Patrol & Personal Gear

Each Patrol is assigned tents, camping equipment, and a Patrol Box with cooking utensils and supplies. Scouts use troop-owned tents and are not allowed to use personal tents or camping gear from home. Each Patrol is responsible for the maintenance and care of their Patrol items.

Each Scout is responsible for supplying his own personal camping equipment. It is not necessary to purchase lots of expensive equipment to start out. A simple duffel bag or backpack can usually carry all the necessary gear for a normal weekend campout. While each Scout needs to provide his own mess kit (plate, bowl, cup, and utensils), a new mess kit is not necessary. A collection of non-breakable items from home with the Scout’s name on it will work fine. In addition, the troop has lots of personal gear that can be checked out or borrowed. Scouts interested in “loaner items” that can be checked out at no charge should see the Quartermaster at Troop Meetings. Keep in mind that although the troop provides a list of Basic Items for All Weekend Campouts and a Recommended Summer Camp Packing List (Summer Camp Packing List), Scouts seeing for themselves which items are must-haves, and which are would-be-nice is part of Scouting’s experiential learning process. We recommend “easing into” gear expenditures by buying only what is needed as it is needed. Sleeping bags and frame packs, two of the largest expenditures, should be given very careful consideration before purchasing, and Scout Leaders will be happy to assist you in selecting the source and type of equipment needed.

The cost of completely outfitting a Scout is a hefty sum by anyone’s standards. Troop 23 does all it can to mitigate this burden by acting as a clearing house for used uniforms and equipment (our “Uniform Exchange”) and by encouraging Scouts to “pay their own way” through our annual fund raiser.