The layers, snacks, packs, and simple systems that helped us keep saying yes during family adventure season in New Zealand.
This is the third and final blog in my series of stories and thoughts about adventure racing and motherhood (for now anyway)- both are huge themes in my life right now and I am so grateful for how much they compliment each other. I hope you enjoy and please, comment and share if you wish!
Here are links to #1 and #2 in case you missed them.
The gear that saves family adventures is almost never the flashy gear.
It’s not the gear that looks best in a catalog and it’s rarely the newest thing but- it’s the gear we actually reach for over and over again.
It’s the stuff that gets worn, stuffed in packs, pulled out in the wind, slept in, spilled on, dried by the fire, and then worn again the next morning.
This was not some polished gear test, instead, this is an honest review of exactly what we lived in and adventured in for 2 months straight. If something stayed in rotation, it was because it worked. Period. And maybe even more importantly, we almost always had a few backpacks packed and ready to go with water, snacks, and extra layers. Because with kids, transition windows are small.
If I have to start from scratch every time, I often find myself missing the adventure window, so if I had even an inkling that we were going to head out the next day, the night before I made it a habit to fill our bottles, stash some snacks and pack the layers.
Below is the gear, and the system, that helped us keep saying yes.
1. The Real MVP: Layers Kids Will Actually Keep On
Cold kids unravel fast. And when kids are cold, everything gets harder: Morale, patience, movement, decision making, literally all of it. And in NZ, at least where we are based, the weather can change fast. So I always carried a little extra warm layers because why not? And – all the extra weight is great training.
So the most important gear in our family system is simple:
For the boys, we kept reaching for:
- Patagonia Kids Micro – D Fleece Jackets
- Stio Pinion Puffy Jackets
- Patagonia Kids Micro D Joggers
- Hootie Hoo Torrent Layering Fleece Set
- Patagonia Kids Everyday Ready Jacket
- Kids Buff
- Patagonia Kids Silkweight Longsleeve shirt
- Kids Terrebone Joggers
That combo covered just about everything.
The fleece jacket was the everyday go-to.
The puffy was the “this could go sideways fast” insurance policy.
The Hootie Hoo fleece set was one of those sneaky all-star pieces — base layer, warm layer, camp layer, pajama layer, backup dry layer.
And the Patagonia Micro D Joggers were life savers many times, especially when my sweat pant obsessed son refused to put on anything but his cotton sweatpants. However, when the wind and the spirts of rain started? He was so grateful I threw them in.
The kids’ Patagonia Terrebonne Joggers were also perfect: soft, super lightweight, easy to move in, and quick-drying — which mattered a lot on all of our adventures.
My only regret was not bringing two pairs for my youngest, because he wore them every single day. I could only wash them every 8 or 9 days, and he wouldn’t even wait for them to dry because he loved the feeling of them that much… even wet. And honestly? I was 100% okay with that.
The Patagonia Silkweight long-sleeve shirt, with its built-in 40 UPF sun protection and comfortable feel, became another constant. My youngest basically never took it off.
And the Buff? Tiny but mighty.
A kids’ Buff around the neck is one of those pieces that does a lot. It works as sun protection, can turn into a hat when needed, and helps keep their temperature “just perfect no matter what the weather is doing,” as my 6-year-old would say. He got so into wearing it that I had to pry it off him some nights before bed so his neck could breathe a little.
The Patagonia Kids Everyday Ready Jacket also became a sneaky favorite. For whatever reason, my kids hate most rain jackets. Maybe it’s the feel of them? The stiffness? The crinkly fabric? I’m not totally sure — but traditional rain jackets are usually a hard sell in our house. This one, though? They love. It feels softer, cozier, and less “rain shell-ish,” which meant they would actually keep it on. And even better, it still repelled water well enough for all the mist, drizzle, and quick weather shifts we kept running into in New Zealand.
These pieces started as “performance gear,” but quickly became our morale gear.
2. The Tiny Things That Matter More Than They Should
I’ve learned that family adventure days are often saved by the least glamorous items in the pack. The tiny stuff and the stuff that no one talks or asks about until it matters.
