Camping
What to Expect
Camping with the Cub Scouts accommodates families of all ages and experience levels. We know camping is a new experience for many of our scouting families, and we applaud everyone brave enough to try new things!
Cub Scout camping trips are generally described as “car camping”, where you are able to park and unload your car near the camping site. It allows for more convenience as you can bring larger and heavier gear without the difficulties of carrying gear long distances.
We sleep outdoors in tents, enjoy group meals, do scouting activities, and have a campfire.
Activities are a mix of scout skills, games, and crafts. Something for everyone, and with the intention of making camping fun and a positive experience.
We will camp rain or shine, hot or cold. There are of course limits. We must consider the safety of our scouts during predictable events of severe lightning, tornadoes, and extreme cold.
Campsites used by the Cub Scout Unit will always have accessible toilets and water. There will typically be showers as well.
Our typical schedule will have families arrive Friday evening. Specific time will be included in the event communications, but generally around 6:00 arrival time.
Sunday we rise, pack up early, and head out early. Generally out of camp by 10 or 11.
Some families don’t wish to or are not prepared to camp overnight one or both nights. In those cases we still welcome scouts to come participate during the day activities where possible and convenient.
Some camping trips are paid for out of the Pack budget, and others we ask for a per-person contribution to help cover site & food costs, typically around $10.
Meals
Some examples of what Meals may consist of:
Friday Dinner – Bring your own, or eat before you arrive
Saturday warm breakfast – pancakes, eggs, sausage or bacon, biscuits, coffee, oatmeal
Saturday snack – something for the kids to grab and eat on the go
Saturday lunch – something quick, warm, and easy. Examples: walking tacos, hot dogs, juice, fruit
Saturday dinner – spaghetti, burgers, vegetable, hot cocoa
Saturday dessert – dutch oven bakes, s’mores
Sunday breakfast – grab and go breakfast, fruit, yogurt, muffins, milk, cereal
Families should have their own mess kits. We do not prefer to use paper plates, etc., to reduce waste.
We have a dishwashing station and will often assembly-line the cleanup. Dens (especially the older ones) will often be recruited to contribute to the operation.
What to bring
Sleeping Gear – See guides below for more details on these items
Tent
Sleeping Bag
Sleeping Pad
Hygiene
Toiletries – toothbrush, toothpaste, toilet paper, hairbrush, personal medications
Soap
Earplugs (optional)
Clothes
Clothes appropriate for the weather
Sleeping clothes
Sturdy shoes for the day
Sandals or crocs for showering or water activities, if desired.
Hat or hoodie
Gloves (if cold)
Extra socks
sunglasses
Eating
Mess kit – bowl, spoon, cup minimum. Plate, fork, knife are also helpful.
Any personal snacks or seasonings that you want to bring.
Water bottle
Outdoors
Cub Scout 6 essentials. Day bag with:
water bottle & water
sun protection
snack
first aid kit (see recommended items below)
whistle
flashlight
Rain gear
Camp Chair
Towel
Insect repellent
Scout Equipment
Class A Uniform
Class B Uniform
Scout handbook
updated medical form (if you haven’t turned one in yet)
pocket knife (scouts with Whiting Chip)
Extras
Tarp, poles, stakes, string
notebook & pen/pencil
camera
lantern (if for inside the tent, must be battery powered, NOT burning)
Trash bag
USB Battery & cables to recharge phones, etc.
Basic First Aid Kit items
Pain medications (Tylenol, ibuprofen)
Bandaids
Triple Antibiotic
Benadryl
Tweezers
Medical tape
gauze
What NOT to bring – from the guide to safe scouting https://www.scouting.org/health-and-safety/gss/gss04/
An important way adult leaders can model healthy living is by following the policies on alcohol, tobacco, and drugs. Leaders should support the attitude that they, as well as youths, are better off without tobacco in any form and may not allow the use of tobacco products at any BSA activity involving youth participants. This includes the use of electronic cigarettes, personal vaporizers, or electronic nicotine delivery systems that simulate tobacco smoking.
