Tatonka Goes Babe Crazy!

A bit of new kit from German pack brand Tatonka as well - they've always offered a good compromise between price and quality and the latest stuff looks good as well.

Top of the list is the TuV -approved Baby Carrier. The TuV is the German safety standards institution and is renowned for its high standards, so that's a pretty serious accolade, particularly given that the European safety standards for child carriers aren't yet mandatory.

TuV means that there are no sharp edges, no open ends that could cause injury, no potential crush points where things fold - pivots, for example, are offset - and a positive stand action, so when the carrier is being used as a stand, it stays stood.

The whole caboodle has to be stable to 12 degrees of lean as well and all materials used are child safe with non-toxic fabrics and so on. The carrier is well looked after too with a proper, fully adjustable harness and the whole package, complete with weather protector, sun protector and a neck support for the sprog, comes in at £119.

If the whole baby experience has left you financially challenged, there's also the 'Kid Carrier' which uses the same five-point harness to stop the little ones from escaping and throttling the ducks for £0. Or comes with weather protector, sun protector and a neck support for £79.95.

Both include a small cuddly toy - come on other manufacturers, where are our stuffed cows?

The other big Tatonka development is a range of women's specific 'hiking' packs aimed at erm, women. There's a real shortage of good women specific packs in UK shops - only a couple of Lowe Alpine's Nanda Devi models are available in the UK - so it's a welcome development.

The range get different shoulder straps with a more exagerated curve to clear breasts, narrower shoulder yokes, slightly softer foam plus the lining fabric is rolled to avoid sharp seams against the neck or inside of the arms.

There are four packs in the range from the 25-litre Emotion through to the 45 and 55-litre Luna weekend packing sacs which have an adjustable back system using flexible fibreglass rods for a smoother carry, it says here.

Of course, women being women, the Luna comes complete with a 'Lady Kit' in the top pocket, which is apparently a 'chic washbag for all the small things'. Hmmm.... S'not fair, we want a Lady Kit as well for our small things.

Last but not least, we were very taken with the Tatonka Duffle. It's another one along the lines of the classic TNF original, but this one has wheels. Nice...