We were told by the REI employee that a lot of kids cry their first time in the carrier. Kaya did great! She was a little vocal but didn’t cry until it was past her bedtime (Alex likes to do his research and try things on again and again…which is great for ending up with the right product but hard on those of us (me!) who don’t like to shop).

Once Kaya was up she had fun! So did Alex, walking around the store. After doing a lot of searching through blogs and store reviews we went to check out the Osprey Poco AG Plus and the Deuter Kid Comfort (we tried the II because it was in store but would have bought the III online). We mainly only cared how it fit Alex since he’s mainly the one that will be carrying her once she’s a little bigger (I just use the front carrier for now) though of course both are adjustable to me.

He found the straps to be comfortable and the features were nearly identical. Kaya seemed to equally like both. At 3.5 months she was a bit young to be in one (and the straps on the Osprey couldn’t tighten enough for her I suppose, but she definitely wasn’t going to fall out) but she really likes to be upright so she’s gotten strong pretty young.

The deciding factor was what the REI guy told us about customer support for Osprey and how he’s had his gear repaired years down the road with their lifetime guarantee. 

Alex also really liked that it has more storage (there’s never enough storage in his book) and I liked the mesh backing since I love that feature in my hiking backpack and know Alex gets hot easily (the more comfortable he is the less carrying I’ll have to do most likely). 

The price was about the same on both of them because the weather cover is sold separately on the Deuter. 

So we got the Osprey, were thrilled by not having to pay taxes (we bought it on our Portland trip) and have been so happy with it so far on Orcas and Ocean Shores so far).