Switchback2 Official Uniform Pants (not for tigers and wolves)

[Pack378 10]

So I went to the scout office on Aug 1st. New Cub switch backs on the selves. I grab a pair of size 6 (smallest size) and have my son try them on. He comes out and they are way too big. The shorts run mid calf and the waist is too big even with the little tabs on the inside of the pants. My son is average size of the boys in his wolf den and a little bigger than the new tigers. Next year he will be able to fit them but I don't want to spend 30 bucks for pants he is only going to wear for one scouting year. Did anybody else have this problem?

[AnneinMpls 10]

Ah - you misunderstand. These are the new Official Cub Scout ® Capris. In cooler weather, you can zip the rest of the length on for a traditional "pants" look.

 

(Tsk tsk. Parents just don't understand *fashion*)

 

 

Anne, tongue-in-cheek in Mpls

[ScoutNut 147]

Well, it sounds like BSA wanted to give the boys PLENTY of room to grow!

 

I know that there were years, if my moose managed to wear a pair of school pants 2X, I was thrilled! I started purchasing them in Sept instead of ordering them in May because when I ordered them early, even ordering larger, there were times they had to be returned at the beginning of school, unworn!

 

Remember, to get your money's worth out of the Cub uniform you HAVE to buy BIG. The shorts are supposed to come past the knee so mid-calf is not really all that much past where they should be hitting. Buy a Cub belt and cinch it tight. He might be rather baggy at the beginning of the year, but I bet he will be filling in his pants a lot better by January!

 

This is BSA's biggest challenge in uniform pants for Cubs. This is also why many Packs do not require BSA uniform pants. Even unhemmed and all, unless a new pair is purchased yearly, the pants will never fit perfectly. I think it is just something we will have to accept if you want Cub uniform pants.

 

BTW - The S2's are $24.99 not $30. Sounds like your shop is padding the price.

 

[Gold Winger 9]

At the risk of starting an argument, would you object to buying a baseball uniform that he's only wear for one season?

 

"The shorts are supposed to come past the knee"

 

Huh? Why? Is the next move "Scout Boxers" that will poke out from above the waist band?

[ScoutNut 147]

No argument, but Cub Scouts are not a baseball team.

 

And, yes, I would (did/do) object to spending a large chunk of change on clothing that will only be worn once per week for just a few months of the year and then never be worn again. When my son was in grammar school, I objected to purchasing shoes that he only wore once or twice before his toes were being jammed, so I bought his shoes a bit larger. I objected to purchasing school pants at the end of school (or even the middle of Summer), only to have them not fit once school rolled around, so I waited until the weekend before school started and then bought large, hoping mightily that they would still fit by December.

 

Why are the shorts supposed to come past the knee? Because that's the way BSA has designed them.

 

Cub Scout age boys spend a LOT of time on their knees. Kneeling on those zippers would not be very much fun.

 

Maybe, along with visible boxers, BSA also objects to boys wearing ultra short shorts. Which could easily happen as a boys legs are the first and fastest (right up there with his feet!) things to grow.

 

BTW - One of my Tigers this year has purchased a pair of the S2's. He has been wearing them as shorts and I think they look great. More important, HE likes them!

[Gold Winger 9]

If they don't want the Cubs kneeling on the zippers, they should have made the shorts shorter. Whey you kneel, your pants ride up which may well put the zipper at the knee.

 

I do like their fabrice choice better than for the Boy Scout version. I'm really not looking forward to a cold winter in Nylon pants.

 

I really don't like their choice of manufacturer. China Incorporated.

 

Ultra short shorts. The good old days. I used to wear rugby shorts when I was a young man.

[ScoutNut 147]

I like the long length of the S2 shorts. Cub Scouts grow - FAST. By the end of their first year wearing them, the shorts will be almost above the knee anyway. Most of the boys, at all ages, like their shorts on the longer side.

 

I don't see a problem here.

 

The Boy Scout version is not meant to be worn on it's own during outdoor activities in winter weather. It is to be used as a windbreaker layer. I know Scouters who wore theirs last winter and they were fine when used with an under layer.

[Gold Winger 9]

" I know Scouters who wore theirs last winter and they were fine when used with an under layer."

 

So I should wear two layers when I go to troop meetings in December? Sounds silly to me.

[infoscouter 11]

>So I should wear two layers when I go to troop meetings in December? >Sounds silly to me

 

Why? My DH and I wear polypro or silk long underwear from November to March. We each own several pair, and layer all the time. Of course we keep the house at 66 degrees, but we dress this way at work as well.

 

It's just practical in the winter.

[Gold Winger 9]

So I'm supposed to wear long johns in my uniform because you like to. Okay, that makes sense. Thanks.

 

For the record, I keep my house at 62 and wear shorts at home.

[BrentAllen 10]

GW,

If that is the case, you shouldn't be cold in the nylon pants, unless you are riding your bike to Troop meetings. Switchbacks aren't required - there are other options.

[Gold Winger 9]

The discussion started because there may not be other options to the switchbacks. Some one stated that the twill trousers will be phased out and no longer available.

 

I may be warm blooded but that walk to my car in 20 degree weather won't be nice in those nylon pants.

 

If BSA eliminates other pants options, it may be the biggest mistake since they took the boy out of scouting in the 70s.

 

 

[ScoutNut 147]

"The discussion started because there may not be other options to the switchbacks. Some one stated that the twill trousers will be phased out and no longer available."

 

Really? Where?

 

THIS discussion started because a parent of a Wolf Cub Scout had difficulty fitting his son in the new Cub Scout S2 pants.

 

Then in THIS discussion you compared Cub Scouts to a baseball team and the long shorts on the Cub Scout S2's to boys who wear their boxer shorts showing above their pants. Then you went on to complain about being cold wearing the Boy Scout Switchbacks as you walk from your warm house to your car.

 

Sorry, but to me it sounds like argumentative trolling and not a discussion.

 

[Gold Winger 9]

HIS discussion may have started that way but MY discusssion started my way. In the real world conversations have many threads.