Traveling with kids doesn’t start at the airport. It starts much earlier — the moment you decide whether to leave the house together at all. If you’re still figuring out whether any of this is even possible, our guide on preparing for travel with a child is a good place to begin. The gear is rarely the obstacle. The obstacle is usually the mental image of how complicated it’s going to be.
It’s only once you start going out regularly that you discover which things actually make life easier — and which ones just take up space in the bag.
Over years of travel — from short forest walks to weekend mountain trips to multi-month journeys — we’ve tested an enormous amount of stuff. Some of it looked great on paper and turned out to be useless. Some of it we genuinely couldn’t imagine leaving without. A few things changed the way we travel entirely.
In this section we only write about gear we’ve actually used: on the road, on trails, on bikes, and in the day-to-day business of being outside with kids.
If you’re more interested in the lifestyle itself than the equipment, take a look at how outdoor life with kids works for us in practice — because gear only makes sense when it actually changes how your day unfolds.
What you’ll find here
Carrying and getting around
Hiking backpacks, baby carriers, bike trailers and everything that lets you move with a child once the pavement ends. If you’re not sure what to look for, our big Tula carrier comparison is a good starting point — we’ve been taking them on trails since the kids were tiny.
This is the kind of gear that determines whether a trip feels like a logistical operation or just a normal day spent outside together.
Sleep and camping
Tents, sleeping mats, sleeping bags and how we organize overnight stays in the field. Most parental anxiety about camping centres on the nights — but in practice, kids adapt faster than adults when conditions are predictable and comfortable. Our Coleman Octagon 8 is a good example: on a campsite, it becomes a surprisingly liveable small flat for sleeping and playing.
Bikes and getting active
Bikes, seats, trailers, gear transport and how we structure a day on the move. This is one of the things that changes travel most fundamentally — kids stop being passengers and start being part of the journey. Electric bikes turned out to be a genuine game-changer on climbs, and our Velo de Ville cargo bike handles the logistics — and usually the dog — on longer trips.
Clothing and weather
Waterproofs, layers, sun protection and staying warm. Contrary to what you might think, it’s not the destination that decides whether you go outside — it’s thermal comfort. We’ve written about how we pick gear for autumn and winter, why Pajak down jackets are a staple for us in cold weather, and why in summer we skip sunscreen in favour of Columbia’s UPF-rated sun-protective clothing. The wrong clothes can cut a walk to 20 minutes. The right ones stretch it to a full day.
How we test
You won’t find “best of” rankings here or sponsored shortlists. We don’t test everything that comes out. We only write about things that have stayed with us for years and made it onto the next trip.
When something didn’t work — we write about that too. Because when you’re travelling with children, the real problem isn’t a lack of gear. It’s carrying too much stuff that doesn’t earn its place.
In our reviews you’ll find: when something works, when it completely doesn’t, what age it actually makes sense for, and when you shouldn’t bother buying it at all.
The goal isn’t to build out a full kit. The goal is to make travelling with kids simply possible.
One more thing worth saying: gear doesn’t make you start travelling.
From where we stand, equipment starts to matter at exactly three moments: when a child stops sleeping in a pram, when they’re walking but still tire quickly, and when they want to be part of the journey on their own terms. That’s when a good carrier, trailer or bike stops being a gadget and becomes the condition for a calm, enjoyable day.
Most of the time it’s not about buying more things. It’s about stopping the fight with reality. Good gear doesn’t speed a trip up. It settles it down.