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Scout Gear
Outfitting your scout for T27/V27 activities can be a chore if you don't normally buy outdoor gear and outerwear. This page, as it develops, will attempt to provide some guidance. Suggestions for deals, stores, products, etc. should be sent to Bill Keenan, who maintains this page.
Keep in mind, scouts, like most young people, have not learned to take care of their gear. This means you don't need to and should not spend a lot on any required item. In Where to Buy, we provide like to discount eTailers. Often, you can get good prices on "last year's model." Don't forget "second hand" stores like Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Savers.
The 10 essentials is a list of items every scout should have with him at all times (outings, as well as meetings). The list has grown from the original 10. Following is information on each item a scout should have.
- Day or Fanny Pack: Not too big; otherwise, the scout will fill it, and it will be heavy. A pack with 500 - 1000 cu. in. give or take is fine. The pack should have some straps, so extra clothing (e.g., coat) can be fastened to the pack. Fanny packs wear on the hips and can bounce a lot while hiking. A day pack is more stable, but covers part of the back, so it feels warmer. Most scouts seem to prefer the small day pack. When Camelbak introduced hydration packs, they were expensive. Now knock offs are common, so the cost has come down (e.g., Costco often has hydration packs for $20). A hydration pack makes carrying and drinking water easier; however, they have several issues a parent should consider. The bladder needs to be cleaned regularly or contaminated water becomes an issue, and the hose will freeze. A 500 - 1000 cu. in. day pack is a good choice. Best plan is to get all the other essentials together, so you have an idea of the amount of stuff the pack should hold before buying the pack.
- Boy Scout Handbook, pen, and small notebook.
- Water Bottle: Even if you get a hydration day pack, we want each boy to have an unbreakable water bottle. Nalgene is the brand most people know; however, there are plenty of knock offs to choose from. Lexan has surpassed polycarbonate as the preferred material. Once again, Costco usually has a multipack of lexan bottles in the late Spring.
- Sunglasses (with retention strap), Sunscreen, Lip Balm (with sun protection), Hat (brim all around, past Summer Camp hat is great)
- 1st Aid: There is a lot of value in the boys putting together and updating their "ouch" kit as they learn more first aid. However, some may want to buy one already put together. Adventure Medial Kits makes some great kits. While the ability to carry one's kit on their hip is preferred, most boys don't regularly wear a belt, so putting ones 1st aid supplies in a freezer, quart size ziploc bag, which is stored in the 10 essentials pack, works very well.
- Headlamp or Flashlight and spare set of batteries: Because most of the times a scout needs light they need their hands too, a headlamp is convenient. However, people tend to blind others they look at, when wearing their headlamp, which is rude. While a headlamp is versatile, you may only have a flashlight, and this is fine. LED is superior to incandescent (incandescent bulbs are fragile, use batteries much faster than LEDs, and have a life measured in hundreds of hours verses 1000's or 10,000's for LEDs), and it costs slightly more. We need the scout to have a reliable light. Again, if incandescent is what you have, use it until there is a reason to buy. Flashlight Reviews is a great site for learning before buying. Following are three headlamps at different price points for you to consider: Princeton Tec Apex ($65), Nuwai HLX-712L ($47), and Princeton Tec Quad ($29). Headlamps and flashlights tend to use battery sizes 123A, AA, and AAA. These sizes are available in lithium, which will last much longer than alkaline. If you batch up your household battery purchases, great prices are available from eTailers (e.g., in modest quantity, alkaline are ~$0.50 and lithium are ~$1.00 each).
- Knife: Once a scout earns Totin' Chip, we would like the scout to carry a knife. A knife is an essential tool. Knives are personal, so recommending one is hard. We want folding knives (no fixed blade in a sheaf). Troop policy is a blade no longer than the width of the scout's hand. Victorinox ("Swiss Army Knife") and Leatherman are popular, but watch out for the temptation to get one with "everything", as these are heavy. In Where to Buy, there is a link for the Knife Center, which one of several comprehensive knife eTailers.
- Fire Starter: Once a scout earns Firem'n Chit, we would like them to carry matches, in a waterproof container, and tinder. Scouts are not allowed to carry lighters. A ziploc of dryer lint or cotton balls, with a coating of Vaseline, is a good, readily available tender.
- Compass: A basic baseplate compass with declination scale is fine. As the scout gets older and does more orienteering, a mirrored/sighting compass may be useful. When starting out, keep it simple. Brunton, Silva, and Suunto are common brands of handheld compasses.
- Emergency Blanket: This is one of those items you hope to never need. They are compact, until they are opened. Once used, you will probably replace.
- "Signal Mirror" and High Intensity Whistle: You can buy a signal mirror, but a small CD, like those given out at trade shows, works great! If you don't go to trade shows, you can carry a CD, which is no longer needed. A plastic whistle is easier on the teeth. There are combination whistle and match holder available.
- Leather Work Gloves
- Other useful stuff: spare boot laces, small package of tissues, toilet paper in a ziploc bag, insect repellent, two large plastic garbage bags (for emergency use), 20 - 50 feet of paraline, baby whips in a freezer ziploc.
A big part of outings is cooking. The troop provides the cooking equipment (e.g., stove, cook kit), so a scout only needs his mess kit and a dunk bag. There are a lot of different mess kits to choose from at places like Redwood Trading Post and REI. In its simplest form, the kit needs a plate, cup, and eating utinsils. Several scouts have military surplus mess kits. The dunk bag is part of cleaning process. The scout washes his mess kit in warm soapy water, hot rinse, and then after putting all the kit in his dunk bag, dunks everything in a cold bleach rinse before hanging the bag on a tree to drip dry.
