diff --git a/CHANGELOG.md b/CHANGELOG.md
index 931b605d7..c138ba5de 100644
--- a/CHANGELOG.md
+++ b/CHANGELOG.md
@@ -1,5 +1,9 @@
 # changelog
 
+### unreleased
+
+* Add DatastorePath helper
+
 ### 0.12.0 (2016-12-01)
 
 * Disable use of service ticket for datastore HTTP access by default
diff --git a/object/datastore.go b/object/datastore.go
index 4daa6ca7b..fc696cdf2 100644
--- a/object/datastore.go
+++ b/object/datastore.go
@@ -69,12 +69,10 @@ func NewDatastore(c *vim25.Client, ref types.ManagedObjectReference) *Datastore
 }
 
 func (d Datastore) Path(path string) string {
-	name := d.Name()
-	if name == "" {
-		panic("expected non-empty name")
-	}
-
-	return fmt.Sprintf("[%s] %s", name, path)
+	return (&DatastorePath{
+		Datastore: d.Name(),
+		Path:      path,
+	}).String()
 }
 
 // NewURL constructs a url.URL with the given file path for datastore access over HTTP.
diff --git a/object/datastore_path.go b/object/datastore_path.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ea152103d
--- /dev/null
+++ b/object/datastore_path.go
@@ -0,0 +1,65 @@
+/*
+Copyright (c) 2016 VMware, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package object
+
+import (
+	"fmt"
+	"strings"
+)
+
+// DatastorePath contains the components of a datastore path.
+type DatastorePath struct {
+	Datastore string
+	Path      string
+}
+
+// FromString parses a datastore path.
+// Returns true if the path could be parsed, false otherwise.
+func (p *DatastorePath) FromString(s string) bool {
+	if len(s) == 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	s = strings.TrimSpace(s)
+
+	if !strings.HasPrefix(s, "[") {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	s = s[1:]
+
+	ix := strings.Index(s, "]")
+	if ix < 0 {
+		return false
+	}
+
+	p.Datastore = s[:ix]
+	p.Path = strings.TrimSpace(s[ix+1:])
+
+	return true
+}
+
+// String formats a datastore path.
+func (p *DatastorePath) String() string {
+	s := fmt.Sprintf("[%s]", p.Datastore)
+
+	if p.Path == "" {
+		return s
+	}
+
+	return strings.Join([]string{s, p.Path}, " ")
+}
diff --git a/object/datastore_path_test.go b/object/datastore_path_test.go
new file mode 100644
index 000000000..ba85f74b2
--- /dev/null
+++ b/object/datastore_path_test.go
@@ -0,0 +1,76 @@
+/*
+Copyright (c) 2016 VMware, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
+
+Licensed under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the "License");
+you may not use this file except in compliance with the License.
+You may obtain a copy of the License at
+
+    http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+
+Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing, software
+distributed under the License is distributed on an "AS IS" BASIS,
+WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY KIND, either express or implied.
+See the License for the specific language governing permissions and
+limitations under the License.
+*/
+
+package object
+
+import "testing"
+
+func TestParseDatastorePath(t *testing.T) {
+	tests := []struct {
+		dsPath string
+		dsFile string
+		fail   bool
+	}{
+		{"", "", true},
+		{"x", "", true},
+		{"[", "", true},
+		{"[nope", "", true},
+		{"[te st]", "", false},
+		{"[te st] foo", "foo", false},
+		{"[te st] foo/foo.vmx", "foo/foo.vmx", false},
+		{"[te st]foo bar/foo bar.vmx", "foo bar/foo bar.vmx", false},
+		{" [te st]     bar/bar.vmx  ", "bar/bar.vmx", false},
+	}
+
+	for _, test := range tests {
+		p := new(DatastorePath)
+		ok := p.FromString(test.dsPath)
+
+		if test.fail {
+			if ok {
+				t.Errorf("expected error for: %s", test.dsPath)
+			}
+		} else {
+			if !ok {
+				t.Errorf("failed to parse: %q", test.dsPath)
+			} else {
+				if test.dsFile != p.Path {
+					t.Errorf("dsFile=%s", p.Path)
+				}
+				if p.Datastore != "te st" {
+					t.Errorf("ds=%s", p.Datastore)
+				}
+			}
+		}
+	}
+
+	s := "[datastore1] foo/bar.vmdk"
+	p := new(DatastorePath)
+	ok := p.FromString(s)
+	if !ok {
+		t.Fatal(s)
+	}
+
+	if p.String() != s {
+		t.Fatal(p.String())
+	}
+
+	p.Path = ""
+
+	if p.String() != "[datastore1]" {
+		t.Fatal(p.String())
+	}
+}
diff --git a/object/virtual_device_list.go b/object/virtual_device_list.go
index e81ca4e67..24821aa6b 100644
--- a/object/virtual_device_list.go
+++ b/object/virtual_device_list.go
@@ -460,12 +460,14 @@ func (l VirtualDeviceList) CreateDisk(c types.BaseVirtualController, ds types.Ma
 func (l VirtualDeviceList) ChildDisk(parent *types.VirtualDisk) *types.VirtualDisk {
 	disk := *parent
 	backing := disk.Backing.(*types.VirtualDiskFlatVer2BackingInfo)
-	ds := strings.SplitN(backing.FileName[1:], "]", 2)
+	p := new(DatastorePath)
+	p.FromString(backing.FileName)
+	p.Path = ""
 
 	// Use specified disk as parent backing to a new disk.
 	disk.Backing = &types.VirtualDiskFlatVer2BackingInfo{
 		VirtualDeviceFileBackingInfo: types.VirtualDeviceFileBackingInfo{
-			FileName:  fmt.Sprintf("[%s]", ds[0]),
+			FileName:  p.String(),
 			Datastore: backing.Datastore,
 		},
 		Parent:          backing,
diff --git a/object/virtual_device_list_test.go b/object/virtual_device_list_test.go
index 4d893601b..23bc7da6b 100644
--- a/object/virtual_device_list_test.go
+++ b/object/virtual_device_list_test.go
@@ -851,3 +851,23 @@ func TestName(t *testing.T) {
 		}
 	}
 }
+
+func TestChildDisk(t *testing.T) {
+	disks := devices.SelectByType((*types.VirtualDisk)(nil))
+
+	for _, disk := range disks {
+		child := disks.ChildDisk(disk.(*types.VirtualDisk))
+		name := child.Backing.(*types.VirtualDiskFlatVer2BackingInfo).VirtualDeviceFileBackingInfo.FileName
+
+		p := new(DatastorePath)
+		p.FromString(name)
+
+		if p.Datastore != "datastore1" {
+			t.Fatal(p.Datastore)
+		}
+
+		if p.Path != "" {
+			t.Fatal(p.Path)
+		}
+	}
+}