Shopping for outdoorsy families with very small children is tricky: the gear has to survive rough handling, keep little ones warm and dry, and genuinely hold their attention. Outside Online's editors polled their own staff for the outdoor gifts they and their kids use in real life, and the resulting list spans babies through roughly age 12, with prices from about $13 to $1,500.
The budget end is strong. A colourful kids' rain suit (around $25) gets the nod for making outdoor play possible in any weather — one editor calls it the family's 'yard suit' and the reason the answer to 'can we go outside?' is always yes. A Turtle Fur neck gaiter under $30 earns praise for stretching cold-weather outings, kids' binoculars spark backyard safaris and dinosaur hunts, and a Radio Flyer wheelbarrow proves toddlers are often happiest simply messing about in the dirt. A picture book called I Wonder Who Lives In That Tree doubles as a bedtime story for nature-curious kids, and toy trucks apparently work just as well in snow as in sand — handy on snow days when parents need a few hours of focus.
On apparel, the Patagonia Infant Micro D Fleece Bunting is flagged as a splurge worth receiving, warm and soft but roomy enough for walkers; the advice is to size up so it lasts several winters. A lightweight full-zip hoodie suits texture-sensitive toddlers who refuse pullovers, and Mad Rock's Mad Monkey III climbing shoes are the pick for tiny aspiring climbers — the logic being that kids outgrow shoes long before wearing them out, so durability and price beat performance.
Bigger-ticket items target active families. The Kids Ride Shotgun bike seats come in two versions: the 2.0 combo works from 18 months and suits most families, while the Pro (for ages 2 and up) was redesigned to sit off a carbon frame without scratching it and handles real singletrack. The Snow Peak Alpha Breeze tent, a three-to-four-person model, won fans for its covered front porch — welcome shade for desert and high-altitude camping — and four doors, so midnight bathroom runs don't wake the whole tent. The priciest pick is the Thule Chariot Cross 2 trailer, a genuine multi-year workhorse that converts from bike trailer to stroller, jogger or a ski-pulled toboggan, with a waterproof boot, rain fly and sun shade. Editors there started with the single version and upgraded to the double when a second child arrived.
For travellers, the takeaway is that family adventures don't pause for nappies: the right kit — a rain suit, a trailer that grows with the family, a tent with a shaded porch — turns babies and toddlers into genuine trail, beach and campsite companions. Anyone building a gift list for outdoorsy parents, or kitting out their own crew before a trip, will find the whole age-by-age breakdown useful.