Most of our outings are a modest walk from our parking to camping area, so a backpack is not strictly required. However, we do backpack, once a scout is strong enough to do 6 miles with his gear on his back. Sometimes, we need to walk a mile or so into the camp area. Thus, our preference is for scouts to pack their gear into a backpack in addition to their day/fanny pack. The scout would wear the backpack on their back, and the day/fanny pack on their front, while hiking to camp. Since a backpack needs to fit the scout, and younger scouts still have some growing to do, you don't need to spend a lot on a backpack the scout will outgrow. Both internal and external frame packs are fine. REI has a nice article titled How to Choose a Backpack. Backpacks are like shoes - they need to be fitted, so going to a local retailer like Redwood Trading Post or REI is probably best for those who are not certain what to buy.
Which Fill?
Goose down: Goose down is simply the most thermally efficient fill material available. Lightweight, compressible, and incredibly warm, down continues to be the bag choice of serious backpackers and mountaineers the world over. Properly cared for, goose down bags will maintain their loft and last for many years.
Synthetic Fills: Providing warmth with the ability to insulate when wet, synthetic bags are excellent for trips where excessive moisture is a factor. Backpacking through rainy climates or kayak expeditions are two scenarios where a synthetic bag may be the best choice.
T27/V27 Thoughts?
T27/V27 leadership strongly favors synthetic fill, because the scouts have not, for the most part, learned the art of keeping their gear dry. Since down's thermally efficiency is lost when it gets wet, only the most expensive down bags, which have a waterproof shell, could be a choice. If your scout only has a down bag, a bivy sack and water proof stuff sack can provide a lot of protection against the bag getting wet. Paul Cleveland wrote a review of bivy sacks in 2000, which provides useful, but somewhat dated information.
Klondike, summer camp, and outings in between, does my scout need two sleeping bags? A four season bag will probably be too hot for most of our outings. A three season bag can be "upgraded" with a zip in liner or bivy sack. Most zip in upgrades provide an additional 10 - 15° F of protection, and a bivy typically adds 5 - 10° F of protection. So a 20 - 40° F bag, with a zip in upgrade (perhaps a bivy too), should provide enough protection for snow camping (e.g., Klondike). The downside of these sleeping layers is compressing the bag, upgrade, and bivy down, so there is still room in the scout's back pack. Some zip in upgrades are designed to be used as a Summer bag (with or without the bivy). Bottom line, layers in sleeping gear, just like outerwear, are very flexible, but add cost and weight. Since Winter outings are rare, you might consider renting a four season bag from someone like REI.
Wouldn't it be nice if money was no object, but it is! However, to complete the options, one could have two sleeping bags: a bag for late Spring, Summer, and early Fall (20 - 40° F), and a bag for the rest of year (-20° F give or take).
In outdoor gear, top brands earn their reputation, but come with a premium price for that reputation. Some of the top brands in sleeping bags are: Marmot, Mountain Hardwear, The North Face, Sierra Designs, and Western Mountaineering. For most of T27's outings, a low cost, lesser known brand bag is fine. There are some good bargins available from several eTailers in the Where to Buy section.
Sleeping Pad: Therm-a-Rest is a popular brand, but there are several brands of sleeping pad products. A compact, closed cell pad (e.g., Z-Lite) is nice because it folds (verses rolls) and a puncture does not make the pad useless (until it is repaired). Self-inflating pads pack smaller and are lighter, but are much easier to damage, and they generally cost more. If you choose a self-inflating pad (e.g., ProLite), get the stuff sack for the pad, so the scout knows how small the pad should be when rolled up.
Cold, wet scouts do not have as much fun as they do when they are warm and dry. The flexibility of layers cannot be beat. However, at the rate scouts grow, spending a lot on outerwear they will soon outgrow is hard to justify. Take a look at the our "where to buy" section. For the younger scouts, who can wear Men's size Small, eBay has some real bargains. There seems to be much less bidding for size S compared to sizes L and XL, so this can be a good way to get top quality outerwear for you young scout at a bargain price. The Salvation Army, Goodwill, and Savers have good prices on hardly used clothing.
Granite Gear's drylite rock solid and Outdoor Research's Hydroseal DryComp Sacks come up as solid performing water resistant (proof), compression stuff sacks in review. We ask scouts to pack their cloths, so they stay dry. Large ziploc bags work well, so don't feel you have to buy a dry, compression stuff sack.
- Check eBay's Sleeping Bag category, as well as the "Men's Outerwear, material Gore-tex, waterproof" category
- Sierra Trading Post carries seconds, overstock, and discontinued items
- Campmor is a large online outdoor supply store - look for 'Hot Deals'
- Northern Mountain Supply, which is located in CA, so sales tax + shipping, has 'Killer Deals', which are typically very good
- REI, which has a retail store in San Carlos, as well as their internet store; the San Carlos store has a "parking lot" sale the 1st Saturday of each month; check the outlet store on their website
- Redwood Trading Post, is located in Redwood City, they often put out 20% off coupons in mailers many of us get in our daily junk mail
- Mountain Gear, is another internet store, look for their sale items
- Cabela's is large eTailer, check their 'bargain cave'
- Knife Center of the Internet
- Backcountry Gear
Updated: May 23, 2007 |
