Baby Backpacks ROCK!

I will give a little back story to this entry...

Elaine, my mother-in-law is a blue ribbon, wicked awesome garage sale warrior. She has found SO many great deals on really good baby stuff. When Andy and I mentioned to her we wanted to get a baby back pack...she found one last summer. I think she paid maybe $5-$10. We were so happy. It has been sitting around our house waiting for the day Aven was big enough to hold her head up and be carried around in it. The day came about a month ago and I couldn't resist taking a pic of her in the mirror!


She was so excited to be upright and seeing the world from a new vantage point. I had set her in it with out tightening down the leg straps, because I didn't know how she would like it initially and how fast I would need to get her out if she hated it. So after I discovered she was good to go, I pulled on the webbing for the leg harness...and it completely disintegrated! I was SO SO sad =(

I knew it was not safe to actually go hiking with her, so I chalked it up to c'est la vie...it was a great garage sale find, but didn't last the duration. =( Then my friend Courtney came to visit! Brilliant brilliant Courtney gave me some great advice. Why not reach out to Kelty backpack's warranty department and see if they would repair it. I thought even if it costs me $35-$40 to repair it, it is cheaper than getting a new one, right? The comparable style is $150.

I went on their web-site and emailed the warranty department and got a response in a couple days. Bad news, they don't repair baby back packs. They said because of the structure of the pack, it is not cost effective to ship. So instead they would straight up warranty it for us!!! A FREE back pack???? What??? Yes sir! I had to cut off the small white tags on the inside of the pack, fill out the RA (return authorization) form, and cut off the adult shoulder straps. In essence destroying the pack. I was nervous doing it, but I couldn't really use it the way it was anyway; so what did I have to lose?

I cut off both straps, tag, and sent the RA request form and in about 2 weeks...our brand new current model FC1.0 pack arrived today -- free shipping!!!!
I am planning on purchasing the sun hood for $35 + shipping; so she won't have to wear a hat if it is sunny. Yeah!

So, when you purchase a Kelty Kids back pack...as tempting as it may be to cut off the little white tags -- DON'T. Also, know you have purchased a great pack from a company that really takes care of their customers and cares about kids =)

I seriously can't wait to go on adventures with Aven, even more than before!
Photos of said adventures to be posted shortly ;-)