What age do the kids start carrying packs?

[Dos Perros]

My elder, boy, is 10 this year and just shy of 70 pounds I'd say. I was contemplating getting him a backpack for our western Kansas deer hunting this fall. To be honest I'm not sure what he'd carry in it. Maybe a water, some snacks, and he could stuff his puffy in there when he doesn't need it. That's probably the maximum, unless he kills something, then I'd for sure put the backstraps in there so he could feel like he packed it out himself. But I'm a little concerned it'd just be another thing and slow him down. We tend to cover about 8 miles a day walking the prairies and our thicker prairie grasses can make for slow youth walking. I expect anything I'd buy would be in that 3 to 4 pounds range. Seems weird to plus up 4 pounds of gear to carry <10 pounds of gear. He could always sling a game bag over his shoulder should we get lucky. Thoughts?

 

[gburk]

For our boys, as soon as they were old enough to come along, they would carry a pack. We had an old Gregory kids pack that was small and lightweight.
Like you said, some water, snacks, wet wipes, a lighter, just the essentials and nothing heavy (or fragile!!)

 

[Marbles]

My daughter started carrying a small pack with water, snacks, and a few items she wanted to bring at 5. Half the time it ends up in my pack, but it makes her happy.

As soon as she is big enough to fit something with a frame I plan to start working it in.

I think it depends on the kid. I would rather introduce it on hikes, because then it doesn't matter as much if it ends up strapped to my pack.

 

[RS_Non-Res]

Let him be useful and work. Carry is own stuff at a minimum. His bino's, knife, snacks, water, headlamp, rain/cold gear.
Teach him the privilage of hunting comes with responsiblities too.
Teach him "that's not heavy" by letting him try your pack.
Soon enough he'll be carrying your gear for you so you can keep up.

 

[Dos Perros]

Soon enough he'll be carrying your gear for you so you can keep up.

That's a good way to look at it.

This kid just seems to have no sense of urgency. We have done lots of hiking, almost none of it him carrying anything, and he's always lagging behind. The only time he was really on my hip was after we stepped over a fresh pile of grizzly bear shit.

Edited to add: I do think he's strong, and tough, he's just always distracted by what's between points A and B, and not too focused on getting to point B.

 

[eric1115]

One if the highlights of my oldest son's first deer was a front quarter in his own backpack. He was 10 and this was just the right thing for him. Jacket, food, water, etc during the hunt and just right for a front quarter. .


I haven't weighed it, but it's not a hindrance and it's now on its third ten year old first year hunter

https://www.als.com/tetons-backpack-summit-1500/p?idsku=1782830&srsltid=AfmBOop0h5Useh694dgS76Z_2sUL4_W6b-8IDNRRucNQh3tEWCDLHNiqLQk

 

[Marshfly]

Literally looking at these this morning for my 9yo. He will be 10 next month and ready for his first big game hunt with a tag in his pocket.

PACKS | Western Edge Gear

Our packs are built especially for kids as small as four feet tall up to well over five feet. They also work well as day packs for small-framed adults up to about 5’-8” to 5’-9”.

www.westernedgegear.com

 

[Glendon Mullins]

I just bought my kids this pack at Dunham's sporting goods for 24 bucks on sale

Spotter Blaze 30

Made with durable materials and robust features, the SJK Spotter Blaze 30 backpack will be ready when you are

slumberjack.com

Obviously not designed to carry heavy meatloads etc. but they can throw their bino's, knife, snacks, water, headlamp, and such in it, and might still have some room to put a backstrap or two in it to ease the weight on old dad for our upcoming trip

On our eastern whitetail hunts this pack should work just fine as well

 

[Glendon Mullins]

One if the highlights of my oldest son's first deer was a front quarter in his own backpack. He was 10 and this was just the right thing for him. Jacket, food, water, etc during the hunt and just right for a front quarter. .
View attachment 777394

I haven't weighed it, but it's not a hindrance and it's now on its third ten year old first year hunter
View attachment 777391

https://www.als.com/tetons-backpack-summit-1500/p?idsku=1782830&srsltid=AfmBOop0h5Useh694dgS76Z_2sUL4_W6b-8IDNRRucNQh3tEWCDLHNiqLQk

I really like that pack, will save this for later as an upgrade to the cheap pack i just bought my kids, thanks!

 

[j3h8]

Your child should be given the task of responsibility from an early age. Let them start by carrying their clothing, fire starter, and maybe a water bottle or two. Or any light weight gear you think they can handle. My kids are all full grown mouths (teenagers and up). They were always tasked with their own gear management within reason. They were also allowed to "play with fire" and given an opportunity to start the camp fire if we had one. That was always the highlight of their day for sure. That and certainly the special meals they enjoyed (freeze dried meals, not sure why they loved them so much). Allowing your children to do task and be given responsibility builds confidence and self sufficiency. Even allowing them to do dangerous task safely, i.e. starting a fire or whittling a stick, is a huge confidence builder and will serve them for eons to come.

Children also travel at their own pace, trust me my boy has ventured off trail many times following "cool stuff" like mountain lion tracks . Probably should have leashed his wandering ass many times . He was always in front of us which slowed us considerably but he now has the confidence to hike, setup camp and be on his own in the woods for several hours if I'm lagging behind or have done my own venturing.

