When camping, especially with small children, one must remember the rule of three: Layers, Long Pants and Performance Polyester!

Even before I had children I was always guilty of forgetting at least one of the rule of three or even screwing up the layer factor by having a base layer of cotton instead of performance polyester. All things that one may think “really, is that a big deal while tent camping”? The answer is yes, especially for the kiddos.

Layers, Long Pants and Polyester

When camping, whether it be at sea level or in the mountaintops, layers are a key ingredient to staying warm and dry. Weather is always a tricky part of camping and one needs to always be prepared for the best of times and the worst of times. Sad are the campers that forget rain gear in torrential downpours.

When packing for the kids (and yourselves) start with the base layer which should be a quick drying polyester and not cotton. The reason for this is because cotton takes a long time to dry and if one’s small child were to say, fall in a creek at noon, one would want that base layer to be dry in time for bed! (Yes, this has happened specifically to us!)

Good examples of base layer are these items:

Patagonia Baby (and Toddler) Capilene 3 Long Underwear

Under Armor Youth ColdGear Base

These are both good options for layering on the chillier days you may encounter while camping in the summer. They are also solid for the night time when temps drop and an extra layer is needed before bed or in bed.

Next you want to think about pants and short sleeve and long sleeves shirts. I tend to only pack pants for our kids while camping due to the fact that my oldest tends to fall a lot and skinned knees are not fun to contend with all day! A lesson I learned on the pictured camping trip. Another option is to have shorts over your base layer pants. For shirt options you would want to bring long sleeve and short sleeve and be sure to bring several change options as shirts tend to become filthy by the end of the day!

Finally, you want to think about jackets. For this layer there are several to be packed: Rain jacket, Fleece, Windbreaker and for the babies involved, a Bunting. If you pack all of these options you will be prepared for all weather conditions.

Shoes and Extras

Closed toed shoes as opposed to sandals are my strong recommendation for kids when at the campsite. Due to the nature of the outdoors rocks, roots, and stubbed toes are all about when open toed shoes are worn. I do, however, recommend Keen’s Newport H2 for a summer closed toed sandal option.

Other items I recommend bringing:

Sun hat

Snow hat (summer mountain camping)

Wool Long Under Wear (for sleeping)

Wool Socks

If all else fails, just remember over-packing as opposed to under-packing is more beneficial than not!

Coming up next:

Tent Living Is A Very Personal Thing - If Your Family Were a Tent What Kind of Tent Would They Be?