Back in my retail days I sold a lot of Kelty kids carriers. It was an easy sale. Kelty makes good products. People want to take their kids out into the out of doors. Sold. They offered a couple of different models back then. The difference was the amount of adjustability in the frame or lack there of and compartments for diapers. People would come in and put their child in the carrier to test it out. More often than not the child would spit up or drool all over it while in the carrier, the parents would feel bad for making a mess of something they hadn't bought yet and buy it.
Things have changed slightly since then. I now find myself with an eleven month old and a top of the line Kelty FC 3.0. Kelty has completely redesigned their kid carriers. They're more comfortable for the carrier, the child and the list of additional features is better than ever.
Kelty is pretty smart about how they've designed the FC line of child carriers. All the safety features and the system that is used to carry the child is the same through out the line. The auto-deploy kickstand (extremely cool), five-point adjustable child's harness and no pinch hinges are just a few of the safety features that you'll find on all the child carriers. This way, as a parent, you don't have to feel like your sacrificing your child's safety to save a couple of bucks. All the extra money you spend will only add features that will benefit you the carrier of the child.
I decided to go with the FC 3.0 for a couple of reasons. The padding on the shoulder straps and hip belt is their laminated padding. It's made of a denser foam and feels less 'squishy'. After a short 3 mile hike to test things out I'm very glad I went with the nicer laminated material over the padding they use on the FC 2.0 and FC 1.0. It felt like it breathed rather well and made the short jaunt with a 20 pound eleven month old very comfortable.
The sliding waist belt torso-length adjustment is super easy to find and adjust. Just pull down the middle part of the hip belt and you'll find pin that you pull out and then slide it up and down. This is super convenient for my wife and I. This way we can both have a custom fit that fits great for both of us.
The FC 3.0 has plenty of room to store everything you could possibly need while on the trail with your little one with storage on the back and below their feet. It also includes a nice little changing pad and a sun shade. The sun shade can be bought separately and added to any of the child carriers but it's included on the FC 3.0. I wasn't sure how well the sun shade would be received by my passenger but he didn't seem to mind it at all and it kept the hair pulling to a minimum.
Between all the safety and comfort features that the FC 3.0 has for your child and the support and comfort features for you the carrier, plus all the nice add-ons. I feel very confident in saying that if you're looking for a child carrier, I highly recommend the Kelty FC 3.0.
Check out the video from Kelty about the FC 3.0 and check out these fine retailers if you're thinking about making a purchase.