9yo 1st pack

Hey everyone. my little girl is wanting to come out hiking with me. I have had her try on diferent packs where ever we go. I cant fidn one that isnt super loose on her. Would any of you know which pack woul be good for her? I am wantin something that she can carry some if not most of her gear in andhas a "camel back".

Thanks for your help

Hi Joseph

If it were my daughter, I would have her carry her own school backpack. That way she has something that she is used to carrying, and will hold a fair amount of stuff. I wouldn't worry so much about the camelback.

But a word of advice! Check our her backpack first, to make sure she doesn't have a ton of extra stuff in it from when she takes it to school. Six "my little ponies" and all their gear adds some unnecessary weight to her pack!

Good luck. I haven't been able to find a supportive pack for kids in which the pack doesn't weigh 2.5-3 lbs.

One of the biggest complaints from young children is that the pack straps put too much pressure on their shoulders. A pack with a good hip belt and load lifters really helps this problem. Unfortunately, only a few of these are made and they are, as I said, heavy! It's a shame when half the recommended weight for the average 7-year-old is the pack itself!

Definitely do not use her school backpack unless it has a good supportive hip belt!

Yes, do watch what she brings!

EDIT: There's quite a bit about kids' packs in the "Hiking with Kids" section of this forum.

REI had 4 listed - I glanced briefly at the Comet pack. You might take a look.

Oregon--good point about the shoulder straps. I guess I remember my own kids, and how much weight they were willing to carry. We generally ended up with less than ten pounds: a sleeping bag and their clothes. That would just fit, and weighed something like 7 pounds total.

With that kind of weight, the shoulder straps aren't quite so critical. But if you are carrying any more than that, I certainly agree.

As OM stated, you should be looking for a pack with good hip belts. This will carry most of the weight. She should be carrying very little weight on her shoulders.

The Deuter Fox is a good, lightweight children's pack. It also has a hydration pocket inside.

<edit: just re-read your post and you don't say whether you are dayhiking or backpacking. Camelbak makes a mini-MULE kid's pack that carries a 1-L bladder and has around 500 cu inches of storage for other small items. It's a good hiking pack, both my kids share it alternately or fight over it, if we're all going out.>

I picked this up for my 7yo son - good price, and it appears to be a good pack. no idea how he likes it yet - it'll be under the tree for him in a few weeks

Deuter Climber Backpack