Informal Guide to Camping Equipment
Troop 641 is a troop that is committed to the classic Scouting tradition of camping and hiking. Our camping, mid-adventure and high-adventure programs offer regular opportunities to venture out in the woods and experience the challenges of living out of doors. While much of the Troop’s emphasis is on basic outdoor training, a large part of the program involves your personal camping and hiking equipment. This informal guide is designed to help Scouts and parents make some of the personal choices when acquiring “big ticket” items, such as boots, backpacks, sleeping bags and tents. Parents should consider purchasing these items for Christmas or birthday presents, or perhaps as motivation to reach a particular rank in Scouting. Grandparents are also always looking for good gift ideas.
BUYING TIPS – “Shop at REI, buy online. “ REI has great equipment, but you’ll pay full retail. There are many good online sources, such as www.campmor.com and www.backcountry.com, which carry as good or better brands and offer discounts and specials. Shop around for sales and specials, even at REI. Camping equipment is very much oriented to quality/price trade-offs. You want to look for the best equipment you can find performance-wise, but you will pay a big premium for “ultra-light” equipment, particularly backpacks, sleeping bags and tents. However, sometimes its worth the money to get a sleeping bag that is 3 pounds lighter and takes up 1/3 the space of a normal bag. The specific items mentioned in this guide are only examples to show you some brand names, prices and features. Shop around and find what’s right for you. Some of the premium brands to look for are North Face, Kelty, REI, Mountain Hardware, Sierra Desgins, MSR, and Big Agnes.
BOOTS – It is the Troop’s policy and tradition that hiking boots are always part of the Scout uniform and must be worn at all Troop meetings and outings. The main purpose is to get the boys used to wearing their boots and breaking them in to prevent foot problems on the trail. Boots should be over-the-ankle (i.e. not shoes), sturdy and lightweight. Since feet grow rapidly at this age, don’t purchase expensive boots. Academy is probably your best bet. They carry several acceptable boots, such as Timberland and Hi-Tech which are in the $50 to $75 range. These have suede/synthetic uppers and are supposedly waterproof. Vasque makes a very good boot, but they are higher priced.
We recommend dousing your boots with an extra coating of Scotch Guard. If you have leather boots, a product called Snow-Seal is best. Both products will change the color of your boots, but waterproofing is much more important than appearance. Check the lost and found and feel free to leave your gently worn but outgrown boots there for some future Scout.
BACKPACKS - Each Scout will need his own backpack, beginning with his very first campout. Backpacks are fairly expensive, so we recommend reaching out a little and buying one that will get him through his entire Scouting career, including a high-adventure trip such as Philmont Scout Ranch in New Mexico.
Backpacks are either internal or external frame. There are advantages and disadvantages to both, but we prefer the internal frame packs. They fit better and are far more comfortable on the trail. Features to look for are a hip belt (mandatory), organizer pockets, hydration sleeve (for Camelback), lightweight, and possibly an adjustable frame. Some sources to shop are REI, Academy (has a few, including Kelty), and online stores like campmor.com.
Many boys have purchased the Kelty Coyote backpack. This is an adjustable frame youth backpack with a volume capacity of 4750 cubic inches (approx. 60 to 65 liters). This is a good backpack and large enough that it will get you through a weeklong trek at Philmont. The price is right at $79 (Campmor.com). Kelty also makes a larger model, the Red Cloud at $109. Anything smaller than about 60 liters is considered a weekend pack.
REI carries several good models in the 60 to 75 liter volume size. The Meteor ($85), the Red Flash ($169) and the Passage Youth ($149). They also carry higher-end packs such as Osprey and Gregory. An Osprey Altmos 65 liter is $239 at REI. An 80 liter pack, such as a Gregory Palisades, is about as large as you want to go and works well for an adult. For smaller packs, you will have to make do with less equipment.
Backpacks can vary a lot in terms of weight. Shop and compare weights. A difference of 8 pound pack and a 5 pound pack is significant, especially when you make similar weight choices with your sleeping bag and tent.
Also invest in a good rain cover (about $25) to fit your pack. A garbage bag will work as well, but the pack covers are really nice to have.
SLEEPING BAGS – There are two types of sleeping bags, synthetic and down. Although down bags are lighter and warmer than synthetic, we recommend synthetic for Scouts for the simple reason that they are washable. It’s very important to air out your bag thoroughly after each trip to make sure it is totally dry before storing it. Most good bags will come with a separate storage bag to allow the sleeping bag to be stored “fluffy.” Don’t store your bag in its compression sack until you pack it for your trip.
Sleeping bags are all rated by temperature - the lower the temperature, the higher the weight and higher the price. Bulk is also an issue, especially when packing for a weeklong trek. Compare the “stuff size” of the bags you are looking at. A 30-degree bag will take you most places in Texas, but will probably be very risky to take to Philmont or Northern Tier. We recommend buying one in the 15 to 20 degree range. A 0 or 5 degree bag is probably overkill and you will pay a premium. For El Rancho Cima summer camp, it’s generally very warm at night, so you may want to consider a light fleece sleep sack or just use sheets and a light blanket and leave your sleeping bag at home.
