Backpacking Must-Haves

Written By Rosalind Burns
Our first-ever backpacking trip—4 day’s notice, less-than-optimal gear, and still a fantastic experience.

Our first-ever backpacking trip—4 day’s notice, less-than-optimal gear, and still a fantastic experience.

Really, there’s no such thing as a backpacking must-have. Everything is always optional. You don’t HAVE to have a tent—you could sleep in a hammock, on the ground, or in a tree. You don’t NEED a backpack either—you could duct-tape all of your gear to your chest. But we like to pamper ourselves a bit, so we bring a second pair of socks and one toothbrush to share between the 5 of us. No joke, that happened. We all start somewhere.

This is a glimpse of what you will usually find in our kit when backpacking with all three of our children in tow. I’m sure it will change next month—we are still in the trial-and-error stage. I promise not to include anything on this list I don’t physically own, and I will tell you if I like it or not (let’s face it, half the stuff we use probably isn’t what I would choose if I had an unlimited budget. I’ll tell you what I love and what I can’t wait to pass along to an unsuspecting victim.)

Kit for Backpacking with the Burns Family

Packs and Sleeping Gear

Osprey packs

I have the Ariel AG 55 and Chris has the Atmos 50. If there is one place you don’t cut corners, get a good backpack. Osprey has some pretty incredible technology—mesh backs so your pack never touches your back, fantastic hip pockets, anti-gravity technology that makes 35 pounds feel like 25. Chris bought his pack second-hand, rather than pay the same price for a new pack of a lower quality brand. REI secondhand sales are a great way to find fantastic quality products! This was one of our splurges and I am NOT sorry.

Water Reservoirs:

Don’t cheap out on these, or you will be wrestling with a weird zip closure and leaks all the way home. We use camelbak water bladders for ourselves and the kids. I recommend 1.5 liters to fit in the kids packs and reduce their carry weight. Water weighs a lot, so only take what you need to get to the next water source. We carry 3 liters each, assuming we have a water source for day 2.

Kid carrier

We have the Osprey Poco AG plus, and it is a great backpack for carrying a child. We love it for day hikes, as it has a roomy compartment underneath that can store everything we need for a picnic and hike with the family. But for a big backpacking trip, it really doesn’t allow much gear, either in space or in weight. When we backpack with this kid carrier, I carry the baby (18 lbs), plus this pack with a bit of gear in it (16 lbs) and water. It’s enough to put me at 40 lbs. I wish I could tell you there is a magical alternative on the market that weighs nothing and allows a mama to carry a full pack, plus a nursing baby, but there really isn’t—this pack is as good as it gets right now (fingers crossed for better technology to serve strong hiking mamas and papas in the future!!)

Toddler (33 lbs) plus gear (16 lbs) plus water totaled 55 lbs. Not ideal scrambling up boulders..

Toddler (33 lbs) plus gear (16 lbs) plus water totaled 55 lbs. Not ideal scrambling up boulders..

Baby Carrier

We took the Eddie Bauer 3-in-1 baby carrier on our first hiking trip, but ended up putting the baby in the kid carrier and encouraging the toddler to walk instead. When he tired out, we put him on Daddy’s shoulders. Weirdly, carrying him on his shoulders was easier than having a baby carrier layered under a pack—layering baby carriers and backpacks disrupts how a pack fits to your body, unless its a fabric baby wrap, which isn’t quite as sturdy and requires a hand to support. I love the Eddie Bauer carrier for day hikes, but I’m going to experiment on our next trip to see if layering the fabric wrap under my own pack works better—it will save us weight and solve the fit issue, and I don’t mind using an arm to snuggle the baby as we hike. This is such a trouble spot for every parent that hikes with a kid and a pack full of gear, so it’ll take some experimentation to find what really works!

Kids Adventure Packs

Read more about our kid’s packs here. For now I’ll just say, we have the Tarn 12 REI packs for both of our kids. When they grow out of them we will size up to the Tarn 14. They are real packs, not toys. They fit a 1.5 liter water bladder, plus snacks, clothes, mini first aid kit, headlamp, poncho, a small toy, and a blanket strapped to the front.