 

[gburk]

Related to this conversation, if anyone wants a youth backpack, i'll send it for shipping costs, just PM me. Gregory something-or-other, in blue... nothing fancy but it can still put in some work for someone. My youngest is 15 and taller than me now

 

[rclouse79]

I agree with you it is best to start out light and work up. My boy is now 14 and has been wrestling and doing cross country for the last few years. It won't be long before he is the one carrying the heavy load and I am the one slowing us down. I am hoping he will also repay the favor of bribing me up the hill with treats.
I just bought him a true hunting pack this year. I don't think anything fancy is necessary until you can get one big enough to grow with them.

 

[HuntingGriff907]

I had originally purchased an Osprey Ace 50 (4lbs) for my son to start using at the age of 8. My original intent was to get him used to carrying a pack even it was basically empty. We did a little backpacking trip to a cabin at a lake for a weekend. He did fine with a 15lb pack. I sold the Osprey pack after really analyzing the what I wanted him to carry, so we could have successful mountain trips together. A Durston Kakwa 55 (2lbs) in small just showed up, and it will be under the Christmas tree this year. Basically the Durston with his sleeping bag in it is the same weight as his Osprey Ace 50. My goal for him is to carry around 10-15 lbs of bulky gear (sleeping bag, pad, clothes). I'll carry all the real weight in my Barney's Pack. We have a 5 day youth backpack hunt scheduled for next August right after he turns 10, and the Durston Pack seems like the perfect fit

Kakwa 55

The Kakwa 55 is our premium ultralight, multi-day pack designed from the first principles of load carrying and ergonomics. The Kakwa 55 has class leading load carrying, materials, and pocket design while weighing just 1.9 lbs (31 oz / 890 g).

durstongear.com

 

[Dakota Dude]

My kids are 8, 6, and 4. They all carry their own packs when they go with me. Usually just water, jacket, and snacks. I never saw a reason not too. They wear backpacks to school everyday.

The back packs are also small enough that if it gets really thick and becomes a hinderance, I will throw their pack in mine. Their packs are basically camoflauged Jansport backpacks. I don't know the actual brand. My kids end up putting things they find in their backpacks too, like sheds or bones (for some reason they love bones.)

I always have some sugar motivation with me too like HuntingGriff. My kids will work their butts off for some Skittles.

 

[Marbles]

I use the REI brand kids packs. They have a little structure and fit well. Would be small for a 10 year old, but anyone with 3-7 year olds might find those nice.

 

[WaWox]

My kids go to an outdoor preschool and walk several miles there every day -- some of it with a small pack. This one: REI 18 Flash. It will be too small for a 10 year old (mine are now 4 and 5, but did this at age 3). It has water, snack, and rain gear and an extra set of clothes in it. They usually hike in, drop pack at "camp", and then do activites/more hiking without it. But some of the walking is with a pack. It's just important to keep everything minimalist and light.

So I'd encourage trying to find a lightweight minimalist pack

 

[nodakian]

My two boys started with Western Edge Gear packs (I'm biased, of course) at 10 and 8. I started building packs because I didn't find anything on the market that matched the proportionate load carrying ergonomics of adult sized Big K/Exo/SG/MR/etc packs. We have to carry all our water here, and everything else i found became whine-inducing shoulder hangers with more than a hoodie, quart canteen, and some basic food and gear.

Kids can carry more than you or they might think, especially with the right ergonomics.

 

[Dos Perros]

I had originally purchased an Osprey Ace 50 (4lbs) for my son to start using at the age of 8. My original intent was to get him used to carrying a pack even it was basically empty. We did a little backpacking trip to a cabin at a lake for a weekend. He did fine with a 15lb pack. I sold the Osprey pack after really analyzing the what I wanted him to carry, so we could have successful mountain trips together. A Durston Kakwa 55 (2lbs) in small just showed up, and it will be under the Christmas tree this year. Basically the Durston with his sleeping bag in it is the same weight as his Osprey Ace 50. My goal for him is to carry around 10-15 lbs of bulky gear (sleeping bag, pad, clothes). I'll carry all the real weight in my Barney's Pack. We have a 5 day youth backpack hunt scheduled for next August right after he turns 10, and the Durston Pack seems like the perfect fit

Kakwa 55

The Kakwa 55 is our premium ultralight, multi-day pack designed from the first principles of load carrying and ergonomics. The Kakwa 55 has class leading load carrying, materials, and pocket design while weighing just 1.9 lbs (31 oz / 890 g).

durstongear.com

That's cool, but I would never buy anything from Durston. He's just a grade A dingleberry.

 

[spdrman]

My boys love carrying packs and it’s never slowed them down, think they started around 4-5 years old carrying water and snacks now they are 11 and 13 and have both carried their fair share of meat in their packs, they’ve really enjoyed carrying their own stuff and when I’ve offered to carry things for them they always shut me down and so they are fine.

10 yr old’s first elk last year

13 yr old’s 3rd bull last year, 11 yr old has the back straps


Oldest boys first elk when he was 10


And a couple of my older boys deer pack outs

 

[go_deep]

My son was 8 years old when he helped on the first pack out, and he was a smaller kid, but he was able to take a deboned front shoulder.