Cotton Hat, as you might have guessed is made of organic cotton. It has a layer of polyethylene foam in the crown of the hat to help with buoyancy in case it flies into the water...without you attached to it. The owner's manual also states that this foam can help in the event of a blunt object falling on the head of the wearer. It is stated in a very humorous way, however this hat was developed by a sailor so I am guessing that the extra protection may have actually been by design. It wouldn't provide a lot of protection, but small sticks and giant acorns wouldn't bother you much.
The owner's manual is important when trying to correctly fit the wind cords. The only real "problem" I had with this hat is that the wind chords do take some time and effort to size and fit correctly the first time you wear it. My advice is to fit and size it before you leave the house.
This "problem" also happens to be requirement to work through in order to fully realize one of the best features of this hat. It will stay on your head in really windy conditions while remaining comfortable. The wind cord can be worn only in the back for more moderate windy conditions or both front and back for more severe windy conditions. I have not had the occasion to try this hat in very windy conditions, however I have tried out the wind cords while hiking and the hat stayed quite comfortable.
This hat has come along with me on several hikes. The cotton allowed it to remain cool and comfortable in 90+ degree weather. The cotton fabric is very soft and could easily be folded and stored in a backpack. It sports a sweat band which wicks moisture away from your forehead and is reversible. If the sweat band gets wet you can simply turn the hat around so the wet part of the band is in the back and you have the fresh, dry side against your forehead.
Overall the Tilley Women's Organic Cotton Hat is a great addition to my hiking gear. Not only is it functional, but it is comfortable to wear and is pleasing to the eye! I've enjoyed it on the trails, and look forward to taking it with me next time we put our kayaks in the water for some more testing. I have no doubt it will pass with flying colors once again.
-Nea
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We recently won a Deuter Speed Lite 30 Backpack from the facebook page for Deuter USA. First thing, make sure you "like" their page. They will often give away packs. When we won ours they decided to go ahead and give away two at the last minute. Okay, so now that you did that (and thanks for coming back) let's talk a little about the Speed Lite series.
Weight
There are currently four different-sized packs in the Speed Lite series - 10 L, 15 L, 20 L and 30 L. As you might have guessed by the name, these packs were designed to be lightweight. Side note: Deuter currently has one other pack with the Speed Lite System - the Pace 20(which, besides looking really functional, looks really cool). All of their lightweight packs weigh 2 lbs or less according to Deuter, with the Speed Lite 30 being the "heaviest" at 2 lbs. I say"according to Deuter", because I weighed our Speed Lite 30 at 1 Lb 14 oz, 2 oz less than the posted weight. All components of this pack are light without feeling flimsy, which is quite an achievement for a bag so large and so light.
Backsystem
All Speed Lite packs have backs and shoulders padded with breathable contoured mesh. Considerable weight is saved by eliminating structure from the back. We took it for a hike in the mid 80's with high humidity, and my back didn't feel hot at all. The open mesh pockets on the thin hip belt do their part to keep everything cooler as well. The Tensioned Delrin U Frame is extremely light, but sturdy enough to provide just enough support to be functional but not overly rigid in comparison to the thin, but durable materials.
Compression Straps
One of our favorite features of this pack is the compression strap system which can pull double duty. First, they compress the pack to keep the load tight and stable to your body (Backpacker Magazine has a nice primer on compression straps). Second, they are long enough to wrap around the front of the pack and buckle into the opposite side for carrying larger items, such as skis, or babies (just kidding about the babies, that's what the Kid Comforts are for). The entire system is intuitive with easy tensioning and releasing buckles.
Family Wilds Hikes
The Speed Lite 30 is great for us. Our little hiker loves going on hikes, but she is not able to trek on her own for as long as we are typically out on the trails. One of us wears our Deuter Kid Comfort II, while the other can wear the Speed Lite 30. To distribute the weight of our toddler and gear/food we pack everything (again, other than the toddler) in the backpack. Our load typically includes water, food for all three of us, cloth diapers, cloth wipes, diaper cream, dry bag for soiled diapers, extra clothes for the little one just in case, sun screen, insect repellent, hats and jackets (well - not yet, we've been pretty hot here in Nashville).
The diapering gear is pretty bulky, and since we have plenty of day hike room in this backpack we've been using a small lunch cooler for our food too. What's great, is we can distribute the load vertically and keep it stable with the compression system. We're happy to have this pack for day hikes; although it would also be perfect for our family on single overnight backpacking trips if we didn't have diapering needs. Since some folks can probably get by with a smaller pack on day hikes, here is a quick-glance comparison of the Speed Lite series similar to the Kid Comfort series comparison chart we put together.
