Traveling with kids is often a challenging experience, not due to the kids’ fault but because there is a severe lack of infrastructure to make it comfortable. Toddlers and infants need to be strapped into a stroller, but taking strollers on flights is another cumbersome affair.
Apart from this, there are rough roads within the city where the strollers’ wheels refuse to budge; thus, long days, even in a marketplace, become complicated. But all of this does not diminish the immense utility of strollers.
The biggest problem arises when kids have to be transferred from a stroller onto a seat. Or if they wish to be carried by a parent instead. The stroller becomes excess baggage that has to be lugged around for no reason.
The scarcity of compact and easy strollers birthed the invention of backpack strollers. These are a top-notch design revolution. The design enables strollers to be folded into backpacks. They can easily be carried on the shoulders instead of dragging around. This innovation answers many issues, especially on flights and places which charge extra for every piece of luggage accompanying the passenger.
Being a parent is already tough. Strollers and other modern innovations should simplify life, not complicate it. Hence, heavy and expensive strollers that almost give way in rugged terrain are hardly worth the investment.
This is a fledgling industry that has slowly come into focus with its multi-utility backpack strollers that are the perfect answer to many parents’ prayers. However, they have to be selected with care. The wheels, the hood, and every other part of the stroller has to be checked carefully. Plus, even the mechanism for its transformation into a backpack must be considered. A loosely put-together backpack stroller can signal disaster on the first trip.
Making Parenthood Simpler
It is a backpack that comes with a zipper or, in many instances, elbow joints that enable compactness. Within three or four steps, the stroller can be folded into a backpack and carried efficiently by the parent. It helps in saving extra fees at airports where it can pass for a carry-on bag. If it has the facility of a back or side pocket, an additional water bottle or essential knick-knacks can be stored with ease.
Most importantly, it allows the child to travel comfortably and move around when they feel like it. It gives the opportunity of choice to the child and parent, which was not possible back in the day.
This does not mean a blind selection of the most expensive backpack stroller. Instead, it requires a careful scouring of the internet to find the one closest to checking all the boxes on your list. Everything needs to be considered, from build to compactness, detachability, and weight, before choosing a backpack stroller that is supposed to last for a child until they are about five years old. This is a long time and a lasting companionship that demands deep thought.
The backpack stroller can be a lifesaver for parents and children in many situations, and it is keeping those situations in mind that the backpack needs to be chosen. Here is a guide to discerning the right backpack stroller from among the many average ones.
Qualities to Look for in a Backpack stroller
Apart from easily converting from backpack to a stroller, there are certain features you should expect when buying these strollers.
Strong Material of the Backpack Stroller
This is the foremost non-negotiable of the product. The material has to be water-resistant; nylon works very well in this case and has to be a secure carriage for the kid. It also has to be strong enough to brave the other elements. Along with that, the material has to be such that it doesn’t buckle under the kid’s weight. This is meant to last the kid throughout their infancy and toddler days. It should suffice as the only stroller during this entire period.
Compactness
There is not much to be said in defense of an expensive, elaborate stroller except that it looks good. The benefits end here. For the backpack stroller, the benefits begin here and are endless in the face of stress and rush when parents have a time crunch. The backpack also becomes useful when space is a concern. Be it a car, a plane, or a train, there are very few, if any, places where the backpack stroller cannot go. The compactness is what makes its presence universal.
The more efficiently the stroller can be turned into a backpack, the smaller its size upon becoming one, the better it is. The versatility of the backpack stroller in its elaborate and compact forms makes it the number one choice even among strollers.
This is, thus, the first quality parents need to look into. The stroller should become a fraction of itself, capable of being lugged around, and it will already have fulfilled its purpose.
A Lightweight Backpack stroller
Once it has been ascertained that the stroller can become a compact backpack, it becomes essential to see if it is light. The stroller shouldn’t be heavy with all its wheels, screws, and other pieces of metal and plastic. It should not weigh too much on the shoulders and should be easy to carry over long distances. This is another area in which a backpack stroller trumps a conventional stroller.
The Wheels Can Make or Break the Product
The wheels have to match the standards of a conventional stroller. They should be able to brave rugged terrain as well as super smooth areas. The wheels balance the structure and are the real stars of the stroller. With all its advantages, a backpack stroller cannot be worth the money if it does not provide this fundamental resilience and performance.
Quite a few well-designed backpack strollers even come with the option of detaching the wheels and carrying them inside the backpack while traveling to reduce the size of the backpack. This is of great use to protect the wheels and make the stroller’s lugging easier. These are great design ideas that new parents can appreciate.
Baby Harness and Adjustable Shoulder Straps
The child needs to be strapped into the stroller properly. The straps that do so can then transform into shoulder straps for the parent. This is a clever design idea that has to be lauded for its simplicity. The child’s straps can be adjusted and are padded to be comfortable. The shoulder straps will have a similar kind of comfort. The padding will prevent sweat absorption and make for comfortable lugging.
The little belt that keeps the child secure in the stroller seat can very handily be used as a chest strap to distribute the backpack’s weight. It is a great way to ensure that the person carrying the backpack stroller is never bogged down by its weight.
A Back Pocket
It is helpful to have some room for knick-knacks in a general stroller. But this perk becomes very useful when the stroller has to moonlight as a backpack. The all-weather hood on top of the stroller generally comes off and can be pushed into the back pocket. Similarly, a bottle or other odds and ends can be stowed safely in the back pocket while carrying it as a backpack. All these features make it a worthwhile investment.
A Durable Zipper
This is the defining feature of the backpack in the backpack stroller. A good, durable zipper that can withstand rough treatment will make the deal sweeter. The backpack strollers that accommodate wheels within the bag will require excellent zippers that do not give away under pressure. It is good to test the zipper before buying so that it doesn’t become a regular exercise of mending it or using it with the most delicate hands. This will only increase the friction to the backpack stroller; one would not even want to fold it up if locking things in was so complicated.
Backpack strollers are a burgeoning trend that is here to stay. Infants and toddlers should not be made to stay home or rarely travel because of the handicap of ineffective strollers. Both parents and children can enjoy time together with this innovation and make happy memories. The initial reluctance about a two-in-one backpack stems from the misconception that these are not very sturdy. With this guide, it is time to let go of this notion and step into the 21st century with confidence and panache.
Conclusion
It is time to adopt things that make life easier, and the stroller backpack should be at the top of that list. The era when parents had to put life on hold until their child turned five or more has long passed. Every moment is worth living, and the backpack stroller comprehends that completely. It adds no burden to the parents’ life; instead works to ease all of them. It provides the same safety, security, and comfort as an ordinary stroller. But with the addition that it does not ignore the parents’ comfort. These make sense for every parent because they are not outrageously expensive and provide additional utility for families.