Category: Product Reviews

  • Kids Hiking Boots: The Best Hiking Boots to Uplevel Hiking!

    Kids Hiking Boots: The Best Hiking Boots to Uplevel Hiking!

    After four years as a fulltime travel family, we’ve put some serious miles on hiking trails as a family. When we first started out, our kids wore their regular outdoor play shoes to hike. But without a doubt, investing in quality kids hiking boots was the best thing we could have done to uplevel our family hikes! Well, that and simply…practice!

    So today I wanted to share our kids hiking boots recommendation with you all because I feel strongly about these boots. We even bought the exact same boots in a size up for this year’s hiking adventures! That’s how much we love them. Before we get into the boots details, here’s some of our favorite family hiking gear and a whole post with hiking with kids tips if you’re looking for more advice. I also have many of our favorite family hikes blogged here.

    Now let’s talk about some kids hiking boots!

    Kids Hiking Boots Recommendation: KEEN Targhee Waterproof Boots

    Without a doubt, we are absolutely obsessed with our kids’ KEEN Targhee hiking boots. We have them in two different colorways, shown here and here!

    I’m going to get into some pros and cons down below, but just for context: we hike hundreds of miles every year in these boots. We’ve worn them from Arizona desert treks to climbing glaciers in Alaska. Our kids have worn them starting at 3 years old and up to almost 9 (so far!). We max out at about 8 miles of day hiking currently, and we have never.once.had.a.single.boot.complaint. If you have kids, you know that they can find just about anything to complain about (wrong color bowl! I hate that spoon! too much milk in my granola! not enough milk in my granola!). So the fact that our kids have never once complained about these boots tells you something.

    Three kids in kids hiking boots in Valley of Fire State Park | O'Phalen Adventures
    Kids rocking their KEEN Targhee kids hiking boots in Valley of Fire State Park

    Kids Hiking Boots: Targhee Pros

    Okay, so let’s talk about why we love these kids hiking boots:

    • They’re extremely comfortable. Like I said above, we’ve hiked for hundreds of miles in these boots with three kids of varying personalities and foot shapes. Not one blister or shoe complaint. This is worth any amount of money to me hahaha.
    • They have amazing traction. We noticed our kids’ scrambling abilities immediately improve when we switched from regular sneakers to these hiking boots. Our kids never slip in these boots, even on slippery creek crossings or slick rock climbing. We tackled a challenging bouldering hike in Las Vegas, and these boots kept them safe the whole time. I really appreciate the incredible traction on these boots, and our kids do, too. When they first started wearing them, they called them superhero boots!
    • Ankle support. Many kids hiking boots are shorter and don’t provide enough ankle protection for the types of hikes we do. For rocky terrain and scrambling, we appreciate that these boots are tall and sturdy enough to provide excellent ankle protection.
    • They’re waterproof/water-resistant. We frequently have stream crossings or deep mud on our hikes, and our kids’ feet stay dry. My old hiking boots are leaky, but the kids’ boots never let them down! True, we don’t completely submerge feet for minutes at a time, so I can’t speak to that level of waterproof. But for normal hiking conditions, these boots are waterproof in our experience.
    • They’re durable. Like I said, we’ve worn these for hundreds of miles, and they still look new. Our big kids’ boots have been outgrown before showing any signs of wear, and they’ll be handed down to our youngest. We will absolutely get our money’s worth out of these boots wearing them for literal years. I have no doubt that we’ll be able to pass them down to another toddler after we’re done with them, too. Seriously impressive.
    • No laces. We have a kiddo who doesn’t know how to tie shoelaces yet, and this kid can still get these boots on. So nice that these boots help kids be more independent!
    • They’re cute. Okay, this isn’t a primary motivator. But they really are cute on our kiddos. I love how outdoorsy and cute they look!

    Kids Hiking Boots: Targhee Cons

    Okay, so you’ve heard why we love these kids hiking boots. What are the cons?

    • They’re not cheap. The only major con of these boots is the price, in my opinion. They’re not cheap, and I won’t lie about that. Full price, they cost about $75 each, and that really adds up when you’re multiplying it by several kiddos. But they do usually go on major sale for Black Friday, so consider stocking up at that time of the year. You can also sometimes catch other sales, too. For instance, the gray pair is currently 20% off as of writing this post. Keep an eye out, and you can probably score them for less than full price if you’re not in a hurry. Even if you pay full price though, I think these are more than worth it for how much wear you can get out of them (especially across multiple kids!).

