willysjeep

It seems to me that any uniform is better than none, but the "class A" is best for formal ceremonies. Everybody should have one anyway.

Example: A pack belt for an offical scout pack has ripped on me on three campouts.The stress points are all on this piece of plastic mesh stuff and tear out all of the time. This pack is pretty new and has already failed while most comercial packs cared for in the same way and four times as old are still serviceable.

Just had a bolt of inspiration. You were talking about only packing what is necisairy. Which would seem the logical choice. 1: a kitchen knife for cooking and a pocket knife for utility work. 2: a knife somewhere bitween the two that can serve both purposes. I also understand that a standard scout knife has a few more options than a sheath knife. A sheath knife is just as useful as most kitchen knives, and slightly less functional, but more sturdy than a pocket knife. Just speaking my mind.

I can see your point about most people considering a bigger knife a hunting tool. And I also hear what you are saying about setting the example with lighter is better. I tend to think that if a scout is responsible enough for a knife then they are responsible enough for any knife (barring swords, macheties, ect). Saftey is surely not the logical reason for this rule, though. Axes and coleman stoves could be far more dangerous than a sheath knife in irresponsible hands. Sheath knives may even have some saftey advantages over folding knives. Besides, some fixed bladed knives are allowed by scouts, like fillet knives, kitchen knives, whitteling tools, ect. Some of these are bigger, and some smaller than sheath knives. I know a normal sheath knife, like they sold for years, would not be used in the same way as the allowed knives. I just think there is no reason to outright ban a useable and practical knife just because some people associate it with hunting. Anyway, what is to keep somebody from claiming a hunting knife is a kitchen knife? There are some kitchen knives that only difer from hunting knives in their handles. I will comply with the rule, but I would like to see it changed some day. Geez, it's kind of like the gun control issue! Which gun is "too big" and which is "too small"!

I carry a buck tool with me on most of my campouts. Around star scout my popcorn sale scout knife (which i've had since i got my whittlin chip) started to become wobbly and I could not bear to break it. I also use upon occasion a 3 3/4" Marbles Fieldcraft fixed blade knife away from scouts. By the way, what makes sheath knives so bad when the offical catalog has a foot long kitchen knife in it! Mabey I should just bring my "kitchen" knife along some time, He he.

Add wool to the long pants and long shirt! it would make them less suicidal to wear in the winter. Adding cotton to the shorts and short shirt would make them cooler in the summer. Besids, who in their right mind would wear shorts and a short shirt when they need to keep warm? More seasonal clothing coupled with better clothing selection by the wearer would make life better for everyone. By the way, cotton doesn't kill - wet cotton kills, and then only when it's cold (otherwise cotton is better than synthetic in the heat). Also, how an some places sell offical campaign hats for $30 when the catalog sells them for $80? Who's making the profit there?

Does it seem like a lot of the stuff in the catalog is just downright cheap, flimsy, weak, and expensive. I just don't understand how the military, cabelas, campmor, sportsmans guide, sierra trading post, and dunhams can sell better gear for comprable prices. It also seems like the older gear (that is being reintroduced as historical now) was of far better quality. Does anyone agree, or want to argue?

Web belts are useful in survival situations too. Unravel them for tons of thread. They are a classic (i think) uiform part too!

Hey, they could seriously revamp the uniform. If they did, though, somebody like me might be complaning in a year. The more they change it the more it will cost. If they made some descnet uniform pants out of wool, some shorts out of cotton (for hot weather only, shorts don't help with hypothermia), and mabey a wool blend shirt you could get by wearing the uniform out of doors. Back in the day all they had to wear year round was the wool blend, natural fiber uniform. Wool would make it so much better for winter, and cotton so much better for summer.

oops! I think camo is OK for scouts in certain circumstances. I also think that a khaki shirt will make a scout look a lot more like wild game than a camouflage jacket. As for saftey with scouts getting lost, see my post above. In my area there are many hunters. Looking like a tree might be better than looking like a deer. By the way, for a long while it was OK for scouters to display military awards over their left pocket. Most scouts back in the day, and today for that matter, use some surplus military camping gear because of the cost and quality. It would be interesting to take pictures of a man in a Marine drill instructor uniform and a scout uniform and campaign hat to compare the two. They woul probably look pretty close.

Yes. I agree with you. In my area a lot of scouts wear BDUs. I think that it may not be so much the garment that makes a set of clothing look militaristic, but the insignia on it. Besides, look at the campaign hat in the BSA catalog. It is the exact hat drill instructors wear. Exactly the same, in fact they are made by the same company. The only diference is the scouting logo and a fleur de lis stamped into the hat band. It might just be grandfather claused in, but it is still an exact copy of a pice of military clothing. Besides, in some cases camouflage is desireable. On low impact hikes it helps people blend in and not bother others. As for saftey concerns, each scout should have something to make themselves more visible anyway, like a bright neckerchief to singnal with.

Hi. First of all, if you are afraid of some boy being victimized by some perv. out there there is a simple solution. WHile not tellng them what will happen, it wouldn't be hard to tell them some rumors that won't happen. Tell them that they won't be harmed in any way, that only their ceremony master can inform them of what will happen, and that all scouting rules (youth protection) still apply. Besides, if you show the youth protection program to every scout they should know what is clearly wrong!

I tend to agree with most other postings. Women are fine leaders and I think they will allways have a place in scouting. After all, even back in the 40's there were den mothers in cubbing. Younger girls do have girlscouting, and slightly older ones have venturing, and I know that lots of little girls have tagged along on campouts as guests with their folks. I'm not quite sure aout the legality of this, but they are really just going with their family and rarely get too involved with the boys activities. Good Luck

I know there are tons of "offical trail mess kit" and such knockoffs out there. Most recently the cups for offical kits are black plastic. I own a few knockoffs that have seen some use, but I don't like aluminum flimsy tiny pots no matter who makes them. They should go back to how they were made long ago and get rid of most of the cheap flimsy junk they sell now.

The way I feel about all of this is simple: Let a scout's board of review reflect all of his behavior. I feel that the purpose of the review is to do a final check of wether a scout deserves a rank or not. Denying him of this prevents him from getting even constructive criticisim. Besides, it sounds like National doesn't want people to be blocked from their BOR. What's the harm in letting him get one setp further before laying into him about something.