Backpacks for kids?

What's his torso length? ULA makes an adjustable Circuit.

My tall seven-year-son is not read to carry a Circuit-warranting load, but per the specs one would work for him.

My son is 8 also. He is 52 inches height, 21 inch waist, and 14 inch torso. I have been looking for so long to find a lightweight pack for him. He had used an osprey imp, another pack from REI ( can't remember name offhand). I wanted lighter as his gear has become ultralight also, so I got a REI Flash 18 and I had a cobbler add mesh back pocket and 2 mesh side water bottle pockets. This worked out great except the pack is still a wee bit too big for him. I recently got him the Quiksak from Gossamer Gear. It's fits him pretty well. We have yet to use it, but hope to get him out with me in November for a weekend. All of his gear fit in it when we packed it up. Obviously I will carry our tarp and food but he can carry his quilt,sleeping pad, clothes, water, and snacks..small first aid kit, headlamp, button compass and what not. In warmer months we use a 2 man bug bivy which I carry, but for winter he will probably use a small katabatic bristlecone bivy, so I think I think that will fit in his pack also.

nice looking rei kids pack on gear swap for $50

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=95614

At 49" tall, my 7 year old is just too short to fit one of these. But in a year – 18 months I think he'll be in the sweet spot. It's sized for 4'6" to 5'2".

Yeah…trying to find a suitable kids pack is a lesson in futility….well, certainly is if you want to go UL.

Currently I have a 5 and 7 year old, a bit on the short side for those ages.

I have my 5 year old in a Osprey Zip. It has a padded back and at least a bit of a hipbelt, though I wish it was larger (the hipbelt). When I cinch the hipbelt tight around the 5 year olds hips, the shoulder straps are like an inch off her shoulders, which is fine….just means everything is on the hips, but still not ideal.

It was also fairly heavy for what it is….at 23.85 oz. However, I was able to cut out the internal hydration/laptop carrier thing, mesh interior pocket, side compression straps (the sleeping bag fills out the bag just fine), and simply removed the front heavy elastic. This brought the pack to 19.7 oz.

Mainly the pack is heavy just b/c of the fabric…which I am willing to forgive a bit. Kids are just plain harder on packs….on the last trip, my child during a break set it down and the pack rolled 100feet down the mountain.

Anyway, for my 7 year old, I'm using a deuter fox 30. Again…just dang heavy for what it is, though there is less that I can cut off it. It does fit the 7 year old well though when fully adjusted down. It is adjustable, so he could grow with it, but when he starts growing taller I'll just move him into something else.

Which, I ordered on ebay the rei flash knockoffs talked about here ->

http://www.backpackinglight.com/cgi-bin/backpackinglight/forums/thread_display.html?forum_thread_id=94654

I believe my 7 year old will be able to fit into it next season. Once trimmed it would save a lot of weight over the deuter fox 30.

I also wanted to try the sub60 ->
http://sub60.wikispaces.com/pack

This would be the only true UL option for young kids. I think I'll actually post a WTB for one right now, though I believe that there haven't been many made so probably won't get it filled.

some locals just hiked the JMT. the mom used a GG Gorilla and the 2 girls used GG Quicksack's with success. says they had around 9lb in there. They aren't too ultralight minded so you might have even better luck.

At 8 years old, my kids would carry maybe 4-6 pounds total. I think a 1-2 pound daypack is just too much of that total weight (17% – 50%!) so I went with REALLY light packs. Sea-to-summit's $32, 2.6-ounce, 20-liter unpadded daypack. Or the Bear Gryllis knock-off of the S2S at 4 ounces that were going for $13 on eBay. Put a sweater or sit pad against the back and then whatever other weight – another 2 to 5 pounds – that you assign them. Then the (useless) pack weight is only 2%-8%.

