Find out why I bought (and then returned!) this carrier.

Consider This . . .

This is Russi Mountain Works' (formerly Madden Mountaineering) sequel to their award winning "Caravan" kid carrier. It appears to offer a lot of bang for the buck, having many features at a price that you would pay more for in other carriers.

Their low weight/many features ratio, their excellent warranty and return policy are what led me to purchase this pack after considering several manufacturers and models. I used it with my 21 month old daughter around the house and then for a week in Costa Rica.

The pack includes a detachable rain/sun hood, stirrups for your child's feet, one built-in generously sized storage compartment that sits on the bottom of the frame, an additional zippered storage pouch on the back of the frame (directly behind the child's back)that is removable and has backpack straps so your child can use it as a backpack, elastic toy loops, "load lifter straps" which when pulled shift the weight of the pack onto the user's upper back, a kickstand, and an "OTF adjustable" suspension system.

The pack is rated to carry up to 70 lbs. and yet weighs only 7 lbs. 2 oz. - that's what I mean by a low weight/many features ratio. Usually the more features and durability you add to a product you increase it's weight - but Russi managed to keep the weight down with all these features.

All of this sounds good, and that's how shopping without seeing goes - you have to judge features and prices. What you can't experience over the internet is how the product is engineered - any design flaws it may have, how well the features actually work, etc. And that's especially relevant with the Russi Rumba pack because they do not have a significant retail distribution network, so your purchase of their pack is likely to be on-line without first seeing it.

In this case, the product did not live up to the marketing behind it. I'll start with the "OTF adjustable" suspension system. They advertise that the pack is adjustable for different torso sizes while the pack is on the user . Although you can't see it in their pictures, this is done by pulling a nylon strap that is connected to a web of nylon straps on the frame that acts sort of like a pulley (be aware that this is not mechanical and is much less sophisticated than the name implies). When you pull the strap the frame length decreases, when the strap is released, it lengthens. There are several major problems with this: 1) nylon straps are "slippery" and under weight they slide quite easily through the plastic buckles that they are woven through. In my case, I pulled the nylon strap to reduce the frame length to fit my torso. But when I put the pack on with my child in it, under weight the strap slipped right back up and the frame lengthened. I tried again and again to keep the strap from slipping, but to no avail. Their is no mechanism to keep the frame locked in the position you want it; 2) The nylon strap that allows you to supposedly adjust the frame length while wearing the pack is tucked away behind the user's back - it is virtually impossible to find the strap unless you are looking in a mirror; 3) If you are someone with a longer torso, the strap would need to be in it's retracted position which lands the piece that you would pull to adjust it directly behind some other material on the frame - it would be impossible to adjust it while wearing it. These flaws, in my Epinion, render the OTF adjustable system and indeed the whole pack useless. Because the nylon strap kept slipping and the frame lengthening, it slowly crept below my hips and after a few hundred feet of walking pushed my pants down. It's really quite an unbelievable flaw.

Secondly, the child's "cockpit" is very deficient. There is a single, very thin piece of fabric that the child sits on like a saddle, with one leg on each side. The front of it has a nylon strap sewn to it which is woven through a plastic buckle that connects to the front of the cockpit. This makes the seat adjustable - to sit the child lower, just let out more strap; to raise the child higher, pull the strap and reduce it's length. The same problem as with the adjustable frame exists here; there is no way to "lock" the position that you want in, and the child eventually sags to the lowest position because the nylon strap slips through the plastic buckle. Further, and more dangerously, there is a "chest plate" that is the center of a five-point harness system to keep the child in. This chest plate does not adjust vertically - it stays at a fixed height. If your child is tall (or as your child inevitably grows) the chest plate will be too low on her. On a short or young child, the chest plate may be at the child's shoulders; on a tall or older child the chest plate could be at their naval! This is important because the chest plate is where the 5 point harness connects, and if it is too low, the shoulder straps become too long and the child could slip out between them (which seemed to be the tendency for my daughter, although she did not actually fall out). Russi needs to fix this serious flaw.

Third, one of the ways I believe they kept the pack's weight low was by skimping on the rain/sun hood. It is a generally small and flimsy hood which has a tendency to get bent out of shape when stored away, and indeed arrives bent out of shape from shipping. The plastic rods that provide the structure (like a teepee has poles that keep it up) do not tend to return to their original shape. Overall it is dissatisfactory. I never received the tuck-away windows that are supposed to be included. Instead I got a note saying that they were out of stock and would be shipped later - but they never arrived so I can't evaluate them.

Fourth, the kickstand does not retract when the pack is in use. It's not the biggest deal since it has a slim profile - but it does make it more awkward.

Finally, their instruction manual lacks depth and pictures. Their office is not very professional - they don't have answers to many questions, and "invent" policies on the fly. For example, when I called to explain after opening the product that I had some reservations about it, but would give it a try on my next vacation, they placed a special call to me about two hours later (obviously after talking about my case) to tell me that the return policy was not good on "used" packs. Their web-site said nothing of the sort, so I quickly printed their web pages for evidence and continued with my trial.

In general, the carrier did seem to live up to their claim that it is made of quality materials including fabric and zippers. Also, their 30 day return policy worked for me, though not without hassle. They have color choices, which I think is unique for kid carriers - no others to my knowledge let you choose your color. And although I didn't get a chance to test it, their warranty that is good as long as the purchaser owns the product beats other kid carrier warranties.

However, these positive points do not, by far, outweigh their embarrassing engineering problems. I urge you to consider other packs.