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.
Baby, Baby...
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?
Women's Specific
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...
More information from the
web
site, the rather pleasingly named thebigbagcompany.com...
