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Owl62

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Everything posted by Owl62

  1. I have used the heavy duty Scotch guard spray with success and no problems. Mostly just on the rain fly and around the lower 1/4 of the tent walls. Seems to work well. You have to be careful spraying in - don't breath it and try to apply it evenly. And since it is flammable, it probably makes the tent more flammable. But I am a lot more concerned about staying dry in a tent than having a tent catch fire. (I have never personally heard of or seen a tent catch fire but I suppose it is a possibility). I once used "Camp Dry" but I found it did not really work very well.
  2. The past year or so, I have been using the little LED lights that clip under a cap bill. Some have three LEDs on them, and I have one that has six. They seem to hold up well, if you wear a cap, you always have the light with you, and they seem to provide plenty of light for setting up camp, walking a trail, etc. And they only cost about $10.
  3. It is strange that water was dripping through the entire rainfly. I don't believe I have ever seen a totally waterproof tent. Every tent I have ever seen has leaked somewhere, sometime - most often through the seams. Tents or parts of tents may be coated with "waterproof" material, but sooner or later almost all will leak. Rainflys deflect rain more than serve as a waterproof barrier. Rainflys should usually be pretty taut. It sounds like the rainfly in question may almost be mesh??? Some things to consider to reduce tents leaking: Buy a good quality tent, with tapes seams, gu
  4. Our unit does not ban electronics. We figure, what's the point?. As long as there is no disruption in the activities, nothing illegal or unsafe going on, we have more important things to worry about. As long as the Scouts are doing what they are supposed to be doing, we don't worry about these things. We do have some rules about electronics though. We asked them to refrain from using them during meetings, etc - and they do. The Scouts can use them during their free time, in or near their tents on campouts or during the trip to and from as long as they do not create distractions for the
  5. Regarding summer camp showers, what showering facilities are available at your council camps for summer camp? Hot water available or only cold water? Centrally located showers? Campsite Showers? Most of our summer camps have cold water showers available in the campsites with a central shower facility with hot and cold water. All have showers with hot and cold water available at the pool - but these are normally locked when the pool is closed. One of the camps have showers with hot and cold water in each campsite. Thanks
  6. We are still looking for more input and opinions about tents at summer camp: Does your troop use tents provided by the summer camp, or bring their own? If so, why and what kind of tents do you take to camp and use. Since mosquitos are bad in our part of the country, most of our troop started bringing their own tents about 4 years ago. The 9X7 tents provided by the camp are not screened and some of them are in poor condition. Summer camp tents are often erected incorrectly or in poor locations. We often have to take the summer camp tents down, and erect them correctly. I have seen
  7. Anyone out there have any experience with sleeping bags with built in sleeping pads? I have see two different makes of this type of bag. One at Wal-Mart and another elewhere. Seems like a good idea, but they seem bulky, maybe heavy, and I am not sure about what kind of pads are in them - open or closed cell? We have a Scout's mom who discovered them and she thinks they are great.
  8. Our troop has mostly 2 and a few 4 man Eureka Timberline tents. They are aging but in fair condition. We don't see many other troops with them, although Eureka still makes them. Seems like troops are using other tents. We see mostly Coleman dome tents, other dome tents of various manufacture. Most of our aduts have their own tents as do some of the Scouts. But some use the troop tents. We actually encourage Scouts to get their own tents and most eventually do. They are a major expense and the Scouts seem to take better care of their own. We were just wondering what other tr
  9. I am not sure that is it possible or even desirable to make a tent "waterproof" Condensation will probably form inside a totally waterproof tent. Water resistant is another issue. For sealing seams, many people use a comercial seal sealer product. Most come in a little bottle with a daubber on it for easy application. I re-apply seam seal at least once a year or when needed. For the rest of the tent fabric, I do use a heavy duty "camp dry" product that comes in a spray can - seems to work. I patch holes as needed also. Other things that can help make a tent water resistant ar
  10. Our unit really does not have a tent policy. The troop has tents and some of the Scouts use them. Some bring their own tents. Some Scouts have buddies they like to share a tent with, others prefer to tent alone. If we have a Scout that wants to tent with another Scout, that has always been arranged. The tents are usually all in a small area so we don't worry about anyone being in a tent alone. Personally, I take my own tent and sleep in it alone as do most of the other adults. I have shared a tent, but prefer to tent alone. We have adults that snore so they tent alone and we try to pit
  11. Owl62

