The 6 Best Baby Carriers for Hiking

We’ve been lifelong hikers, so we wasted no time getting our newborn out onto a hiking trail. We started hiking with a baby early and we just kept going, including baby #2. Over the years, we came to appreciate the many benefits of hiking with a baby carrier. We’ve personally tried many of the best baby carriers for hiking and are happy to share our experiences with you.

Benefits of Hiking with a Baby

As parents who started hiking with a baby when our first child was only 6 – 8 weeks old, we can say with confidence that getting out in nature with your baby makes for wonderful experiences. Not only do you get the benefits of being out in the fresh air and in nature, but there are so many more reasons why you should be out hiking with your baby.

As a new mom, staying at home all day is not the best option. Getting out gives you confidence in your ability to do more things with your baby. Plus, the fresh air and exercise that hiking with your baby provides is just so good for your mental well-being.

Hiking with a newborn is a great time to start, since newborns are most happy when they are cuddled up on you. They are quick to sleep while you are enjoying your hike. Also, if you use a baby carrier for hiking, they will quickly get used to being in a carrier, which you can reap benefits from well into those toddlers years.

In our experience, the best way to get out hiking with an infant or baby is to have a good hiking carrier for baby (and for you).

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How do you Choose the Best Baby Carrier for Hiking?

The best hiking baby carrier will be the one that is most comfortable for you and your baby. We’ve learned there are several considerations for finding the best baby carrier for hiking for you:

1. Climate is a big consideration when choosing which baby carrier is best for hiking. We used our original Ergobaby carrier with an infant insert when we first started hiking with a newborn. In our Canadian summers, the Ergobaby was a good choice, but when we traveled to a warmer climate, we found the infant insert was quite hot.

In warm climates, a hiking baby carrier with some airflow and mesh is the best option.

2. Also, depending on the age of your baby, you’ll want to consider a baby carrier for hiking that gives you multiple ways of wearing it. For newborns, infants and young babies, front carrying is the best way to use your carrier. Then, once your child is old enough, back carrying your baby during a hike is easier since you can see where you are stepping.

By choosing a good quality, versatile hiking carrier, you’ll get plenty of use out of it not only hiking with a baby but hiking with toddlers too. Just make sure you practice using your carrier around the house and in your neighborhood before heading out on your first family adventure!

If you are hiking with a toddler too, make sure to check out all our favorite toddler hiking gear.

What about Hiking Backpack Baby Carriers?

We LOVE hiking backpack carriers! In fact, we’ve owned two Deuter Kid Comfort backpack carriers and are huge proponents of these types of hiking carriers for babies.

Some people will claim that a soft structured baby carrier is all you need for hiking, but while we like having that option, a hiking backpack baby carrier has many added benefits. If you plan on hiking often and/or doing longer family hikes, we recommend going with one of these hiking backpack carriers for babies.

9 Benefits of a Baby Backpack Carrier

Why do I love backpack carriers for hiking so much? Here are 9 good reasons why:

• Rain cover: A good rain cover will help keep your baby warm and dry if you get caught hiking in the rain. The rain covers pack small enough so you can just leave it in your backpack carrier for the times when you need it.
  
  
• Sun protection: If you’re going to be out hiking for hours, ensuring your baby has good sun protection is key. Having a canopy is a great way to keep your baby out of the sun.
  
  
• Added storage: If you are front carrying your baby while hiking, then it’s easy enough to carry extra baby hiking essentials on your back. If you happen to be hiking on your own and you have your baby on your back then you are left to figure out how to carry diapers, wipes, etc. Backpack carriers will often have a storage compartment that’s perfect for carrying an extra layer and other baby hiking essentials.
  
  
• Room for a water bladder: In addition to the storage compartment, often you’ll find a spot for a water bladder. This is a much better alternative to carrying water bottles since your water is much more accessible. I found that once our babies learned to drink from our water bladders, they found it so much fun that they’d want to drink water all the time. It was an easy way to keep them entertained and hydrated.
  
  
• Adjustable fit for both parents: While you can adjust most carriers to fit both parents, a well constructed framed backpack carrier will have more ways to adjust to get the perfect fit for both parents.
  
