hops_scout

KS, You mentioned buying $150 Nikes for the kid, but not paying however much for the official uniform... Well, I beleive you are right to some extent. Paying $150 for shoes in crazy, but so is paying $100-110 for a uniform. Especially if the pants couldnt withstand a campout. I know paying for new sporting gear is coming soon, and I feel that sporting gear does get used more sometimes and will need replacement sooner. Also, sporting gear is usually going to be worth it.

I have an olive drab boonie hat and I like it. I have seen them in many differnt colors and plan to get one in Woodland camo to go with my BDU pants. I also plan to get a pair of OD BDU pants.

KS, I can understand why you would not wear camo clothing for scouts at your location, but I dont see why it is a problem here in the states to wear BDU clothing.

Right now I am an assistant patrol leader in my troop. I attend almost all PLC meetings even though our patrol leader is usaully there.

I think we all agree: BSA needs better uniforms. I dont care what color BDU pants they are but that is what we need. They sell BDU pants in OD so you still wouldnt be able to tell the difference at a distance.

I'm not sure about their return policy, but I think it is a good one. I'll look later maybe. htt://www.majorsurplusnsurvival.com

Thank you very much for your input. I am planning to buy one out of a catalog which is supposed to be brand new for just under $50. I have a friend who has a medium pack and was very satified with it.

KoreaScouter, Would the large ALICE pack be good for backpacking? I'm looking for my first pack and our troop is planning a backpacking trip. I have seen them fairly inexpensive at some places and was wondering if it would be a good buy.

Exactly what I meant. I have two pairs and they are different fabrics.

I was wondering if anybody's unit does search and rescue. I am interested that and was just wondering

I've seen places where it says they are supposed to dry quickly.

Correction, Tripod offers 20 megabites for free, but it is not a good site for scouting purposes due to some ads that have appeared. I am in charge of two sites on there at this time, but plan to change soon. http://cubscoutpack301.tripod.com http://boyscouttroop323.tripod.com

Hydration is very important, especially on the trail. When being active, you should drink about 1 liter of water an hour. This is why many people are now going to the hydration packs in place of a canteen or water bottle.

I dont think we had used any other military surplus gear on our float trip. I know that in some places it is just not appropiate such as in other countries and on military bases. Our troop prefers that we dont wear camo in public but they dont seem to care much.

I beleive that if the gear is appropriate for the event it should be allowed even if it is military surplus or what could be considered. I live in Illinois so I dont know who would accuse us of being militants or whatever. Last October, we had a demostration of what to take on a fall flaot. Our leader who put this stuff together recomendded to us to get a pair of jungle boots and BDU clothing because it could dry faster. I just bought a pair of camo BDU pants over the weekend, and a camo hat, and guess what, I plan to wear both on our winter campout next weekend.

I agree with the cleaning it out right away when you get back from a hike or whatever. Have you ever tried one of those dryer kits that you can put in the bladder?

I plan on getting a CamelBack Thermobak 3L in olive drab. It should be more than enough water for the hiking I do because I live where the temps. dont get to any extremes. I also dont do backpacking though I would like to try that. It would be nice to be able to carry everything with me without having to carry a big backpack. I would carry a 1L canteen too just in case something was to happen to my Camelbak.

I plan on getting a CamelBack Thermobak 3L in olive drab. It should be more than enough water for the hiking I do because I live where the temps. dont get to any extremes. I also dont do backpacking though I would like to try that. It would be nice to be able to carry everything with me without having to carry a big backpack. I would carry a 1L canteen too just in case something was to happen to my Camelbak.

At Cub Scout day camp this year we burned flags. We first would cut the grommets off. Then we would cut each stripe and put in the fire while the lady in charge said what each stipe meant. At the end, we draped the blue union over in one piece to represent the states being united as one. We stood at attetion until the blue was completely gone.

How will a cot make for a colder night? You would be up off the ground and hot rises right?

We just dont seem to have these problems. I, surprisingly, sleep better on a campout than I do in my bed. Therefore I wake up refreshed and ready to go. It seems like our troop just seems to wake up. I guess it is routine due to school.

I am thinking of purchasing a backpack, but have no experience on this kind of thing. I am about 5' 8" or so and still could grow. I would like to keep it under $100. Any ideas? What about an large ALICE pack?(This message has been edited by hops_scout)

Our troop does not wear uniforms to PLC meetings. This meeting is considered a casual meeting.

Our troop is mainly run by the scouts not the leaders. Each month, though, one of the parents makes a newsletter and mails it to each scouts family. It includes permission slips. We are planning to go to the internet, also. We have recently made a website which is no where near done and we are planning to go to email instead of "snail mail".

I just recently received a North Pole 9'X8' tent from Walmart. These tents are made by Ozark Trail and I too have a little bag with a zipper on it. When it is dry here ( we got several inches of snow last week) I am going to set it up to see if it will fit back into the bag. If I struggle too much, I will most likely get a large stuff sack to put it in. Good old military surplus for ya. Also, I have always folded my tents. That is the way our troop teaches us to correctly put the tents away.(This message has been edited by hops_scout)