FOUND: A good backpack for a growing teen

[Eric Blumensaadt]

After looking high and low I found a good backpack (at a reasonable price of $200.) for my 14 year old, 5′ 8″ grandson who will likely grow to at least 6 feet.

It is a DEUTER Air Contact Lite 50 + 10.  At 3 lbs. 14 oz. it ain’t the lightest by far but it’s not heavy either And it will grow with him using DEUTER’s adjustable harness. That feature was a must. Yes, REI has an adjustable harness pack like it for $35. less than the DEUTER but it was heavier.

OK, $200. is ‘spensive for a kid’s pack but not for a pack he can use for many years, a pack with good design features and good quality. Plus it is “Made in Vietnam” with the Fair Wear Foundation label. That label says the workers were paid very fair wages. Ever since OSPREY voluntarily raised their Vietnamese workers’ wages to good, livable levels much of the rest of the outdoor industry in Vietnam did the same and joined the Fair Wear Foundation.

And given China’s takeover of Tibet and the treatment of their dissidents among other “things Chinese” they have done in recent years I’d rather not buy a Chinese made anything.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

HOLY COW! I JUST EDITED MY ORIGINAL POST!

THANK YOU RYAN, for fixing this problem.

[DAN-Y/FANCEE FEEST]

14 year old will outgrow it in 18 months. He’ll be 6′ 2″ by then ;)

[Alex Wallace]

I just bought a ULA Kids’ Spark pack for my 9 year old son. Adjustable harness and the hip belt can be swapped. It weighs ~37 ounces and costs $199. Sewn in Utah. It should serve him well for many years to come.

[Eric Blumensaadt]

Dan, Hmmmm, are you into fortune telling lately? ;o) I think Kaden will be 6′ or at most 6′ 2″ based on his dad’s 6’stature. The DEUTER will still fit him.

Alex, That ULA Spark ooks like a pack we should have bought for the 9 year old brother of the kid I bought the DEUTER for. Instead we got him a smaller REI Tarn 40 B/C we were in a hurry to outfit him for a trip opportunity that came up suddenly.

I do like the hip belt interchangeability of the ULA Spark, something that’s missing on the DEUTER.

 

[Matthew / BPL]

Just in case someone finds this thread later and is looking for packs, my son had a great experience with an Osprey Ace 48 (now and Ace 49, iirc) from age 10-15. It’s not the lightest pack but it served him well over a lot of trips with it’s adjustable torso and adjustable belt (the padded section is cleverly adjustable). The pack even accommodated a BV500 without issue when he hiked the JMT at 12 years old.

[Jenny A]

Eric, that Deuter pack is a nice choice!  It is a quality product at a very reasonable price, and one of few I’ve seen that accommodate a growing torso with several inches of adjustability.  Sounds like you’ve already obtained the pack, but the Kelty Coyote is another model that offers a larger adjustment range, tho it is heavier.

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