    If you’re interested in learning how to camp off-grid and get closer to those incredible trailheads, we have an e-book for that!

    Boondocking 101 Guide

    $7.00

    This 10-page guide will assist RVers in learning the basics of boondocking, or camping off-grid! We share everything we’ve learned as a family living off-grid and boondocking in our RV.

    Category: ,
    Tags: , ,

    I hope our kids hiking boot breakdown was helpful as you plan your family hiking adventures together! Feel free to let me know in the comments if you’ve tried these boots or are looking for other kids hiking gear recommendations!

    Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.

    For more posts about how we travel with kids, check out these posts:

    Follow our adventures on Instagram:

    Get an email when we post and never miss an adventure:

    * indicates required

    Intuit Mailchimp

  • RV Water Hose: Best Pick from a Full Time RV Family!

    RV Water Hose: Best Pick from a Full Time RV Family!

    RV water hose and water bladder refilling tank off-grid | O'Phalen Adventures

    Whether you’re a brand new RV owner, or a veteran looking to upgrade, I want to recommend the RV water hose we’ve been using and loving!

    There’s a whole bunch of mandatory gear you’ll need when getting set up to RV — power cords, wheel chocks, a sewer hose, and an RV water hose are the essentials you can’t do much without. If you need recommendations to get started, I’ve got a whole list!

    But today let’s dive into what we use for an RV water hose. We recently celebrated two years of living in our RV, and we’ve been very happy with the Bigfoot RV water hose we selected. I spent a long time researching water hoses when we first moved in, and I’d love to share why I selected this one with you!

    Bigfoot RV Water Hose Pros:

    • Food grade hose with no residual taste. I drink a lot of water, and I’m pretty picky about the taste. So I appreciate that this hose doesn’t leave a lingering taste in our water whatsoever.
    • Anti-kink. This hose is designed to be anti-kink, which means that it’s easy to coil and uncoil without making a tangled mess. This might sound like a small thing, but when you’re packing and unpacking your hose at least once a week, it is REALLY nice that it’s not getting to be a big mess that messes with the water flow.
    • Lightweight. This hose is specifically designed to be 30% more lightweight than its competitors, and full-time RVers know that literally every pound counts when keeping your rig within the manufacturer’s safety specs.
    • Spring on one end. The spring protects from flow restriction, which is another useful feature.
    • Color. Admittedly, this wouldn’t have made me choose this RV water hose on its own, but it’s a fun benefit. The bright purple hose is unique and pretty cute. We get compliments on it all the time in RV parks!
    RV water hose close-up | O'Phalen Adventures
    Don’t mind how dirty the outside is, we’ve been boondocking!

    Bigfoot RV Water Hose Cons:

    • Cost. Admittedly, this hose is slightly more expensive than the cheapest options. But when it comes to a water hose for your RV, I’d highly recommend that this not be the place to skimp on. Not only are you drinking/cooking/bathing from it, but you’re hooking and unhooking it frequently. Skimp elsewhere!
    • Length. This hose is only 25 feet long, which has been totally sufficient for us in every RV park except one. I wouldn’t want a longer one for everyday use, but just be aware that in some oddly laid out RV parks, you might want some extra length.

    If you’re thinking about RV water hose options, you probably also want to be considering the other RV water accessories you’ll need. I would highly recommend you also have an RV water filter to improve water quality and taste, a 90-degree elbow to prevent strain on your RV water valve, and an RV water pressure regulator to protect from high water pressure damage.

    I hope this review of our Bigfoot RV water hose was helpful! If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to reach out in the comments or on Instagram!

    Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.

    If you’re interested in more about our RV life, check out these posts:

    Follow our adventures on Instagram:

    Get an email when we post and never miss an adventure:

    * indicates required

    Intuit Mailchimp

  • National Park Passport: The Best Souvenir!

    National Park Passport: The Best Souvenir!

    We are a fulltime travel family of five, and I’m going to share why I think our National Park Passport is the very best souvenir option out there! We have visited almost 40 National Parks, and we have collected a lot of beautiful and sentimental items from those parks over the years. But this National Park Passport is the best! And I feel like a lot of folks we meet in the parks don’t know about them, so I’m excited to share this souvenir idea on the blog.

    Before we talk about that, let me share all of our posts about National Parks and some of our absolute travel essentials with you! We absolutely love our Yoto players for entertaining kids on long road trips, too.

    Okay, let’s chat about the‎‎ National Park Passport now!

