We tried a Kelty pack but my son didn't like it. We ended up with an REI pack and it worked great for several years until my son grew out of it. Any of the good kid packs have a kick stand where the pack will stand upright when the child is inside. If you let your child sit in the pack see which they squirt to get out of and which one they seem to like sitting in.
After we bought the REI pack we saw a Deuter that seemed great. If i could do it again i would go with the Deuter. I have 2 Deuter packs (non-baby carriers) and use them for overseas trips (non-hunting) where taking a camo pack or a hunting/tactical style pack in coyote brown, grey, etc. with MOLLE like my Kifaru Mountain Warrior or Mystery Ranch pack is going to attract attention from foreign police.
The Baby Bjorn when they are tiny. Then a bigger pack when they grow. Something to think about, their comfort over yours. The first kid didn't care as long as she went hiking. The second kid preferred the Osprey. The third preferred the Kelty Kids so much I had to put it up on a shelf because he would find it and climb in all by himself. I firmly believe that as a Dad, you can suck it up quite a bit if the pack isn't that comfy, as long as the kid is super comfy. Because you usually have them along so you can foster their love for the outdoors.
Logged some serious hiking miles this summer with my 1.5 year old in a Deuter Kid Comfort Active. Zero complaints. Great carrier. Everything is well thought out in the design from both the child and parent perspective. I highly recommend it.
I took a Kelty and disconnected it from the tube frame and attached it to my Kuiu Icon frame. Worked awesome. I've packed my 30 pound kid lots of miles in that setup. Works great. Sorry don't have any pics.
Bought a baby carrier in France, when we were travelling Europe. Its called Je Porte Mon Bebe - Physio Carrier. It is phenomenal, way better then any of the North American carriers, and we tried everyone we could get our hands on. I just bought one from a US distributor for my brother.
The 1st kid lived in that thing for months while we rode all over Europe.
I still toss him in it now that's he's 2 year old, for emergencies. But the second one usually rides in it.
Generally for the toddler, it's an Osprey that I've mounted to a Kifaru frame. I have always liked Osprey packs, but the hip belt on their kid pack is probably the worst hip belt I've ever had in the last 40 years of packs. But he loves it, so we use it.
Kelty kid carrier packs are nice. Had a pretty basic one I used for my two oldest when they were small. Gave it to a buddy when they outgrew it. A couple years later, ended up having another baby so I bought another kelty With a few more bells and whistles. The pack was close to $300, but it’s comfortable for me and my daughter and has a lot of storage capacity. Worth checking out.
We've put a ton of miles on our deuter kc3 this summer. Lots of storage, comfy and a good belt. Pretty durable so far as well. The rain/sun screen has gotten lots of use as well and is easy to deploy.
Troll Craiglist and Facebook baby groups like mad for a used Osprey Poco. The Deuter carriers aren’t bad but I like the Osprey kid holding harness much better. Just think of it as your kids first proper backpacking pack and the 200+ retail price isn’t so bad. Our Poco AG has been the most important item in the garage since we got it. Constant use over the past 10 months.