Our Favorite Gear
Below is some of our favorite travel and camping gear. All of these items we have purchased ourselves and use frequently. There are all items that we highly recommend. Some of these are affiliate links and we may earn a small commission if you purchase items from the link.
Eagle Creek Packing Cubes These packing cubes are extremely lightweight. Jordan prefers these packing cubes. I like them for things like socks and underwear. I prefer the eBags for the girls clothes as I like being able to easily see what’s inside via the see-through mesh.
Medium eBag Packing Cubes These eBag packing cubes are great for easily seeing what’s inside each cube. My favorite size are the medium ones, but have found I use multiple sizes for different trips.
Set of 4 eBag Packing Cubes This set of 4 offers a great variety. I use the slim eBag for our camping silverware and spatulas or for swimsuits/sox/undies. The large size is great for keeping all the girls clothes in one bag.
Kenai 65L Cooler We LOVE this cooler!! It’s a fraction of the price of the Yeti, and so far has kept things cool for several days. It’s the perfect size to also double as another seat. For our family of 5 this is a good size, but if you don’t need this much space a smaller one or two smaller ones may be a better option (it can be a bit hard to get in/out of the van with our current set up). We have the Seafoam color, but I like teal the best – kids won on the color choice)!
Kenai 45L Cooler We have the 65L which is good for our family of 5, but if you don’t need quite as much space the 45L might be a great option!
CGear Sandfree Camping Mat This mat was so great that we bought a second one! We have both an extra large that we use on the side of our van as well as a small one for the back. The XL one we often take to put down at the beach or when having a picnic even when we aren’t camping (good family size). The small one can also hang from the back of the van (between the doors) as well as act for a sun shade (not the ideal use). We mostly use them to keep sand out of the van and they work great.
Nite Ize Gear Tie These are the perfect heavy duty, handy-to-have gear ties for so many uses. We have held up blankets, lamps, power cords and so many other things with these ties. A must have for all sorts of random uses!
White Noise Machine We had different white noise machines with our older girls, but wanted something more portable. This has been perfect. It can hook on the back of the seat in the van or to the stroller. It is rechargeable with a USB port so can also plug into our Yeti Battery.