Gear List

This Scouting Equipment Catalog from 1925 is a fantastic piece of Scouting history. I’ve scanned all 50 pages and created a PDF document that you can download at the end of this post. On the cover there’s a full color illustration by Benjamin Goodwin Seielstad of Scouts in their campsite with a cowboy in the background. No new-fangled sleeping bags (since there was really no such thing in 1925!) for these fellows, no sir, they have good honest wool blankets ($4....

The ten essentials are things every responsible camper should carry. In addition to what you’ll use regularly carry some spares in your First Aid and Contingency Kit. Contingencies are more common than actual emergencies. I recommend a first-aid kit supplemented with a few other items on the ‘ten essentials’ list: a spare flashlight, spare whistle, trail food, matches, and fire starters. To see my specific recommendations for ten essentials check out this page in my Gear Guide....

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....

: Portage pack and day bag (the waist or lumbar pack) The canoe never gets lighter, but the packs do. Pack with paddles. Triumph! The end of a five mile portage. Any high adventure canoe trip requires selecting the right gear and clothing. I am pretty specific about what we carry on our trips because I know one thing for sure; in the case of where we are going:...

A few years back I built a sailors ditty box from plans found in Hervey Garrett Smith’s The Marlinspike Sailor. I finished it with milk paint and even went to the trouble of copying the beckets (handles) from the book’s description. I haul this ditty box along on our car camping trips and to summer camp. It measures about 8″x 11″x 20″ and weighs about ten or twelve pounds when it’s loaded....

Somewhere along the way (eBay I think) I got a good solid old-school pack basket. It’s perfect for packing a pretty big pile of camping miscellany that comes in handy. Visible on top of the basket is a blue groundcloth. (1) is an old folding candle lantern (Lee Valley still stocks them), (2) pocket umbrella, (3) Outdoor Products Small Watertight Box with tea and coffee bags, sugar packets, salt and pepper....

(1) My lumbar pack is a Mountainsmith Day Recycled-Fabric Lumbar Pack (my review here). I use this bag all the time and it has become my “man bag” or “murse”. (2) I have a large Kwiki Organizer to keep things easy to access on the inside. (3) I keep a shemagh tactical scarf in the bottom of the bag – it comes in handy as a giant bandanna, a kind of table-groundcloth and as a head scarf in the heat or a neck scarf in the cold....

Andrew Skurka’s new Ultimate Hiker’s Gear Guide includes a packing list for Philmont Scout Ranch! It has far less gear than the official Philmont list. In Clarke’s interview in podcast 111, Andrew pointed out that over 20,000 Scouts backpack at Philmont every summer and probably 19,000 of them are carrying too much weight. Improving packing at Philmont is a huge opportunity for youth to get started on the light path, have more fun, and become lifetime backpackers....

Adult Leader Summer Camp Equipment List Stuff Personal Gear Tools/etc. First Aid Kit Pillow Hammer Paper Towels Hanging Kit(4) Pliers TP Shower Sandals Nails Hanging Light(1) Hangers(5) Tarp D Batteries Coffee Cup/Mug Rope AA Batteries Water Bottle String Liquid Hand Soap Notepad Duct Tape Hose Pencil/Pen Shovel Broom Knife Saw Clothespins(2) Snacks Tacks Clorox Wipes Books(6) Staple Gun Clear Shelf Paper(3) Clock Work Gloves Deck Cards Sewing Kit Magic Marker Troop Flag Matches Sharpie Marker US Flag Camera State Flag Seasonings(7) Flag Stands 1 Gallon Zip Loc Cash Box Hat Trash Bags Fishing Gear Chair Mirror Glasses Rug/Mat Notes:...

Jason Pettis is Scoutmaster of Troop 130 in Golden, Colorado who takes ‘be prepared’ seriously. He wrote in to say: I’ve got a tote I bring with a bunch of extra gear that I loan out to adults (and occasionally scouts) that I call my “Be Prepared” box. It’s come in handy a time or two, when a sad scout (or dad) needs a cup for cocoa (or coffee). Here it is:...

[portfolio_slideshow nav=false thumbs=true size=large] Here’s two camping boxes that house some essentials I like to have on hand when we are out with the troop. The smaller is a 8 gallon and the larger a 24 gallon Action Packer by Rubbermaid. The contents of each are laid out and labeled in the first picture above. Around the center of the main picture there are a few items that are difficult to see:...