3 Necessities for Camping Kids

Want to get your child into camping this Summer?  Or do you have a young one going off into Scouts or away from you to camp?  Here are three essentials to help them have a great experience.  First, they need a good pack.  This Mountainsmith Youth Pursuit backpack is a great beginner pack that will keep them comfortable and carry their stuff with good weight distribution.  It has features I would expect on a quality adult pack and it's as well made.  The shoulder straps are adjustable with foam cushion, the hip belt offers support.  There's a sleeping bag compartment and compression straps for a sleeping pad.

The air mesh foam back panel helps with ventilation and there are a lot of pockets and compartments for storage and organization.   Because the pack is so highly adjustable, it should last your child for several years easily. 

To keep kids hydrated, the pack is hydration compatible and also offers outer water bottle pockets for that extra supply.   An integrated whistle on the sternum strap is a fun touch (my son loves this), but I strongly recommend a secondary safety whistle.  Finally, it's a great looking backpack and though it's blue and that's typically associated with boys, it's just as appropriate for girls.  I wish it was around when I was a kid, I would have loved it.  The Youth Pursuit so well made, it will last through many kids easily, so if you have a few kids, it could easily get handed down.  This pack is a great value and perfect for Summer adventures. 

Next, something cozy to sleep in.  I love this lofty KELTY Little Tree Junior 20 Degree Sleeping Bag.  I love the beautiful shade of pumpkin orange.   It has an integrated compression stuff sack--Kelty does this a lot with their bags and it's wonderful for kids who can sometimes get a little too busy playing to remember to keep up with their stuff.  This way nothing can get lost.

There is added insulation around the chest area for warmth, and integrated pad loops to hold a sleeping pad in place.  It fits up to 5"4 at 72 inches and weighs 3lbs 14 oz.

My son Loves his own sleeping bag and uses one all the time at home for snuggling in front of the tv or indoor camp-outs in the tent.   I think every kid needs one, if nothing else, for sleepovers and overnights at YMCA camps.  This bag is a good value with growing room and made with such good quality it will last through more than one kid at least. 

Finally, you want to put your child's name on everything.  Check out these Limited Edition Camp Labels from Mabel's Labels.  The metal tags are great for backpacks, and they look cool.  They come in different colors and designs, I like the tents and trees apt for camping.  In the Combo pack, you get a variety of labels sized for various items.

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Holiday Gifts for the Outdoorsy Types

Sea To Summit has some wonderful picks for the stocking.  Wouldn't it be fabulous to put a Kitchen Sink in someone's stocking?  With this portable sink, you can adhere to Leave No Trace principles (you don't want to be washing dishes in mountain streams) and also make things easier on yourself.  Plus it's super cool looking and would make a great gift.

Also from Sea to Summit and perfect for the Stocking is their camp cutlery.  I love the Alpha Set.  It's light weight, also very cool looking charcoal gray aluminum, and also comes with a caribiner to hold it together and clip it to other gear. The holes on the end of each utensil double as hex wrenches--pretty brilliant.  I also like the long spoon for eating out of unusual containers or stirring something hot in a pot.

Trekking poles are something you just might not think to buy for yourself, but wouldn't it be fun to find them peeking out of your stocking on Christmas morning?  These Mountainsmith RHYOLITE Trekking Poles are a really pretty cobalt blue combining great design with practical need.  They are adjustable, which makes them very versatile, and they come with removable baskets.

The grips are comfortable, the poles are lightweight aluminum and they are very good looking (the photo does not do them justice at all), and would make a great and unexpected gift.

Another unexpected gift would be the Steripen Adventurer Opti.  This will purify water whether you are in the woods or in a hotel in a country whose water your body hasn't adapted to yet.  It's also great for emergency preparedness, it's just one of those things that you might not think to have, and you might not use it every day, but when you do need it--it's a lifesaver.  You just place the stem into a glass or water bottle (preferably filtered, if you are getting it out of a stream) and the ultraviolet light sterilizes the water.  It's very straightforward and uses no chemicals.  It takes batteries and they even offer a solar charger--how cool is that?

Finally, Black Diamond Lanterns.  They're the best and I consider myself a bit of an expert on this topic having lived in places where power goes out quite a bit and thus developing a habit of hoarding light sources.  The small ones are compact and so useful with the little clips on the top.  My favorite thing is that they dim, which not only conserves batteries, but also makes for a nicer atmosphere.  A lot of those LED lights are blinding and abrasive, but not Black Diamond's.

I love the small ones (Orbit and Apollo) but sometimes you need a little more light.  Check out their newest lantern, the Titan.  This is the big daddy of the series and a super nice lantern.  Though someone like me would love getting this as a gift, I think it would be great for the elusive male gift.  If you need a man-gift, be sure to have a look at this because if anything, it's going to tap into his inner adventurer and I've never met a man who didn't like that.

* You can find the above locally or on Amazon with overnight or two day shipping.

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Mountainsmith Modular Hauler 3 System

Need a great way to stay organized while car camping or traveling?  Check out this cool Hauler system from Mountainsmith.  These are color coded storage cubes that fit into a larger open case.  This has so many uses--car travel, home storage, kid toys and supplies, pretty much anything you can think of.

The individual cases are well made and will hold some weight.  The color coding is so smart, you can give one to each child and have them pack their stuff, or you can code your gear.  The Haulers come in two, three, and four cube systems to fit your needs.   Cube tops are see through laminated mesh with zipper access.  The hauler portion is made from heavy duty ballistic nylon while the cubes are constructed of durable rip stop nylon.

A big part of making camping fun and keeping things running smoothly, is staying organized.  Things can get stressful if you can't find what you're looking for, especially if you're camping and it's dark.  How wonderful to have a place for everything and everything in its place for easy access.  Find this fabulous system HERE.

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