When it comes to the origin of outdoor baby backpack carriers, it should still start with the head of large backpacks. In the second half of the 19th century, with the rise of climbing methods and sports in the Alpine region of Europe, climbers carried their equipment and materials to climb mid to high-altitude peaks self-sufficiently. At this time, climbers began to design hiking bags with steel pipe frames and support functions. It was precisely because of the emergence of such bags that climbers could use hiking bags; more convenient to carry more mountaineering materials and equipment, thus climbing higher and more challenging peaks. This movement emerged from the Alpine region of Europe in the early stages and gradually spread to various parts of the world. In the 1950s and 1960s, climbers worldwide began to climb Mount Everest, the world’s highest peak, from multiple perspectives and achieved success. Due to the difficulty and danger of climbing Mount Everest during this period, there were unprecedented technical and design requirements for climbing equipment. The core design of the backpack: the creation of the backpack adjustment system has begun to emerge, and various ergonomic adjustments have occurred. We are familiar with KELTY, OSPREY, Gergory from the United States, and BIGPACK from Europe, all of which have combined ergonomics to launch their metal frame style or backboard style baby backrests, baby backpack carriers, etc. Large-capacity backpacks often begin to improve their carrying system at this time gradually. In the 1980s and 1990s, packs gradually became popular among travelers. In the 1990s, baby backrests began to appear and started to appear in people’s outdoor activities.

Early baby backrests were mainly from Europe. In 2004, the U.K. first established the product standard BS EN 13209-1-2004 for baby backrests; The following year, the European Union incorporated British standards into the E.U.’s executive standards.

Let’s look at the development of standards for frame-style baby backrests in the United States. After the European Union issued the standard for frame-style baby backrests in 2006, the U.S. Standards Committee drafted 10.1520/F2549-14A internally.

The Danny Keysar Child Product Safety Notification Act, section 104 of the Consumer Product Safety Improvement Act of 2008 (CPSIA), requires the United States Consumer Product Safety Commission (Commission or CPSC) to promulgate consumer product safety standards for durable infant or toddler products. These standards are to be “substantially the same as” applicable voluntary standards or more stringent than the voluntary standards if the Commission determines that more stringent requirements would further reduce the risk of injury associated with the products. The Commission is issuing a safety standard for frame baby backpack carriers in response to the direction under section 104(b) of the CPSIA. In addition, the Commission is amending its regulations regarding third-party conformity assessment bodies to include the mandatory standard for frame baby backpack carriers in the list of Notices of Requirements (NOR) issued by the Commission.

The rule will become effective on September 2, 2016. The Director of the Federal Register approves the incorporation by reference to the publication listed in this rule as of September 2, 2016.

The scope of ASTM F2549-14a defines a “frame child carrier” as “a product, normally of sewn fabric construction on a tubular metal or other frame, which is designed to carry a child, in an upright position, on the back of the caregiver.” The intended users of frame carriers are children who can sit upright unassisted and weigh between 16 and 50 pounds. Frame carriers are designed to be worn on the back and suspended from both shoulders of the caregiver’s body in a forward- or rear-facing position. This type of carrier is often used for hiking and resembles hiking/mountaineering backpacks not intended for child transport.

In early 2013, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission surveyed American families of children under six. An exciting survey report (from the U.S. DNPES in 2013) showed that there were 1.28 million families in the United States using baby carriers at that time, and the probability of the actual value between 880000 and 1700000 was 95%. This is ASTM F2549, Standard Consumer Safety Specification for Frame baby backpack carriers, which was first approved and published in December 2006 as ASTM F2549-06 ASTM has revised the volumetric standard six times since then ASTM F2549-14a is the most recent version, which was approved on July 1, 2014

Before promulgating the above standards, the Epidemiology Bureau of the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission found 47 accidents related to framed baby backpack carriers. According to the investigation data report, there were no severe casualties, and only two reports were received. One reported a framed baby backpack carrier falling off a chair with a 14-month-old child on the page. The child sustained a head injury. The second report showed a framed baby backpack carrier with straps and bulks separated, but no entry was mentioned.

In the United States, ASTM F2549-14a, The rule will come effective on September 2, 2016; the standard was finally enforced 18 months later, in May 2017.

So far, the latest product standards used by the European Union and the United States are: EN 13209-1:2022/ASTM F2549-22&16 CFR 1230