For the past few years our family has been camping for almost every month out of the year. From very easy trips (like Nanny and Papa’s backyard!) to multiday bikepacking and river trips, our family has tested multiple sleeping bags, tents and more. Lately I have noticed that instead of inspiring families to get outside and do the same, I have heard that it overwhelms them. They feel like they need the perfect gear, a potty trained child or to wait until they are sleeping through the night.
Well, I’m here to tell you this: “You don’t need the best gear to go spend the night outside, and you don’t need your child to be “ready” because guess what.. they ARE MORE ready than they will ever be!” Feel free to disagree with me, but first try it out before you do! Nature, dirt, water, space grounds everyone in the family. And who knows, maybe you will find out that you will get out there and your family sleeps better under the stars after a full day of playing under the canopy of trees. Or, maybe they will sleep just the same or worse, but at least you all are outside! Either way, you won’t know until you try, and after you try, I guarantee that you will learn a few things that you will want to change the next time around.
We are far from experts, because our family is and will forever change and grow, hence our list is always adapting. But, I have put together a one stop general check list. The below list has some links and mentions of my favorite gear for spending a week or weekend outside with the family. For a simple list, please see my personal one here. If it seems like to much gear or too little gear for you, adapt it to your family.
And before you read on, I’ll leave you with two pieces of advice: keep it simple, try to not stress to much because as soon as you get out there, it will all be worth it and finally – just go. Commit and make it a plan to do at least two to three camping trips before you make any judgements on it!
Sleeping Gear:
Tent: We have been loving the Big Agnes Copper Spur 5 for our car camping and packrafting trips where we can take a bit more heavier gear. The Copper Spur takes 1 min to set up, it has sturdy poles and stakes and has only the necessary frills (like a few pockets inside for stashing books and stuff sacks). For our ultra light trips where we need to be weight weenies, we bring our Hyperlite Teepee style tent. It weighs 635 grams, is durable and stands up to our abuse! it is a bit more cumbersome to set up but the weight difference is worth it if you are carrying it!
Pads: We recently made the switch to the Thermarest Neo Air Xtherm nxt pad for Jason and I. A good pad is one that does not make much noise and keeps you warm and comfortable. These are fast to inflate thanks to a inflater bag and super cozy. For the boys, we use Z rests, they are still so light in weight that they can sleep on the floor if they wanted. But these, keep them warm, and they are very easy to set up!
Pillows: I am a sucker for a good pillow. If I could, I would totally bring my own pillow from home.. but that is a bit excessive for us! A close second is the Thermarest Down Pillow, Jason and I both have one and the boys have the Big Agnes pillows that you can blow up.
Sleeping bags: When we are car camping, we use the boys Big Agnes Torchlight sleeping bags as they love them and they both grow with them. However, when we are going light, we use our ultra light quilts from Sea To Summit. You can also use what you already have. Kids can usually sleep in anything that is warm and cozy, it does not have to be a kid bag, but for our boys, we go often enough that they love having their very own bag.
Thermarest Honcho Poncho: this is a little added perk, because I think its so cool. It’s a kids blanket poncho that is so cozy, easy to pull on and is water resistant! For around the campfire, or for cozy nights looking at the stars, its a great piece for both kids and adults.
Chairs are super nice to have when you are going to be sitting around a campfire, but you can also use a rumple blanket as well. We use both when we are car camping and only a light weight rumple when we are biking/ or hiking in! Our favorite chairs are by Helinox – we use both the Chair one and the Chair 0.
Lanterns and Lights: We love our Bio Lite Mini because it gives off both a warm and bright light for night time reading. And for walking around at night, we love light weight Fenix Headlamps because they are durable, waterproof and easy to use for both us and the kids! The band is also equipped with an easy to adjust boa system, which makes it super easy and comfortable for the kids heads (Use BendRacing25 for a discount).
Kids Clothes List:
Two-three sets of layers: We use the following protocol for our layers- One Day/ Swim set, one night set and one extra set (incase there is an accident). The following is our go to:
Swim/ Day Clothes: Patagonia Baggies Shorts, Kids Outdoor Pants, Stio Button Down Eddy Sun shirt, Sunday Afternoon sun hat, and bike gloves (for both biking and kids play).
Night Adventure Clothes: In general you want wool or fleece (not cotton) and something for sleeping and pants that are bit more durable. We bring Chasing WindMills Wool for both PJs and underneath the kids adventure pants, A Smartwool Wool Hoody as its a bit thicker wool and can be used as a summer top layer, if we are in the mountains we throw in the Patagonia Nano Puff for both boys.
For Extra, we bring three pairs of light wool socks and an extra sun shirt, like the Patagonia long sleeve in case the Stio gets wet and can’t dry fast. We may also throw in a fleece and or rain jacket if we are in the mountains or the weather looks iffy!
Shoes: we bring one closed toe pair and one pair of sandals. So far Vivo Barefoot and Teva are our go to brands. Make sure you follow their sizing though, both are VERY different in their sizes! Our favorite Vivo shoe is their Primus Sport III because they are easy to slip on and are super grippy. Our favorite Teva, is their classic sandal, the Hurricane XLT 2 – it has the classic look but they upgraded the straps and the sole to make it more comfortable and a bit more grippy.
Thermarest Honcho Poncho: this one is a new add on that I wanted to mention this year because I think its so cool. It’s a kids blanket poncho that is super cozy, fun and it’s water resistant! It’s also super easy to pull on and off. For around the campfire, or for cozy nights looking at the stars, its a great piece for both kids and adults.
Essentials:
The following are extra essentials including what cook wear set we bring! This bag is always packed and ready to go in our top box of our car.
Tiny washclothes if by a river/ wet wipes if not.
Backpackers pantry meals, ramen and oatmeal: while we don’t always eat this when we are out camping, we always have it in our kit incase we need more food or sometimes we only eat it when we are backpacking/bikepacking.
4 Utensils/cook set/ 2 bowls/ two cups: This is what we need for our family. For yours you may need more or less. We love getting all of this from Sea to Summit. Their dinner wear set is lightweight and fits together in a nice set.
Opinel Knives: these are the best camping knives we have found. Super easy to use, sharp and they are so pretty!
Stove: We use MRS’s Reactor Stove, it is unmatched in wind protection and efficiency. Compared to our jetboil, it burns through gas at a much slower rate which is helpful when you are using it so much!
One Hydroflask bottle: Any bottle that can keep boiling water hot is very helpful in not using up your stove gas. Every morning I boil a big pot of water and pour it in. That way when the kids get up, I can have a bowl of oatmeal or a cup of tea ready for them.
Hydrapak Water Filter: We use both the Seeker and the breakaway bottle when we are camping. The Seeker is for when we are out for days and can’t bring all the water in with us. It’s great because it filters 6 liters at a time. And we use the breakaway bottles during the day for easy constant drinking right from the river! Use Chelsey10 at check out for a discount!
Angelinas Skin Doctor (Use BendRacing at check out!) For ALL the boo boos in the world including dry skin and blisters, this is all we need. It’s stashed all over the place, in our car, in our backpacks and in our first aid kit.
Angelinas Sunscreen: This is the only sunscreen that we have found that rubs in easy and fast. Our kids love the smell as well. So it’s a win win for us!