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newguy
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02/20/2019 02:17PM   (Thread Older Than 3 Years)
I'll be taking my daughter, 9, on her first trip this summer. She's tough so I have no concerns at all. I have a 6-year-old son as well who will be staying home for now. What are your favorite gear suggestions/gear tips specific to kids? I'm thinking mainly of required items like sleeping bags (synthetic or down? cheap brand or a serious brand?), paddles, boots/shoes (old athletic shoes?) -- all the stuff specific to Boundary Waters vs. regular outdoor/exercise.

Is there anything extra you've found kids/grandkids enjoy that I might not think of when packing for an adult?
 
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TipsyPaddler
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02/20/2019 05:45PM  
For my trips with my now 6 year old son in the BWCA I have focused on sleep systems, packs, clothes and paddles.

I think it is worthwhile to get a good quality kid’s size sleeping bag and pad so everyone gets a good night’s sleep. I picked up a Big Agnes Wolverine kids bag and Air Core Ultra 20” x 66” air matress on a nice discount at an online retailer. The bag is synthetic fill so not crazy expensive but smaller than an adult bag so weight and bulk are still reasonable. I like the BA integrated bag and matress system as my 5 year old rolls around a lot and falls off a regular air matress in the middle of the night. Waking up several times a night to push him back onto his pad was not fun for mom and dad!

He carries his bag, pad, clothes and a toy of his choice in a CCS Rucksack. I debated getting a kid’s size CCS pack but opted to just let him use my solo tripping ruck and it works great. He a tall kid though...a good head higher than a lot of his class mates..so watch recommended torso sizes. On portages he is in charge of his pack, paddle and fishing pole (which is broken down and stuffed into a cheap plastic poster tube with a sling strap he carries over his shoulder.

I make sure he has a good rain coat, rain pants, and hat with a brim. Something reasonably priced from REI or Amazon works fine. I don’t spend a lot as he grows out of stuff well before it wears out. I would plan one extra complete change of clothes more than an adult would bring as kids are more accident prone and will “somehow” walk into a lake up to their knees wearing there camp shoes, fall into a giant puddle, etc. I also learned best to bring synthetic underwear vs cotton as the cotton takes forever to dry. Felt kinda dumb bringing his cotton undies as I don’t bring cotton anything myself but I didn’t think that one through well! He has some kid size Keens for portaging and a pair of crocs for in camp. Crocs dry fast when they get accidentally wet in above scenarios.

It is worthwhile getting a kid’s sized paddle so they can help paddle. I used a telescoping, emergency paddle for small boats/rafts ($10-20) that I tied to a seat bar with paracord on the first trip when my son was four. Last year I didn’t bother with the paracord and he never dropped the paddle overboard. This year I am considering a Bending Branches Twig or simlar paddle.
 
TipsyPaddler
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02/20/2019 07:10PM  
The Canoeing with Kids forum on this site is well worth a read too.
 
02/20/2019 07:29PM  
Not necessary gear, but my daughter enjoyed taking pictures, so we took a waterproof disposable camera for her. I know a lot of kids have phones now, and if your kids bring one be sure it has a waterproof case... With a float attached.
 
THEGrandRapids
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02/20/2019 09:34PM  
as you have mentioned- I would bring a kid size paddle with.

Maybe also sneak some 'smores in without them knowing until the second night (or every night)

A checklist of items to watch and listen for.... Loon call, eagle, fish jump, wolf howl, shooting star, moose hoof prints, etc. Nice way to recap the day as well. It may even cement some of those memories for years to come. I feel like this is sort of cheating- but it would make them focus on those things. every kid's different.

edit: Think of it as a fill in the blank trip journal. Can have spots for lake names- portage distances, etc.
 
02/21/2019 02:41PM  
Kids can find just about anything to keep themselves amused. A good book or two and a hammock could be useful additions to your gear.

Why leave the 6yo at home? Last year was my 13yo's 2nd trip and my 6yo's first. Thinking of taking just the now 7yo on a trip since the now 14yo will be entering high school & the dates don't work out.

One thing I learned last year was about the only time I had for relaxing was either before the kids got up in the morning or after they went to bed at night. The rest of the time dad was on duty for everything.
 
OCDave
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02/21/2019 04:42PM  
I strongly endorse the hammock recommendation.

Also, consider a compact game such as Yatzee or Uno. At least a deck of cards.
 
newguy
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02/21/2019 08:44PM  
We'll definitely pack some games, we are huge board gamers. Six year old stays home one more year until he is a little tougher and a little more adventurous with food. So far he has not stayed the night in a tent even in backyard or local campground, going inside or into RVs instead.

