What to bring in a daypack ready for adventures

(photo: Wolfgang Staudt)

Since I am currently designing the Carripac baby carrier I am using my latest prototype whenever I leave the house. I use my own prototype to find out if there is anything that needs to be improved on. Since the Carripac is just a backpack until you need a baby carrier that is where I store everything I need to bring when I leave the house.

I try to pack as little as possible because you have to carry every single thing you bring along and you will enjoy your time more the less you have to carry. I am sure I could reduce what I carry some more but here is a list of what I usually bring.

• Eagle Creek Pack-It Two Sided Half Cube It’s my diaper bag, not a very big one but enough for everything I need. My youngest has just stopped using diapers so my diaper bag is now used for extra clothes.
• Eagle Creek Pack-It Small Sack For when the earth goes under (according to my kids) it contains band aid, paper , pens, a spork and other things that can be useful.
• I sometimes bring my Pashmina shawl but only when I think I might use it, I always pack it when on vacation because then I use it all the time. I usually pack it in a Eagle Creek Pack-It Quarter Cube
• Small wallet
• Key ring with my keys, a Leatherman Micra, a tiny LED torch and an extra small “wallet” that’s just big enough for some tiny folded bills for when I forget my wallet.
• Since I am using my Carripac prototype I don’t need to carry an extra baby carrier but if I where carrying a normal backpack I would pack some kind of baby carrier, a long wrap for a small child or a structured carrier for an older child.

This is what I normally carry in my backpack, maybe I could remove some of it but I seem to use it often enough so I keep it there for a little while yet.