Children

[Kat9Maui]

Hey everyone, I was curious as to how much children should carry on a back packing trip that would have over night camping... Just for the fun of it let's say 3 day hike two night camping.

Do they carry their own sleeping bags? Do they carry their own food? Do they carry camping equipment?


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[cneill13]

Rule of thumb is that your pack loaded should not weigh more than 20 percent of your total body weight. For a 60 pound child, 12 lbs may seem very heavy. My kids love to camp but not yet to hike carrying a pack (ages 12 and 8). I generally make them carry a simple school backpack with whatever will fit inside such as a sleeping bag. Be forewarned, you will likely end up carrying both packs at some point. I think a 3 day hike might be too much. Just my opinion from many camping and hiking trips with my kids. Overnight? Absolutely.

[B4its2late]

In addition to weight I feel it has a lot to do with the ages of the children. We took our (almost) 5 year old out earlier this year and we had to be very mindful of how much he carried.

[The Solemates]

ours dont carry anything unless they pitch a fit wanting to. then, its usually that they carry it for a little while and give it back to us. but it depends on the age. ours are under 10 years of age. i would say by 12 or so they will be carrying their own (lightened) packs.

[HooKooDooKu]

My kids started back-packing with me when they were 7yo.
My rule for the kids back-packing with me was that they had to be able to carry their own sleeping bag, sleeping pad, and cloths; while I would happily carry all of the "community" gear (like tent, food bag, and cooking equipment).

The first challenge is in finding a pack that is large enough to hold all that gear, yet still small enough to fit on their 7yo frame AND stay within the 20% weight limit cneill13 referenced.
Many back-packs listed as for 'kids' still weight 3lb - 4lb EMPTY.
As for size, you'll likely need something in the 30L to 40L size. Even then, it can be a tight fit.
The pack my kids started out with was the Granite Gear Vapor Day Ki (discontinued). It's claimed size was 32L (2,000cuin). But to get their sleeping bag, sleeping pad AND cloths all inside the pack required a compression sack on the sleeping bag and I had to get a Thermarest ProLite size Regular sleeping pad rolled up into a Thermarest Prolite size Small storage bag (it fits, but you have to roll it up tight... too tight to expect the kids to do it on their own).

As they have gotten older and larger and been able to move up to larger size packs, I started adding some of the "shared" gear to their packs. It might be as small as just the cookware or the water filtration system.

[Kat9Maui]

I'm not looking to big the kids down with equipment but if they do want to carry something I want them to be able to have that option. I just don't want to have them have too much


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[Just Tom]

My son is twelve and on the last scouting outing he backpacked with 28 pounds, so was probably in the 25% range. Of course, scouting hasn't fully embraced ultralight ideas yet, so I'm sure he could get that down. At that weight though most of the scouts were not setting any speed records.

[Nodust]

I try to keep it to 20% or less. My 11yo carried 21# on a hike last winter but only for 4 miles so it wasn't a long hike in. He uses a ULA CDT in small torso.

One thing I notice is they need less than half the water I do. Which make sense as I out weight them by double. So if I need 2 liters to make the next stream they need less than 1.

[Feral Bill]

Kids are not made of glass. When mine were young they were fine with 25% of their body weight. At 8 and up they should be able to carry their personal gear. If you are looking for packs for kids, you'll need to weigh the tendency of kids to destroy things against their ability to carry. Keep the clothing list small, get them closed cell foam pads and decent smallish sleeping bags and they'll be fine. Tailor the trip itself to their abilities and wants.

[HooKooDooKu]

I'm not looking to big the kids down with equipment but if they do want to carry something I want them to be able to have that option. I just don't want to have them have too much

That's part of the idea behind keeping their load at or below 20% of their body weight.

Amusingly enough, this past spring, my 12yo commented that his school back pack weights more than his loaded hiking back pack.
(Of course the school back pack isn't being carried for 4-8 hours).

[saltysack]

I just got back from a hike from davenport gap to hot springs with my 9yr old. He is about 55 lbs and carted all his clothes, sleeping bag, pad and water. I didn't weigh but would say around 10lbs. He did great until the last day when he fell and hurt his knee. Be prepared to carry your kids and dogs pack if need be.....the dog got a sore under his leg from the pack rubbing....I was glad to have a bag that could handle the extra load....ULA circuit....I carried all 3 packs the last 8 miles or so...


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[The Solemates]

nice! cute kid! looks like you guys had fun.

[slbirdnerd]

I nearly ruined my 10 year old on backpacking a little over 2 years ago, he complained his stuff was too heavy and all he had was his Osprey Ace, sleeping bag, pad, clothes, personal items, mess kit... I had the tent, cooking gear and all the food. He is 13 now and finally agreed to give it another try--he's bigger, stronger, mentally tougher and we have invested in some very lightweight gear. But I'm still going to carry all the food and cooking stuff, only because I want him to really enjoy this and not get frustrated.

In general, I believe you should have each child carry a backpack, even if it's just a little character/school pack with a stuffed animal and a few snacks--just helps them get used to it, and it can be fun!

