Gone are the days when leaving your phone on the charging dock, at the ski lodge, in your backpack, or in the car is an option. I'm a big fan of outdoor adventure travel, but also a big fan of having my phone with me when I'm on vacation. It's often my camera, my communication device, my note taker, and my navigator. But I hate it when I feel limited because I'm worried about my phone. My … [Read more...]
Travel Gear We Use: best carry on luggage for kids
January 20, 2017 By
Welcome back to our Travel Gear We Use series. Today, we're recommending best carry-on size luggage for kids. When packing for a family trip, we are big fans of using carry-on luggage (here's an article on flying carry-on only). Why? Flying carry-on only saves money, helps kids become more responsible for their belongings, and keeps 'baggage' at a minimum...literally. Our favorite carry-on luggage … [Read more...]
WiFi hotspot in your car: ZTE Mobley review
November 4, 2016 By
AT&T reached out to us to product test their mobile hotspot, the ZTE Mobley. We said we'd give it a whirl on a seven-hour road trip, because I was curious about the pros and cons of having a WiFi hotspot in your car: after trying it out, would we want to keep it? Would we decide we needed it, or not? We opted to set up the ZTE Mobley mobile hotspot in our Toyota van for use during a … [Read more...]
Travel gear we use: packing cubes and TSA bags for the family
October 28, 2016 By
Today in our Travel Gear We Use series, we're talking about using packing cubes to make family packing easy! Below are the packing cubes we use for every trip, as well as the carry-on liquid quart bag we recommend. Many families consider packing cubes just for air travel, but we use them every time we pack. Most recently, packing cubes made our lives easier en route to a Lake Tahoe vacation … [Read more...]
My oh my: Which insulated water bottle to buy?!
September 23, 2016 By
At each season's Outdoor Retailer show (where new products from outdoor and travel brands are showcased and introduced), one or two top travel trends always emerge. This summer, one of those trends was insulated water bottles. It started with HydroFlask, and now, it seems every water bottle company has their own version of a double-walled, vacuum-sealed, stainless steel water bottle. Which to buy … [Read more...]
Travel Gear We Use: GoTenna review
July 8, 2016 By
When we visited Paris last winter, we spent a wonderful day in the Louvre. At least, it was mostly wonderful, except for the two hours we spent looking for each other. My husband had our two older sons in one section, and I had our youngest in another, and our plans to 'find each other later' went woefully sideways. We both had phones, but had put them in airplane mode to save on our international … [Read more...]
Travel Gear We Use: Ecoths shirts for teen travel
June 3, 2016 By
We've been singing the praises of men's clothing line Ecōths for several years now. Part of my favorite clothing company, Aventura, Ecōths is all about comfortable, practical men's wear that's environmentally and socially responsible. Not only are many of the offerings made from recycled or organic materials, Ecōths' GOOD SAM program has donated over 150,000 meals across the US to local food … [Read more...]
Coleman camping gear and #FindYourPark
May 11, 2016 By
It's camping season in most of the US and Canada, and I'm excited to spend time in the outdoors for the next few months. Most of us are now familiar with our National Park system's #FindYourPark initiative, which is helping more families than ever discover outdoor recreation in state and national parks. Most families are also familiar with Coleman, an outdoor gear brand with a long … [Read more...]
Travel Gear We Use: best overnight backpack brands for kids and youth
May 6, 2016 By
As an editor at Practical Travel Gear and a gear reviewer for OutdoorsNW, I test a lot of travel products and outdoor gear. Some of this gear we keep and continue to use as a family, and some of it gets pushed to the wayside. Some of the most-frequent questions I'm asked on Pit Stops for Kids is related to what to pack, what to bring, and what to wear. Our Travel Gear We Use series will address … [Read more...]
Travel Gear We Use: Camping Comfort Items
April 20, 2016 By
We used to be hardcore minimalist campers...until we starting reviewing camping gear. Then we realized there's a whole slew of fun, convenient camping items we now can't live without. Turns out, we like to be comfortable! While we still camp in a minimalist fashion when it comes to backpacking gear, we've added the following camping comfort items to our car camping experience. Big Agnes … [Read more...]