    National Park Passport: What Is It?

    This little National Park Passport (find it here!) functions a lot like a regular passport would. Except obviously it’s not a legal document! But the basic idea is the same. You collect stamps as you travel into National Parks across the country. Here’s a sneak peek inside one of our pages:

    National Park Passport: Where to buy it?

    You can buy these National Park Passport books inside most of the big National Park visitor’s centers. However, you may want to consider buying them online in advance of your trip for a few reasons. One, those visitor’s centers are often PACKED with long lines and chaos. It might be easier to simply have one shipped to you before trying to hit a visitor’s center that’s busy and closes early.

    Two, many of the National Park sites you might want to visit may not have extensive gift stores. You might know that there are 63 “National Parks,” but did you also know that there are actually 429 National Park units in the system? Yes, there are National Historic Sites, National Monuments, and National Recreation Areas that most people don’t even know exist. When we lived in NYC, I had NO IDEA how many NPS units were all around us. But those sites count for stamping your National Park Passport, and they’re probably a lot closer to your home than you think! But they probably don’t have an extensive gift shop 😉

    National Park Passport: Why is it the best souvenir?

    Okay, so why is it the best? A few reasons.

    One is that you buy the passport just once and then you can collect souvenir stamps from all of the National Park units for free for the rest of your life! Stickers might cost $4-5 each, ornaments might be $12-15, and shirts range from $25-50 at the parks. Those add up fast! If you want to collect those too, go for it. But this passport and stamp situation is so much more cost effective over the long term! We’re rocking our National Park Passport that we bought back in 2016 still.

    Another reason is that most of the stamps you collect in the park have the date you visited attached to them. It’s fun to log when and where you’ve been that way, especially if you revisit a park many years later and can re-stamp with a new year!

    I also like the passport because it’s compact and low waste. We live in an RV, so space for collectibles is at a premium. But even if we didn’t, I appreciate that I’m not collecting plastic items that will wear out and get tossed in a few years.

    National Park Passport: Where do I get the stamps?

    Okay, you’re convinced to get a passport, but you’re wondering how to find the stamps? I’ve got you!

    They’re generally in the visitor’s center of the big parks. You can often find them sitting out on the counter near the rangers, but sometimes they have their own stamp table somewhere else in the building.

    For parks that are really spread out, the ranger stations will sometimes have the stamps available so you don’t have to drive an hour just to get the stamp. If you’re really struggling to find one, don’t hesitate to ask the rangers!

    And there have been a few times when I forgot to pack my National Park Passport. Never fear! There are usually squares of scrap paper next to the stamp, and I’ll just stamp one of those and glue it into my book later.


    If you’re wanting to collect National Park stamps, but aren’t sold on the whole passport idea, I have seen people use the stamps in other items. My personal favorite idea besides the National Park Passport was when I saw a grandma buying her grandkids picture books and stamping inside the cover so they would remember when and where the books came from. So cute! If you’re looking for some book ideas, check out our list!

    And if you’re planning a big road trip with kids or looking to learn how to camp off-grid near the National Parks, we can help with that! Check out our store with instant digital downloads:

    I hope this post was helpful in giving you a new idea for National Parks souvenirs! If you want other ideas, let me know in the comments 🙂

    For more about our travel with kids, check out these posts:

    Follow our adventures on Instagram:

    Get an email when we post and never miss an adventure:

    * indicates required

    Intuit Mailchimp

  • Outschool Homeschool: A Cheap Way to Hack Your Homeschooling!

    Outschool Homeschool: A Cheap Way to Hack Your Homeschooling!

    Today I’m going to share our favorite affordable way to hack our homeschooling: Outschool homeschool! We love Outschool as a roadschooling family because it totally broadens the way we can homeschool for such affordable prices.

    So if you’ve never tried Outschool homeschool before, here’s how they describe themselves: “Outschool is an innovative education platform that offers a variety of engaging, small-group classes online. Unlike traditional classes, Outschool classes give kids the unique opportunity to explore their interests in-depth via interactive, live video by experienced, independent educators.”

    They offer over a hundred thousand online classes at this point, so there truly is an option for just about anything.

    If this is your first time on our page, you might appreciate a little context about us before I tell you why we love Outschool. We’re a full time travel family of five with elementary school aged kids. I grew up homeschooled myself, although I wasn’t planning to homeschool my kids until the pandemic changed everything for us. We definitely lean towards unschoolers, but we do use some curriculum! If you’re interested, we’ve gathered our must-have gear for roadschooling.

