Hi,

I was hoping to hear from parents that have camped/backpacked with small kids. I have a 5 year old and a 3 year old. We've car camped in the past where we sleep on air mattresses. I'm hoping to try some more rudimentry camping with them soon, but not sure what methods/gear I should use for sleeping. Do they get their own bags, share bags, etc?

thanks!

I got my kids their own sleeping bags when they were around 5 years old

I got some X-Small -10C synthetic bags, and some bag liners. My oldest son (11), has just outgrown his, so you should get a few years of use.

Kids always seem to be get a bit cooler, so I would recommend a warmer bag if you plan to use it during the shoulder season or at higher altitude.

I think bag liners are great for kids, .. saves washing your bags a whole bunch

... edit

I got the MEC Winterhawk's, .. not available any longer, .. just checked and they are actually only -7C as well. A little bulky if your trying to stuff a few into your pack, but that's were good compression sacks come in handy.

My daugter has the TNF Tigger model (not sure if it's still available) and it's a -7C rated mummy bag that is synthetic. It's under 1kg and she seems to stay warm inside. One quirk she has it that she sleeps in it upside down, so the hood of the mummy is over her face. Odd, but she likes it.

Finding good bags for kids is a challenge. Her next bag will be a "normal-sized" high quality down bag.

My kids have the North Face mummies as well. Good bags.
Mountain hardware makes a nice kid bag as well.

We have some down comforter throws with synthetic material outers that we've sewn together and plan to use on some light backpacking trips in the 2009 summmer season as I don't think they make 10-11 month old bags yet.

If your adult bags zip together, you can bring little tikes in with you and avoid the need for separate bags entirely.

For bigger kids you will want to get them their own bags. MEC has a decent, cheap synthetic bag called the Krib which comes in 2 sizes.

I used these with success with my kids in the larger size (fits to 4'6")

... but look at the weight and packed size for the temperature rating. When they outgrew these bags I got them decent adult down bags with a better temperature rating and which were the same weight and far more compact. I would have been ahead of the game to have bypassed these kid bags entirely and gone straight to the adult bags.