We’re out here hiking.

To celebrate this second 100 mile Ultra Marathon, we offered to buy the youngest two new packs. To be clear, we have bought them roughly a dozen new packs. We’ve purchased fanny packs, crossbody purses, backpacks, the works. Finally, an epiphany. Toddler backpacks? Do they exist?

We’ve spent years researching kid packs. Derek finally clicked it all together and after a few hours down a rabbit hole, he found THE toddler pack. Deuter Pico 5L. This pack is less than half a pound and designed for kids that are at least 2 years old. Our girls are smaller than the average child here. Runa is four years old and as of this very moment, is 28.8 lbs and 37 inches tall. Thorrin is 2.5 years old, weighing in at 27.8 lbs and is roughly 34 and a half inches tall.

The pack is equipped with two water bottle holders. You know those mini sport drinks that rhyme with haterade? Yeah, if you buy a few of them, drink them, and reuse them as water bottles forever, they are perfectly ideal for these side pockets. We haven’t tried many bottles in the sides yet, but we do know that they can comfortably hold the water bottles that come in those large lunchable boxes. Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Recheap.

The backpack itself has just one large opening, no pockets. As a child of anxiety, this would have taken me out at any age. As the mother of feral children, they love the idea of one big pocket. We’ve used them for short hikes and big hikes. They can carry two (almost full) mini water bottles, breakfast, lunch, 4-5 snacks, first aid kits, and random rocks/pinecones/trash/sticks that they find. At the end of the day, it’s never more than 2 pounds, and never stuffed full. The large pocket makes it easier for them to open and search. Let’s be honest, a two year old is not going to remember that their PB and Nutella Tortilla is in the small left pocket or that their applesauce packets are in the small middle pocket. They just open, scan, and find or give up. This is the way.

The backpack has zippers. These zippers have long strings attached to them and are so stiff, even our baby (who can’t operate any other zipper thus far) can open and close them without a meltdown or even effort. It’s dual zippered for the main pocket. The chest clip is simple enough for the 4 year old but still difficult to open or close for the 2 year old. The height of this clip is adjustable but not dramatically interchangeable. The straps are pretty padded for such a small pack too. All in all, I don’t think I’d send my toddler to school with this pack and the chest clip secured because they would need help to use it. But if I’m right there, and we’re hiking a distance, I’d feel confident. The zippers are so stout that we have hooked their mini med kits to them via carabiner and will be attaching their bandana buddies to them as well (that’s a review for another time, when our friend, the inventor, feels ready to release them to the market).

Onto less important stuff, the bags are just cute. There are sloths, firetrucks, an elusive and hard to find unicorn, turtles, and all sorts of patterns. Thorrin picked the yellow pack with a “triii sarah toppy” dinosaur, while Runa picked the blue bag embellishing a seahorse and fish. The packs also have a spot on the inside to write your kid’s name and address. If this is a school pack, I’m sure that’s useful. I’m trying to think about what I’ve left out. The straps are S shaped, the backside is breathable, your kid looks 10 times older wearing one, I don’t know, it’s cute as hell. Buy it.

I’ll update this again down the line as they grow and eventually outgrow this pack. But for now, we are happy and only out about $50 after shipping. Let us know what pack your toddler or preschool kid carries! Until next time, happy hiking!

Baby’s New Pack

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