Are you planning on taking your family on a ski trip this winter? Sometimes it feels a bit overwhelming trying to figure out what to pack, how to pack and make sure you don’t forget anything. So as we get ready for our first ski trip of the year we pulled this information together and a few hacks we use when packing.
9 Hacks on how we travel with so much gear:
- Hockey Bag – Yep, we use an inexpensive smaller hockey bag to hold most of our gear. Seems a little odd, I know, but hockey bags usually have wheels, lots of pockets and sections to keep your family organized. We put everything in, aside from our skis, snowboards, and poles, in one bag! If you need to fly with your gear, you will have an oversize bag charge but keeping this all together keeps us organized and useful for storage in the off-season.
- Inside the hockey bag, keep each person items together. For example, in each person helmet, we pack their goggles, mitts, baklava and neck warmer. This way you can easily grab it and know it is all together and you aren’t forgetting anything.
- Label ALL your kids gear before you go, this will keep you organized before you get to the ski hill. Put label their skis, boots, and helmet with tape (duct, masking or hockey tape) and their names on it. Write their names on all their clothing in case anything goes missing and dropped off in the lost and found.
- Attach kids mitts to their jackets! Have you ever heard of the term “yard sale” on the ski hill? It will happen and by attaching their mitts to their jackets will save you time, your kids time and their ski instructor will thank you!
- Backpacks for the Kids – If the kids are going to a lesson or all day daycare send a backpack to help keep them organized. This then becomes routine for them like school and it will help keep everything together. Great option if you are packing their lunch to save some money.
- One Family Backpack – Aka our Big Ass Backpack! We have one large backpack that we take to the ski hill to keep our entire family stuff in; lunches, extra mitts or clothing, camera, etc. We use one large backpack because it is easy to put on your back and keep your hands free for carrying gear and sometimes even the kids!
- What to Pack – Our simple list for each family member:
- Clothing:
- Base layer
- Sweater
- Ski jacket
- Ski pants
- Mitts (2 pairs)
- Toque & Neck Warmer or Baklava
- Ski socks (2 pairs)
- Ski/Snowboard Gear:
- Helmet
- Goggles
- Ski Boots & Skis OR
- Snowboard & Snowboard boots
- Clothing:
- Rent Gear vs. Buying Gear
- This really depends on how much you plan on skiing or snowboarding in one year. Kids grow fast and usually you will only get one season out of the boots/skis/board. Be realistic about how often you plan on going. Check into the ski hill you are going to and price out what is the best value for your family.
- If it is your first time, generally there are really great deals on first time ski/boarders and included rentals.
- We ski/board about 10 days out of the season, so we purchase our gear and then sell it after the kids have outgrown.
- Where should you rent from? There are a lot of options:
- Rent from the ski hill for the days you need them; try renting them for multiple days so you don’t have to wait in line for sizing every time.
- Or rent from home ski shop for the duration of your trip.
- Or some ski shops have a kid program where you pay for the season a certain amount and then just return it at the end of the year.
Taking your family on a ski trip can be overwhelming, but once you see your kids gliding down the hill trying to catch snowflakes it will all be worth it! We started taking our kids on ski trips since they were infants and both kids have been on ski since they with 2 years old – it’s part of our life!
What hacks do you have to make packing for family ski trips easier?
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