    Headgear

    I would like to hear about what headgear your Scouting unit uses. We have not adopted any specific headgear yet. It is left to the option of the individual as long as the headgear is official Scouting headgear, Scouting related (Scout camp/activity hats, expedition hat, etc., or a plain with no logos. We are considering a troop hat but there is no consensous yet. We will probably end up with a custom baseball type troop cap. Thanks.
  12. Our unit is looking at a new first aid kit for the unit. Currenly we have a "put together" kit in a tackle box. Serves well but we want something that is easier to carry, especially backbacking. We are considering rebuilding the tacklebox first aid kit and developing a first aid kit in a small pack that can be taken backpacking. We are intersted in hearing what others do for first aid kits, including contents. Thanks. Allen
  13. Seems like we frequently arrive in camp after sundown and have to set up camp in the dark. Headlights make it an easier task. We recommend that our folks get and use headlights so that they can set up without having to hold a flashlight. Most of them have the little Eveready 3 LED headlights that can be bought in many stores for about $10. Uses 3 AAA alkaline batteries. Seems to serve well. Headlights can also be used for general lighting, tent lights, caving, trail trekking, etc. Others including myself have other headlights including combination LED and high-intensity headlights.
  14. My opinion is, let them all stay registered as long as the pay the registration fee and complete any other requirements.
  15. Except for backpacking, I normally use two sleeping pads. One closed cell foam on the bottom and the other a ThermaRest look-a-like self-inflating on top of the closed cell pad. I use this method in all kinds of temperatures. My old bones just need the extra cushioning. When backpacking, I just use a closed cell foam pad. Always full length on both pad types. Besides the extra cushioning for thermal insulation and comfort, the closed cell pad on the bottom helps keep the other pad and your sleeping bag dry. Tents almost always leak or have some condensation in them regardless of what
  16. The current Insignia guide shows the District Award of Merit displayed two different ways. One is with the loop up, one is with the loop down. How is it supposed to be displayed on the uniform?
  17. Owl62

    100 Year Patch

    There is a new 100 Years of Scouting patch available. It is oval and says "100 YEARS OF SCOUTING 1910-2010 WHEN TRADITION MEETS TOMORROW" Anyone know how/where this patch can be worn or displayed. Being a horizontal oval patch, it really doesn't appear to be designed for the right uniform shirt pocket. Thanks.
  18. I like the design of them but I don't really care for them. The don't fit well, the material is not the best as it is too thin and flimsy and melts if you get too close to a heat source, the leg bottoms need velcro cinch straps, and the sizes appear to be off. To me, they are very hot in warm weather (unless of course you remove the legs). I like the pockets, and the zip-off legs feature though. I would prefer another belt, I don't like the belt or buckle that comes with them. I think a ripstop cotton nylon material similar to military lightweight BDU pants would be a better mat
  19. I have never been anywhere that we were given a specific contribution amount, at least not that I have heard, but the past several years, they have been pushing automatic monthly contributions by pressuring people to sign pledge forms or through our wills to give all or parts of our estates to them. Due to what I consider to the be the inconsiderate, aggressive and rude manner (my opinion - I think I am entitled to my opinion) of some FOS presentations, I no longer give ANY money to FOS. Period. No means no. (They have even tried having a nicer, kinder person with a more warm approach, us
  20. My opinion: Pros of Powder Horn instead of Wood Badge: 1. Powder Horn is a "resource" course that introduces attendees to subjects and activities that are of value to Scouters and their units especially Venturing Crews. 2. Powder Horn usually provides for hands-on experience in the resources presented. 3. Combined with your Wood Badge training, going to Powder Horn would provide your with information from both for the benefit of your unit. 4. Usually Powder Horn courses are less available than Wood Badge Courses. 5. I found Powder Horn to be well run, interest
  21. I am inquiring about any special unit based (den, pack, troop, team, crew) awards for Scouters (registered adults) in the unit. (Not awards from outside the actual unit). I would like to know the name of the award, purpose/requirements of the award, and what it is comprised of (patch, bead, medal, etc) Our troop only has one, a special patch that recognizes a Scouter in the unit the first time he/she attends summer camp with the troop. It is only awarded once to each Scouter who has attended summercamp. It is worn as a temporary patch on the right shirt pocket. It is just called th
  22. Never heard of it. But as a shot in the dark guess I would say that one of the requirements is 25 nights of camping.
  23. When it comes to camping gear, in our unit, we advise the Scouts and their families to take their time, and get only the essentials, at least at first. Since our unit does little camping/hiking that actually requires hiking boots, we suggest they get the other essentials first. But some discount stores have hiking boots for a reasonable price - they can be had for under $50. Watch for sales - buy large if you have to at the sales. We recommend waterproof hiking boots. For the other stuff, after the uniform and handbook, health form, etc, we recommend the following: Sleeping b
  24. We are interested in Scout summer camps in Texas and would appreciate any input you all have about Texas Scout camps. Especially the name, location, and quality of the program, and quality of the service provided by the staff - and oh yeah, the food.
  25. I would like to see some input from you all about sleeping bags. What you have, have used, recommendations, etc. From my experience, most Scouts tend to get inexpensive bags rated down to maybe 40F. Generally from discount stores that generally don't sell very high quality bags. That doesn't mean that some of those bags will serve reasonably well under many conditions. In our area, for about 9 months of the year, a 40F bag will work fine. In fact, in the summer, many of us just sleep in shorts and t-shirts on top of our sleeping bags. But, for a few months, the temperatures can ch
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