7 Essential Pieces of Dad Gear

March 22, 2011, By 8 comments

7 Essential Pieces of Dad Gear

Little did I know that when I became a dad, I'd suddenly be carting half a house's worth of stuff with me at all times. There's a lot of dad-oriented gear to lug around - from diapers, to wipes, to baby bottles, to formula, to spare clothes for my son, to spare clothes for me, to snacks, to bottles of water, to cameras to capture every moment, to video cameras to capture every other moment, to toys to keep him occupied, to toys to keep me occupied.

Here's a sampling of necessities and fun-to-haves that should keep you sane and well-prepared for most daddy duties. Some of the items make others redundant, but still merit inclusion.

A “Dad Bag”

There's nothing more feminizing than toting around a girly looking diaper bag. Fortunately, there are plenty of dad-oriented bags on the market, which will allow you to tote baby's stuff around without feeling ridiculous. Several bags come with insulated bottle holders, diaper changing pads, and room for wipes, changes of clothing, diapers, and electronic gear. My personal favorite is the Diaper Dude Messenger II Diaper Bag.

NEXT: A Good Camera

Page 1 of 7

Comments (8):

Erich B. If I'm out by myself or with the wife and no kids I have my Android phone (like hell I'd ever use Apple), my wallet, and car keys. If I have my kids I include a stroller and diaper bag. - 09/04/2011
John J. LAME, these are pretty much all the same.... - 04/26/2011
Tony B. Two cameras and a phone with the camera are 3 of the 7 things? Okay then..... - 04/13/2011
David W. Thanks guys for the comments, guys. Lowdown - LOL. Well, it's all subjective. I'd say the only must-have on the whole list is a decent camera. Most of the other, for most dads, fall into the nice-to-have categories. Donald - This article is about (mostly tech) gear you carry around to make your life a bit easier. If you wanna walk around lugging a tool box, you go right ahead. I'll keep mine in the trunk where it belongs. In the history of forever, I've never needed a Swiss Army knife when I've been out, even though I have one. But I do remember at least 40 times I wish I'd brought along one of the gadgets on this list. And while I spotlighted the leisurely activities of devices like iPhones and iPads, they can also be used for useful purposes such as looking up how to make or fix something, to booking a last minute flight or hotel room, to learning CPR in a pinch. As for your comment on men not carrying bags, I know a few firemen and cops who might disagree with you. Robert - While phones nowadays have much better picture and video quality, I'd say most of them don't match up to a separate camera - yet. As for books, I used to agree with you, and have carried many books around. But I'm one of those guys who usually has five books going at once, some reference, some bios, some fiction, some business, some art, and it's a lot easier to carry one Kindle (which are pretty cheap these days!) around than a bunch of books. - 03/30/2011
Roger B. Can't you read books on an iPad? And doesn't an iPhone take pics, video and have GPS? - 03/30/2011
Robert J. How about an ordinary phone that takes pictures and video. A backpack, dadbag? What is that? A book is good when waiting or id talk to other people waiting. You have produced the most ridiculous list I have ever seen. - 03/29/2011
Donald H. STOP the madness NOW. Change you website name to Metrosexual of the House. No man carries a Dad bag. You have not listed one tool on the list. A swiss army knife some kind of gadget to help check and fix stuff. An ipad, iphone, kindle, GPS, video camera and a phone. As Austin Powers would say "you haven't even listed your twig and berries man" - 03/28/2011
Lowdown J. Quite a list. I will need to tap into my 401(k) in order to afford all of this stuff, but if you're saying I need it, I guess I need it. - 03/23/2011

© 2012 Man of the House, Barefoot Proximity, P&G Productions