[HooKooDooKu]

I nearly ruined my 10 year old on backpacking a little over 2 years ago...

Curious... did he ever do any day hiking before putting a back on his back?
Trying to figure out WHY you nearly ruined your 10yo on backpacking (seemingly because he had to carry his own pack)...

I haven't had any issues beyond some typical "I'm tired" complaining and mine have been carrying their own packs since age 7.
But before age 7, they each hiked with me to LeConte Lodge in the Smokies at age 6 (and did well on practice day hikes leading up to that hike). So mine first got some hiking experience at an earlier age and then started putting on a pack (again, at an earlier age).
I had also been going away on my own on back packing trips... so I'm not sure how much "I want to do what daddy is doing" might be at play here.

My 6yo daughter has been asking when she would get to go back packing... but I don't know how much of that is she has liked the day hikes we've done v. she want to do what her big brothers are doing.

[Kat9Maui]

My girls carry so much stuff from school!! I couldn't believe that 5, 1, k grades would produce so much cr@p for the kids to bring home. I understand that papers and folders are not camping equipment but my girls are used to carrying bags with school supplies in them. I was curious about using their usual school backpacks because the girls do fit in them nicely. I've bought L.L. Bean bags for them and I still have mine from seventh grade that was in 93? I suspect that their bags will stay stable if they don't use them for hiking however that is not as much fun. I just might use their backpacks for weekend trips or at least a day hike and slowly add more equipment into them for them to carry. I just bought a brand-new Osprey aura backpack for myself and I have a water pouch for it. I may add water bags to their backpacks in some way so they can learn how to carry water or what it's like at least to carry water too.


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[OCDave]

My girls carry so much stuff from school!!

Quite a difference between lugging something from the school building to the bus/car then into the house versus carrying that same weight 5-10 miles down the trail. My Kids started carrying "packs" at 6-7 years old. "Packs" meaning; a book bag with their trail snacks, a water bottle and rain coat. Reliably they would tire of the pack long before tiring of the hike so, every hike finished with their pack stuffed in my own. Our hikes were typical 6-7 miles/day, never more than 10.

At 10-11 they were ready to carry their own clothes, sleeping gear maybe a share of the food or shelter. Before puberty, any pack weight more than 15-20% of their total body weight would be too much. My kids are boys. Since their testosterone started pumping, I am willing to pack them up to 30-35% of their total body weight in an effort to slow them down. My next strategy is to deploy a couple of those little parachutes that sprinters use for training so that I can keep up.

For your 5th grader consider a maximum pack weight of 20% TBW, for the other 2; allow them to carry whatever you will be willing to assume mid-hike.

Good Luck

[Kat9Maui]

[QUOTE=OCDave;1992707]Quite a difference between lugging something from the school building to the bus/car then into the house versus carrying that same weight 5-10 miles down the trail. My Kids started carrying "packs" at 6-7 years old.

Right I get that part. I was just stating in general that they carry a lot home. I understand that there is a difference


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[Wyoming]

As much as the weight issue is how far you are going to hike each day. Not too much and figure the third day at less than the first. When we used to hike with our kids it always amazed me how short of a time it was before they started getting interested in stopping and 'doing' something. Kids enjoy playing in the creek and exploring the woods and just playing. Walking down a trail seemed to bore them pretty quick. About 45 mins was their upper limit before they wanted to do something else for awhile. That was for really young kids. By the teenage years that had changed.

I remember my first boy scout backpacking trip to this day. It was the worst experience I have ever had backpacking.

[HooKooDooKu]

... When we used to hike with our kids it always amazed me how short of a time it was before they started getting interested in stopping and 'doing' something. Kids enjoy playing in the creek and exploring the woods and just playing. Walking down a trail seemed to bore them pretty quick. About 45 mins was their upper limit before they wanted to do something else for awhile...

Not the 1st time I've seen someone say things along these lines...
My kids must be special because I've not had any issues with them getting bored while walking the trails. Now once we get to camp, if there is a creek near by, heck yea they want to play in it.

But otherwise, the only issues I've had is how slow they sometimes walk. When they were first starting, it was difficult to get them to do just 2mph. On my most recent hike with them, the youngest one was slow going up hill, and the older one was slow going down hill. But then there's been other times where they have surprised me and I haven't been able to keep up.

As for distance, I once heard a recommendation of no more that about 1 mile per day per year in age (5 miles max for a 5yo, 7 miles max for a 7yo).

But as with everything else, these distances and speeds (and attention span) will greatly vary from one child to the next. My now 9yo has done 10 mile days several times, though I usually try to average about 8-10.



Because the kids are so varied, you really need to start by just taking them on day hikes and seeing how they do. As you think they are ready, upgrade to a two night loop trip. That way, if things are bad the 1st night, you can always abandon the trip and turn around and head home the 2nd day rather than continuing the loop. It will only take a couple of trips before you begin to be able to judge how well YOUR kids do... but the most important thing is to simply get them out there.

One last bit of advice though... kids, since they are smaller, tend to get colder easier than adults. If you're on a trip where the weather might be cool that you need a jacket, they might need a jacket and long-sleeve shirt.