When you'll need a backpack for a day hike

Sometimes called daypacks for day hikes or for kids, backpacks are essential once kids come down from the baby carrier. As the child is older, you’ll need to find a better way than a fanny pack to carry all of the items you need – snacks, first-aid kit, extra clothing, and more.

With multiple children, fanny packs can get awful crowded, so every time you dig through them, whatever you’ve packed gets knocked out of place. That makes finding an item difficult the next time you need it and increases the chances of losing something. Fanny packs also can carry only so much, so upsizing has it limits. By instead enlisting your back and shoulders, you can carry more items, a necessity the more children you have and the farther your hike goes.

Read more about day hiking with children in my Hikes with Tykes guidebooks.