For us, that looked like:
- Smartwool socks for the boys.
- AOS Skincare sunscreen and Skin Doctor (use BendRacing25 for a discount!)
- a few dry backup layers
- a favorite sun hat
- enough 4 Hour Fuel Endurance Smoothies to keep us all happy.
- Nocs Binoculars
- Kids Camera
I swear, merino socks for kids deserve way more credit than they get.
Cold feet, wet feet, bunched-up socks, sand in shoes — all of that becomes a mood issue faster than most parents realize.
Smartwool socks were one of those “small” things that made a very real difference.
Same goes for sunscreen.
If you spend a lot of time outside as a family, sunscreen stops being a product and becomes a relationship. And like most relationships involving children… it can get complicated. But skin protection matters. A lot.
We kept reaching for AOS Skincare because it became part of the routine, and the best sunscreen is the one everyone actually tolerates.
Luckily, now my 9-year-old asks for it before we even head outside and puts it on himself. With my 6-year-old, it’s a slightly different story… but it’s getting better thanks to this sunscreen. It goes on quickly, smells nice and natural, and feels really good on the skin. Same goes for AOS Skin Doctor, as it has basically taken the place of all band aides in our house hold. Fell and scraped up your knee? Skin Doctor. Have a hot spot on your heel from hiking? Skin Doctor. Bug bite that you itched until it bled? Skin Doctor. You get the idea. For the last several years now, if it involves the skin, nobody asks for anything but Skin Doctor. It’s magic.
And snacks? Honestly, snacks may matter most of all.
We absolutely bring the usual for the boys — fruit, PB&Js, salty trail mix, gummies — but the real family go juice is our 4 Hour Fuel Endurance Smoothies. These just hit different.
Because there’s a time for ideal and a time for effective. And 4 Hour Fuel is our effective fuel.
Packed with protein, fat, carbs, BCAAs, and genuinely delicious flavors like Orange Dreamsicle, they get used often — and happily. They really do help keep everyone moving down the trail with a much better attitude.
None of these things are exciting in the way new gear is exciting. But they are often the exact difference between a family that keeps moving… and a family that spirals.
3. When Kids Carry Their Own Stuff, Everything Changes
One of the best shifts we made in New Zealand was simple:
The boys had their own little roles.
They packed and carried their own gear. What ever they wanted to come with us, they needed to figure out a way to bring it along. That mattered more than I used to think. Because when kids carry a few things of their own, they stop being passengers and start becoming teammates.
That’s where the Near Zero Little Dean kids backpack became such a great addition for us. It’s not easy to overload, and it’s not too serious. But the best part? It’s lightweight and has just enough pockets to feel exciting without being overwhelming.
It can easily fit a layer, a few snacks, a water bottle, binoculars, a toy, a sleeping pad, and even a lovey or a favorite pair of sweatpants.
It gave them ownership, confidence and a sense of being apart of the team. By our last trip, our 6 year old was even asking us if he could carry a few things of ours!
The same goes for our Nocs binoculars and their cameras.
Hand a kid a pair of binoculars and suddenly they’re not “just hiking.” They’re scanning ridge lines, looking for birds, spotting boats, searching for seals and in our case spotting “racers.
This trip we gave both boys cameras to take pictures of all of our adventures and of the race that we were putting on. It was so much fun to see them really get into the beauty and wildness around us in a different way. Suddenly they were they ones asking us to stop because it was just “way too beautiful.”
That kind of engagement is everything. Sometimes the gear that changes the day isn’t the warmest or the lightest – it’s the gear that makes the adventure feel like its theirs.. because isn’t that what it’s all about?
4. Packs Ready = More Adventures Happen
If I’ve learned anything, it’s this: The easier you make it to leave, the more often you’ll actually go.
