Backpacking with kids – questions

Great info everyone, thanks so much! Keep it coming. We already purchased the Ti-Tri Caldera. Probably use it mainly for Alcohal, but I like the wood option and it's combined weight with my new Evernew 1.3 pot is WAY lighter than the full kit we were lugging around below.

Based upon the fact that my daughter is still not completely free of bed wetting on occasion, we will probably seek out a couple used North Face Tiggers and use those for a few more years before migrating to down bags. We are in the 8-10,000 foot range of backpacking in the Sierra's so we need something pretty warm.

I'm eyeballing the Tarptent Rainshadow 2 tent, but need more input from some of you folks as to whether you think that would work with two adults and two very small kids for awhile before having to add another second smaller tent. This move could save us another 4+ pounds.

My wife and I picked up Marmot Heliums at the recent REI sale for 25% off, so that saved another 3 pounds apiece!

Packs will probably be the last to get replaced after we find out how light and how small a volume we can get still lugging the bulk of the gear for the four of us. More later as we keep working on this.

i have a rainshadow. me, my wife, my daughter (3) and my black lab fit in it. however it is tight.

My daughter is 8 years old. She's 58" tall with 16" spine measurement from hip crest to bump on the neck.

She needs a new pack. Her REI kids pack will be too short next year and is too heavy at 2+ pounds. This summer she carried around 6 pounds but next year that will probably be more like a 5 pound base going to 9 on the first day. Currently that includes a fairly bulky sleeping bag.

I was looking at the Golite Womens packs on sale at Sunny Sports .com. She should be able to fit the Womens small size. I don't see waist sizes mentioned but my daughter isn't skinny so I imagine they would fit.

The Jam looks nice at $53 but is probably bigger than she needs- though by leaving her sleeping bag loose we could probably keep it full enough to provide shape. The Ion looks a bit small for her gear and the suspension appears more basic than I would prefer.

What say you all? Should I insist on a rigid frame for a child? All the kids' packs from major manufacturers are made of bulletproof fabrics and have dozens of pockets, zippers, etc. pushing the weight up around 3 pounds.

Jim,
I'd measure her torso again. She is 4'8" – she'd be oddly tall in the torso at that height and age to have the torso of a grown woman. A woman's small in many packs is often 15" (medium often being 16"). Of course this varies by brand.

Get her a better sleeping bag first. Cut the weight there, it is easier to do. 2 lbs with a frame is NOT bad for a kid.

Sarah,

I'll double check the torso measurement. At 4'10" her REI Comet http://www.rei.com/product/733276 is too short in the torso and it advertises fitting up to 15.5" torso. (Spec is also 2.5 pounds)

I hate to use half of her 5 pound base weight with the backpack. Her younger brother carried more load last summer mostly because his pack is only 1/2 pound. (Tim Marshall special)

It seems that with so little weight a kid doesn't need a rigid frame- the stuffed pack body and sleeping pad seems to transfer weight just fine for my son.

Jim

Got tired of seeing well used Tigger bags on Ebay going for nearly the cost of new Tigger bags when you factored in shipping. Found a deal online with no shipping and no sales tax for $79 each and bought 2 of those, they should arrive this week. I think we'll leave it at that for this year and see how these changes work out. Perhaps revisit tents and packs for the following year. Thanks everyone for your help!