Kelty child carrier

Southeast Asia is an extremely kid-friendly zone of the world to travel through, so you may as well pack your munchkin with you on your trip. And if you do so, you're probably on the hunt for a child carrier that will last the distance on the road with you.

Now you can spend a lot or a little on a child carrier, but this is one item for which you're probably going to get precisely what you pay for. The Kelty FC 3.0 Child Carrier is one of the top-of-the-range child carriers, and with good reason.

It's completely adjustable and its reviews on Amazon give high compliments for it being easily and quickly switched between adults of different sizes, as well as for simply readjusting to allow different sized kids to get in.

The carrier weighs 3.6 kg to begin with, and can squeeze in a maximum load of 22.6 kg. One reviewer bought it for her 7 month old but carried their 4 year old in it too. This particular Kelty also gets points for getting kids to go to sleep in it!

There's a mirror included -- scoff you might, but one reviewer notes: "The mirror came in handy on several occasions, which was surprising given how stupid it looks."

An excellent inclusion for Southeast Asia travellers is the sun/rain hood -- you're pretty much always going to have one or the other to contend with when you're on the road in the region.

There's also loops to attach toys, a changemat included, and a zip-off diaper bag that could of course also be used for storing your own odds and ends in if you don't want to carry a day pack.

One reviewer did say they had trouble with the harness staying put, while there was also a complaint about a lack of storage space within easy reach of the carrier -- too much space can only be reached by having a second adult helping out, was the opinion of that user.

But overall, the reviews for this carrier are highly positive. Now, if they could just included something that would make kids happy to stay in it without actually being carried anywhere...

Where to buy

Altrec ship to US addresses only, in three colours and priced at just over US$200 while Amazon.com has it for $199.99 - $209.95

In the UK, Amazon UK have the Littlelife Traveller S2 Carrier for around the £80 mark.