All Scouting functions, meetings, and activities should be conducted on a smoke-free basis, with smoking areas located away from all participants.
As outlined in the Scouter Code of Conduct, Scouting activities are not a place to possess, distribute, transport, consume, or use any of the following items prohibited by law or in violation of any Scouting rules, regulations, and policies: alcoholic beverages or controlled substances, including marijuana.
In addition, the Code of Conduct specifies that if you are taking prescription medications with the potential of impairing any functioning or judgment, you will not engage in activities that would put youth at risk, including driving or operating equipment.
Guide to Tents
There are many choices of tents to choose from. The number of choices can be easily overwhelming. The biggest factors when choosing a tent are:
cost, size, ease of setup/use, quality, weight, ventilation, material
It may make sense to buy something inexpensive to start with, find out what works for you, and then consider a more expensive item in the future that meets your needs better.
Cost – Walmart carries the “Ozark Trail” tent series. They are about as cheap as you can get to buy a large new tent that performs reasonably well. You can buy a 10 person tent for $159 that sets up in 5 minutes. By comparison, a “North Face” 6 person tent from REI will cost $500, and may actually be harder to set up, but will perform better, be lighter, easier to transport, and will perform better in adverse weather.
Size – Many tents that say they are an 8 person tent assume you have 8 average sized people packed in like sausages. In practicality, you’d be able to fit two queen-sized air pads in a tent of that size with some spare room for gear. Larger tents may be challenging to control temperature. A moderate amount of ventilation and not enough bodies in a large tent will make it chilly inside. By comparison, a dome tent designed for 2 or 3 people will be much warmer, but will have less space to move around in.
Ease of setup/use – Many tents are designed to be incredibly easy to set up. Extend a few built-in articulating poles, hammer in some stakes, and you’re done. However the tradeoff is typically how large they pack up, and how heavy they are. They will also have a tendency to have a less “tight” pitch. The fabric will sag which can cause waterproofing issues, and excess noise in the wind. Tents with a more complex design may take longer to set up, and require some practice learning how to use them, but they will often make best use of the space you’re provided and repel water better. They likely will also afford better ventilation.
Quality – typically an inverse relationship with cost. Quality can include more durable components, zippers that last longer, and material that performs better. Not all tent fabrics are the same! Some will be more waterproof than others, weigh more, ventilate more, etc.
Weight – While typically not a huge consideration with car camping, it can be very nice to not have to pack as many large or heavy things in the back of the car. A large family tent for car camping may weigh 20+ pounds. By comparison, an expensive two person backpacking tent will weigh less than 3.
Ventilation – When warm, humid air comes into contact with a cold surface, it will condense on that surface into liquid water. This can result in water lining the inside of your tent walls on a cold night. If this water then drips off the walls onto the floor or onto your body, you can wake up wet in the morning. A well ventilated tent reduces condensation, and also the design of the tent might help the water that does condense to bead out in a way where the liquid water doesn’t cause a problem. Additionally, the tightness of the pitch helps with condensation as well. Loose tent fabrics will allow condensed water to flap or drip off more easily, rather than stay clung to the fabric where it can be wiped off more easily. Many tents also come with a rain fly. These contribute toward reducing condensation as well by creating a pocket of insulated air between your inside space and the colder outside air. When set up properly, much of the condensation will attach to the rain fly rather than the inner wall of the tent.
Material – Most tents to consider will either be nylon or polyester. Tent material is also rated in ‘denier’, or the thickness of the material. A higher denier will be heavier, stiffer, (typically) more durable, and less breathable, but will be more waterproof.
Polyester (most common car camping tent material)
pros: Less expensive, versatile, durable to UV exposure, doesn’t sag as much when wet, doesn’t stretch, resistant to tears, packs down well, resistant to mildew
cons: heavier than nylon (but not too heavy), not a good insulator, requires coating to be waterproof, and not very breathable when coated, high condensation. Tents you buy often come pre-coated, but may require maintenance.