  
• Less heat and sweat transfer: As nice as it is to front carry your baby and enjoy snuggles while hiking, having your child right next to you gets hot. And when you get hot, you get sweaty – and so does your baby. If your baby gets wet from your sweat, they may then get chilly in damp clothes.
  
  A backpack carrier for hiking eliminates the sweat transfer issue, but you may wish to dress your baby extra warm since she’s not getting your body heat.
  
  
• Visibility for baby: My babies just loved to watch the world go by while sitting contently in their backpack carrier for hiking. Depending on your baby, you might get to enjoy more time hiking if your baby is content looking around from the carrier as you hike.
  
  
• Pillow for sleeping: Most good backpack carriers will have a pillow for your baby to rest her head on when she falls asleep.
  
  
• Travel with a baby backpack carrier: While we didn’t purchase our backpack carriers specifically for travel, we found them to be a must-have baby and toddler travel product for us. We even used it to travel with a baby in Europe where the cobblestone was difficult to maneuver with a stroller.

Best Baby Carriers for Hiking

Based on our many years of experience hiking with newborns, babies, toddlers and preschoolers, with experience using several different carriers over the years, these are our recommended hiking baby carriers:

1

Baby K'tan Original Baby Wrap Carrier

The Baby K’tan is an all around great baby carrier for hiking with newborns. It’s comfortable for both mom and baby plus it keeps your infant snuggled in close. It’s design gets you all the benefits of a wrap but without the added complication. It’s made of machine washable 100% cotton, for the perfect cozy fit around baby.

We often used a Baby K’tan wrap carrier for hiking with an infant, especially when our Ergo Baby Carrier with an infant insert was too warm.

The only downside to this carrier is that it’s size specific, so you may not be able to share it with your partner unless you are similar sizes.

If you are looking for a wrap that you can both use while hiking during that newborn stage, the Boba Wrap is very highly rated one size fits all wrap.

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2

Ergobaby Carrier, Original 3-Position Baby Carrier

In our experience, the original 3-position Ergo Baby Carrier is one of the best infant carriers for hiking. We got years of use from our Ergo baby carrier, starting very early by using an insert for hiking with our infant.

This baby carrier for hiking is easily adjustable for both parents and comfortable. While it doesn’t have all the different seating options of the other Ergo carriers, the front and back carry were the positions we preferred to use the most often.

If forward facing is important to you, then we recommend looking into the Ergo 360 carrier (for babies 4 months or older). If you prefer one with all positions that you can use from the newborn stage without the insert, then the Ergo Omni 360 will be your best option. You can also get both of these with a Cool Air Mesh.

As mentioned, we also loved the Ergo carrier for hiking with our toddlers. It was easy to pack away when our toddler was walking, then simply take out and carry our toddler as needed.

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3

LÍLLÉbaby Complete All Seasons Baby Carrier

I transitioned to using the LILLEBaby Complete All Seasons when my kids started to get bigger. With 6 positions for carrying, a zip down front to help control your baby’s temperature, a headrest and a sleeping hood that also works for sun protection, we liked the LILLEBaby has all the features in a great baby carrier for hiking.

For parents, it has lumbar support to help with any back issues and padded shoulder straps.

It can be used for hiking with an infant (starting at 7 lbs) without an insert all the way to hiking with a toddler. However, if you plan to carry your toddler a lot, we highly recommend using either a backpack carrier or a Lillebaby CarryOn Toddler as they have a much better fit for toddlers.

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4

Baby Tula Explore Baby Carrier

If you ask any group of moms about which baby carrier is the best, included in that list you’ll get Ergo, LILLEBaby and the Tula. The Baby Tula Explore Baby Carrier will give you all the same benefits of the Ergo Omni 360 and Lillebaby Complete. It can be used from 7-45 lbs, has all the carrying positions. Comes with a detachable sleep cover that can offer sun protection.

For parents, you’ll have padded shoulder straps for comfort and it can be adjusted to fit all parents.

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5

Deuter Kid Comfort Backpack Carriers

Once we graduated from using soft baby carriers for hiking, we started using a Deuter Kid Comfort backpack carrier. We loved it so much, we got a second one when our littlest was big enough. We used the Deuter Kid Comfort 3, but they now make 3 options for backpack carriers: Deuter Kid Comfort, Deuter Kid Comfort Pro and Deuter Kid Comfort Active (read our full review).

