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THE FIRST TÜV CERTIFIED CHILD CARRIER

THE FIRST TÜV CERTIFIED CHILD CARRIER

  
1996: THE BEGINNING 

1996 was the year the deuter child carrier first saw the light of day. By then, it had already been in development for a few years. As is often the case with our products, the deuter child carrier was developed to fulfil the outdoor needs of our employees and was based on their own experiences. The aim was to create a child carrier that in addition to being comfortable – both for the child and the parent – was as safe as possible for their little adventurers. At the time, there was ample room for improvement in both safety and comfort within the market. 

DOWN TO WORK...

It was an opportunity that both Bernd Kullmann, deuter Product Manager at the time, and his climbing partner and TÜV expert Volker Kron seized. Together, the two alpinists and family men worked on some of the key elements that would improve the safety of child carriers. This involved them examining all aspects of child carriers. 

SAFETY THE NUMBER 1 PRIORITY

Bernd and Volker developed a plastic hinge for the carrier stand, and equipped it with a safety spacer, to protect children’s little fingers. The built-in safety belt was a particularly important development the two men came up with. It prevents children from slipping out of the cockpit. The two mountaineers then made sure that the back system would fit both Mum and Dad by using the VariQuick adjustable back length system. The VariQuick system was developed a few years earlier for the deuter trekking backpacks and is still a mainstay of numerous products today. 

TÜV Certification: Bernd and Volker formulated the safety guidelines for the child carrier and carried out a harmful substances test and load capacity test. It passed with flying colors. And with that, deuter launched the world’s first safety tested and approved child carrier onto the market. The criteria developed by Bernd and Volker still form the basis of TÜV standards to this day. 

VALUABLE INPUT FROM AN INDEPENDENT EXPERT

In 2014, deuter asked pediatric surgeon Dr. Micha Bahr to evaluate the child carrier. Not a hard task for Dr. Bahr, seeing as his family had been using it for several years already. “We found we used the carrier more often than a push chair”, explains Micha Bahr, who goes on to say: “The gentle rocking movement reminds children of their time in the womb which relaxes them.” 

OUR INDEPENDENT ADVISOR’S ASSESSMENT OF THE CHILD CARRIER

PROMOTES HEALTHY CHILD DEVELOPMENT

Neuroscience studies have shown that the three-dimensional weighted movement of walking stimulates equilibrium in babies and toddlers. “It is an important part of their development. Outdoors, children’s interests are channeled in the right direction from an early age. Away from screens and towards nature,” says Dr. Bahr. 

OUR WORK IS NEVER DONE

After numerous outings with the carrier, the pediatric surgeon had a solid impression of it: “The deuter back system is very ergonomic and therefore very comfortable for the adult carrying it. The cockpit is also comfortable for the child to sit in and offers very good safety. In particular, the child’s seat, 5-point safety harness, and entry and exit methods are the best and safest currently available on the market.” But there was still room for improvement. 

WHY THE FOOT LOOPS?

Dr. Bahr gave us very useful advice from his own experiences with the carrier. The pediatric surgeon collaborated in the design of our height-adjustable foot loops for the child carrier, with the aim of maintaining good circulation in children’s legs. Better circulation helps children’s legs stay warm for longer and prevents them getting pins and needles. Having mobile foot loops also encourages children to play and kick about with their feet, encouraging better blood flow. Using this mobile design of foot loop also meant we could solve an important safety issue: Children were unable to stand up in the new foot loops or cause the carrier to tilt – with potentially dangerous consequences. 

HEIGHT-ADJUSTABLE SEAT

But that was not all. The seat is now easily raised or lowered – and the seat itself becomes wider, the higher it is raised. This ensures that it adapts to the growth of the child and encourages a healthy, upright sitting position. The ergonomic chin pad, side wings that can be cinched in, and the back panel of the cockpit including head rest, provide all-round support for the child.