Back carrier for 10 month old

[weepingwillow22]

I have been using a sling until now for my 10 month old as we live rurally and do a lot of walking on unmade tracks. He is getting a bit heavy for me now and I was wondering if anyone can recommend a back carrier? I would preferably like one I can put him in before putting it on my back as I struggle doing it up whilst balancing him there.

I have quite a small stature and would want to bear the weight on my hips. Any idea what might work?

We have a LittleLife one and it's great. The one we have is quite big and heavy though, so if you don't want to carry a lot of weight, I would look for the most lightweight one they make. Osprey is also good. You can also backcarry in a soft structured carrier like an ergobaby or a manduca, but it's a bit of a skill learning how to get them on your back. They are much more lightweight though.

We use a Tula Standard Carrier once LO grew out of his fabric Caboo. You can carry on front or back. Really reasonable prices as well - often have a sale on which takes the price down to £50-60 if you’re not too fussed on designs.

Thanks both. I had a look at the littlelife website and the ranger s2 looks good. Which one do you have mindutopia?

With the Tula carrier lineandsinker can you put LO in it before it goes on your back? I have a mamuraga zensling at the moment which is meant to be able to be used for a backcarry but I find it really difficult to use as it is a soft one and LO gets upset when I am getting him into it on my back.

Yeah we have a lighterlife one, don't use it often, but it's great. DS is getting a bit too heavy for it, but he loves it!

For hikes where you might need stuff (nappies/snacks) I prefer a framed carrier with storage. We have the Deuter Kidcomfort 3 which has a raincover and good for sun plus storage under the seat part. Love it. Took 20mo up Ben Lomond and lots of 3-4 hour hikes - he gets out for a walk on flatter bits and easy downhills.

Osprey look good too.

I like buckle carriers like Manduca, Tula etc but a bulky waistband gets to be a real pain when they're not in the carrier the whole time and take up a massive bag so a nightmare as a get out of jail/carry tired child option. Integra/connecta are similar but far less padded so better for stashing in a small bag for a walk.

So I often use the carrier when I’m on my own so to manage this safely, I clip the Tula on to me at the waist and then twist it to the side, load LO into it, put one arm through the arm strap nearest to my bag and then wriggle the Tula round to the back, if that makes sense?

It’s more straightforward than I’ve made it seem 🤦‍♀️ - there are some great tutorials on YouTube.

As they get bigger you can't really put them in the carrier before you put them on unless you get a framed metal hiking type one, which are generally less comfortable than the fabric backpack style ones.

I defo did the shifting around from the front/hip method, but once DC was about 18 months old I could get him to climb up and hold on to my shoulders to get the rest sorted.