orennoah

In "my" Troop, any of the adult leaders or the "green bar" Scouts can take a Totin' Chip, if the rule violation makes that action appropriate. We have a very, very low tolerance for misusing what-we-call edged weapons. (If fact, our Scouts have enlisted our adult leaders on at least two occasions to confiscate knives from Scouts in other troops who were grossly misusing their knives. One at a Camporee and one at a summer camp.)

Lesser infractions, will involve a warning and a discussion of the proper way to use such edged weapons.

To get the Totin' Chip back, the Scout has to go to the SPL and convince him that he has learned his lesson. IF the SPL thinks the Scout should get the Totin' Chip back, then the Scout has to come to the SM (me) and convince the SM that the Totin' Chip should be returned.

This system reinforces proper use of and respect for knives and axes AND reinforces the boy-led aspect of the Troop.

This is definitely fine material for a Scoutmaster's Minute, not to mention fodder for discussions during SM Conferences and BORs.

Use this for good.

I'd be very leary of this bag.

The brand, Neus Trading, isn't shown on any of the standard backpack gear sites I checked.

Off brands are notorious for wild-a$$ed claims about temperature. There are neither government nor industry standards for sleeping bag temperature ratings. One manufacturer's 20 degree bag would be rated -10 degrees by another.

Go with a quality bag, made by a quality manufacturer. To save money, look at the discount outdoor retail websites, such as www.rei-outlet.com or www.sierratradingpost.com.

A quick illustration. My father purchased at $100 down sleeping bag for me when I was Scout in the late 60s. That was a lot of money, but that bag always kept me warm, even in a blizzard at Donner Lake in the Sierra Nevadas. It also kept my son warm in his early Scouting career. We just retired it to "sleep over" duty, two years ago. Because it was a high quality bag, it was a tremendous bargain in terms of cost per nights of comfortable sleep.

If I can plug my Troop's website, check out the Scoutmaster Gear Tips at www.scouttroop14.org.

- Oren Noah

First, the good news. Our troop adopted a very cool Scout hat for adult and Scout leaders. They look great and work well in all conditions, from Death Valley desert sun to Sierra Nevada winter blizzards. Until recently, the only downside was that they are not from the B.S.A., but from Scouts Australia. They are quality fur felt (like the B.S.A. campaign hats) but because of the exchange rate, cost us only about $35 a piece, delivered! They look to be made by Akubra (which sell for more than $100 here).

Now, the bad news. Even though they had the coolest uniform hats of any country in the World Brotherhood of Scouting, the Aussies have abandoned their hat (along with the rest of their uniform) in favor of some generic, non-descript clothing. Alas.

- Oren Noah