oldmanwinter

@ Old Ox. That's great how thrifty you guys were. But you weren't backpacking with that stuff were you? Sure I could move my bed, my kitchen pots, a generator from the garage, the BBQ, all up to the mountains to "camp". But what if I want to go backpacking? I ain't hauling bowling pins and railroad spikes and no kid will ether. With so many kids so far removed from the outdoors and from physical activity in general, I think that doing anything to get them into the mountains, hiking, listening, and experiencing nature is a good thing. Remember, most kids live in cities now, a lot of them have never been in a forest, take my friend's troop in LA for example, if it weren't for him those kids would have never gone hiking. I think the new gear is great because it enables the youth to actually get outside the city and into the forest. And that's what it is about, not our nostalgic memories.

New leader here, back in scouting after a long hiatus... How often do you guys take your kids out backpacking (not car camping)? What about day hiking? Just wondering, it seems like the scouts of today spend most of there time in the city. Or is it just my neighborhood. When I was a scout we got out 2 a month, a hike or something like it, and an overnighter. Probably back packed 3-4 times a year. 1 winter camp, random biking trips. The last troop I was a leader in we backpacked once a month. Eh?

Now I understand everyone's concerns about buying gear 1)it's expensive 2)it limits opportunities for the scout to create their own gear (ie. solve problems and use imagination). But with decreased emphasis on backpacking, hiking, camping etc. in our larger society it seems to me that new gear, so long as the wallet allows, may help get the youth more excited to go outside. I know we get nostalgic about the "good old days" but honestly, newer gear is more comfortable, lighter in a lot of cases, and yes more exciting to youth (ie. cool looking--which is important to young teens). So if kids get little more excited about scouting by satisfying part of their gear-head side (we are all gear heads in this thread!), then newer brand name gear may not be so bad? Thoughts?