While a hiking backpack carrier for babies should only be used for children who are sitting independently (around 6 - 8 months old), they can offer additional benefits as we mentioned earlier. The Deuter backpack carrier has a plush chin pad, plus adjustable seat height and footrests to keep your little one as comfortable as possible. The maximum load (including child and carrier) is 22 kg or 48.5 lbs. For safety it has a 5 point safety harness.

The Deuter Kid Comfort Active is the lightest of the packs at less than 6 lbs. It also comes in the SL version which is made for a better fit for women. Two downsides of this pack is that it does not have an integrated canopy or a spot for a water bladder. So if weight is the most important aspect or you are having an issue with fit, then this is a good option. Otherwise, we recommend one of the other two Deuter Options.

The Deuter Kid Comfort is the latest version of the Deuter Kid Comfort 2. It weighs one pound less than the Pro version, but does not have a detachable daypack or an integrated sun canopy.

The Deuter Kid Comfort Pro is the new version of the Deuter Kid Comfort 3 (which is the hiking backpack carrier we’ve been using for years). The main improvement is that it now comes with a detachable daypack.

The Deuter Kid Comfort and Deuter Kid Comfort Pro both have the same back length adjustment system and hip belts to help distribute the load. It can be adjusted between parents easily.

While the Deuter Kid Comfort is not as expensive as the Pro version, you’ll eat up almost all of that price difference by the time you purchase the sun canopy.

If you plan to go hiking with your kids often, the Deuter Kid Comfort Pro is well worth the money. These packs also tend to have good resale value, so keep that in mind if you are worried about the price.

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6

Osprey Poco Child Carriers

The Osprey Poco and Osprey Poco Plus are equally good options for a backpack carrier for hiking with a baby. You’ll find the Osprey and Deuter carriers to be similar in many aspects, including price and features.

They are adjustable for the parents, have an external hydration sleeve and have plenty of gear storage. The Poco Plus has additional hip adjustments that can be made to fit a wider range of bodies.

For your baby, there are adjustable stirrups, adjustable seat, padded drool pad and a built-in sun shade.

The main difference between the Poco and Poco Plus is the amount of storage. The Poco Plus has more storage at the bottom and in the hip and side pockets. If storage isn't a concern, you can save some money and weight by going with the Osprey Poco, but in my experience we always appreciated having the extra storage to carry baby supplies, snacks, etc.

These two brands (Deuter and Osprey) are the best options for hiking backpack carriers. If you’d like to consider more options, see our recommended Best Backpack Carriers for Babies & Toddlers.

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Making a Final Decision on the Best Baby Hiking Carrier

How do you know which baby carrier for hiking to choose? Choosing the best baby carrier comes down the right fit for you and your baby. This means, you need to try them on.

You can find all of our recommended models in this Best Baby Carriers for Hiking Amazon Shopping List. We recommend you either purchase several and return the ones that you don’t like or find a local babywearing lending library where you can try on different options.

Other Baby Hiking Gear

Hiking with a baby is so easy and enjoyable. You don’t need much baby hiking gear to get out on the trails, but we recommend you bring these accessories when hiking with a baby:

• For soft structured carriers, this Ergo Fleece Lined Cover is great for when the weather gets chilly. For wet climates, the Ergo also has a rain cover.
  
  
• A wide brimmed baby sun hat is a must, even if you have your child in a backpack carrier. I love these sun hats by Sunday Afternoon, the sun protection is excellent and our kids have happily worn them for years.
  
  
• If they are old enough to use it, further protect your baby from the sun with sunscreen.
  
  
• For hiking with a newborn, don’t forget the infant insert if your baby carrier requires it for children that small.

For all my Baby Hiking Gear Recommendations see our convenient shopping list on Amazon or in our Hiking with a Baby post.

Not finding what you are looking for? I also recommend checking here for hiking backpack carriers.

Where to Get Out Hiking with a Baby

If you are traveling internationally with a baby, see these best hikes with a baby or toddler around the world or these best hikes with toddlers and babies in the USA.

If you love the idea of hiking with a baby, but don’t want to do it solo, talk to fellow moms in your new mom group or look into a local chapter of Hike It Baby to find a community of hikers!

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