    Now on to the Outschool homeschool review good stuff!

    Outschool Homeschool: What We Love

    There’s a lot to love about Outschool, in my opinion. Here’s why we think it’s especially amazing for our lifestyle:

    It allows for kids to learn about truly niche topics

    Because Outschool offers 140,000 different online classes, there truly is a class for just about everyone. We love to follow our kids’ interests as we homeschool, and our kids have come up with some fun ones like world mythology. When we went to find elementary school appropriate mythology classes, there were multiple to choose from. How awesome is that? Niche interests like comic book creation and veterinary science have also been met by Outschool classes.

    It gives kids expert instructors for areas where I’m not as confident

    I’m a pretty well-rounded homeschool teacher (I think!), but I will happily admit that I’m not an expert in everything. Who is? Outschool offers the chance to find subject matter experts to teach things like Spanish and advanced science that I’m not as confident in teaching myself. It’s so nice to have that option as a backup in our homeschool, especially as our kids age into more difficult material in middle grades!

    It offers socializing opportunities

    There are some Outschool classes that are specifically for socializing! If you’re traveling around a lot as a roadschooling family or live in an area where it’s hard to find like-minded homeschool families, this could be a great option.

    It’s incredibly flexible

    Some classes have longer commitments, but many are pay-as-you-go! We like that we can cancel at any time for those weekly classes if our kiddos interests have changed or for any other reason!

    It’s affordable

    Outschool classes start at just $5, although most of the classes we’ve taken are in the $10-15 per session range. This is a really affordable option for our family, especially considering how much value we feel the specialty classes offer.

    Outschool homeschool dance class | O'Phalen Adventures

    Outschool Homeschool: The Downsides

    Outschool is amazing, but nothing is perfect, right? Here are the only things I don’t love about it:

    It costs money

    Okay yeah, it’s inexpensive, but it’s not free. Always a bummer for budget homeschool families. But if you’re in a state that has charter funds available, you probably can use those to get reimbursed.

    Sometimes making a frequent schedule commitment is challenging for us

    I have been known to miss a class or two because weekly commitments can be hard for us. Our travel schedule changes a lot, and we have a lot going on. The nice thing is that it’s affordable enough that I’m not devastated when this happens.

    Instructor quality varies a bit

    We have yet to have a *bad* Outschool instructor, but we did end up with one that I thought was only okay. Definitely read class reviews before committing!

    Outschool homeschool science class | O'Phalen Adventures

    Outschool Homeschool: Class Recommendations

    Here are a few Outschool classes we’ve tried and loved:

    Some others that are still on our list to try:

    Outschool also offers a whole Outschool homeschool page with recommendations tailored specifically to homeschoolers. They have classes there sorted by top rated homeschooler classes, socializing groups, or neurodiverse offerings, which I think is especially cool.

    If you have an upcoming trip planned and want to make sure your homeschooled kiddos get the most out of it, check out my roadschooling journal for kids:

    State Worksheet / Travel Journal for Kids

    $2.00

    If you’ve ever wished for an easy way to capture what your kids learn as you travel, this is it! Forget other state worksheets that require boring, irrelevant details like the state flower. Let’s write about what we learned and experienced! This state worksheet digital product includes leveled worksheets for kids: one two page log…

    I hope this review of how we Outschool homeschool was helpful! Feel free to follow along with our roadschooling adventures here or on Instagram.

    Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.

    For more on how we homeschool our three kids on the road, check out these posts:

    Follow our adventures on Instagram:

    Get an email when we post and never miss an adventure:

    * indicates required

    Intuit Mailchimp

  • Harvest Hosts Reviews: Authentic Feedback from A Fulltime Family

    Harvest Hosts Reviews: Authentic Feedback from A Fulltime Family

    Harvest Hosts reviews, two kids feeding donkeys | O'Phalen Adventures

    We’ve stayed at so many Harvest Hosts all over the United States (and Canada!), and we have had such special experiences at many of them. So I thought it was time for me to share my honest thoughts in Harvest Hosts reviews! This is our perspective on Harvest Hosts after almost two years as a fulltime RV family.

    What is Harvest Hosts?

    According to their website, Harvest Hosts is “an RV membership program that allows self-contained travelers to overnight at unique locations around the country including farms, wineries, museums, breweries, and more!  With 5475+ of host locations inside of our ever-expanding network, there’s an amazing experience waiting for everyone.”