Backpacking Tent

We have two backpacking tents. Our first trip, we took the Ledge Scorpion 2-person tent. We love this tent—it sets up fast, offers fantastic insulation and protection from wind and rain, and has storage vestibules for shoes etc. But it was tight with 5 people. As soon as we got home, we upgraded to the Big Agnes Manzanares HV SL 4 mtnGLO 4-person tent. This is living the high life—the tent is so huge it doesn’t seem like a backpacking tent at all, but it weighs the same as our 2-person tent, only 7 pounds!! It also has huge storage vestibules—so big we could fit our packs in them—and, to make you think you’re glamping, an LED light inside. It is faaaaannncy.

Tarp

This is just a basic must-have. Buy a tarp, do not put your tent on the muddy ground. It weighs—and costs—almost nothing. We bought a cheap one at target, you can find a similar one linked below, in a slightly less offensive color. Tarps are multi-functional, and can be rigged up as an impromptu shelter to cook under in the rain, or sleep under if you are going minimalist and don’t want to bother with a tent (Alastair Humphreys slept under a basha, in a bivy sleeping bag cover, straight on the ground, while he was backpacking through Spain. Add that to your bucket list.)

Sleeping Bags

Oh, the shame. Our first trip, I didn’t want to spend money on bedding—not until we had a trial run. It’s a big investment! I arranged to borrow from friends, then changed my mind, and packed one cheap $30 kids sleeping bag and two woobie military-issue blankets. I reasoned that we could sleep in a big pile in our tiny 2-person tent, snuggle up, and be warm. We were warm, but we were not comfortable. The day after we got home, I ordered these (after 6 hours of research. These were the first option I looked at. I spent 6 hours looking at everything else before I admitted the first one Chris suggested was the best one for the price.) We got the Hyke & Byke Shavano 32 Degree Down sleeping bags. Chris got the long size, I got regular. It’s a good idea to size your sleeping bag to your personal height, so you aren’t carrying extra weight and suffering a cold empty space at the bottom with a too-big bag, or compressing the insulation and chilling your toes with one that is too-small. There are more expensive bags that are rated for colder temperatures, or weigh less, but I wasn’t ready to drop $350 on a high-end sleeping bag. I figure that we can always upgrade if we decide to hike the Pacific Crest Trail.

Sleeping Pads

I completely skipped these our first trip. I KNEW the ground would be hard and uncomfortable, but didn’t have time to order backpacking sleeping pads, and I was eager to cut weight wherever I could. This was probably the worst place to do that. I ordered these along with the sleeping bags, the day after we got back. We have the Klymit Static V for adults and the Wellax Ultralight Air Sleeping Pad for the kids.. I wanted an inflatable pad to cut down on weight and space, plus I knew as side-sleepers we needed some extra padding between our hips and the ground. They both are super light weight and low-volume, but the Klymit has a bit of an edge on comfort and support for adults.

Inflatable Pillows

I got inflatable pillows on a whim by Sierra Designs at Target. These were the worst ever. If you shift an inch, the pillow shot out from under your head like a bar of soap when you step on it. My daughter woke me up multiple times looking for her pillow. I gave up on mine, and slept a million times more comfortably using my sweater balled up under my head. Chris wants to give it another with a smaller version that will fit inside the mummy bags. I will be saving space and weight by stuffing my sweater under my head from now on. Update: he bought new pillows for the whole family from Outdoor Vitals. They fit inside the mummy bag and are a smaller, sleeker design, so no losing it in the middle of the night. I’m actually pretty excited about these.

Woobie Blankets

We took these as a substitute for sleeping bags, and while they didn’t quite provide the snuggle factor, they are incredible at keeping you warm and dry, they pack small, and they only weigh about a pound. Our 5-year-old carried hers herself strapped to her backpack. I would probably leave these at home next time just for the sake of cutting down weight. My husband would never allow it.

Hammock

This is a luxury item, and I can’t help but feel that leaving it out would help bring down our weight just a bit, BUT AT WHAT COST?? We have a 2-person Honest Outfitters Double Camping Hammock, and it fits our whole family to watch the sunrise in the morning, snuggled up in our woobie blankets, drinking our imaginary hot cocoa from our fantasy titanium mugs (next time, that will be real.) It’s really nice to have a place for the kids to hang out and play around the campsite. Chris loves the hammock so much he is planning on buying an additional one to sleep in on a men’s trip this fall—this fancy one complete with mosquito netting, overhead tarp, and a storage sling below.

