Whether we’re planning a trip packing list or making sure we have the right hiking gear for kids and families right at home, we try to consider what versatile basics will serve us well. That means we try to find essentials for kids that are durable enough to be passed down and also versatile for a variety of weather scenarios.
We’ve found a few items over the years that we tend to use over and over and that have become our travel essentials. This gear for families keeps everyone comfortable and helps us pack light, too. Especially since we live somewhere that doesn’t get very cold, I love that it’s mostly stuff that is versatile for different types of weather and activities and lasts for years. Here are favorite outdoors essentials that are perfect for exploring outside right at home or taking along on travel adventures!
Gifts Under $25
Packable Beach Towels
I adore these beach towels because they’re super lightweight and packable but still REALLY absorbent (they’re the same brand as the kitchen towels I’m obsessed with). They also shake sand off really easily. Would be a great gift for a beach lover, or grab a beach blanket if gifting to a family. My code PREETHI stacks on top of their sale!
Headlamps
We have a number of different headlamps at different price points and have been really pleased with them all for different reasons. I highly recommend having one for each person if hiking/camping, and we really like having them at home or in the car for emergencies.
This is our favorite basic headlamp – we have probably 5-6 of these and they’ve lasted terrifically.
Owala Water Bottle
These water bottles are incredibly popular, and with good reason. I love the cute colors and the fact that the hook flips up so it’s easy to clip onto a bag or a stroller. We have a few of these and they always come along on our travels or local adventures.
Merino Wool Socks
A few years ago, we switched over to almost all merino wool socks for the whole family and they’re the best. Soft, warm, comfy, last forever, and don’t hold older (really great for travel). Here are the ones we love:
- REI Co-op merino socks – excellent socks at an excellent price
- Darn Tough – our first love! Lifetime warranty (on socks!), still a family business.
- Tough Cutie – I discovered Tough Cutie socks early this year and fell in love. They’re super soft, warm, supportive but not restrictive, and just terrific. Plus, they’re Black woman-owned!
- Smartwool – really fantastic socks that are SO warm. Several of my pairs have lasted over a decade. Best for really cold weather. Great sale on them!
Best Mineral Sunscreen
This is our family’s absolute favorite sunscreen – it’s so smooth, mineral-based, and doesn’t leave a white cast. Plus, it’s amazing for sensitive skin and protects really well! We also absolutely love their all-over ointment, bath products, and more. All fantastic for babies, sensitive skin, or anyone else.
LPF Yosemite Guide
If you know someone who will be traveling to Yosemite my guide is super comprehensive for families and hopefully make planning so easy. Discount code LPF50 through Dec 1!
Hand Warmers
Though we try to get our layering right so we don’t need hand warmers, they’re a great backup or to quickly warm up some cold extremities. Plus, they’re small, so they’re easy to add to your winter trip packing list if you’re traveling or away from home.
Quick Dry Towel
It’s really handy having a quick dry towel when traveling. Even if it’s a small one, it’s really useful if you go swimming, get wet, or anything else. These dry fast and don’t take much room. These are our favorites; I love the ribbing on them.
Warm Hat
Remember how your mom would always say you lose the most heat through your head and your feet? It really is important to keep your top warm. REI has a huge variety of beanies in every color and style that are great for a packing list for winter vacation. This is also a super important one for baby winter essentials – we love this little pom pom beanie for our littlest.
Bike U-Lock
We love these locks and have multiple of them. Super sturdy and easy to use to protect your bike!
Outdoor Gifts Under $50
Kids Hiking Backpacks
We super love the Tarn line of packs – they’re comfortable, well made, functional with lots of pockets, and an excellent price – especially with this sale. This is for sure the time to pick them up if you’re considering.
The 12L is an excellent little pack that my younger kids use for day hikes & travel. The 18L is what my kids 8 & up all use on day hikes, and my 5 year old uses it for her travel backpack to carry on all her stuff. This is our most used family backpack for sure.
Hiking Poles
Lots of great deals on hiking poles, but we especially love this kids’ set. They work perfectly for me as an average-height adult, and even Dan (who is 5’10” can use them). Plus, they’re cheaper than adult poles. This is another great set that’s made for adults that’s sturdy and great if you’re a bit taller.
Affordable, Packable Rain Jacket & Pants
When I was looking for a more affordable version of my favorite rain jacket, I chose this one due to the fantastic reviews and realized it’s the same one that Dan has had the men’s version of for years (and loved it so much, he went looking for it in our storage in the US this summer after realizing he’d forgotten to bring his to London). It’s super waterproof and really packable, but also very affordable. It’s a great one! I recently got the women’s rain pants, as well, and they’re equally fantastic. While it doesn’t have a couple of the extras my nicer jacket does (like pit zips and an extra large hood), it’s a fantastic jacket, especially for the price. Plus, I love that it packs away in a stuff sack easily!
Kids Sleeping Bag
We love these kids’ sleeping bags because they’re ultra warm. Tons of others are on great sale, as well.
Waterproof Backpack Cover
We love these covers – they’re stretchy, convenient, easy to attach on, and protect our stuff! I’m purchasing a couple extras so each kid can have one on their backpack when walking through rainy London – we get lots of sudden storms to and from school.
Sun Hoodie
I love the women’s version of this and Dan loves the men’s version. They’re soft, protective, and have a great fit.
