Buying a children’s hiking backpack poses several questions: How heavy is it allowed to get? Should children even carry a backpack at all? The last thing as a parent or guardian of small children, is them having an uncomfortable memory of wearing a backpack – it could put a stop on all future hikes with your child! Paying attention to a few notable backpack details and your child will be as motivated as ever for their next trip into the hills,
If your child’s hiking backpack is too heavy or too big, he or she will soon get frustrated when hiking. Also, parents shouldn’t underestimate the importance of an appealing design! | Photo: Vaude
When are children allowed to carry their backpacks?
Children aged two can easily carry their backpacks for short trips. The requirements, however, are quite distinct from a hiking backpack for adults. Children should first and foremost be able to carry their snacks and a small drinking bottle – whether they are off to preschool or the great outdoors is initially beside the point.
When your kids get a bit older, they might as well carry their gear. Consequentially hiking backpacks become more sophisticated.
For even better reference, children’s backpacks can be classified into four different age groups:
- Toddlers
- Kindergarten
- Primary school
- Teenagers
When buying a children’s backpack, it is important to consider the individual: There are four-year-olds whose physique can compete with that of a six-year-old. Conversely, a primary school pupil can be more delicate in build than a kindergarten child.
How do I pick the right backpack for my child?
Our advice on buying hiking backpacks for children in the Bergzeit Shop will give you some great pointers to find a suitable hiking backpack for your child. Here you will find product suggestions for all four age groups listed above and an overview of the most important features of the backpacks on offer.
How much weight should children carry?
This is an important question for most parents. Many experts apply the rule of thumb: a child can carry approx ten% of its body weight. However, recent studies show more specific advice. Such as,
- the backpack of kindergarten kids should not weigh more than 1 kilogram when worn for prolonged periods.
- primary school children up to the age of eight may carry backpacks weighing up to 3 kilograms.
- nine to twelve-year-olds should carry no more than a maximum of 5 kilograms when hiking.
- teenagers may load up to 7 kilograms into their backpacks.
The weight indications for kids’ backpacks ought to be interpreted as a general guideline only. After all, under normal circumstances, when does a child carry three kilos on its back? On its way to school most likely. A journey of often manageable duration and distance. Hence, a hike up a steep mountain with five kilograms weighing them down can turn into quite a challenge for many a beckoning mountaineer.
Sometimes less is more…
Consequentially when it comes to the weight of a children’s hiking backpack, every case is individual by definition. What is the kid’s physique? What is the kid’s physical condition? How often and for how long does your child normally walk with a backpack?
Thus, before you can get going, you and your child ought to pack her or his backpack together. As a rule of thumb, less is more. Before overloading your child, it makes far more sense redistributing some content into your backpack. As a bonus, your child will also learn to pack the backpack correctly and to limit her or himself to what she or he deems necessary. With the right backpack, filled with a suitable load, your kids will be sure to have as much fun as the grown-ups moving through the great outdoors.
More related reading in the Bergzeit Journal: