Adventure Outfitting for Kids

Wether you’re camping, 4wheeling or just out for a hike, with kids you’ve got to be prepared to keep them happy. If you focus some attention on the little one(a) comfort and happiness while on the trail, you’re in for a miserable experience. With that in mind, I’ve starting putting together a “Kid’s Survival Bag”.  My kids are 5 (almost 6) and 4 so I’ve got to keep things light and small just for them to be able to manage carrying it all.  I spent some time talking to my kids about what kinds of things they need to carry with them when they are out hiking.  This is all part of the outdoor and adventure education process.  These “training sessions” are also expectation management and will pay huge dividens in the future when we’re actually out in the backcountry, so I highly recommend you talk to your kids about the same things.

The first step for me was finding the right hydration backpack to contain everything.  I’ve searched the Internet and every store that I enter for just the right backpack.  Having my kids try on 100 different bags helps build the excitement for them and keeps them involved in the process too.  This weekend I found some backpacks made by Kelty that fit the price point I was aiming for, the fit was pretty good (a bit of room for the kids to grow into the packs) and the storage space was spot on.

Over the next few days I’ll be picking up the rest of the contents for their backpack.  Here’s some items that I’ll be packing for them:

• First Aid Kit – including cutesy, fun bandaids
• Snacks – trail mix, jerky and candy that is resistent to melting, not just squishy-melty chocolate
• Trash bags – instills a strong sense of leaving things better than you found it
• Whistle – there is one built into the backpack I bought so thats already done
• Sunscreen
• Toilet Paper
• Antibacterial Handwipes and hand sanitizer
• Inexpensive compass and map of area we are going to
• Bug spray or bug wipes
• Flashlight/headlamp
• Entertainment – thinking coloring book and some crayons and a travel game or toy to playwith outside
• Glowsticks
• Cheap plastic poncho