Adventure Essentials: Our Favorite Travel Gear

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We love to travel. We firmly believe that travel can change your life and positively impact your worldview.  Our family spends time each year traveling to various locale across the country. Our travels are some of our favorite family memories. 

 

Any kind of travel is great, whether its being a tourist in your own city or planning a whirlwind, world tour. We want nothing more than for you to get out and plan adventures with your family, whatever your budget allows. 

Having the right gear, though, can be the difference between discovering a new passion and having a miserable time.

 
One of the most important parts of planning an adventure is to decide what to pack for your family. Whether you travel by plane, train or minivan, it’s important to have gear that simplifies or enhances your travel experience. Through lots of trials (and even more mistakes), we’ve discovered what works for us.

 
Below are some of our favorite travel and content creation gear. It may or may not be right for you, but hopefully, it will at least get the wheels turning as to what type of equipment you might need for your future family trips. Some of the items below may seem simple or obvious, but they’ve successfully helped get us through our large family adventures. We wouldn’t have survived or kept our sanity without much of the gear listed below.
 
 

Backpack Cooler

It’s rare to find us anywhere without one a backpack cooler. We have several backpack coolers and take them almost everywhere we go:

  • Vacations
  • Camping
  • Walt Disney World
  • Universal Studios
  • Amusement parks
  • The beach
  • Boating
  • Sporting events
  • Zoos
  • Museums
  • Tournaments
You don’t have to spend a ton of money to get a quality backpack cooler. Just make sure it can handle whatever you want to keep cold and doesn’t leak. High-end backpack coolers often stay cold longer and come with more features like waterproof pockets.
 

Cooler

When a backpack cooler isn’t enough, we rely on a high-quality cooler to keep our food and beverages cold. Since we’re a large family and eat a ton, we don’t skimp with cheaper coolers that eventually leak or don’t stay cold longer than a day. When picking a cooler, also pay attention to the design, especially the handles and wheels. It might not mean much when you’re purchasing one, but it will when you’re hauling it to and from your vehicle.

Cooler Ice Packs


Having a quality cooler is nice, but it’s a waste if you’re you’re just going to fill it with bags of ice or inferior ice packs that thaw out too quickly. We trust Arctic Ice Reusable Ice Packs. They stay cold for days upon days.

Travel Pillow

I typically don’t use one, but that’s because I usually don’t sleep when I travel. My family swears by them, though. The J-Pillow Chin Supporting Travel Pillow is among the best, thanks to its unique design that helps support your head, neck, and chin. Consider it an upgrade to your old travel pillow.

Hanging Toiletry Bag

Our family of six packs a lot of toiletries, so having a large hanging toiletry bag helps keep them secured, organized, and conveniently out of the way.

Carry On Suitcase

Having quality luggage can often make or break your trip. There are plenty of quality brands out there as well as an assortment of sizes to choose from. We like Travelpro Maxlite Suitcases, but pick whatever works best for your needs.

Backpack Folding Beach Chair

We don’t always take gear with us on a beach vacation, especially if we fly, but when we do take it, we always pack our backpack folding beach chairs. They are an absolute must for any beach vacation (and cheaper than renting chairs).

Noise Canceling Headphones

I’m sure there are better headphones than this, but these are my go-to noise-canceling bluetooth headphones for working from home and traveling. They’ve lasted forever and block a ton of noise.

Content Creation Gear

Canon M50 Mark II

The Canon EOS M50 Mark II is an upgrade from our older camera. It’s what I used to learn photography and what I still use when we travel. It’s a solid camera for most needs. This version comes with tons of additional accessories.

Sony Alpha A6400

We recently added the Sony Alpha A6400 Mirrorless Camera to our gear. We use it to film YouTube videos and videos when we travel.

GoPro HERO10 Black

For action videos, we stick with the GoPro. We have the HERO9, but the GoPro HERO10 Black looks even better.

GoPro HERO10 Protective Housing

Do yourself a favor if you have a GoPro and purchase the GoPro HERO10 Protective Housing. You’ll protect your camera during use plus it’s waterproof down to 196 feet.