Tipsy, thanks for the advice as well. Daughter is strong and wants a pack, so I will start looking for one. Good advice on BA system as well. Does that last all the way through the teens in terms of its size?
 
TipsyPaddler
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02/22/2019 05:54AM  
There are three sizes of Big Agnes kids sleeping bags and the Wolverine is the middle size. The BA web site has great details on the different sizes. For my 5 year old the smallest size was a little tight so we went with the Wolverine to hopefully get a few years out of it. Once he outgrows the BA Wolverine we will see if one of our adult sized mummy bags will work or if he needs an interim size. Hopefully the latter case!

Completely agree on a couple family games or books for rainy days and evenings. A hammock or two is also well worth the couple of pounds. We brought an inexpensive ENO hammock two years ago and it was so popular now I bring two to stop the boys fighting over it!

We are not a big fishing family but I also started bringing a couple rods and a basic tackle box with some slip bobber rigs and 3-4 lures based on the Fishing forum recommendations and the boys will fish for an hour or two on their own.

I also put the kids to work in camp. They help with tent set up and take down, collecting water and filling water bottles, collecting and sawing firewood (I still do all the axe work), cleaning up after meals, and walking the camp site to ensure LNT just before we hop in the canoe.

Last year my 14 year old asked for his own map so he can track our progress on travel days and I let him do more and more of the route decisions with a firm “dad veto power” in place. Its kind of fun to occasionally quiz him on where he thinks we are on a given lake. His navigation and map reading skills are developing nicely. In the evenings we spend a few minutes reviewing the day’s route and what’s planned for the next travel day.
 
muddyfeet
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02/22/2019 09:20PM  
I brought my two kids on their first trip last year (3) and (5). They each liked having their own camp cup for water or hot chocolate. They each had a paddle, and sometimes they actually paddled forwards the same speed the canoe was moving. Each had their own rain jacket, and sun hat. Each kid got to pick out a new pfd at fleet farm before the trip. We improvised on sleeping pads.
The 5-yr-old got a nodder 25 sleeping bag from rei, and I wouldn’t hesitate to get another one for the little brother. It is a quality kid-specific bag.
The kids used whatever Velcro-type sandals they had and we wet-footed the landings.
We brought a few games that ended up getting played when we rode out a thunderstorm under the tarp. I took the hooks off of a few old rappala-type lures and they enjoyed using their Mickey Mouse fishing poles to cast and reel “fish” while in camp. The most entertaining thing by far was a tree stump that was half-fallen into the lake: they spent hours every day just climbing on it.
The trip was fantastic and made some good memories, but I’ll echo the warning that it is a lot of work with little kids : you are on active parent duty from sunrise to sunset.
 
goaljohnbill
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02/27/2019 10:02AM  
muddyfeet: "... I took the hooks off of a few old rappala-type lures and they enjoyed using their Mickey Mouse fishing poles to cast and reel “fish” while in camp. ... "


This 1 bit has saved more of our trips than anything I can think of without the worry of pulling hooks out of hair fingers noses or ears. We let them use them in the boats while traveling when they dont want to paddle or just ride.

Second decent but inexpensive rain gear. We have passed each one down to the second kid and havnt had any wear out before being out grown by both
 
newguy
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02/27/2019 10:45AM  
I was able to get Marmot Precip for 50% off a few weeks ago, so basically $20-$25 each for jacket and pants. Got some for myself as well.

Maybe this is a better discussion outside of the kids thread, but for kids (or adults), why use a framed vs. frameless pack? Some are called internal frame, so what's an external frame? Are framed packs better for kids? Obviously they're not going to be wearing a massive 40-60# pack.
 
02/27/2019 11:32AM  
Frogg toggs, will tend to tear, but at the price they are worth it. My son was conscientious with his and they have lasted a long time and at $16 well worth it.

Youth Frogg Toggs
 
newguy
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02/27/2019 11:37AM  
I bought a pair of Frogg Toggs for my first Canada fishing trip, and they didn't last me even a day sitting inside a carpeted boat. I would not recommend that fabric for anyone.
 
THEGrandRapids
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02/27/2019 11:48AM  
newguy: "I was able to get Marmot Precip for 50% off a few weeks ago, so basically $20-$25 each for jacket and pants. Got some for myself as well.


Maybe this is a better discussion outside of the kids thread, but for kids (or adults), why use a framed vs. frameless pack? Some are called internal frame, so what's an external frame? Are framed packs better for kids? Obviously they're not going to be wearing a massive 40-60# pack."


I would stick to their school backpack. Only reason for a gear backpack is to carry a heavy load and for the pack to support a heavy load. I wouldn't have them carry a heavy load. Maybe a bulky one, but not weight. Framed back has aluminum tubes on the exterior to frame the back- and the bags "hang" from the frame.
 
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