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?

These are decent, adjustable packs http://www.campmor.com/outdoor/gear/Product___60673

I saw those while perusing Campmor and that's what prompted the post. Looking to find out what has actually been used on a kid, size of the kiddo and how it worked out.

Have you put that pack on a kid, Boots?

Here is a pic of the Fox 30 on my daughter during a training hike around the pasture. She packed it on this trip so it looks a little thrown together. It will comfortably carry about 20# (bag, pad, snacks, bladder, clothes and a book) and has a more substantial hip belt than some other kids packs I've seen. She's about 4'6"

thanks. I'm not expecting my boy to carry too much more than 20 - 25#, at least until the pack out!

Where in KZ are you? I've spent some time in Cat country.

I'm just SW of Kansas City about 45 minutes.

Lived in Manhattan from '94-'98.

Hey Mike that Kelty looks pretty good to me,

Sam my 10 year old used a Peak 1 with the hybrid plastic frame on the GC trip and other goofing off stuff we do. he's 4' 11" and 88 lbs. Sorry Mom aka Photokiller erased all the pics of the hike in while he was wearing it, but it's the blue one on the rock, not a very good pic, but a good little pack for a youngster.

still thinking I'd trip the Kelty pictured though were I in your shoes.

Kelty was the first I saw. The boy ain't real big for his age, but he's pretty sturdy. Hope to find out on Friday if he's gonna need more than a day pack.

good luck Friday amigo

am fairly comfortable the lad has a father that makes certain he understands about the size of the fight in the dog, tis all that really matters.

Thanks bud.

You might want to look at a Mountainsmith Youth Pursuit. My boy used it for scounting trips for Bighorn with me. The pack was comfortable for him and seems well built. He was 4'2" and about 50 lbs at the time. He carried about 15 lbs in it and thought it was comfortable. The pack was adujusted down as small as I could get it so it should last for a number of years before he outgrows it.

The Youth Pursuit is a great kids' pack but based on my experience, it would be small for most 14 year olds or if it fit, it wouldn't last long. My 12 year old is just over five feet tall and 100 lbs. and it is starting to reach the end of its range. I have a Deuter that he outgrew before he ever got to use it. It's just starting to fit his rather small brother. Another very nice kids' pack.

From what I've seen of several kids that size packing (Boy Scouts), twenty to twenty five pounds is a lot of weight. They can do it but it is at the upper limit, not for the pack but for them.

It sounds like he's at the point where a small adult pack could work and last him longer. Going with an adult pack also dramatically broadens your choices.

Thanks for the tips. I'll measure his torso and look anew.

Yea, I've had that pack on him, about 5' - 2" around 130lbs at 9 years old, and it looked good. We'll soon see on an overnighter this month or next. The pack is very adjustable.

thanks for the feedback.