The Speed Lite 30 will be one of our go-to packs for family day hikes, but I have even figured out how to utilize it for short work trips if needed. I frequently travel around Tennessee and surrounding states, so having a light and easy pack as opposed to a bulky travel suitcase would be really helpful. I never considered travelling for work with a backpack, but this one makes it fairly attractive. I can slide my shoes in the front stretch compartment, and put my clothes and toiletries inside the main compartment. It's super low-tech and not very pretty, but if I slide a small panel of cardboard into the pack (along the back) my clothes stay relatively secure to decrease wrinkling, especially once I tension the compression straps.
UPDATE (9/1/11): I traveled to SC for a few days of work this week and only packed my Speed Lite 30. It really was perfect. I had to fly, but it fit easily under my seat and my clothes stayed fairly wrinkle free. I only had to lightly iron my dress shirts when I arrived at the hotel. It was so much nicer to be able to pack this, throw it on, and not have to worry about a bulky suitcase.
Verdict
We love it for all the reasons stated above. Plus, don't these two just look like they belong together on the trail?
As always, thank you very much for reading our little blog. If you like it, we'd love for you to follow us on facebook and/or on twitter as well. Happy Trails!
-Pablo
Note: As previously stated, we won this backpack from the Deuter USA facebook page. There were no stated or implied expectations from Deuter that we would review it, much less favorably. Since this time we have become Deuter Family Ambassadors, which we're psyched about. As a part of this program we received some Deuater gear.
This is the second post of a two part series about the Deuter Kid Comfort II and Deuter Kid Comfort III; In part one we outlined and described our approach to deciding which kid carrier to purchase. In this post, we'll look at the more technical and functional aspects of the carrier. Although this is exclusively about the Deuter KC II and III, much of this information will apply fairly well to most backpacks and some other carriers with similar structural attributes. Feel free to jump around to the sections that matter most to you.
What About All These Straps and Buckles?
First and foremost, and this is especially true if you are not familiar with backpack structure and making adjustments, commit to spending plenty of time getting to know your carrier and how to use it. We already had familiarity with fitting and adjusting backpacks, but we still made our first few times out with the KC II short and easy walks at our local greenway. We found this beneficial, not only for ourselves, but for making sure everything for the little one was sized and adjusted correctly for her comfort and safety. But, seriously, what about all those straps and buckles? We're going to break this down into three sections: fitting and adjusting for child pre-hike, fitting and adjusting for adult pre-hike, adjusting for adult during a hike.
Fitting and Adjusting for Child Pre-Hike
UPDATE: Deuter recently added a link on their website under FAQ called "Tips & Tricks - Family" where they include...well, tips and tricks for properly and safely fitting the Kid Comforts. You might recognize a little wild one in some of the pictures. If you know us really well, you might also recognize my neck. If you know us really really well, you might recognize Nea's butt. There's some really nice stuff on that page (including Nea's butt), so check it out!
There are two primary means of adjustment for the comfort and safety of your child: seat height and the 5-point safety belt. The steps in this section are primarily found in the 2011 manual that comes with the KC II and III.
1) When making adjustments to the child seat and safety harness while the child is seated in the carrier, make sure the carrier is on stable ground with the stand extended and locked.
2) There are three straps you can use to adjust the height; two on the side and one in front of the child. Make sure the child's chin is even with the top part of the chin pad. The child should have an open field of vision and be able to move their arms easily.
3) Position the shoulder straps at the correct height by lifting the velcro section in the back and middle of the child compartment and moving the straps up or down. The Deuter manual did not clarify where to place the shoulder straps in relation to the child, but common car seat recommendations are even with or just above the shoulders. We typically keep the shoulder straps at our daughter's shoulder level.
*Steps 1-3 will not need to be repeated at each wearing, only as the child's needs change as they grow. However, each time you place the child in their seat make sure they are positioned as described above.
4) Buckle the seat straps in front of the child, and adjust them at the yellow buckles at the back and on each side of the child seat.
5) Buckle the sternum strap at a comfortable height for your child.
6) Secure all of the straps, but not too tightly.
7) Buckle the side access panel closed.
This video by Deuter is a quick introduction to the KC II, including showing seat adjustment and the 5-point safety belt. There are also a few cool accessories they show, including interchangeable women's straps.