    In my words, it’s a network of farms, wineries, museums, and more across the U.S. and Canada that allow RVers to park overnight (mostly no hookups!). You buy an annual membership, and then there’s no true charge to park at each stop. You are, however, expected to spend money at the host’s establishment ($25-30 at least). This might look like buying a bottle of wine, grabbing some homemade baked goods, taking a distillery tour, or even donating some cash to pay for farm animals’ upkeep.

    Do you love Harvest Hosts?

    The short answer is: yes. I would never write a review of the service if I didn’t think it was wonderful. Whether it’s the perfect service for your needs is another question, and I’m going to get into those details now!

    Full disclosure: we enjoyed our stays at Harvest Hosts so much that I became a Harvest Hosts affiliate! That means that if you use my links to join, I will receive a small percentage. I promise to never let that skew any review I write! I would only recommend things that we absolutely use and love.

    Our backyard for the night was a Kentucky bourbon distillery

    When is a Harvest Hosts membership most useful?

    Harvest Hosts stops generally only allow guests to stay for one night (although some may allow more, sometimes for a fee!). Because of this, Harvest Hosts is perfect for an overnight stay when you’ve got a series of travel days to get somewhere far away. It’s also perfect if you can line up a few nearby hosts to travel in a loop for a long weekend trip.

    Why is this better than parking at a rest stop or Walmart?

    There’s nothing wrong with a practical Walmart stay now and then, but it’s noisy, crowded, and forgettable (at best haha).

    Harvest Hosts locations, on the other hand, are usually absolutely gorgeous. They’re pastoral farms, rolling vineyards, and swanky breweries. It is SO beautiful looking out over these locations as the sun rises in the morning.

    But a Harvest Hosts stay isn’t just a pretty parking spot. They’re often memorable experiences in their own right! You can really level up a long and boring travel day by ending it at a unique Harvest Hosts destination. One of the grownups’ favorite experiences was taking a distillery tour in Kentucky just steps from our couch. The kids are big fans of the farm stays, where they often pet animals in their PJs last thing at night and first thing in the morning.

    These Harvest Hosts reviews sounds awesome, how do I join?

    Click here for our personalized Harvest Hosts join link:

    Harvest Hosts reviews | O'Phalen Adventures

    Any tips for an amazing Harvest Hosts stay?

    I have a few tips for anyone planning their Harvest Hosts stays:

    • Pick hosts with unique offerings or products you would be purchasing anyways (like dairy products!)
    • Read reviews to note any difficult turns or small spaces, especially if you have a big rig
    • Pay attention to how far hosts are off the main road; if you’re making a quick stop this is especially important
    • Try to arrive before dark to any unfamiliar location!
    • Take advantage of urban locations for saving money on pricey RV parks while sightseeing in cities

    Do you have any favorite Harvest Hosts locations to recommend?

    Benton Family Farm in Walton, KY had the most adorable baby goats and let us pay a tiny bit for 30 amp electrical hookup. We also loved the donkeys and baked goods at Grain Bin Commodities in Sweetwater, TN. Our most memorable stay was Boundary Oak Distillery in Radcliff, KY, and they graciously let us stay a second night free so we could do more Louisville sightseeing. Big Sky Deli and Bakery in Vaughn, MT was a super convenient location with an amazing kid playground.

    Thanks for reading my Harvest Hosts reviews! I hope it was helpful. Let me know if you have any other questions before joining in the comments!

    Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.

    For more about our fulltime RV life, check these posts out:

    Follow our adventures on Instagram:

    Get an email when we post and never miss an adventure:

    * indicates required

    Intuit Mailchimp

  • Yoto Player Review: An Amazing Travel Accessory for Kids

    Yoto Player Review: An Amazing Travel Accessory for Kids

    Yoto Player review | O'Phalen Adventures

    I can’t stop talking about the kids’ Yoto players. For devices we’d never even heard about a year ago, they’re now such a big part of our life. So a bunch of friends and family have asked me about whether we like them. I figured it was time to write a detailed Yoto player review!

    Here’s our experience with them as a family that travels a lot (all the time!), doesn’t do much screen time, and values low-lift educational opportunities in our homeschool life.

    Yoto Player Review: how does the Yoto even work?

    First things first — what even are these things? Essentially, a Yoto player is a fancy speaker. But what makes it really magical is that it works with Yoto cards that kids can control completely independently. Even our two-year-old can manage her own Yoto player.

