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I am in the dark regarding this and hope to need one for a 14 year old in August. What do you reco?

How big is your 14 y.o.?

I've seen 'em run the gamut from kids who are shorter than 5' don't weigh 80# soaking wet to kids that are over 6' and well over 200#.

He's 13 now, but will be 14 in Aug. - about 5'4" and 110 pounds. He seems to be *trying* to hit a growth spurt based on grocery consumption!

My 9 year old daughter uses a Deuter Fox 30. It's 1800 cubes and weighs in a little over 2 lbs. It will hold her bag, pad, water bottle, xtra clothes (minimal) and snacks.

It's a great little pack for the money. Might be a tad small for a big 14 year old though.

http://www.prolitegear.com/cgi-bin/prolitegear/deuter_kids_fox_backpack

Geez, your 13 y.o is almost as big as I am, not that this is saying much, I'm pretty dang short - 5'6" & 135#.

I've had good luck with a few backpacks.

I have an internal frame backpack by Wenzel. I don't know the exact model but, I see them come up on ebay fairly often.

My Badlands 2800 has been awesome. You'd want to check the belt however as there isn't very much adjustment left after I cinch the waistbelt down. It might prove just a bit too large for your boy. A 2200 might be better.

I also have a Kelty Tongass that I bought for simple day trips that fits me quite nicely.

You should buy a Mystery Ranch Pack....... with our patented designs the pack will fit the youngster during his/her entire growth cycle........ with a super simple 5 second adjustment system!!

Give us a call and we'll recommend a specific design to help suit the hunt you're planning...

I'm 5'8" and run between 125 and 130 pounds (have been since I was your son's age), so he could probably fit an adult pack. I'm running an Eberlestock J109 Blue Widow pack and have a 28" waist. It's almost drawn as far down as it can go on the waist, but it fits snuggly. I'd take him to the store and see what all packs and brands fit him. I know the Eberlestock allows for a pretty wide range of adjustment for the shoulder straps should he grow taller. I'm sure others here can tell you what all other packs can "grow" with him.

Thanks for the replies.

I overestimated his height - he is 5'2". I measured him last night. I'm not at the point that I'm going to put a lot of money into a pack right now. If this come to fruition, this will be his first backpack hunt. He won't be packing a lot of weight, but will take some off of dear old Dad.

I actually was hoping to hear what packs others have on their own kids.

--Mike

IronBender-

Just went through the same process myself this past season. I bought my daughter an Eberlestock X2. My daughter is 9 and a rather athletic build, this pack is perfect at 1800 cubic inches. It will still carry a decent load if needed. If I knew how I'd attach a photo of her with a nice full pack.

This looked promising, but is out of stock. Thanks.

Googled the X2 and found it at Midway. That looks like a possibility. Thanks.

Others?

Anyone tell me how to post a photo? Tried search and no luck.

Go to the photog forum. There is a sticky topic there on how to post pics.

Travel Country has the Fox 30 on sale through the 31st.

http://www.travelcountry.com/shop/d...pack.html?RefId=29&RefType=Affiliate

Here is my first try at posting a photo. Hope it works

Wow! You are breaking her in right......Nice job!

That's an awesome picture!

Eberlestock still has their "Halftrack" on sale at half price $99, direct from their online store.

http://eberlestock.com/Merchant2/me...mp;Product_Code=F3H&Category_Code=BP


Phil

Thanks IronBender-
It was another great season for us in Montana. Its great to be hunting with the girls. Hoping we can get an apprenticeship license going here so I can get them shooting big game at an earlier age.

Thanks for the link Greyghost. Have you or anyone that you know, used it for kid?