Matador Blanket

This felt like such an indulgence when I got it, but looking back, I’m really very grateful we had a super-lightweight waterproof blanket to put down for baby Coco to crawl around on. It folds smaller than my phone, so it doesn’t add much of a burden for the convenience. We all ate sitting on it instead of the slightly damp ground in the morning.

Mealtime Gear

Camp Stove

After a long day hiking, scavenging for firewood is exhausting. Even if it is dry, you’ll need to wait almost an hour for it to be hot enough to cook on. A camp stove can boil water in under a minute, and most backpacking food is designed to be re-hydrated in one of these. We have the SOTO Amicus Stove Cookset and love it.

Fuel

For the camp stove. Make sure you have this.

Bowls

I just brought some melamime bowls from Target for our first trip, but next time I want to upgrade to these titanium ones. Apart from looking way cooler, they weight half as much, can be heated directly by a flame, and match our sporks. I know solo backpackers often eat straight out of the pot they cook in, or the bag their food came in, but we are cooking for a family here. Next time I have an excuse to upgrade, I’m going to buy these ones.

Sporks

Also titanium. Strong and incredibly lightweight. The only utensil you need on the trail. I considered all kinds of fancy mess kits with multiple matching pieces, or utensils sets that roll up in cute little canvas wraps. But at the end of the day, sporks do the job without the extra weight and bulk, and those fancy mess kits would just take up space—hence the stacking bowls. When backpacking, sporks are the cool option.

Mugs

I don’t have these yet, but I’m putting them on the list because hot cocoa for breakfast just after rolling out of my tent is a foundational part of my childhood and I would never disgrace my father by abandoning this tradition. I’m going to get these, also titanium. They’re expensive, but titanium is indestructible and weighs almost nothing, so it’s worth it. Also, these are single-wall, so they can be heated directly on the flame. (It does conduct heat though, so drink with care!) …I can’t resist the image of sitting on a rock, cradling my titanium mug of hot cocoa, watching the sunrise. Yes please!

Bear Canister

This serves two purposes: It keeps the bears from getting into your food (even if you hang it in a tree, they can chew through the rope and then you’re toast. Or out of toast. No toast for you), and it forces over-packers like me from bringing enough food to feed a small army. Third purpose: you can sit on it—a luxury when the alternative is crouching over a camp stove to cook dinner. This Canister fits food for about 4-5 days, so it’s perfect for a 2-night trip when we’re eating lunch and dinner from our packs on day 1, and only need to stuff food for day 2 and day 3 breakfast.

Water purification

These tablets are a fantastic way to cut down on your weight—just do a bit of research beforehand to make sure there is a water source on your route, and plan some way to filter out sediment. I took a bandana. We also have lifestraw water bottles, but the water filters as you drink and doesn’t work for cooking and meals. I’ve seen attachments for a water bladder that filters water as you drink as well—but I don’t like the idea of dirtying my water resevior, and again, if it filters as you drink, you don’t have water to boil and cook your dinner.

Waterproof matches

We cook on our stove so we aren’t dependent on finding dry fuel for a fire, but I love a cozy campfire, so we brought matches on the off chance that we could find dry wood. A small box weighs almost nothing, so it’s worth it.

Garbage bags

Leave no trace means packing out food packages, uneaten food, non-compostable diapers, and anything the jerk before you left on the ground. Bring several.

Dry Bags

This was another impulsive buy, but I would never leave them behind, now. We used them to pack in extra food (which we didn’t need) and hang it in the tree, protected from rain and bears (neither of which appeared. They knew they were foiled). We also used them to organize diapers, wipes, and clothes. When you’re on the trail, the last thing you want is to have a million loose items kicking around in your pack. Why the primary colors, you ask? Trust me, you don’t want to be hunting for your missing bag of food or gear in the wild, if that bag is camouflaged.

Our complete kit for our first backpacking trip. Note the single cheap sleeping bag, the absence of pads, and multiple overstuffed food bags (3 clear, 1 blue, 1 yellow, plus the bear canister….we did not even eat half of it).

Our complete kit for our first backpacking trip. Note the single cheap sleeping bag, the absence of pads, and multiple overstuffed food bags (3 clear, 1 blue, 1 yellow, plus the bear canister….we did not even eat half of it).

