Staying Organized with all that GEAR! (Transpack Review + Giveaway)

With two young kids, a dog, our skis, our boots, our warm gear, extra layers, food, etc. etc. our car is bursting with stuff.

It drives me crazy (and I refuse to post a picture here of what it looks like in reality!)

We are usually pretty organized as we leave home, but by the time we are done with our adventure and heading back, a gear tornado has taken over our vehicle.

We usually finish our ski (or hike, etc.) and throw the kids into the car, quickly take off gloves and boots to make sure extremities are warm, and give them a snack (and dig through quickly-shed jackets to get there) before they start getting really fussy.  Two minutes of craziness means no organization what-so-ever.

However, we have gotten better, thanks to being more consistent about our packing and trying to enforce a system (despite the madness!)

What we do for the shorter trips (in the area):
- All P's clothing (hats, gloves, booties) are zipped into his snowsuit and then put into the community duffel bag.
- J wears his snow pants and boots to the trail.
- Mountain Papa and I also wear our ski pants and ski boots to the trail.
- All our extra gear is thrown into a big duffle.

When we're going a little further:
- Everyone's gear goes into separate bags (though for now the kids share one bag.)
- Mittens are paired and stuck into hats and then into coat sleeves.
- Boots have their own pockets in said bags (wait for it....) to keep them separate from other stuff (avoiding mud and snow/water on everything.)
- We bring a bag specifically for snacks and water bottles.  All empty containers and fruit peels return to that bag (we usually carry a reusable trash sack for the garbage.)
- The car does not move until all gear (wet or not) returns back to its spot.  Because we usually are going to need that stuff again (coats for dinner later or hats and gloves and snow pants for sledding, etc.) we want to know where it is.
- When we get home, our railing is full of the wet stuff to dry!

THE bag(s) that helps keep that organization a little better:

Transpack.

Edge Jr. and XTW in Gray/Lemongrass Multi Floral

I don't really know why I never thought about how specific ski bags could make our life easier.  I was thrilled, however, when Transpack agreed to let us test some out.  If you are skiers and in the habit of carrying that sort of gear (boots, helmets, gloves, hats, jackets. etc.) these are incredible.

Transpack in general:
- All have shoulder straps for easy carrying.
- Isosceles Storage System
- Side boot pockets with air/water drainage.
- Plenty of extra pockets for personal items.
- Incredible room (and ease of carrying!)

We honestly don't have any negatives to say about the packs.  They have helped us travel better and we think they are incredibly designed and made!

For J: Edge Jr. (in red) 
- Plenty of room (2000 cu. in.) for all his gear (alpine boots, helmet, snow coat/pants, hat, gloves, etc.) + P's gear too. And PLENTY of room to grow.  It is much too big for him to wear on his own now for long, but in a few years, I look forward to him carrying his own gear!

- Durable, tough, water-resistant with draining grommets in the boot pockets.  Zipped top and adjustable padded, shoulder straps.

For Me: XTW in Gray/Lemongrass Multi Floral:
- 2400 cu. in. of gear-holding room (PLENTY for all my stuff, including helmet.)
- Cinch-close top with a pocketed flap (opposed to the zippered top of J's.)

For Mountain Papa: TRV Pro in Yellow (Note the "Pro" part!)
- 3300 cu. in. (enough to easily fit his Columbia coat, substantial patrol vest, boots, helmet, ski goggles, and extra clothing shown in photo below.)
- 1680 ballistic nylon (opposed to the 600 denier polyester in J's and my packs.)
- Adjustable waist belt and sternum strap (which are also stow-able.)
- Fleece and mesh goggle pocket
- Extra access to large central pocket via an additional front vertical zipper.
- Definitely for the traveler or Ski Patroller!

TRV Pro (and what all fits comfortably in it.)

A little help with the Ski Organization....
Transpack has offered to giveaway one of you a XTW in Powder Floral (same pack as mine, different color.)  To enter, simply comment on this post something about these packs and what you think!  Be sure to include your email.  The winner will be notified via email after February 29th and will also be posted on this post and on our facebook page.

Transpack generously provided us these packs for review.  However, as always, the opinions expressed here are completely and honestly our own.  See our disclosure here.