Evenflo quality

[zbird]

My wife and I are big hikers and I'm generally reluctant to buy
"mass market" equipment for outdoor activities. That said, I've been reading lots of nice things about the Evenflo Trailblazer. It seems that the Keltys, TT's, Madden, etc. are another $50-100 more than the Trailblazer. Are they really better packs for hiking than the Trailblazer? Even if they're technically better, would you notice the difference on 3-4 hour hikes? My guess is we'll probably mostly be doing half day hikes with an occasional full day here and there.

Any thoughts?

[Tondi G]

Honestly I would buy a better brand if you are really hiking for any lenghth of time... the better brands balance the pack well so you carry the load more evenly. we have a cheapy evenflo pack and while it's ok for a half an hour at the Zoo or Disneyland our Kelty pack is what we use if it's for any real lenght of time.... the shoulder straps have more padding and I think the kelty is more comfortable for our son too!

Just get the lightest most comfortable pack you can find for hiking... those little buggers get heavy fast!!!! Good Luck

~Tondi

[egoldber]

I agree. For carrying for any real length of time, you need a quality backpack carrier.

Here's a link to previous thread on this: http://www.windsorpeak.com/dcforum/DCForumID7/1368.html

You may also want to search the board using some of the higher quality brands as keywords: Kelty, Vaude, Tough Traveler, MacPac, etc.

HTH,

[zbird]

Are you saying that the Trailblazer is not high quality? That's what I'm trying to figure out. It seems to be much better than their lower end lines from what I read and it has padding, weight distribution, etc. Has anyone out there used the Trailblazer for decent size hikes (or know of people that have)? There are very few bad reviews for it on the web.

[hardysmom]

Yeah, if you are a hiker, I wouldn't call Evenflos "high-quality." They are OK for a trip to the zoo or a ball-game, but I wouldn't want to take one on an actual day hike. I don't think there are many bad reviews b/c most people don't know that there are other options. Generally, people buying them are not hikers-- just people who are looking for alternatives to a stroller, something when the baby outgrows the Bjorn, etc... Plus, the Evenflo is a huge improvement over the older Gerry packs.

On this board, do a seach for "backpack carrier" with NO QUOTATION MARKS and you will find a whole bunch ot threads on the subject. Here is the lowdown--

Madden is great, but they are really designed for a man's frame. Not so great on smaller women.

Kelty has a lot of nifty features and a big range to choose from, but you do pay for the name. Qualiity is OK, not awesome. The low end isn't going to give any more support than the Evenflo. Mid-range is pretty good. They are the easiest to find IRL.

REI has some good Kelty knock-offs if you want to save some $$.

Lots of people say Tough Traveller is very comfy. I never tried one IRL, but it might be worth a shot.

Vaude makes a couple of carriers-- the Swing is a great around-town pack, but I wouldn't want to go on a tough hike in it. You really want the support of a rigid frame against your back (the Swing has mesh). The Vaude Pebbles is very comfy, but has a weird "sway" to it which doesn't distribute weight well.

If you really want to spend some money (or travel abroad) there are a couple of excellent packs which are not available in the US. The best is made by MacPac another (which I have) is called a Bush Baby. Both are very popular in the UK, New Zealand, Australia...

All of that said, my brother and sister-in-law use an Evenflo and have gone on some pretty big hikes with us. They would have prefered something else, but it was a gift they couldn't return. Last summer, we spent a week hiking in Colorado. While I found their pack pretty bad and their son (now 2) didn't look as comfortable as my son, they seem to be OK with it. I wouldn't say they were totally miserable, just could've-been-better. At the end of the day, I felt great. Which I credit my better pack since I was in terrible just-had-a-baby condition.

Personally, I'd say if you hike often, or more than 2 hours an outing, the extra $$ will be well spent.

[zbird]

Thanks for the thoughtful reply Hardysmom. Lots of great information. Do you know of online discount sources for either of those packs? I hope I can find some brick and mortar stores to try them on. They have to fit both my wife and I and you never know what's going to feel right.

[juliasdad]

I'm with you, Z- I tend to be very wary of "mass market" equipment for just about anything. I tend to be pretty picky about quality and learned a long time ago that buying "cheap" stuff does nothing but make me crazy (and eventually I toss the cheap item and buy the quality one anyway!).

That said, I was sure that I wanted a higher-end Kelty. Until I went to our local BrU and played with the Evenflo Trailblazer (and a few others) for an hour. I went home with the Trailblazer.

I have no experience with it yet, but I will say that I was astonished in the store at how well I could make this pack fit me and transfer the load to my hips. The adjustments seem well thought out and the parts in no way speak "cheap" to me.

Don't discount this pack until you've had a chance to play with one in person. You may be surprised and impressed as I was.

-dan

[By the way, the other mass-market packs I tried certainly didn't surprise me; the Evenflo/Snuggli "Cross Country" or Baby Trend back carrier were major disappointments.]

[hardysmom]

I have never seen the Madden's discounted but a good sstore is www.kidssource.com . Lots of good outdoor family stuff.

Campmoor.com sometimes has good prices on Kelty.

REI (and their outlet) is probably the best place to look for good prices. I think their knock-off is called the Piggy Back.

Evenflo might work for you. At first my BIL's looked great and was fine for my nephews first year or so. It wasn't until he was about 18 months (and he is a skinny kid) that he didn't look comfortable. It was like the seat forced his pelvis forward (as if he was straddling something) rahter than letting him sit back on his bottom. But given that he doesn't know there are other options, he never complained or anything. They do like it quite a bit.

I wouldn't get one of the high-end Keltys. I wasn't very impressed with them, which is why I ended up getting something from abroad. For hiking (as opposed to just zoo trips) I would stick to their mid range. My husband LOVED the Madden, but it was too big for me.