Where can I find a back-mounted human carrier?

June 9, 2010 12:19 PM

Looking for a backpack-style human carrier. Like a child carrier, but for 150+ pounds. Does anything like that exist?

My wife is pregnant with twins, and is finding walking difficult. I am large, and have no difficulty carrying her around, but I'd like to make her more comfortable than in my arms or on my shoulders. I'm thinking of some kind of one-man palanquin would be awesome...like a kid carrier for hiking, but for adults. Does anyone make those?

posted by halespawn to Sports, Hobbies, & Recreation (13 answers total)

It occurs to me that when one full-grown adult wants to help another full-grown adult who cannot walk with transportation, they typically use a wheelchair rather than some kind of carrier device. Would that work?
posted by mhum at 12:29 PM on June 9, 2010 [22 favorites]

Seems like the pregnant belly wouldn't be comfortable pressed against your back....unless she were backwards?
posted by nitsuj at 12:31 PM on June 9, 2010 [1 favorite]

This seems like a terrible idea. Isn't something like that going to apply a lot of pressure to her belly? Also, if you fall, she's screwed.
posted by Cat Pie Hurts at 12:32 PM on June 9, 2010 [2 favorites]

Seconding wheelchair. What you're proposing sounds slightly dangerous.
posted by King Bee at 12:33 PM on June 9, 2010

It's good that you're able to carry her around if an emergency arose.. better not to wear yourself out for regular stuff. I'm having trouble imagining something that would make her comfortable without pressing on her belly and without putting additional strain on you.
posted by amethysts at 12:38 PM on June 9, 2010

You can rent a wheelchair. Please do not stuff your pregnant wife in an adult-size babybjorn.
posted by crankylex at 12:38 PM on June 9, 2010 [23 favorites]

Best answer: It may seem awesome, but it is likely that carrying her like that is going to cause unnecessary stress on her already by-its-nature high risk pregnancy. If you are looking for a way to get her around that necessarily highlights your strength and willingness, you could consider a rickshaw.

Also, if you're handy, rickshaw is extra good, because once the twins are born, your wife is going to be beat for a long while, and you might be able to modify it to take her around places, and your new babies too.
posted by juniperesque at 12:39 PM on June 9, 2010 [4 favorites]

Unless I'm misunderstanding what it is you're planning, this sounds like an absurd and dangerous idea. Wheelchair is the way to go - unless your doctor can suggest something else....
posted by blaneyphoto at 1:20 PM on June 9, 2010

Ha. Ask your wife how she feels about being seen in public in a rickshaw...
posted by runningwithscissors at 1:28 PM on June 9, 2010 [3 favorites]

As a woman who was on bedrest for two pregnancies I can say that getting out of the house at all is a good thing. I was happy to roll around the mall on one of those motorized scooters for older people. If my hubby had made me a rickshaw I'd feel like an exotic queen, but being carried in a backpack would have been humiliating and uncomfortable.
posted by TooFewShoes at 2:37 PM on June 9, 2010

The Bath Chair.
posted by cromagnon at 4:57 PM on June 9, 2010

Instead of a rickshaw, you could consider a general-purpose cargo bike, such as a bakfiets (box bike). It would of course come in very handy for transporting twins.
posted by parudox at 6:44 PM on June 9, 2010

You can often get a very reasonably-priced wheelchair at a high-end thrift store. In my area, that's the thrift store operated by the hospice: people donate a lot of very nice stuff to the hospice because they do good work. There's probably a similar store in your area, one that has a lot of quite nice items for sale because their organization does good work and people want to support them.
posted by galadriel at 7:35 PM on June 9, 2010