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Pacific Outdoor Equipment Kid's
Mini Chair Long Term Report
| Personal
biographical information: |
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Primary Tester
Name: Julia Leyva
Age: 41/2
Gender: Female
Height: 41.5 "/ 105 cm
Weight: 32.5 lb/14.7 kg
Email address: not old enough to have one yet!
Location: San Gabriel, CA
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Secondary
Tester & Report Writer
Name: Sonjia Leyva
Age: 39
Gender: Female
Height: 5' 7"/ 1.7 m
Weight: 190 lb/86 kg
Email address: leyva_sm
AT yahoo DOT com
Location: San Gabriel, CA
Date: December 12, 2006
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Julia
in the P.O.E. Kid's Mini Chair, Eaton Canyon Trail, Eaton Canyon,
Pasadena, California
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Backpacking background: Twenty years plus of hiking and camping
primarily in Southern California, although I've been know to venture
to the Sierras, the Central Coast, Oregon and Washington. I'm relatively
new to backpacking - I started about 5 years ago, then took some time
off after I had my daughter. I really don't have a particular "style";
I do try to keep the weight down to as low as I can, but I'm definitely
not in the ultralight category! Currently, my biggest issue is trying
to figure out how to backpack with a 4 year-old daughter and 11 month-old
son. Julia is currently in preschool and has been "hiking"
- mostly with mommy - since she was 5 months old. Julia has participated
in one BackpackGearTest series: the Yakima
Grasshopper Child Carrier.
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| Product
information: |
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Manufacturer:
Pacific
Outdoor Equipment - 521 East Peach,
Unit 4, Bozeman, Montana 59715 USA
Tel: 406-586-5258 Fax: 406-586-5276
Year of Manufacture: 2006?
URL: http://www.pacoutdoor.com
E-mail:
support@pacoutdoor.com.
Listed weight: 18 oz. / 515 g.
Weight as delivered: 17.25 oz / 489 g
MSRP: $15.00 USD
Available Colors: Forest / Royal / Red
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| Field
Test Locations and Conditions: |
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Testing of the P.O.E.
Kid's Mini Chair took place primarily in Southern California (at home
in the San Gabriel Valley, a handful of beach trips in Los Angeles and
Ventura Counties, one trip to the foothills of the San Gabriel Mountains),
and Salem, Oregon, during the months of August through November, 2006.
Please see my Field
Report for a detailed description of the field tests and conditions.
Recent testing has been conducted in locations close to home: Eaton Canyon,
Millard Canyon, and the backyard.
This summer brought
longer than normal periods of high "heat wave" temperatures
(+110° F / +43° C). Our weather continued to be warm to hot, sunny
and cloudless into November, which is unusual. The past few weeks we have
seen a dramatic shift to cool days (60 - 70° F / 15 - 21° C )
and cold nights (28 - 35° F / -2 - 1° C). Lately we've had so
much frost on the ground that it looks like snow (not to mention, killed
the grass).
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Findings:
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I
am quite impressed by this chair. It is quite durable, surviving several
outings and frequent use at home with very little wear and tear. When the
P.O.E. chair arrived there was a small separation in the seam at the top
of the chair. The seam has not separated any further since then, which is
a nice surprise. Julia has enjoyed using the chair as well. Whenever we
go out on a day hike she insists on bringing the chair "so I can rest
my tooshie when I'm tired". It is a bit too small for her to use as
a sleeping pad, alas, but is just the right size for her baby brother to
use. Benjamin, however, prefers teething on the straps of the chair to anything
else. He has produced 5 teeth in the last few months, and the straps of
the P.O.E. Kid's Mini Chair has been there to help him through it and has
survived unscathed. My only complaint is a minor one. The chair is a bit
bulky and takes up a lot of room in my daypack (Mountainsmith
Relay). If I had the ability to strap the chair to the outside of
the pack, this would not only enable me to access it more quickly, but also
to have more room in my daypack for other things. In addition, I have had
to leave the chair at home when I'm the only adult taking the two dirt urchins
on a day hike. Ben rides in Julia's old Yakima
Grasshopper Child Carrier and I have found it difficult to attach
the chair to the carrier, and it will not fit inside the carrier's backpack.
This is not the fault of P.O.E., as they cannot design their products to
work with everything. Overall, Julia and I are quite happy with her
Pacific Outdoor Equipment Kid's Chair.
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Likes:
- Color
- Ease of use
- Durability
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Dislikes
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| Thank
you to BackpackGear Test and Pacific Outdoor Equipment for the opportunity
to test the Pacific Outdoor Equipment Kid's Chair! |
Read more reviews of Pacific Outdoor Equipment gear
Read more gear reviews by Sonjia Leyva
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