Toddler Kinderpack. I'm a babywearing educator and have tried probably 40 or 50 brands of carriers. This one blows away anything else, for me. Very popular toddler choice.

OP here. Thank you for these suggestions! Had never heard of most of them, besides the ergo. Now I feel like I have more info to go on. Thank you!

Anonymous wrote:We have and love the boba - the longer body is a much better fit on a toddler, or at least on our toddler. He hikes for a while, then rides the "horsie" when he gets tired.

http://piggybackrider.com/

I was looking at this, also - might work better for a 3.5 y.o. Looks like fun!

omg, that thing looks AWESOME!!! can you use it for long walks/hikes? there's no way to allow for the kid to sit with this though, is there. I have a Boba carrier as well and I love it, but for hikes we use one of those frame backpack style carriers so my daughter isn't riding right on my back -- it's comfy, but it's bulky. how does your kiddo do in the piggy back rider over long distances?

We also have the Boba - the 3G. It has removable foot straps so that long legs don't dangle. We've used it for both long and short hikes, and I find it to be more comfortable than the framed hiking pack that we have (snugli, which is also very useful, but puts more weight on your shoulders whereas the Boba rests weight on hips).

The con I see with the Boba is that kids may feel a little less independent when riding in it vs the frame carrier. They are basically riding piggy back style, and so it is more difficult for them to look behind or have free arm movement.

Anonymous wrote:You can use something like the ergo.

We have the Deuter Kid Comfort II Child Carrier that is great as it distributes the weight more so you are carrying a lot more with your hips, but that may be more carrier than you are looking for. We used it for 3-4 hour hikes.

forgot to add that my son loves bing in this carrier because he is high up in it and can see everything around him.

You can use something like the ergo.

We have the Deuter Kid Comfort II Child Carrier that is great as it distributes the weight more so you are carrying a lot more with your hips, but that may be more carrier than you are looking for. We used it for 3-4 hour hikes.

We have and love the boba - the longer body is a much better fit on a toddler, or at least on our toddler. He hikes for a while, then rides the "horsie" when he gets tired.

http://piggybackrider.com/

I was looking at this, also - might work better for a 3.5 y.o. Looks like fun!

My 18m, 34 pound, 33 inches Big guy is still fine in the ergo. I'd actually worry about using a "real" hiking carrier - adding the weight of the carrier onto my already heavy guy!

We like the Boba. It's also a soft structured carrier, but has removable footrests which are perfect for tall toddlers and preschoolers. We have the 2G, the 3G was released recently. You can probably find the 2G still, unless you'd prefer the latest model.

PP here: I was focusing on weight and didn't think about the fact that your older toddler may be quite a bit taller than my guy (whose height I can't remember. If your kid is pretty tall, it might be a weird fit.

My 14 month old is 25 lbs+ (haven't weighed him in a while and he's grown out of some clothes since our last weighing) and he fits just fine in the ergo. I carry him in it for a 20 minute walk home from daycare.

We have a 29 lb 3.5 year old and we are looking for a carrier for short hikes. Does anyone have any recommendations? So far the reviews I have seen are mostly for babies, so any words of advice would be helpful.

Thank you!