Why do we make kid's gear now? Because we have children and we need to get them outside.

Parenting is hard and in no way do I ever feel qualified to do the job. It's a miracle that I haven't misplaced our children or taught them (too many) profanities. Mediocre parent that I may be, I can tell you this: I'm never a better parent than when I'm outside. When I'm indoors, I'm irritated by every noise, triggered by every misbehavior, and too exhausted to participate in whatever creative play the boys have dreamt up.

Get me outside and it's a different story. I'm patient, relaxed, and happy. It's the same with the boys; with our senses wide open to the great outdoors, we transform into the best versions of ourselves. Sometimes, a simple walk outside, a bike ride, or a visit to a playground is all that is needed. But for me, the ultimate experience with my boys is a visit to the mountain.

For the non-skier, the labor involved in schlepping young kids to the mountain could hardly be worth it - but if you're anything like me, it's (nearly) always is worth it. I would gladly pack the car, drive for hours, dress a squirmy toddler in many layers, fight for parking, and carry an impossibly big load of gear across an icy parking lot while somehow keeping a hand free for my son to slide down 50ft of snow next to the magic carpet.

The best days are unforgettable. We do lap after lap after lap, and I get to witness the addiction of progression and the joy and freedom that it brings. The worst days aren't good for skiing; the boots are painful or too cold. So we go inside, share cocoa and a cookie and get buzzed on sugar. We could head out to try it again or head home early. Whatever happens, you're together, outside, in the mountains, and it's the best. That's what it's all about. That’s why we make kid's gear.

Behind the design

In short, we approached designing our kids' gear from two perspectives: the kid's mindset and the parent's.

Our observations of the kids market led us to believe that much of the gear designed for kids was shrunken adult gear. This mindless scaling down of adult styles leads to pockets that are way too small, frivolous fashion details, and an overall aesthetic that blends in with everything else.

For the kids

We'll be the first to admit that clothing is dull; when compared to space rockets, monster trucks, and fairy godmothers, clothing is about as interesting to kids as vegetables. We wanted our gear to excite the imaginations of kids. To help them see that a functional jacket and bib can be gateways to wild adventures and unbridled freedom in the mountains.

For my son, Henry, nothing has been more astonishing about skiing than the fact that we ski on a volcano: a hot, smoking volcano that has, at some young geological age, spewed lava out of its crater. I wanted to incorporate the idea of volcano skiing into the product naming. With Henry's help, we settled on the ‘Cano Jacket and the Mega Blast Bib.

We worked with kids throughout the development process. The kid-led design initiatives include bright colors, candy and lunch storage, easy-to-use zippers, a massive loop to hang and dry your gear, and a big thumbs-up on the front chest.

For the parents

As a parent, teaching your kid to ski is a real team effort. You’re the gear caddy, the coach, the chef, and the bodyguard. It takes a lot of effort, and we want to design kids’ gear that parents would appreciate. Nothing helps a parent out like a kid doing stuff for themselves.

We made sure that all pockets had adult-sized #5 zippers, velcro closures are chunky and easy to attach, and the CF-zipper could quickly be started under the storm flap. Kids can also carry their snacks in the Mega Blast Bib Lunch Box chest pocket and their ski pass in the dedicated pass pocket on the ‘Cano Jacket.

The ‘Cano Jacket features a large, reinforced handle at the center-back, under the hood - aka the Grab Bar. If you've ever taught your child how to ski, how to get on a lift, or how to walk through an icey, crowded parking lot, then you’ve grabbed fist-fulls of your child's jacket. The Grab Bar is designed for that; it's a touch-point to help you navigate a scenario where you want to be able to keep a hand on your child. This is not a replacement for a harness designed for teaching your kid how to ski, nor is it any kind of safety restraint. It's just something to grab onto when you need it. It's also the easiest way for the kids to hang their jackets on a hook.

To help stretch the life of the garment for your rapidly growing grom, all bibs and jackets are also engineered with Growing Seams. The patterns have built-in ease to extend the length of the sleeves and the legs by 2.” All a parent needs to do is rip the interior, contrast chain-stitch with a seam-ripper (preferable) or a utility knife (workable), and your sprouting children can get another season out of their gear.

Lastly, we built our kids’ gear on the same technology platform as our adult gear. The 2-layer fabric is fabricated with a nonporous 20k/20k membrane, and the woven face fabric is the same rugged nylon that we use on all of our adult-sized PNW OG outerwear. The ‘Cano Jacket is insulted with 160g of high-loft synthetic insulation, and the Mega Blast Bib is insulated with 120g of high-loft synthetic insulation at the front and back seat, excluding the bib-upper and below the boot.

We made the gear, now you make the good times.

We had a lot of fun designing this collection and we can’t wait to see it out in the wild. Good luck to all of the parents out there teaching your kids to slide on snow!

>> LEARN MORE ABOUT THE TREW KID'S KIT! <<