topshot

I am curious how many councils have moved to the subscription model and how much they charge each month. Ours just announced they will be moving to that next year and it's not going over well (~300% increase). They claim there are others that do this.

I'm curious how often most Troops hold elections. We just started to look at this Star to Life time issue in depth. We have elections only twice a year (2nd Mon of May and Nov). This means the May-Nov Scouts will always be short 3 days (which seems stupid to me since Nov-May span is actually fewer days). They can wait for the next monthly BoR to get advanced, but they also must have some type of position or special SM project to cover the extra days (assuming they aren't re-elected into another one that counts). To me this seems rather unfair. Maybe our Eagles have been lucky to not have

With that kind of base weight, why are you wearing boots?

The running shoe/hiking boot industry is filled with a bunch of BS about support and such that keep your feet from operating as designed. How else will they continue to get you to buy the new and improved models? That being said you will need to ease into minimalist footwear to avoid a lot of pain since you're not used to walking like you should be. I personally wouldn't go without a rock plate though.

At least when using the "New Topics" feature, the "Sort By" function does not work. I tried Started Post, Last Update, Replies and Title. It gets resorted, but it's clearly not even close to correct.

In our Council, family camps are district level events for all Packs in the district (usually only once per year in our district). Pack overnighter is any overnight (camping or otherwise) with just your pack.

Our council switched to Walmart or Amazon gift cards last year though there were a couple prizes that could be earned at higher levels in addition to the GC. I much prefer that to the old way (though you could also get cards back then, too) though I suspect some Scouts/parents may prefer those prizes. My son has always been one of the top sellers in the unit ($1,500+ avg sales) so he's able to fund his entire year of Scouting including uniform pieces with the earnings.

Should have added you should check out this paper I wrote, too. It's made for newbies and Scouters that don't know how to backpack light. http://topshotsystems.com/Lightweight_Scouting_Dissertation.pdf

May be too late for you, but I'd also go for the 7x7 Walmart tent. It's fly isn't as pathetically small as the 6x5 tent, which would be too small for you anyway. However, be advised that you should really seal the seam between the walls and bottom. They apparently aren't taped. Had torrential rains on our recent trip and our son and his buddy got wet while my wife and I were fine in my true backpacking tent.

The only time I use a groundcloth is if I'm using a tarp (no floor). On a recent trip to the Smokies where we had to pitch on gravel platforms, my backpacking tent with it's ultralight 30D floor was the only one that didn't get wet when torrential rains created nice ponds on these platforms.

I only found 3 of them (via Google). Fishing, Fly Fishing and Fish and Wildlife Management. Given the commonality of subjects, it's clear someone did those for some special purpose.

Our troop's Scouts are "lazy" as the former SM told me. We pretty much car camp each month within a couple hours. We did go rafting in southern KY (5+ hours) 4 years ago. We'll have a small contingent going to the Smokies this summer. We also live in one of the most depressed areas of the state so few families have money (or money to buy popcorn, etc.). A few of the Scouts do manage to fund their whole year via fundraising though. Since the troop doesn't provide the adventure, I've been doing it on my own with my sons.

Use the self-stick velcro - no need to sew it. Sticks very well to the "glue" on the back of the patches. It may come off the newer uniforms, which seem to have some kind of finish, when washed. Make sure the loop part is put on the shirt to prevent pilling when being laundered. I ended up using an iron from the opposite side to help the glue set into the fabric better. Removing the patch when washing also helps it stay put. I prefer using the 2" wide strip and cutting to shape as needed vs using several of the dots. Only problem is if the Scout doesn't have a current position, you'd have a pi

Our Troop does the same. Each patrol rotates who buys the food for the next campout and it's up to the parent to get them to the store. Those Scouts will take home a tote (and sometimes a cooler). He gets $10/Scout so he knows his budget.

Propane and it's various mixtures also have their own dangers. Valves can go bad, easy to tip over uprights, etc. The worst, of course, would be getting the canister too hot, which would cause it to go boom. That's pretty much only an issue with upright stoves (canister below the pot) where heat is reflected downward. That's why the mfr says never use a windscreen with an upright. If the canister is too hot to keep your hand on it, you need to remove the pot and turn down the stove ASAP.