Our review of the Osprey Poco Premium child carrier backpack

We love to travel the world and decided when Jeanne became pregnant that we wouldn’t let having a baby keep us from adventure. What’s more, we wanted our child to participate in our lifestyle and have an appreciation for seeing the world.

We knew we’d need a child carrier backpack that would fit those needs. After reading reviews and heading to our local REI, we picked the Osprey Poco Premium child carrier for several reasons:

• Osprey is a brand we trust. Our day backpacks for hiking in Nepal are Osprey and are light, strong and comfortable. 
• The child carrier adjusted in all of the same ways as a regular backpack, meaning we could use it in the same manner (for long hikes, climbs).
• The Osprey Poco Premium has a storage area below the child’s seat that collapses down when not used.
• It has a detachable backpack that makes an excellent daypack for a second adult or, later, a backpack for a child.
• The build-in sun shade is always available, fast and easy to pull out and use.
• The rain cover is likewise easy to put on and very protective against wind and rain.
• Passengers have a soft pad in front of their face that prevents injuries during movement and provides a great pillow for sleeping.
• It comes with a changing pad.

We also purchased the separately-sold rain cover and used it at Machu Picchu where the jungle trail could have poked and scratched the baby and where the rain was just enough to need a cover. It worked extremely well and was easy to remove and stow when we didn’t need it.

We’ve already used the Osprey Poco Premium child carrier for day hikes in Los Angeles and to get around cities like Cusco, Peru. The crowds that see our daughter perched on my back always smile and remark that she looks like she’s really enjoying herself (when she’s away, that is). We would recommend this product to anyone considering an active lifestyle and would also recommend they go with Premium rather than the base model (which doesn’t adjust) or the Plus as those models don’t have the key ingredients that give us freedom (sun shade, changing pad and day pack).

We strongly recommend the purchase of the rain cover which is also a wind cover, and the carrying case, which allows the backpack to be stowed for airline travel or even to carry around in the car without straps falling everywhere.