Hygiene Items

Trowel

You can buy a lightweight plastic trowel, which fits in a large clear plastic zip bag. Enrich the soil 40 yards from a trail, 100 yards from a water source, make sure you aren’t visible from a nearby camp or higher viewpoint (oops). Don’t waste time or wipes on pee—seriously, drip-drying is not that bad. Bury solids 6 inches below the surface. (Hint: your hole needs to be deeper than 6 inches if you intend to put anything in it),

Bio-Degradable Diapers

You can bury bio-degradable diapers, and save yourself the nasty of having to pack those out—but make sure your diapers are 100% compostable. Some companies claim they are biodegradable, but there is plastic in the elastic that won’t degrade anytime in the next few hundred years. I’m going to order these ones online to have an option I can fully compost—I bought honest co diapers for our first trip, intending to cut off the non-compostable elastic and waistband sections, but it turned out to be easier to pack it back than to try to rip off half and dispose of the parts separately.

Compostable Wipes

This makes such a huge difference to your comfort and your children’s when you’re backpacking. Bring compostable wipes and save the trouble of packing it out. No more nasty toilet paper!

Waterproof Zipper Bags

I like to use reuseable where I can. These bags are incredible—I use them for everything, not just backpacking. They make transferring items from diaper bag to day pack to beach tote so easy—just grab the bag with snacks, the other with diaper changing items, and a third with changes of clothes. I had one that I could access easily on the trial that had two sizes of diapers, wipes, trowel, and hand sanitizer. I also used them for snacks, hygiene items, anything small that I didn’t want kicking around the bottom of the bag. Simply put, this organizes everything in your hiking pack so you aren’t digging through endless loose items in the middle of the trail to find the bug spray.

Microfiber towel

We have two of these. They’re tiny, but in the event of a drenching rain, they would do the job of getting us all respectably dry before we change the kids into clean clothes. I’m realizing as I write this that if we got drenched through all of our layers, Chris and I would be stuck in our underwear until our single change of clothes dried out. The price of minimalist backpacking.

Insect Repellent

I try to avoid anything with DEET since we have little kids, and Picaridin actually works! We use a heavy duty spray version, but I’m getting this lotion for our next trip—I’ve heard rave reviews from more experienced adventuring friends. Whatever you get, make sure it’s long-lasting, child-safe, and repels ticks, too.

Hand Sanitizer

Obviously, purell is the standard go-to. I also use Trader Joe’s little spray bottles for a simpler approach with the kids.

Personal Items

Smart wool socks

These are a must. We wear thick winter ones for chilly nights and cool summer-weight ones to hike in. A good pair of socks makes a mediocre pair of shoes into a fantastic pair. We even have them for the kids.

Base Layers

I’ve heard people rave about merino wool as a lightweight base layer that keeps you warm, cool, dry, and stink-free. Chris has a set from mountain warehouse, and it’s on my list of things to get for myself and the kids to sleep in on chilly nights, or wear under our clothes in cold weather. For now, the kids wear leggings and warm sweat pants, and I wear aerie chill leggings and a long-sleeve workout top.

Pants, Shorts, Tops, Sweaters, Underwear

The key here is to layer. I like to be able to wear everything I bring, except for one change of socks and undies. I bring an extra set for the kids, especially if there is water to play in, because I like them to be able to play freely without concern for keeping their clothes tidy. I usually try to get technical fabrics, reinforced knees, or functional clothes that can do double-duty as shorts or pants. Chris and I both have a pair of convertible pants. I know people rave about down as a coat/jacket option, because it stuffs so small and keeps you warm. Uniqlo has affordable options.

Hiking Shoes

These are critical. I thought my tennis shoes were fine until I hiked in boots—now I can’t go back, even in hot weather. Apart from being insanely sturdy, they increase your stability scrambling over rocks so that you can grip better and step confidently without fear of twisting an ankle. I could get away with tennis shoes when I was hiking solo—but with a kid and extra gear to carry, I wouldn’t dare. I love the Columbia hiking boot, and Chris has a very affectionate relationship with his Merrells (that’s saying something). They are both amazing—the first time you stand in a creek and feel the coolness of water flowing over your shoes, then step out and realize you’re PERFECTLY DRY is pretty thrilling. But if I know I’m going to be wading up to my knees, I love my Keen Whisper Water shoes. I still prefer to wear boots for the ankle support with a heavy pack, but I often reach for the Keens if we are going for a day hike to a creek or waterfall.