Some key features to look for would be a two-way zipper (lets you stick your feet out at night), mummy style, and a hood. Again, make sure you get a “stuff sack” which allows you to compress the bag to drastically reduce its bulk.
Good synthetic sleeping bags include the Marmot Trestles 15 degree, which is 3 lbs. 14 oz. for $89 (Campmor.com); Big Agnes Encampment 15 degree is 3 lbs. 5 oz. for $149;and the North Face Aleutian 20 is 3 lbs. 6 oz. for $79 (also at Campmor.com). REI has a number of good bags. Backcountry.com carries the Mountain Hardware Ultralamina 15 ($214 – only 2 lb. 14 oz. and very compressible).
SLEEPING PADS – You should purchase a good sleeping pad or a lightweight air mattress. The key consideration here is really with bulk more than weight. We have seen some incredibly bulky sleeping pads on campouts that are not good for backpacking. To reduce bulk, look at the shorter “3/4” size pads, which work just fine for boys. REI is a great place to shop, but also check your online sources.
RAIN SUITS – We recommend getting a good, 2-piece lightweight rain suit. We suggest avoiding the ubiquitous poncho – they don’t work nearly as well as the rain suits, especially when wearing a backpack. Frogg Toggs are popular but fairly pricey and don’t breathe well. Academy sells a rain suit called Dri-Ducks that is very lightweight, compressible and inexpensive.
BACKPACKING TENTS – The Troop provides Magellan and Eureka brand patrol tents for weekend camping which hold 2 to 3 boys (sometimes 4!) that are more than adequate for campouts. The Troop has a supply of REI Half-Dome tents that we use for trekking with the older boys. Some Scouts want to purchase and use their own tents and that is perfectly acceptable, but not at all necessary. When boys reach First Class, one of the first Eagle-required merit badges they will take is Camping. It’s a very involved badge that takes the Scouts from “trailer camping” to carrying everything on their backs. This badge is great preparation for our mid and high-adventure camping programs. The culmination of the class is a significant overnight backpack trek. Several boys will elect to purchase their lightweight backpacking tent at this point, but again, the Troop’s REI Half-Domes are available for their use.
Backpacking tents are intended to be very lightweight. They can be one-man, two-man, three or four-man sizes. For high adventure, it’s best to look at a two-man, because you will pair off and share the load for the tent, along with your food and water. The Troop’s REI tents all went to Philmont last summer and worked great. Avoid the one-man “bivy” style tents because they are not allowed at Philmont. A two-man tent is small and lightweight enough to carry by yourself if you don’t have a partner. You will have some extra sleeping room for yourself and storage room for your gear. Adults going to Philmont typically go solo on their tent and may want to look at an ultra-lightweight one-man tent.
Two-man tents have two basic styles. The double-entry, double-vestibule style is very nice. The “vestibules” allow you to store your pack and boots outside the tent at night, but under shelter. The double-entry allows you to get up at night for a bathroom excursion without disturbing your buddy. The variety of a 2-man tent is the single-entry at the end. These tents are great because they are typically lighter weight than the double-entry tents, sometimes down to about 3 pounds. However, the single vestibule is smaller.
When you shop, make sure you are getting the “fly” (overlay rainproof top) and the “footprint” (ground cloth). Sometimes the footprint is as much as $50 extra, but sometimes they are included with your purchase.
You want to look for a tent that is less than 6 lbs. The REI Half-Domes are probably about 6.5 lbs. Again, you’ll pay a premium but you can get down in the 3 to 4 lb. arena, and if you’re smart about your pack, tent and sleeping bag, you can shave 7 to 10 lbs. off your total pack weight. This is a huge difference, especially over the course of a week.
Another consideration is 3-season vs. 4-season tents. 3-season implies that the tent is good for every condition except the dead of winter. You will pay a premium for a 4-season tent. We feel that you should buy a 3-season tent, and compensate for the coldest nights with a good quality sleeping bag and possibly a bag liner (plus a hat and 3 sets of clothes!).
Some good examples of 2-man, 3-season, double-entry tents are the Marmot Limelight 2 ($189), Mountain Hardware Drifter 2 ($149 – 5.5 lbs.), Big Agnes Fly Creek UL3 (or Lynx Pass – only 3.3 lbs.), REI Half Dome ($159), Kelty Gunnison 2.1 ($189 – 5.9 lbs.), MSR Hubba Hubba 2P ($299 – at only 4 lbs., probably the best brand among high-end tents), Sierra Designs Zolo 2 ($219 – 5 lb. 13 oz.) or Sierra Designs Meteor Light 2 ($179).
For end-entry 2-man tents, look at the Mountain Hardware Lightpath 2 ($159 – 4 lb. 8 oz.) or the Big Agnes Seedhouse ($229 – 2 lb. 13 oz.).