My three eight-year old buddies slowly descend the side of the mountain, packs bobbing behind them and a trail of dust marking their path. As I follow, a passage from an article on backpacking with children comes back to me: "Even the most experienced backpacker knows that any time you head into the backcountry with kids, it automatically qualifies as an adventure." I limp down the trail behind them, my sore knee tells me this path is a little too steep. However, I smile at how these young campers make an adventure out of a day hike and how they will remember this as a great autumn outing. My husband and I have our packs, sleeping bags, rain jackets, hiking boots, lanterns, tents and snowshoes. There is no shortage of gear for our outdoor camping excursions, but what about the younger folk? For instance, our son's getting too big to ride in the carrier pack while we snowshoe. So we wondered, would having children's gearmake thse adventures more fun for the kids and less worrisome for us, knowing our kids are well-fitted in gear that will keep them safer, warmer, and more comfortable? We, by no means, looked at everything on the market. But here's what we tried out and found out...

SLEEPY TIME

For our son's second Christmas, Santa brought him a Molehill sleeping bag. Molehill Mountain Equipment (800.804.0820; www.molehillmtn.com) specializes in outdoor gear and apparel for kids. The sleeping bag, ($120) features continuous filament polyester insulation, zippers, that ventilate from the top or bottom, full zipper baffles to keep cold air out and warm ari in, and articulated hoods. This is a 48-inch-long, zero-degree-rated mummy bag that come swith a matching pillow. The bargs are offered in color choices of frost blue or purple, and the little stuff sack it comes in is complete with dust flap over the top and a carry strap on the bottom. The bag weights almost nothing, so my son can carry it out to the car himself...

(for the rest of this review contact Camping Life magazine for their March/April 2000 issue)