Bear Spray
Bear spray is one of those things you absolutely hope to only purchase and never actually need. Still, always always important to have on hand when hiking in bear country.
Everywhere Ground Mat
While we love Rumpl’s puffy blankets, we REALLY love their Everywhere Mat. It’s waterproof and easy to clean, folds up really small, and perfect for stashing in the car or to take along on a hike to sit on. I love that it’s a bit thicker so it makes it more comfy when sitting on the ground. Would be a terrific gift for an outdoorsy person or family.
Outdoor Gear Under $100
Super Soft Merino Wool Base Layers
We’ve used a lot of different kinds of merino base layers, and these are some of our favorites. I love that they’re a small, woman-owned business, and that there are thumb holes to keep the arms in place. Super soft and comfy items for the whole fam that come in lots of fun colors. They also have lots of other great merino items like dresses, undies, mid layers, nursing items, and more. Discount code LOCALPASSPORTFAMILY.
Hiking Sandals
I’ve waxed poetic about these shoes many times – my kids wear them all summer long for pool, beach, travel, and everything else. My younger kids all have this sandal and Dan has the men’s version – he really prefers them to open-toed Chacos. We’ve also had and loved the toddler sizes.
I personally love this open-toed style of athletic sandal that I’ve had for years. They’re super durable & supportive & I’ve worn them through all sorts of conditions and they still look basically brand new.
Camp Chairs
I love how small these camp chairs fold – makes them super easy to pop in the car to take along. They’re also easy to set up – we usually have the kids do them.
I’ve also heard amazing things about this low folding loveseat from multiple people in real life and it has amazing reviews. I’d love to add this to our setup soon! (Or honestly, maybe we’ll just go for the full couch version with our big family.)
Lightweight Hiking Carrier
This awesome little carrier was created by a mom who wanted an easier way to get her toddler up and down when hiking. It attaches right onto a backpack, so it’s super low profile and perfect for kids who want to rotate between walking and riding. I love it for travel, too! Discount code PASSPORT.
Smartwool Quarter Zip
Dan has and loves this merino quarter zip – it’s great as a base layer or mid-layer – warm, lightweight, and easily packable. Wool is a fantastic travel gift because it can be reworn without needing frequent washing, sustainable, and warm in cold weather/cool in warmer temps.
Hiking Packs
Two of my favorite packs are the Women’s 25L – a wonderful pack that’s more roomy than the 18L. This is my go-to for travel.
I also love the 40L – a really great backpacking pack that we use regularly for travel. My 3 older kids and I each carried one of these with all our stuff for a summer of travel and on many other trips and they are always comfortable and durable. Excellent price!
Gloves
Dan and I loved these gloves (men’s version, women’s version) for years before we both sadly lost one of the gloves in the pair. I just ordered these merino wool glove liners – it makes such a difference in the cold to have a second thin layer and these have great reviews (and I appreciate that they’re merino wool but really affordable). These glove leashes are also FANTASTIC for helping not lose gloves (Dan and I each got some after we lost one…) and are under $5.
Kid Waterproof Boots
These have been our go-to kid boots for over 5 years and we still adore them. They’re sturdy but super comfortable and our kids use them alllll the time not just for hiking. They’re great for walking around in cold weather, and especially in wet winters since they’re waterproof. Absolutely love these, and the sale price ALMOST puts these in the under $50 section!
Filter Water Bottle
We absolutely love this filter water bottle because it’s sturdy and perfect for filtering water on the trail or when traveling places where the tap water isn’t safe to drink. I far prefer this to ones that filter through a straw because you can filter the entire bottle at once, and then can decant into other water bottles. That means we can just take one of these along along with other bottles. Works great for our fam.
Winter Down Jacket
These REI Co-op Down jackets are fantastic and on major sale!
Folding Duffel
We love taking this folding duffel bag with us on trips because it expands into a roomy duffel but folds down super small and is really lightweight so we can clip it onto a backpack. Perfect for stuffing in unused jackets, souvenirs, snacks, or using to adjust luggage weights.
Thousand Bike Helmet
Dan gifted me this helmet several years ago and I still love it. The founder created the company because after losing a friend to a bike accident, she wanted to make helmets that looked good so people would actually be happy to wear them. It’s a wonderful small business that is also really functional. We love both their adult and kid helmets.
Splurge Gifts For Outdoorsy Families
Lowa Hiking Boots
Dan and I both adore our Lowa hiking boots. They’re honestly amazing right out of the box – so supportive, comfortable, excellent tread. They’re the first hiking boots I’ve super loved and it makes me happy every time I wear them. Here are the men’s version and the women’s version.
Emergency Satellite GPS Device
This emergency satellite GPS device is an absolute must whenever we travel or hike in remote areas. It absolutely saved us when we once broke down when driving through the Yukon without cell service and our RV broke down, and we were able to contact family and a mechanic. It’s great for sending out an emergency SOS with location, or just for maintaining contact. This one is on MAJOR sale!
Waterproof Parka
This is an excellent time to get an expensive item like a big parka if you need one. I love this waterproof women’s parka and it’s currently on sale.
Big Bike Rack
It’s kind of tricky finding a bike rack that fits enough for a family, and this is a terrific one that fits 6 bikes. Super high quality and sturdy. This is another great one for 4 bikes.
