Carrying Your Kid on an Outdoor Adventure Is Easier with This Gear

Shortly after my daughter Magnolia turned five, my wife and I took her hiking in Frisco, Colorado on one of our favorite trails. Over the years we’ve lugged her along the six-mile out-and-back using a variety of soft-sided baby wraps, front-mounted child carriers, backpack haulers, and, of course, on piggyback rides. But for this outing, Magnolia made a bold proclamation: no carrier was needed because she intended to hike the whole trail herself. She completed most of the journey on foot, with just a short piggyback ride to the car.

The hike signified a turning point in my experience as an outdoor parent. The phase of early childhood, marked by backbreaking effort to carry my daughter across great distances had ended. A new phase, likely involving backbreaking effort to help her schlep her own gear, had begun. To celebrate this transition, I feel compelled to share the five pieces of gear that made this first period of outdoor parenting—the one that involved constant child-carrying—easier and more fun.

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Burley Ski Kit

$290 at Burley

Burley bike trailers and strollers are ubiquitous in the suburbs, and in my small town they outnumber minivans and station-wagons combined. I understand why: the Burley cabin design is simple and bomb-proof, and every accessory that attaches to the cabin—wheels, harnesses, mounting arms for bikes or jogging—can be easily replaced when broken or lost. For our second winter as parents, we purchased an add-on for our Honeybee trailer that made it our go-to gear for winter: the Burley ski kit. The $289 package allowed us to bring Magnolia with us on cross-country ski outings and snowshoe adventures in the mountains, or even long walks to the local sledding hill after big snowstorms in our neighborhood.

The $289 package includes two skis, two adjustable tow bars, and a waist harness. The conversion is simple: a push-button design allows you to swap the wheels for the skis, and the tow bars slide into square mounts on the front of the trailer. You adjust your desired length on the tow bars, connect the waist harness, click a buckle, and you’re off. Inside the cabin, your kid can snuggle under blankets and scarf snacks as the winter wonderland zips by.

Our favorite excursion with the Burley kit was an all-day snowshoe along Rabbit Ears Pass outside Steamboat Springs. My wife and I had a four-hour adventure while our kiddo read books, napped, and looked at the birds and squirrels.

There are other purpose-built cross-country ski carriers on the market, and one of my neighbors purchased a sleek Scandinavian one that I still eye with envy. But for the flexibility of summer and winter use, the cost, and the ubiquity of used Burley trailers for sale—we found ours on Facebook marketplace—I heartily endorse this kit.

Radwagon 4 E-Cargo Bike

$1600 at Rad Power Bikes

The e-cargo bicycle has become a must-have for parents for a few obvious reasons. Gas prices are soaring. New bike lanes have made it easier to pedal to the grocery store than to drive there. The car line to pick up and drop off your kids at school may resemble Mad Max: Fury Road. The list goes on.

The proliferation of e-bike technology has birthed a dizzying array of cargo bicycles, and every year a new design or two enters the category. While there are fancier, lighter, and more heavy-duty bikes on the market, I will enthusiastically vouch for the Radwagon 4 by the economically-minded Rad Power Bikes. Think of this bike as the Dodge Caravan of e-cargo bikes. The $1,600 price tag is somewhat easy on the wallet, when compared to models that can cost three times as much. And its proletarian construction—a simple metal frame, battery on the downtube, seat in the back—makes it easy to build and service. Sure, you can wow the parents at preschool drop-off with a more eye-catching rig. But if you’re wanting to get you and your kid from point A to B on a bike path, the Radwagon 4 is a dependable and affordable choice.

Lucky for me, my Radwagon 4 will remain part of my daily usage for years to come, as Magnolia is still well within the weight limit for the bike. I’ve seen neighbors haul their pre-teens on this rig.

Osprey Poco Plus Child Carrier

$190 at REI

Magnolia was six months old when the Covid-19 pandemic left us all searching for activities that allowed for social distancing. Naturally, hiking became our staple. And after she outgrew the front-mounted Baby Bjorn, we began searching for a backpack-style kid carrier for longer outings.

As any parent of small kids knows, there is an overwhelming number of carriers on the market, made by many of the most trusted brands in backpacks (Kelty, Deuter, Osprey, Thule) as well as by child-specific brands (LuvdBaby, Ergobaby, Phil &Teds). We tried several different models and purchased the Osprey Poco Plus, mostly because we are both notorious for bringing way too much crap on our outings. The Poco Plus has 26 liters of storage, and much of it is found in an extending lower compartment that can easily fit all of the items in your diaper bag, plus a blanket, sack of trail mix, and package of mandarin oranges.

Also, the Poco Plus is easy to adjust, which is necessary when trading off carrying duties because one parent’s back and hips are screaming in agony.

QOGIR Ski Harness for Kids

$39 at Amazon

For two seasons I tried and failed to get Magnolia into skiing. Our trial run at the indoor ski school near our house ended in tears, and my attempts to shepherd her down the bunny slope using a hula hoop was also a disaster. The single piece of advice I received after these setbacks was to chill out, take a break, and let her decide when she wanted to try skiing out again.

We gave it another attempt this past January, and she thrived. I credit some of the success to the accessories I brought: a jumbo bag of M&Ms, Snoopy stickers, and a child’s ski harness/backpack made by QOGIR.

The harness concept is simple: you clip your kiddo into the hip and arm straps, and then grab ahold of two handles that are connected to an adjustable harness that attaches to their hips. Your child can lean down the slope and learn how to pizza while you ski behind her and control her speed.

Like kid carriers, there are ample skiing harnesses on the market. We opted for the QOGIR because of the sizable storage inside of the backpack. Our daughter likes to be in charge of her own gear, and so we could load her up with snacks and treats for the slopes. Also, the thick handle at the top of the backpack is a wonderful design element—you can use it to hoist your child onto the oncoming chairlift.

Shotgun Pro Seat

$275 at Kids Ride Shotgun

Of all the parenting products I’ve tried, this one enhanced my outdoor experiences with my child like no other. It’s the one I will truly miss using, now that she has outgrown the daddy-carry-me phase. Kids Ride Shotgun’s front-mounted bike seats are responsible for some of my favorite parenting memories of the last five years, period. If you have a small child and you ride a mountain bike, this is a must-have.

My wife purchased the original Shotgun seat when Magnolia was two, and I upgraded to the Shotgun Pro Combo a few years later because its adjustable seven-inch leg extensions gave her greater height. The seat’s placement on my top tube gave Magnolia the front-facing perspective she was missing in a tow-behind bike trailer. She felt secure on the bike by holding onto the miniature handlebars mounted to mine. The shotgun’s weight distribution over the bike frame allowed me to pilot my mountain bike with ease—other than feeling heavier in the front end, the riding dynamic was similar. And her placement just below my head meant that we could talk, joke, tell stories, and laugh throughout every adventure.

We logged hundreds of miles together on our Shotgun devices. We shredded bumpy and technical singletrack, ascended soaring climbs above tree line, and explored fire roads and jeep trails deep into the backcountry. I can think of only one time when I misjudged a corner and slid out, and Magnolia was quick to put her feet down and avoid any scrapes or bruises.

I rode trails with her well past her fifth birthday—and past when she seemed too tall to ride with me. I cherished our final season riding together, knowing that each adventure could be our last. Because with the Shotgun, I felt like I was able to connect with her during our outings and truly share my love of the outdoors.