So, This Back System is Pretty Cool
Deuter (pronounced, doy-ter, by the way) built their Aircontact Backsystem for trekking into the KC II and III. It is comfortable, efficient and user-friendly. Here are some highlights unique to the Deuter Aircontact Backsystem:
Ventilating hollow-chamber foam padding for air circulation
Anatomically shaped multi-layer hip fins to support greater load weight comfortably
Vari Flex System, which optimizes hip mobility
Contoured shoulder straps
X-Frame, which keeps the frame balanced between rigid and flexible in movement
Vari-Quick System for easily adjusting the carrier for most torso lengths
Fitting and Adjusting for Adult Pre-Hike
Fitting and adjusting the KC II and III pre-hike is pretty easy, especially with the Vari-Quick System. First, here's an up-close look at the Aircontact Backsystem, followed by the steps for a proper fit.
The steps in this section are primarily found in the 2011 manual that comes with the KC II and III.
1) Loosen the shoulder straps and stabiliser straps (a.k.a., load lifters) before putting the KC on, then center the hip belt over your hip bones and tighten. This step is essential for a proper fit, as the next step is reliant on correct positioning of the hip belt.
2) Tighten the shoulder straps to assess the fit. For an optimal fit, the velcro section of the shoulder straps (Vari-Quick fixing point) should be directly between your shoulder blades. The shoulder straps should follow the curve of your shoulders.
3) If neither of these are the case, release the straps by displacing the velcro and then moving them up or down depending upon your need. A total of four attachment loops should be utilized. Don't forget about that optional set of women's shoulder straps. Here is another video by Deuter and Tahoe Mountain Sports about fitting the Vari-Quick system. They walk through the measurement and adjustment steps.
4) If you've had to take the carrier off for adjustments, re-tighten the shoulder straps by pulling down and back, but not so much that it takes the majority of the load off of your hips. Buckle the hip belt as you did before. The hip belt also has lumbar straps. Most people generally keep these pulled tight; they keep the load closer to your lower back and can help distribute some of the weight more consistently across your hips.
5) Pull the stabiliser straps to tighten and bring the carrier closer to your back. Do not over tension or your shoulder straps will be pulled too far off of your shoulders, which could effect balance.
6) Buckle the sternum strap comfortably across your chest.
Ideally, 85% or more of the total weight should be evenly distributed across your hips and not on your shoulders. The shoulder straps are responsible for keeping the carrier against your back, and should not be relied upon for extended load bearing. Here is a good video from REI about adjusting a backpack pre-hike. It works just as well for the KC II and III.
Adjusting for Adult During Hike
UPDATE: Deuter recently added a link on their website under FAQ called "Tips & Tricks - Backpacking" with some informaiton that would be helpful supplements to the following.
The biggest key to understanding how to adjust a backpack or kid carrier while hiking is to be familiar and comfortable with the backsystem, straps, and your body's condition. There are a great many ways you can adjust the weight of the KC II and III while out on a hike, be it short or long. Fortunately, it does become much easier and eventually second nature after some practice and patience.
Like we said at the beginning of this post; if you are unfamiliar with this type of pack system, you should give yourself ample time to become familiar with it before tackling any trails too long and/or difficult. The following, is one of the most helpful videos we've run across for adjusting your backpack on the trail. Everything Kristin Hostetter of Backpacker Magazine describes and shows are relevant to the KC II and III, as well as many other carriers on the market.
We hope this short primer helps you get on the way to enjoying longer and more satisfying hikes with your little one. Please feel free to leave other tips or suggestions in the comments! As always, thank you very much for reading our little blog. If you like it, we'd love for you to follow us on Facebook and Twitter. We post lots of other content and share posts from our growing list of outdoor blogger friends there.
Disclaimer: We do not claim to be the experts on these matters. All the informaiton listed here was double checked and referenced from trusted resources, including the Deuter Kid Comfort Manual. Please contact Deuter if you have more technical questions.
Disclosure: At the time of writing and publishing this post, we were not affiliated with Deuter, nor did they provided any reimbursement or sponsorship of this post or blog. The KC II was purchased out of our own pocket. We have since become Family Ambassadors for Deuter, for which we received Deuter gear to put through the paces. Links to retailers are affiliate links, meaning we receive commission for purchased products that are linked.
Let's get this out of the way; we love the Deuter Kid Comfort II; It is well designed in function, fit and aesthetics. Not only do we love to put it on, but our 17-month-old daughter loves to be put in it. She will ask to "ride" when she sees it and be "put back" when she is taken out. There are many reasons we're happy with our purchase, but this is among the biggest. There it is, right out of the gate. We're huge fans!
