If the total solar eclipse in April 2024 sparked a newfound enthusiasm for astrotourism, you can look forward to another banner year for celestial activity. In addition to annual occurrences like meteor showers and supermoons, in 2025, you can also look forward to rarer events like total lunar eclipses (aka blood moons) and a solar maximum leading to particularly striking northern lights.
The Mountainsmith Knockabout Makes Hiking and Traveling With Kids Much Easier
08.01.2025 - 10:35 / matadornetwork.com
No one wants to call a fanny pack a fanny pack anymore. The word “fanny” just doesn’t seem to resonate, apparently, and while that’s a bummer for the nostalgic among us, it’s forced apparel companies to innovate in order to re-sell the public on a product that went out with the tides around the same time as the mullet. Hence theyo combo hip and shoulder pack, of which Mountainsmith has mastered with the Knockabout.
We hope you love the Mountainsmith Knockabout! Just so you know, Matador may collect a small commission from the links on this page if you decide to make a purchase.
Photo courtesy Mountainsmith
I acquired two Mountainsmith Knockabout bags a few years ago, figuring my growing family could use some easy-to-carry wearables that could fit snacks, emergency supplies, and other stuff that I, a few months from becoming a father, didn’t need yet but would soon find mandatory each time I left the house. Both bags were immediately co-opted by my wife, who has for three years now used them for two primary purposes: First, carrying her phone and small stuff on hikes, and carrying snacks and small stuff for our daughter when she’s with us (which is almost always). Second, at least one of the bags has been with us on every flight since our daughter was born.
She wears it so often that when we go anywhere outside and she doesn’t have it on, I look at her as though she’s missing something that I can’t quite place. Then it hits me – the Knockabout has for all this time prevented one of us from needing a full daypack when the other wears one. To be clear, the Knockabout isn’t going to replace a backpack if you’re traveling solo or need supplies for a full day in the field. Rather, it’s a way for one person out of a pair to remain agile enough to carry or otherwise escort a small child down the trail.
It’s easy to find anything you put into it because the main zipper opens to provide an aerial view of the entire interior. Chapstick and a multi-tool, always quick to slip to the bottom of any pack, are easily retrieved without having to unbuckle the pack from waist or shoulder.
Riding atop the Snowbird tram with a Knockabout. Photo: Alisha Wenger
Beyond hiking, we use the Knockabout on travel days because it’s small enough to sneak under a sweatshirt or jacket and wear onto the plane without counting as a carry-on. This, again, is perfect for traveling with kids because it, again, holds snacks that otherwise would have been stuffed into my pocket and likely smushed. It’s also great for keeping a passport handy when moving through security and customs. Hotel room keys, a notebook, and other small must-haves fit nicely as well. All this goes to say that this $40 bag quickly became a tool that we hesitate to leave home
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