For the kids, we bought Merrill water shoes. I can’t tell you how wonderful it is to not have to worry about wet shoes, and to have sturdy footwear that doesn’t slip on rocks. Now that we have them, they wear almost nothing else.

In general, you’ll be safe with Keen or Merrill brands. I was nervous about trying Columbia, but I took a risk to have cute boots to hike in and, I’m relieved to say, it worked out for me—even if my Dad asked if I was going hiking or to the ballet. (Ha, Ha.) …I say, if you can have fashion AND function, twirl on!

Hats

We wear baseball caps, but I like to have a bonnet for the baby to keep the sun off her head and out of her eyes when she is out of the hiking backpack. I got a two-pack from Jelly Tree,.

Hiking with 3-week-old Colette in a Copper Pearl Swaddle, tied as an impromptu sling, at Grandfather Mountain, NC.

Hiking with 3-week-old Colette in a Copper Pearl Swaddle, tied as an impromptu sling, at Grandfather Mountain, NC.

Swaddle

This is my absolute favorite baby swaddle. I had muslin swaddles for my first two babies but now I wish I could go back and do nothing but jersey—it’s incredibly stretchy, so the baby will stay wrapped up even if they wiggle a lot, and it can be folded in a triangle and tied around your back to double as a sling. I hiked with Coco like this when she was only 3 weeks old, and even though I had to use an arm to support her the whole time, it was so nice to have the option to be able to nurse and keep walking. I like using it now to wear her around camp so that my hands are a bit more free.

LED Inflatable Light and Charger

I was very excited to discover this, but we didn’t end up using it much on our first trip. We forgot our phone charging cords, and we already had headlamps—but it was still a pretty cool lantern for our tent. I think I will be more appreciative for it next time.

Head Lamps

Head lamps are weirdly a very exciting thing to have. They look insanely nerdy until you become a gear enthusiast and then anyone wearing a headlamp gains the automatic status of being so functional-focused that they are too cool to care about a strap mark on their forehead. Kids are insanely excited about their own headlamp. We have these for adults and for kids.

Shop Our Headlamps:
Coleman Kids Mini LED Headlamp

Ponchos

If the weather looks clear, I don’t want to pack the extra weight and bulk of rain coats, but I always have some cheap ponchos in our kit.

Medicine, toothbrush and toothpaste, contact case/solution, hair ties

This is pretty much self-explanatory. Why, you ask did I not add deodorant to this list? Well, everyone has different must-haves. I did, in fact, leave this out of our kit on our first trip. It wasn’t hot enough to miss it, and we were wearing the same clothes anyway. Judge not.

Phone charger, map

I use my phone for photos, but I often don’t have cell reception, so a map—even just a screenshot of our trail—is a must.

Book

Yes, this made my must-have list. I read aloud to my children every day, multiple times a day. We do a lot of picture books, but we always have at least one chapter book that we read as a family. On our first backpacking trip, we had to leave all of the picture books at home, but we still took Heidi. I thought it was appropriate that we read a book about the magic and healing power of mountains as we headed for our own little hike to the grassy ridges of the Appalachian Trail, in the midst of a global pandemic. Somehow, we always have time to snuggle up together and listen to a read-aloud book on the trail.

Don’t let this list intimidate you. This is what I have in my kit—yours will look different. Maybe you’ll bring a toothbrush for every member of your family. Or maybe you’ll have a sleeping bag liner, to keep your sleeping bag clean (don’t wash down!!). Maybe you can cross half of the items off of this list, sleep under the stars, and forage your food from the wild. (That’s awesome, please share that story.) The point isn’t that you need a bunch of fancy gear to adventure with your family—you don’t. On our first backpacking trip, we didn’t have sleeping bags, pads, or a tent to fit the 5 of us—and we still had a fantastic time. Scrounge up what you can and hit the trail—you’ll discover what you really want to have for the next time. Or maybe you’ll ditch half of what you brought along, and become an ultra-light backpacker. Who knows? Next time we might just skip the diapers and go for split-butt pants.

Rosalind Burns
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