    These cards can play audiobooks, music playlists, kid podcasts, schoolwork, and even interactive games. You have the option to buy the cards from the Yoto store or to purchase “Make Your Own” cards. Make Your Own cards can have any mp3 linked to them, which really makes the possibilities endless.

    You can purchase a Classic Yoto player (UK link!) or a Yoto Mini (UK link!). The main difference is the size of the pixel screen for the icons and a nightlight feature on the bigger Yoto player. We have three Minis, and I highly recommend them. They’re easy for little hands to tote around.

    Yoto Player Review: the short version!

    Okay, the short version of my Yoto player review is that I’m obsessed. Here’s why:

    • My kids adore these things. Like truly adore them. We started with just one for my early reader and ended up with one for each kid within six months.
    • They are the perfect family travel accessory. My kids will listen to them for a couple of hours of each travel day, and that is worth any amount of money to a frazzled parent towing an RV.
    • They’re relatively affordable. The cards will add up fast if you let them, but our strategy for keeping them affordable was 1. To join the Yoto Club for $10/month and get two new cards every month that way and 2. Make a lot of our own cards with library content and recording ourselves reading the kids’ favorite stories. You also can connect any kid podcast to a Make Your Own card for hours of totally free content.
    • They’re a screen-free way for our kids to be independent. We use them on travel days and at “quiet time” for our kids to have some quiet downtime by themselves. We don’t do a whole lot of screen time in our house (no judgement, just a preference), and this gives us tired parents a break.
    • They’re so educational if you want them to be. Our kids like to re-listen to the audiobook version of whatever read-aloud book we’ve just finished reading together. I think it really helps cement the story for them. We’ve also used a Make Your Own Card for our oldest to listen to multiplication facts. And last year when she was going through a mythology obsession, I took a bunch of mythology books out from the library and read stories from around the world for her card. My middle child was reciting Shakespeare after listening to the Shakespeare card. Nothing more hilarious than hearing, “We’re under siege by the Scots!!” coming from your 5-year-old’s mouth.
    • They help extended family and friends stay in touch. We’ve asked people we love to record themselves reading stories to the kids so they can hear their voices. And this year, we’re asking people to email us happy birthday greetings to put on a birthday card for them. This feature is especially lovely for kids who live far away from people they love.
    Yoto player review | O'Phalen Adventures

    Yoto Player vs. Toniebox

    Some of you might have heard of a Toniebox (or even have one!). They’re somewhat similar to a Yoto player, but there are 3 reasons why I think Yoto is a way better choice for our family:

    1. Yoto content is better suited to grow with children in my opinion. Tonies are great for toddlers, but won’t age with kids as well.
    2. Tonieboxes are larger, and the characters that play stories and music are WAY larger than Yoto cards. For a family that needs things to be compact, Yoto wins by a mile.
    3. Tonie characters are way more expensive than Yoto cards, which makes building a collection a much bigger investment.

    What are some of your favorite Yoto cards?

    First, you just have to get a pack of Make Your Own cards. You can swap out what’s on there at any time, which allows you to save money and always keep things fresh.

    For Toddlers, we like Kids Bop, Daniel Tiger, and Who’s In Your Audiobook.

    For Preschoolers, we recommend The Chicken Squad, Hotel Flamingo, and Funny Stories for 5 Year Olds.

    For Older Kids, we love Esperanza Rising, Minecraft the Island, and Shakespeare.

    Okay, what else should I know?

    In my opinion, a case for the Yoto is essential if you’re going to be taking it anywhere. We have these. You’ll also definitely need headphones if you plan on using more than one Yoto at a time in the car.

    There are a whole lot of options for how you can store the cards. Lots of people choose card storage like this, but I prefer to attach the cards directly to the Yoto. We use sticky tabs and rings looped through the Yoto case loop so that we can’t lose the cards.

    One great option for getting audiobook content for Make Your Own cards is Libro. You can get a free audiobook when you first join:

    I’ll end with the fact that Yoto has amazing customer service, which we’ve used several times. I’ve always been really satisfied.

    Feel free to leave any other questions in the comments and I’ll write back!

    Disclaimer: Product links in this blog post may be Affiliate links, and I will earn a small commission for each purchase made through these links at no extra cost to you. Affiliate income helps fund our family travel and allows me to keep creating inspiring family travel content for you. I so appreciate when you use my links to make purchases you would have made anyway.

    If you’re looking for other gift ideas, check out these posts:

    Follow our adventures on Instagram:

    Get an email when we post and never miss an adventure:

    * indicates required

    Intuit Mailchimp