For the boys, their packed and ready Near Zero backpacks helped them feel part of the process. But for me, I kept reaching for my USWE VST Roll-Top backpack. While I knew it could handle all of my adventure races, I didn’t know it was also an amazing pack for family adventures until NZ. I loved how easy it was to have quick access to everything, how comfortable it was, how it had room for wet stuff, dry stuff, and the occasional favorite rock and stick. But most of all, I loved how it had enough forgiveness for the fact that family packing is never organized.
**The VST Roll Top will be out very soon on www.uswe.com
5. The Gear That Saves Me
Because moms need systems too.
I think sometimes we spend so much energy making sure the kids are dialed that we forget something important: If mom is uncomfortable, the whole day gets a tad harder.
I don’t mean that dramatically. I mean it practically.
If I’m cold, chafing, blistered, under-fueled, annoyed by my clothes or distracted by some piece of gear not working I have slightly less patience and more importantly less ability to absorb the chaos.
So yes, I care a lot about what the boys wear, but I’ve also learned to stop pretending my own gear doesn’t matter.
My most reached-for layers and shoes in NZ:
- Patagonia Terrebonne Joggers
- Stio Hyla Pullover Shirt
- Patagonia RI Fleece Jacket
- Paradis Sport underwear
- La Sportiva Prodigo Pro’s
The Patagonia Terrebonne Joggers were exactly the kind of piece I love for family adventure days: light, breathable, quick-drying, and easy enough to move from trail to town to car to playground to camp without ever feeling like I needed to change. And like my youngest, I practically lived in them even when they were wet because they dried so fast.
The Stio Hyla Pull Over was also in constant rotation, especially on the sunny days. It kept me both cool and covered which I really appreciate because I always forget the reapplication rule for sunscreen. It was a great for all of our missions and dried extra fast which I appreciated as it was often the only piece I brought on our outings.
And my Patagonia R1 Air Fleece Jacket? A life saver.
On me when I was cold, wrapped around a kid, stuffed under a head at snack break, thrown over little legs in the car and used as a tiny blanket when someone crashed after a big day.
If you know, you know.
And I’m going to say it because it matters: underwear matters more than people admit.
My Paradis Sport underwear absolutely deserves a place on this list (use Chelsey20 for a % !)
This may be the least glamorous yet the most important recommendation in the whole blog, but if I’m moving all day, parenting all day, and trying to keep everyone regulated, uncomfortable underwear is simply not invited. I barely remember that I am even wearing Paradis Sport underwear, which to me is the absolute best kind. I also love that they double as the perfect swimsuit for spontaneous dips in the lake or river as they cover enough up AND they dry fast!
The La Sportiva Prodigio Pro quickly became one of my favorite trail shoes in New Zealand. It has that rare combo of feeling fast, protective, and surprisingly confident on technical terrain — which is exactly what I want when I’m moving between big adventure days, family missions, and trails that can change fast. The ride feels responsive and energetic without feeling sloppy, and the grip gave me a lot of trust when things got rocky, wet, or just a little unpredictable. It’s definitely more of a performance-oriented shoe than an “easy cruiser,” but for the days when I wanted to feel light, capable, and ready for a side run in the early morning while the boys and Jason slept in, I kept reaching for these. If you like a snug, dialed fit and want a trail shoe that feels quick but still controlled, this one is a standout. I am extremely impressed and excited to do some bigger missions in the Central Oregon Mountains this spring!
7. The Goal Is Not a Perfect Setup
Here’s what I keep learning in this season of motherhood and adventure: The goal is not to perfectly outfit some idealized family. Instead, the goal is making it easier and less of a stresser to say “yes”.
Yes to the weather window. Yes to the walk. Yes to the paddle. Yes to the summit.
Yes to the spontaneous mission.
Yes to the outing that may or may not become type 2 fun.
That’s what the above gear did for us in New Zealand and for that I’m extremely grateful because sometimes the best way to create more adventure isn’t to get tougher, more often than not, it’s just to get more ready.
What’s the Gear That Saves Your Family Adventures?
What’s the piece of gear — or the little system — that actually saves your family adventures?
I’d love to hear what lives in your pack, your car, or your “we are definitely still going” pile.