Thread: Pack options for a 9/10 year old?

Trying to sort out a hunting pack for my son. He's about to turn 9. Pretty solid chap, and keen to carry and help out carrying gear when hunting. Last hunt (14k round trip) he carried the lightweight bulky stuff which help and gave him a buzz to help out Dad with the hunt.

I'm liking the look of a cactus huntaway, but keen to see what you other guys have got for your kids. I'd like something simple well made and good quality.

Osprey Ace 50 kids pack.
Widish through the shoulders. Wide pack, not tall and narrow like a lot of kids size packs.
My boy is your average sized 12 year old, hopefully it'll last a couple more years before he outgrows it.

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Thanks, will look into that. He had the loan of a macpac pack, (not sure of model) for our last hunt together. Seemed ok, but lacked a bit of adjustment.

Another option is the Deuter Fox kids, they come in 30L and 40L. they are a narrower pack.

following with interest. Mine (7, 9 & 11) have been using some of my 20-30L day packs. An older Deuter "cycling" day pack has been pretty good - squat and wide with nice adjustable shoulder straps and a reasonably good waist strap. The Macpac day pack is useless - tall and skinny, shoulder straps too long, rubbish waist strap, but ok at a pinch for the 11 yo with a light weight and short distances. Tried a Kathmandu day pack as well - no good, shoulder straps far too long for the back length, weird configuration.

I've looked at the Deuter Fox and Osprey "kids" packs, but have been loathe to spend big coin on a new kid-specific packs since they grow so fast. I'm always keeping an eye on various tramping and outdoorsy forums for advice and second hand packs, but kid-specific second hand packs are very popular! A couple of the (discontinued) Macpac 40-50L packs also come highly recommended for kids... if you can find them. I'll try to find out which models they were.

As soon as they stop shooting up so fast and settle down a bit I'm willing to spend good money on new, but until then I'm just trying to find whatever fits - both budget and backs ...

I'm expecting him to shoot up in height pretty soon, if he takes after the males on my side of family.

Liking the look of the Deuter Fox kids pack and the adjustable harness.

I'm not going to weigh him down too much as that would be counter productive when hunting (if he's knackered he won't focus and enjoy the hunting part of the trip), but also keen to get him carrying a bit more gear as Dad the Sherpa and Hunting Guide is lugging most stuff around at the moment.

My lad is 9 and he uses a small Aarn pack, super comfortable.

Last trip we did 35km over 2.5 days and no issues from him with pack

I took my 2 daughters into bivouac out doors & they fired then with a 40l osprey women's pack in small & they been great & the kids love using them I think the best thing is go into a couple pack shops & see what fits well the frame size off a womens might fit him better till he grows up more to.

Ive got 3 smaller packs in the forsale section.....

Yeah, that's an option - a lot of the women's sizes are designed for narrower shoulders and have shorter padded straps with more curving built in with longer webbing which gives a bit more adjustment. The other difference is the padded section of the waist belt tends to be shorter which works for smaller bodies - you can drag them in without trying to go around twice! This is me being tight and double checking why my spare male-spec pack won't fit the girlfriend of the time (who was bleating a little OK quite a lot) and demanding a pack that 'fits her' at an extra 25% sticker price (for the pink one no less). Bloody female-gear-tax! It should have been a warning sign, the girlfriend thing only last 6 months more and she disappeared with the pack down south. Left me a broken TV and a mismatched set of plates and saucers as trade...

I just bought a second hand Macpac Torlesse 35L pack in size W2 over the weekend. This will work well with my 11yo son. The back length is ok for my 9yo, but the waist belt is still too wide for him - he's too lean and can't be cinched in far enough ...

I'm always on the lookout for a Torlesse Junion 30L as these have a kid-sized frame / straps. However they are no longer made, and second hand ones are very popular so haven't managed to find one yet. He'll have to do with the old Deuter "cycling" pack which fits him pretty well.

I've just recently bought one of these for those quick missions or day hints and very impressed with it. They are actually a 30L built by Deuter and I assume it would adjust enough to be comfortable for your young fella and he'd grow into it well
https://www.jacobsdigital.co.nz/prod...SABEgK-pPD_BwE

Originally Posted by RV1

I just bought a second hand Macpac Torlesse 35L pack in size W2 over the weekend. This will work well with my 11yo son. The back length is ok for my 9yo, but the waist belt is still too wide for him - he's too lean and can't be cinched in far enough ...

I was trying to get hold of that pack too. It was a good buy.