Nylon
pros: lightweight, durable, water-resistant (if coated)
cons: more expensive, vulnerable to UV damage
Sil-nylon:
pros: lightweight, durable, waterproof without additional coating, good ventilation, good for backpacking
cons: more more expensive
Canvas
pros: breathable, naturally waterproof, low condensation, good insulation, long lifespan, high UV resistance
cons: expensive, heavy, bulky, prone to mildew, harder to dry out.
Dyneema Composite Fabric (DCF)
pros: VERY lightweight, very waterproof, excellent for backpacking
cons: VERY expensive, susceptible to abrasion damage, noisy in the wind
Guide to Sleeping Bags
Sleeping bags are a very personal item. Much of the decision as to what to use depends on your own comfort tolerance. Sleeping bag considerations include:
style, material, temperature rating, cost
Style
There are three main types of sleeping bags.
Rectangular – Like two rectangular blankets that zips up the sides and bottom, leaving the head open. They can also be fully unzipped and used as a comforter.
Pros: Very comfortable, versatile, inexpensive, less warm without being very heavy
Cons: Not as warm unless you get something very heavy
Mummy – Snugger fitting bag that zips up over your head, leaving just a hole for your face which can be cinched up even more leaving just a breathing hold.
Pros: Very warm. Packs up small
Cons: Can be less comfortable if you roll around in your sleep, or are uncomfortable in enclosed spaces. Often more expensive
Quilt – Looks like a modified blanket. Designed to be wrapped around your sleeping pad to hold in insulation
Pros: Very lightweight. Versatile, can be used as a blanket on warmer nights.
Cons: Quilts designed for cold weather can be very expensive, and require some complex gear to perform well.
Material
The material of the sleeping bag is where it gets its insulating properties. The different fills have different features:
Synthetic
Pros: insulates well, performs well even if a little damp, less expensive
Cons: heavier, doesn’t pack as small
Down
Pros: very warm, packs small
Cons: insulation suffers when damp, ethical considerations, expensive, requires more maintenance
Temperature Rating – Most sleeping bags have a temperature rating; the outdoor temperature that the bag is designed to function in. These ratings are typically going to be more of a “survival” rating than a comfort rating. A 15 degree bag will keep you alive on a 15 degree night, but you might feel cold. The temperature in a bag can be improved by dressing in warm and comfortable clothes inside the sleeping bag. You can also purchase a bag liner to put inside the bag. These liners serve as additional layers of insulation, and also help keep the bag cleaner, similar to using a sheet on a bed.
Cost – As with most consumer goods, there is often an inverse relationship between cost and quality/performance/features of an item. Ideally, most car camping trips don’t require expensive gear as you can simply bring more. Is it going to be a cold night? You don’t need a $300 sleeping bag, just bring a few extra blankets to throw on top.
Guide to Sleeping Pads
A sleeping pad is an often overlooked part of camping. Many people envision just sleeping on the floor, on a few blankets, or maybe a thin pad. One major consideration is a sleeping pad’s insulation qualities. Not all sleeping pads are insulated. On colder nights, much of your body heat is lost to the ground. Sleeping bag insulation doesn’t perform as well when compressed on the bottom. An insulated pad creates a layer between your warm body and the cold ground where temperature cannot exchange easily. If a camping trip will get cooler overnight, even in the 50s or below, an insulated pad would be encouraged.
Insulated pads have a rating called the “R-Value”. The higher the rating, the more insulating it is. This scale is not exactly standardized, and can be subjective to the manufacturer, so a more dependable manufacturer should be used when depending on these R-value ratings.
Air insulated pads – can come in all sizes, from individual to queen
Pros: more comfortable.
Cons: Require inflating, can puncture, self inflating ones are often bigger/heavier. May require maintenance, more expensive
Foam insulated pads
Pros: very convenient, good insulating properties, very durable, less expensive
Cons: less comfortable, don’t pack up as small, typically only sized for individuals
Uninsulated pads
If it will be warm overnight (60 and above) you can probably get away with an uninsulated pad without issue. Uninsulated pads are often much less expensive, and are available from more places.