The Kids’ Gear Your Adventuring Sidekick Needs for Your Next Family Trip

This lightweight 9-by-12-inch water-resistant Vancouver-made backpack is the ideal companion for your little one. With an easy tie closure with a metal grommet and antique metal slider and rings, there’s plenty of room for snacks, toys, or nature collections. An adjustable elastic cord can tow a small water bottle, towel, or stuffy.

As a parent, you’ll use every incentive possible to coax your kids to bed and that’s why our vote for best kids’ sleeping bag goes to these cool, colorful and warm cuties. In floral, nature, and classic camp plaid motifs, we think kids will hop to bed (after s’mores, of course) and stay warm all night. What’s more, rolling and packing up this sleeping bag is easy thanks to a roomy attached sack.

Sometimes the difference between a good trip and a bad trip is a nap. Make a snooze more enticing with Casper’s Nap Pillow, a fluffy little number that makes the perfect companion for camping, road trips, and flights. The 10-by-15-inch cotton covered pillow comes with a cotton pillow cover and a draw-string carrying case, all of which are washable.

The only thing kids love more than running amok with a flashlight is doing it with a headlamp. Featuring white light or full-color spectrum mode, this junior version can run with them for up to 60 hours when set to low or five hours when set to high. And after two hours, the light will automatically shut off. It runs on two AA batteries.  

When it comes to the great outdoors, ouchies come with the territory. The goods news is, mild burns and bites won’t hurt long with a little spritz of Fat and the Moon’s all-natural Bite and Burn Spray. Made with witch hazel, the antimicrobial formula helps the skin tighten and reduces swelling, so the fun won’t be on pause for long. 

Birdwell’s classic boardshorts are made in Southern California surf country, so you know they’ve been through some rigorous sun, sand, and saltwater testing. These well-built shorts for boys or girls are made with the brand’s trademark 4-way SurfStretch, a fit that ensures moveability, whether they’re catching waves or building sandcastles.  

What kid likes to pack? Oh, your kid does because you got them an Away Kids’ Carry-On. This pint-sized suitcase is durable enough to stand up to TSA and your kid. It comes with an ejectable battery to charge a phone or tablet and four wheels so it’s a cinch (and a lot of fun) for kids to roll around. Now, what do they pack in it? That’s on them.

At 14-by-11-inches, this roomy classic-striped zip pouch makes a pro travel companion for many a reason but our favorite use is its wet-dry function. Toss goggles, swim trunks, and rash guards in here after a day at the pool, river, or beach. Admittedly, this one may be more for the benefit of the parents than the kids.

If your little Ansel Adams is constantly snatching your camera, maybe it’s time to get them of their own. Nikon’s COOLPIX is the perfect starter camera. Not only does this compact cutie come in bright colors, which kids love, it’s also incredibly water, dirt, dust and shock proof, which parents love.

One tablet, two headphones equals one big parent headache. But not anymore. Soft, foldable LilGadgets include an integrated shareport eliminating the need for a splitter. These wired, over-ear headphones come in different sizes, starting for children ages 3 and up, and include passive noise reduction. Kids will love the rainbow of hues, from pink to blue to black, for your cool kid.