The perfect carrier for hikes less than 3 hours.

My daughter was about to turn five, and I loved going on walks in the mall and in the woods with her, but the problem was that when I went for a walk in the woods I would often go up and down inclines that made it difficult to carry her in the baby bjorn, which rested on my chest. I knew I had to get an alternative.

A few days later my mother invited me to go on a walk in the woods near her house. I forgot to research the backpack options so on the way I stopped at Toys-R-us just to see if they had a backpack that looked good (yes I know that is almost blasphemy for an epinions.com user). Luckily I liked the looks of the evenflo cross country and on the spot decided to buy it.

So there is the build up and here's the review.

SAFETY: A-
Whatever you are thinking of getting, when it comes to your child safety must be of the utmost importance. I am please to say that the cross country does a very nice job in the safety department. The cross country works by situating your child in a cacoon like area, the legs stick out and the area from the upper chest also stick out. The cross country also has four tension/safety straps to hold your baby in the backpack and to make it a snug fit. The straps are really just two that are interconnected but they tighten at four areas.

The main one is the shoulder straps, these are crossed in front of the chest of your child and are padded ontop for comfort, these snap shut with connecters behind the child for a proper fit. These two straps are also linked to straps that run along the hip of the child. These also snap shut with connecters on the rear side of the backpack, now once connected the hip strap also tensions the shoulder straps, but it is easy to do and very easy to make sure the fit is snug but not too tight. The straps also pull the rear portion of the backpack forward making sure the fit of the child in the "cacoon" section is also snug and secure.

Now the manual and evenflo.com says that the weight limit is 40 pounds but I find that my daughter (who is now 8 months and about 22-23 pnds, and also is about 27 inches long) fits a little too snug in it, not because of her normal size but if I am bundling her up in a very thick outfit to put her in, it makes it a little tight. One other thing that I don't like is that the frame of the pack sticks up just a tad on either side right behind your shoulders, they aren't exposed but covered by canvas, but if you bounce or something like that I think there could be the danger of your child bonking his/her head, they aren't sharp or even pointed so not poking out of the eyes, but the fear is there.

COMFORT: A+
Comfort in a backpack is important not only to the child but also to the parent who is going to put on the backpack. The only time my daughter seems to not enjoy the backpack is when she is super tired and doesn't like to sit in the pack while i tighten and adjust the straps, but when she is riding in it she is all smiles and has the freedom to kick her legs and wiggle her arms while being snug in the pack.

For myself I enjoy the ample padding in the arm straps and the back support. The cross country offers 3 levels of back support height for the different sizes of people who might use it, you can adjust it easily, attached to the backsupport are the standard locking strap that goes accross your stomach, thus providing the back support. The shoulder straps offer enough padding to be comfortable and spaced wide enough that a big guy like me has arm movement while the straps are also spaced close enough for my wife. Everyone that has tried the cross country enjoys the fit of it and only complains that the additional weight it hard, not that the backpack hurts any part of them. Oh it also has a strap connecting the shoulder straps to put more weight on the chest area and less on the back.

EASE OF USE: A-
Now the cross country has some really thought out features, but it also has certain things that don't seem very well thought out. The safety strap system works very well, and the straps for carrying the pack also work very well, all of these are easy to use and adjust. The baby fits very well and the kick stand lets you put the baby in easily and adjust her while the pack is sitting on the floor. The kick stand is also long enough to provide a real stable support.

Now what doesn't seem very easy is putting on the backpack, if your alone it will take a bit of finess to get it on when the baby in it, but I think this is a problem with most backpacks, just be sure that the straps are good and snug so if the back shifts suddenly to the right or left it'll hold the child in while putting it on.

Another thing is the pockets, the pack has one medium sized zipper pocked in the lower back of it that is deeper than you might think, this is good for some diapers, maybe some clothes and some wipes but not much else, the only other storage area is a mesh area that is only really good for maybe a water bottle but I find only a burp rag is good there.

I wish that they had made the pack better suited for longer trips, the design is sufficient for longer trips but the storage isn't, I guess I could strap on a sleeping back to the back of it but not much more. If my wife and I go on a overnight hike we'll have to look for a different pack or try to maybe put the tent and a sleeping bag on the back of this one, regardless my wife will have to carry a good deal on her back.

DURABILITY: A+
I've had the pack for almost six months and nothing has gone wrong with it, I have heard that a bolt fell off someone elses pack but that the manufacturer fixed it, nothing has come off of ours and we are very happy with it.

LOOKS: A+
What is cool about this pack and what makes it so great is that it has a very slim cross section, meaning it doesn't stick out way behind yout but is designed to carry the child form fitted to your back. This makes it almost look like a frameless pack.

PRICE: A
We bought ours for $65 at toys-r-us, it fit all of our needs and the only reason I am looking for another pack now is that it is a little big for the mall, but I think with its slim cross section it might be ok for that if you don't care about it looking a little big for the situation. I consider this a "Medium" sized pack, definently more than you'll need for a mall stroll but not enough for major hikes, perfect for the 1-3 hour hikes through a park area.

CONCLUSION
I really do like the cross country, I am looking at the younger brother, the Cross country Internal frame which is sorta the compact model. I would recommend it for anyone that wants a good pack for the short hike, it would also be perfect for long walks. Just be aware that it won't work for hikes more than a couple hours only because you can't store much in it.