I initially sat down to write a review of the KC II, but there are reviews for this top-rated kid carrier all over the internet. Check out a few at My Life Outdoors, Backpack Gear Test, and Simple Mom Reviews. It's really hard to find anything negative written about the KC II and when you do (e.g., zipper quality in an older model), you also find updated information stating that those issues have been resolved (e.g., improved zipper quality).
So, what the world doesn't need is for us to comb through all the specs and discuss all the great features like many others have already done so well. We thought it would be best to spend this time and cyberspace on sharing some information we found necessary. Nea and I had some major questions we needed to answer before we committed to a purchase, and some major points of clarification we needed after the purchase.
We were generously gifted with a hand-me-down carrier made by another brand. When we started using the carrier it was an out dated five-years-old, and it was a serious pain. I mean that literally; it really hurt to wear. This wasn't the case at first and for a while we thought we could make due without issue. For the most part that was true. Then, our daughter hit a growth spurt. At one visit to the doctor's office she was in the 35th percentile for weight and a few weeks later she was in the 65th percentile. We could definitely feel the weight difference on the trails during and after that time.
There were no real means of adjusting the weight distribution on it, which only exacerbated the problem. The one thing we had was the hip belt, but even that was hard to get fitted correctly. Whenever we were able to manage a correct fit, the belt just didn't move with us very well. Our daughter was fine in it for about a few miles, but much more than that and she would begin to get really annoyed, especially as she packed on the extra pounds and ounces. There wasn't a place to comfortably rest her head, and there was no way to adjust the amount of space she had to sit in. It was truly an old school, bare bones carrier.
I will say that it was very well constructed, but we needed well constructed and adjustable/comfortable. We accomplished some moderate 5-mile hikes with the old one, but anything more than that was going to be impossible for the little one and us adults. As the painful hikes piled up we made researching and purchasing a new one a top priority. What was the straw that broke the camel's back, so to say? It was when our little Houdini learned how to get out of the straps of our old carrier and stand up in the middle of a rocky ascent. Nea and I said, "we need a new one", at the same time. Fortunately, we had already started our search.
Cost: Uhm...We're Really Going To Spend That Much?
We made a decision early in the process that we would save money and gift cards in order to buy the carrier of our choice, whatever that choice would eventually be. There were several brand and model options, which we knew ranged in price from a little over $100 all the way up to around $300. We bought our KC in August of 2011 with the help of the gift cards, birthday money, and it was also our wedding anniversary gift to each other. The retail cost at this time was $229. The KC III, which we were also heavily considering retailed at $289. This is a lot of money for us, but we hike a considerable amount. The investment wasn't in the monetary value of the carrier, rather the increased comfort and enjoyment we knew we would have in exchange. The adults would be more comfortable, our little one would be more comfortable, and we would be able to hike for much longer than with the previous carrier.
Brand: Who Do You Want To Make Your Kid's Carrier?
We considered three brands. We looked at Sherpani
, Kelty
, and Deuter (pronounced doy-ter). We could not find a great amount of user-generated information on Sherpani carriers, however, what we did find was very positive. Even though they look like perfectly good carriers, we eliminated the Sharpanis from consideration. Considering the potential costs we ultimately decided the best course of action would be to choose a product we could find more user-generated information on. That left us with Kelty and Deuter.
We found good reviews of the numerous Kelty models (we narrowed it to FC 2.0 and FC 3.0), and nothing but good reviews for all three Deuter KC models (more on that, next). To decide which brand to focus on we looked at other products by each company. As a result, we found better user-generated reviews for Deuter products than Kelty products almost across the board. It should be noted that just about every Kelty product we looked at had favorable user-generated reviews.
We didn't discount the fact that Kelty produces a considerable amount more than Deuter overall, but what Deuter does produce seems to always be received very well. This is not necessarily the case for Kelty, but again, they have a vast set of product lines so there is a greater chance there will be negatives to find (especially on-line). In the end the choice for us was clearly Deuter, which specializes primarily in backpacks and carriers, but which model?
Model: You Finally Choose Only To Have To Do It Again!
We should mention that besides the three KC models, Deuter also makes the Kangakid. We discounted this one for similar reasons to discounting the KC I. The KC I would be ideal for families that do not hike long distances or who spend most of their baby carrying time in urban settings. It is smaller and lighter than the KC II and III, but doesn't include some of the comfort and functional features necessary for long excursions. The hard decision for us was picking the KC II or KC III. Here is a quick comparison of their primary specs and features. We included the KC I in the comparison as well.