Someone still has those packs on ebay:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Bear-Grylls-Ultralight-Summit-Day-Pack-Camping-Hiking-Backpack-/151422998196?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item23418396b4

There is NO, absolutely NO, padding in it – straps or the back. But at $13 and 4 ounces, it is a great arrow in the quiver:

– for the kid who is only going to carry 4-6 pounds
– stuff sack/organizing bag that doubles a daypack for a side trip
– toss it in your bicycle handle-bar bag or purse while around town to haul stuff back to home
– keep in your jacket pocket early in the morning so you can carry your jacket in the pack as the day warms up
– on vacations for "mission creep" as souvenirs, clothing, etc are acquired each day and through the trip and you need a little more volume.

At about 10 years old, I'd look at something like the REI Flash daypacks, or the GoLite Jam 35. Another approach is to jump to the Jam 50 and give them the fluffy objects – quilts, sleeping pads, etc. As they get stronger, you give them a denser mix of stuff.

Well, those summit packs actually look pretty nice…and I wasn't familiar with the quick sack, though…I might have seen it before and ruled it out b/c it didn't have a hip belt (well…it does have a grosgrain one…though not sure how well that actually works). The summit packs/bear grylls doesn't have one at all.

Carrying 4 lbs at 8 years old would be fine….and I think options really open up at 8, especially if your child is on the bigger side. The problem is with, lets say with my 5 year old. Her loadout is ->

---

2.35 oz – Trash compactor bag/dry sack. I could trim weight by cutting it to size, though I actually have a compactor so I reuse them for their intended use. Necessary:…kids spill or fall down in puddles, etc.

11.5 oz – MLD Devotion 40 top bag, size small. Just got this, but before I was having her use a WM Pod 30 top bag in size long – 19 oz. (yeah..long, but that is gear swap for ya…take what you get. I just put a pack on the bottom to decrease the space). I do like top bags though…keeps kids on pads better.

.2 oz – clothes plastic bag (organization)
6 oz – polyester pajamas (tops/bottoms). Also serves as second pair of clothing for the inevitable "too wet or too dirty" to wear hiking clothes.
.8 oz – second pair of socks
7.6 oz – fleece jacket
1.1 oz – kids buff (pillow case, insulation, extra sun protection, etc…I love buffs)

1.1 oz – 16 oz gatorade bottle (kids just like having their own bottle)
16 oz – 16 oz water

total without pack: 46.65 oz ~2.9 lbs

---

So…then you have pack weight. If I have the 19 oz osprey zip I have been letting her use, thats 4.1 lbs. Yes, water weight would drop that down to 3.1 lbs total. But…the 5 year old weighs 37.5lbs, so lets say on average its 10% of her body weight. I'm 165 lbs, and usually wear around 16-18 lbs including all food, and I certainly wouldn't want to carry that weight without a proper hip belt. Thus, the need for some hipbelts for small children.

It is possible I could try out having her wear a 3 oz sil daypack…without water..that would be around 2 lbs. I really worry about carrying such a light weight sil pack though on a child…I would expect rips in the first hike into camp.

Just for reference, my 7 year old weighs 48.4 lbs. I add a 16 oz exped UL7 to his pack (I carry his ridgerest since it would be too bulky on his pack). Unfortunately, his stuff weighs more….a 30 degree quilt is 18.5 oz, his clothes just weigh more, he carries a bit more water….and his pack…the deuter fox 30 weighs 43.5 oz….so his item weight is around 78.05 oz….with pack is 121.55 oz. Its a traditional pack though…so heavy duty hipbelt, frame, etc. Still…7.5 lbs, which is 15.5% of his body weight. Really want to cut his backpack weight.

Fortunately…..I did a WTB for a sub60 fastpack…and it was filled very quickly! Actually…I'll see if I can get two for both of my kids.

Craigslist.

REI garage sales.

I have had really good luck with both to outfit my daughters.

That is fine to try and find used gear at garage sales, craiglist, etc…but what did you find that was a good UL option? I'm saying that there are few good UL options for kids (i.e., kids need a decent hipbelt to transfer the small loads…b/c their body weight is so small)