Your choice of sleeping bags starts with figuring out where it will be used, what size you need, and the types of fill and construction are available. See the sleeping bags I recommend for Scouts (and all kinds of other gear recommendations) on the Outdoor Gear Guide. Don’t miss these other helpful Gear Infographics! If you’d like to print this infographic download the PDF file below formatted for 8 1/2 x 11 paper....
This infographic explains three things Scout parents can do to help Scouts with their gear (and save a Scoutmaster’s sanity). Put your Scout’s Name and Troop number on everything. If they are attending an event with dozens or hundreds of other Scouts and misplace a piece of clothing or gear there’s a much better chance it will find its way back to them if it is clearly marked with their full name and Troop number....
Have you seen out my outdoor gear guide? Here’s some pictures of a customized Rubbermaid Action Packer including a hinge on the lid reinforced with electrical conduit, wire organizers attached to the inside, a knife rack, and paper towel holder for the outside. The author mentions Viewtainer Storage Containers that he uses to store small items held in the lid of the box with bungee cords (very clever idea!)...
My basic boring gear list and book list showcase items more useful, perhaps than this simple holiday wish list, but these items have attracted my magpie-like attention for shiny, quirky and gadgety things. Whittling Whittling and carving is a favorite pastime, having a good knife and some idea of what to whittle makes it even more fun. Mora of Sweden makes fantastic knives. This wood carving knife has a laminated steel blade, oiled birch wood handle, and a plastic sheath....
Why is my basic Scout gear list boring? It’s hard to get too excited by basic, durable, inexpensive gear that isn’t glitzy or laden with gimmickry. Basic, boring gear works and keeps on working. With a couple of exceptions I have listed things I have owned and used for many years, sometimes for decades. Everything has withstood the test of many days and nights of backpacking, camping, and canoeing. This is a list of the best options (not always the cheapest) I have found and recommend to Scouts and Scouters....
Our latest ScoutCircle presentation featured Derek Hansen, Scoutmaster and hammock camping guru. If you are curious about hammocks and how Scouts can use them take the time to watch the presentation. Derek is a great speaker and shares all of the basics in this presentation; here’s the resources mentioned: Hammock Forums Derek’s website The Ultimate Hang Derek’s hammock suppliers list Derek’s book The Ultimate Hang on Amazon (available as a Kindle E book)
With apologies to my past and future tent mates I offer this slightly risque, yet truly funny infographic from the Adventure Journal via Walter Underwood
UPDATE August 2016 I checked out the three Sawyer water filters we own for our week-long canoe trip to Canada this year. I decided to order three new elements in case our three years the old filters stopped working. All of our three-year-old filters performed flawlessly all week long – a truly amazing product. UPDATE October 2015 It’s been two years since I wrote this review, and our Sawyer 3-Way filters (we own three) are still working like new....
UDAP, the folks that make pepper spray for fending off bears, also offer (of all things) an electric fence as an alternative to hanging food in bear country. Powered by 4 D -cell and 4 AA batteries the fence packs a 7600 volt punch into a 9 pound package. Looks like a viable alternative for groups that spend a lot of time in serious bear country. We hang our food when we are canoeing in Canada more to protect it from other animals than the black bears found in Algonquin (never spotted one myself)....
Here’s my latest overview of the endless permutations of the humble patrol box, chuck box, or camp kitchen. We use the Rubbermaid Action Packer to house our modest patrol cook kits. I know some of you don’t care for car camping or big patrol boxes. I find the different solutions folks come up with for setting up a kitchen in a campsite fascinating. Grub Hub Camp Kitchen – the epitome of engineered camp kitchen rigs....
One of my old Scouts through-hiked the Appalachian trail a few years ago. He joined us for a camping trip afterwards and showed us the camping hammock he had used for his hike, I was impressed. I bought a Hennessy Hammock (the deluxe explorer) and used it on several occasions. I was close to being a hammock camping convert but there were several things about the hammock that put me off....
What’s a good place to test insect repellent? How about 25 Scouts canoeing their way through a buggy week in Ontario, Canada’s Algonquin Provincial Park? In mid August we don’t usually run into too many mosquitoes and the black fly season is long over. This was a wet summer and we encountered more mosquitoes that we were used to, many, many more. One evening as we were chatting around the campfire we heard a quiet, yet audible, high-pitched buzzing sound that must have been a cloud of insects (we suspected mosquitoes)....
Here’s a clever idea from Camp Wanderer that combines a canning jar and the top section of a solar re-charged garden light to create a lighted container for things like matches at camp. While I am at summer camp I’ll have a jar sitting on my picnic table with a spare headlamp or small flashlight inside in case night falls before I have bothered to find one. The jar also serves as a “homing beacon” as we walk back from evening activities....
Wanigan is borrowed from Ojibwa word for “storage pit” as a name for a storage box like the ones shown here. In some regions a houseboat, temporary hut on a log raft, a small house, bunkhouse, or shed mounted on skids may all be called a wanigan. Rob built the wanigans shown above and decorated them with woodburned illustrations from the book Cache Lake Country; here’s a few more shots of Rob’s work:...
Marbles Camp AxeGreat fit and finish for a very good price. The marbles is a bit larger than most camp hatchets or axes and it’s a quality product. Aailable at Amazon Sarge Boy Scout KnifeNO LONGER AVAILABLE Marbles Back Pocket Dual-Grit Tool SharpenerGreat tool for maintaining axes, hatchets and pocket knives this coarse and fine grit carborundum stone should be in anyones camping tool kit. Available at Amazon
While researching information to write this EcoZoom Stove review I learned some interesting things.: Half of the world cooks on a wood fire every day. They use open fires or unimproved stoves. Nearly half the world’s wood supply is used for fuel and deforestation rates are rising all over the world. Smoke inhalation accounts for a staggering number of health problems and deaths in the developing world. High efficiency wood burning technologies significantly reduce both health and environmental impacts....
My favorite external frame backpack for Scouts is the Outdoor Products Dragonfly. Almost all of the packs available today are internal frame backpacks. Finding an internal frame pack for Scouts that has the right combination of features for a reasonable price is a challenge. The best internal frame packs I have found for Scouts are the Scout 3400 and Explorer 4000 from Teton Sports. Calling something ‘the best’ is different from calling something ‘perfect’ and that’s never more true than when I evaluate camping gear for Scouts....
If you are looking for a reliable way to re-charge portable electronic devices on extended camping trips the Brunton Restore is a solid choice. When at full capacity the Restore’s internal lithium polymer battery will recharge virtually any USB compatible device. Charge he internal battery using USB power from a laptop, a wall adapter (not included), auto adapter, or the Restore’s solar panels. Encased in a durable, water-resistant, rubberized shell measuring 5....
For a number of years I thought that real Scouts only used real Scout mess kits. The standard issue military type clam shell mess kit has a long tradition in Scouting but, compared to the alternatives available out there it is woefully inadequate. There are lots of gadgety, expensive, highly touted modern specialty cooking and serving ware being manufactured for campers but I like cheap, light, and practical Scout mess kits assembled from easily available components....
Here are my favorite astronomy tools for showing Scouts the night sky. Get out and look at the stars the next clear night you are out camping, you don’t have to be an expert or particularly knowledgeable to have a great time finding constellations and doing a little stargazing. With a little research you’ll now when and where to look for satellites or meteor showers. It’s worth staying up late or getting up early to see them if you can....