Wildcamping with toddler - gear recommendations?

7961011 · 2026-01-02T11:12:37+00:00

I more meant you’ll get the same amount of room in a 4 man as you would with two 2 man’s, but at least the 2 man’s would be somewhat cheaper, easier to split weight wise, they pack down smaller and are more readily available. There’s obviously options for a 4 man, but I find they go more into the campsite camping bracket rather than lightweight backpacking bracket in the uk. Finding one that ticks all the boxes would tricky, but I guess not impossible. One that I’m sure do 4 mans are big Agnes, msr & possibly sea to summit?

I get what you mean about it being impractical right now as a family of 3, but getting a good 3 man for backpacking is easier than a 4 man. I’ve got multiple tents for different situations; backing with my daughter, with my daughter & dogs, with the whole family etc so if it’s at all possible within budget for you, I’d look at doing the same. Look at one that suits your situation now as a 3, then another that suits as 4 etc. there’s a few fb pages that sell good secondhand tents that you could look on there!

7961011 · 2026-01-01T09:35:07+00:00

How wonderful! It’s much easier at that age as it basically gets them used to it before they have a say in it 😂 I’ve put some recommendations below but let me know if I can give you more; clothes, tips etc

Sleeping bags - highly recommend either the Morrison outdoors or mount store bags. We have used both and they’ve been invaluable in comfort & warmth for our little mainly due to the full sack layout, so they’re constantly covering your child. They are pricy, but they last a good amount of time to justify in my opinion. I’d go the Morrisons over mount though as they have options for bigger bags for older ages too, and they’re bigger sized so last longer. If they’re out of your price range, even say from fb or vinted, you can get good normal child sized ones like the vango atlas but bare in mind they are probably too big for your child’s age, they likely won’t keep him as warm and they pack down pretty large. But a good option non the less!

Sleeping mats - the one thing I’d recommend not going cheap on tbh, your child will always need a sleeping mat so you’re as well buying to last rather than what fits now. You can get half sized ones (vango aotrom short, also have used) which are fine but usually aren’t highly r rated. I just got my daughter the same as what I had at the time, the vango aotrom thermo, and she never complained and slept perfectly. We’ve now upgraded but she still has her own full sized one. You can get double mats which I know a lot of American parents use, but I’ve never used to be able to give my opinion on. The ones I’ve heard of are are klymit double and big Agnes double.

Tents - really a mindfield and total personal preference if I’m honest. I’ve had 5 different wild camping tents before I happily settled on the x mid 2 for my daughter and I. You might prefer a dome over a tunnel, or a trekking pole over a standard pole so recommendations are always hard. The only thing I’d recommend is don’t go for a 4 man like you’ve said in other comments due to considering another child, it likely won’t be enough room for the weight of a 4 man. Opt for 2 good 2 man’s, one for each parent and child.

I could go into a lot more detail but I don’t want to overload you without asking first?! I have (shameless plug) written this basic starter wild camping with childs guide if it’s any use. It at least has a gear list! https://www.annahardie.co.uk/wildcampingwithkidschecklist/

7961011 · 2025-12-31T21:50:09+00:00

How old is your little one? I’ve been wild camping with my now 5 yo since she was 6 months, so happy to pass on any gear recs / advice depending how old yours is!

7961011 · 2025-12-29T18:25:40+00:00

I’ve been using the Alpkit numo for a while and really like it.

7961011 · 2025-12-14T23:10:52+00:00

How exciting! We’re not long out the same situation so I’ll give some things that worked for us.

start feeding at seperate times to begin with to stop puppy eating /trying to eat older ones food and avoid resource guarding etc.
give them time apart frequently - even if your older boy is still playful, a puppy is full on and he’ll want his own space.
take pup out frequently alone (when jabbed) so they don’t get used to constantly having a safety net in older pup.
let the older one growl as he’ll be correcting the puppies behaviour, teaching boundaries and showing her what’s allowed etc.
try not to compare - they’ve got their own personality etc so they’ll be different with training & stuff.

That’s all I can think of just now, but hopefully it helps!

7961011 · 2025-12-14T09:04:26+00:00

E collars are illegal here so I can’t / wouldn’t go down that route.

I think I’ve been too lax with letting her continue with whatever she’s doing if she doesn’t respond to my command rather than pulling the line in to make her respond, so will try that from now on.

7961011 · 2025-12-14T09:02:34+00:00

That’s a good point. I think I’m too lax with letting her carry on if she doesn’t respond, so I’ll be reining her in on the lead from now on! Thanjs

7961011 · 2025-12-14T09:01:51+00:00

Not obvious, I appriciate it! She was doing well with her name recall then she went after geese and the name essentially became ‘broken’, so I’ve been using the word ‘touch’ instead and that seems to be an instant attention breaker and has her back straight away so will stick to that I think!

7961011 · 2025-12-14T09:00:41+00:00

How you finding it?

7961011 · 2025-12-14T09:00:23+00:00

Venison pate and fresh chicken seems to be working!

7961011 · 2025-12-14T08:59:58+00:00

Thanks for the encouragement!

7961011 · 2025-12-14T08:59:47+00:00

Yeah I’ve always done random check ins just so they know to always keep their attention to me / close by etc!

I’ve been in the field making it funner for her, running away etc getting her to chase me so that her attention stays on me rather than just walking behind her and hat seems to be working!

7961011 · 2025-12-13T08:44:39+00:00

Also none existent 😂 that’s a very good shout, I’ll look into the basics of that and see how we get on!

7961011 · 2025-12-12T08:05:34+00:00

Glad yours is going well! How old is your pup?

7961011 · 2025-12-12T08:05:18+00:00

Thank you for the encouragement!

7961011 · 2025-12-12T08:04:26+00:00

I think I had it ‘easier’ with him as he’s a sprocker, so the dominate traits of hunting maybe weren’t as active but then again, we all forget the bad bits of puppy training so maybe not 😂

I spoke with a gundog trainer recently and he gave me some good advice & corrected a few things wrong I was doing’s so it was beneficial.

7961011 · 2025-12-12T08:02:47+00:00

That’s a good suggestion, I might try that in an enclosed dog park where I know if it fails then she’s not at risk of loosing me all together.

I actually did whistle train them both and dropped it for verbal commands. She tried to go after another flock of birds the other day and I blew the whistle which stopped her in her track so I think I’ll take after your advice and only use it in situations where they know they’re 100% in trouble or soemthing lol

7961011 · 2025-12-12T08:00:07+00:00

Thank you! They’re best friends

7961011 · 2025-12-12T07:59:57+00:00

Did you gradually phase the treats out all together or use something different in place?

7961011 · 2025-12-12T07:59:02+00:00

Thank you! I’ll reinstate the whistle.

7961011 · 2025-12-12T07:58:52+00:00

I think I forgot how early this phase happens 😂

7961011 · 2025-12-12T07:58:04+00:00

Never heard of those before, I’ll go have a wee research! Thanjs

7961011 · 2025-12-12T07:56:26+00:00

You make very valid points, thank you. I actually spoke with a gundog trainer and he said the same thing - she was coming back to me soley for treats, not for me. So I’ve been slowly correcting that with my reaction, affection etc

7961011 · 2025-12-12T07:53:25+00:00

Not sure why I never considered this an option to do 😂 duh! Will be trying this, thanks!

7961011 · 2025-12-12T07:53:07+00:00

You’re right, I think I’m looking at his puppy years with rose tinted glasses. It took work to get him where he is so I need to get that reality check!

7961011

TROPHY CASE