We both thought the KC III was awesome, and we still very much do. However, when we started to look at the differences a little closer we found that the KC II better fit our needs. These were some of the most important comparison points for us:
Safety: This is from a video (which I could not link to or embed): "One other thing that Deuter has been very instrumental in has been the safety testing of child carriers. Since the mid-90’s, we’ve worked with a safety institute in Germany called TUV to institute safety testing for child carriers. We produced the first safety tested child carrier. The safety standards that we go through not only will test the fit of the harness to the child, but also the harness to the adult. All the materials—we make sure there’s no harmful materials in there plus the durability of the pack. We make sure that there’s no excess wear or anything after the cycle tests. With that we have to go through those same testings every two years."
KC Weight - The KC II weighs 18 oz less than the KC III. Since we plan to trade kid carrying duties from time to time on long hikes keeping our pack weight down is pretty important, especially as our little one gains weight.
Maximum Carry Weight - All KC models have a max carry weight of 48.5 lbs, which is comprised of Carrier + Child + Gear weight.
Volume - The KC III has 2 L more storage space than the KC II. While 2 L can be a lot of space, especially for longer hikes, the difference for us was manageable.
Length - The KC II is almost a foot shorter than the KC III. We do not have an abundance of extra vehicle space, so finding the room for an almost three foot long carrier is not as easy as finding room for a carrier that's a touch over two feet in length. If we had more space this would not have been as heavily considered, especially since we think our daughter would have appreciated that extra support to rest the back of her head on.
Material - The KC III materials overall are a little lighter, and possibly a bit more durable. However, the KC II materials are durable. For us, this didn't make a big difference.
Sun Roof and Rain Cover - The KC III comes with an integrated Sun Roof and Rain Cover, which I personally love for the convenience of having it all attached. However, the optional Sun Roof and Rain Cover retails at $34. There is also the Deuter KC Rain Cover that covers the full length of the carrier (as opposed to the just the top section) for another $29. Those two additions to a KC II would bring the total cost to $292, which is about the same cost as the KC III minus the deluxe Rain Cover. We highly recommend the Sun Roof and Rain Cover; sun protection is a vital! We have not purchased the deluxe Rain Cover, but that's not to say we won't.
After looking at all of this information we came to two conclusions. First, the KC III is a great carrier. Second, the KC II best fit our needs and capabilities.
Let's Trek Through All Of This Again...Only Faster!
In the beginning the decision making process was daunting. However, once we were able to objectively look at all the information in accessible components the decision was actually an easy one for us. Here's a fast forwarded version of how we got there:
1. We needed a new kid carrier for the safety and comfort of all involved.
2. We knew it would be pricey, so we saved money and gift cards.
3. A rudimentary brand analysis made us most (and very) comfortable with Deuter.
4. The KC II and KC III are the best options for long distance hikes.
5. Of the two, the KC II best fit our family needs and capabilities.
6. We excitedly bought it.
7. The adults and the toddler love it...but,
How the hell do you use it? In our next post we will take a closer look at the actual carrier, and all those straps and buckles. Remember when I said our last carrier didn't have any means of adjustment? The KC II ad III are the polar opposite. There are numerous adjustment points, each of which require careful attention and practice if you're unaccustomed to fitting a pack and/or adjusting weight while moving. Don't feel too overwhelmed, though! We'll provide a primer on adjustment of the KC II and III, as well as some tips for getting used to wearing and working your new carrier.
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Disclosure: At the time of writing and publishing this post, we were not affiliated with Deuter, nor did they provided any reimbursement or sponsorship of this post or blog. The KC II was purchased out of our own pocket. We have since become Family Ambassadors for Deuter, for which we received Deuter gear to put through the paces. Links to retailers are affiliate links, meaning we receive commission for purchased products that are linked.
for the first time when she was about 19-months-old (she's now 21-months-old). 
by 
. Here is another video by Deuter and Tahoe Mountain Sports about fitting the Vari-Quick system. They walk through the measurement and adjustment steps.
, 
, and Deuter (pronounced doy-ter). We could not find a great amount of user-generated information on Sherpani carriers, however, what we did find was very positive. Even though they look like perfectly good carriers, we eliminated the Sharpanis from consideration. Considering the potential costs we ultimately decided the best course of action would be to choose a product we could find more user-generated information on. That left us with Kelty and Deuter. 
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