I purchased my bush baby carrier last April as we were planning a trip to the western United States and knew we would be doing a lot of walking in places unsuitable for a buggy. I wanted a baby back pack which would be comfortable to wear without putting undue strain on my back (or rather my husband’s back)! And would give my then 15 month old good support. We looked at several models prior to making our purchase namely the mothercare (much cheaper) back pack, which we found very uncomfortable as the straps dug in, even when tried out in the shop. We also looked at the similarly priced Kelty, which we felt was good but did not give the child enough support as there are no foot stirrups and the seat is no where near as deep as the bush baby. In addition a friend let us try her bush baby carrier for a weekend and we fell in love with it. I would strongly suggest that if you are considering buying any baby carrier you ask if the shop will allow you to return it if after a few tries you find it uncomfortable.

What you get for your money
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The carrier is made of 600-denier cordura fabric on a lightweight aluminium frame. The child sits in a fully adjustable seat within the frame, which is really well padded and has a similarly well-padded safety harness. The harness is fixed at 2 points to the back of the carrier and fastens at the front with a plastic clasp, this prevents the child from falling out if you need to bend forwards to tie a shoe lace for example .One of my favourite features is the little velour padded pillow at the front of the seat. My little lad often falls asleep on long walks and his head falls forwards. With this carrier he rests his cheek on the pillow and looks really well supported! There are 2 stirrups made of strong webbing. These enable an older child to support their legs. The stirrups can be detached.

At the back of the carrier are 2 deep, zipped pockets. The main one has a 25-litre capacity and stores the (included) sunshade. The main compartment is big enough to take extra rain gear for my 6-year-old, sandwiches and flask. It has elastic holders inside to keep bottles upright. The second smaller pocket is great for a map, wipes and nappies. Both pockets can be zipped open fully to make access really easy. At the sides of the carrier are 2 mesh pockets, which are great to store water bottles.

The carrier has a grab handle at the back to make picking up easy.

The fabric is really easy to wipe clean and dries quickly when it gets wet, which it often has!

…. And the cons
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It would have been good if a rain cover had been included in the price. It is possible to purchase one separately at a cost of £23.95! I think having paid nearly £130 this should be included.

The overall verdict
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I think my 2 year old would give his Pac Pac 5 stars, except when he wants to walk when it becomes yuk, pac pac! This carrier is not cheap but if like us you do a lot of walking with a small child then I would really recommend it.