New Scoutmaster

[Gentgeen87]

Hi I'm a new Scoutmaster of Troop 117 of Eagleswood NJ. I'm looking into upgrading our Troop equipment and making it more versatile. So I was intrigued by hammock camping, which I once did on a Klondike when I was a scout in the late 80's just to test my new sleeping bag. Now I find out there is a whole industry today.
If HF can give me some ideas that would be great.
Thanks

[richtorfla]

Hi I'm a new Scoutmaster of Troop 117 of Eagleswood NJ. I'm looking into upgrading our Troop equipment and making it more versatile. So I was intrigued by hammock camping, which I once did on a Klondike when I was a scout in the late 80's just to test my new sleeping bag. Now I find out there is a whole industry today.
If HF can give me some ideas that would be great.
Thanks

Welcome to the forums from Clearwater fl.! You will find a lot of info here and a lot of people that will help you out. There are a lot Scouters here to talk to. Me I am a retired Scouter.
You will be busy reading a lot of threads! The DIY section will be good to go through if you want to get your scouts to make their own hammocks someday.

Good luck on your new journey leading you SPL and Troop!

[Gentgeen87]

Thanks I'll check that out.

[ag1024]

Hi Gentgeen87,

I am a scoutmaster who regularly sleeps in a hammock in camp. I started to see if there was a way to not kill my back when camping. In 2004 I came across the following article by a scoutmaster from Maine. I bought the setup he described, and used where I live in Oklahoma. His setup is almost primitive by todays standard, but it worked, and I have been a hanging scouter ever since.

http://mormonsite.wordpress.com/camping-in-a-hammock/


Here is a webcaste that Derek Hanson did about hammocks and Scouting.:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OOH3M...r_embedded#t=1

As a new Scoutmaster, I suggest you follow these three blogs. The second one has the best podcastes on Scouting I have found.
http://www.thescoutmasterminute.net
http://www.scoutmastercg.com
http://netcommissioner.com/askandy/

And last but not least, I urge you to follow the Patrol Method as described by Robert Baden-Powell and William "Green-Bar Bill" Hillcourt.

http://www.whitestag.org/patrol_method/chat_11.html

That ought to get you started.

[mountain_man_mike]

Greetings from an ASM in central California. You have many resources here and it's actually tough to find an unsavory type here. Like the meals we cherish, the folks here might be sweet or savory but rare is it you'll run into a jerk.

[SilvrSurfr]

Welcome from the Jersey Shore. We have a fairly active group of hangers in NJ. The quickest way to accelerate your learning curve is to attend a group hang (look in the Trip Planning section) and check out the different setups.

[perdidochas]

Hi I'm a new Scoutmaster of Troop 117 of Eagleswood NJ. I'm looking into upgrading our Troop equipment and making it more versatile. So I was intrigued by hammock camping, which I once did on a Klondike when I was a scout in the late 80's just to test my new sleeping bag. Now I find out there is a whole industry today.
If HF can give me some ideas that would be great.
Thanks

I'm an ASM, and have been hammocking for about 4 years now. I was having back problems when I started, and it helped me sleep on campouts. That said, I don't think hammocks are very versatile for scouts. They don't work well in the typical camporee situation, and it gets hard to find trees after a while. A few of the older scouts (my son for one) are also hammocking. Our general rule is that until Star, the boys have to share a tent. We count the hammock as a tent.

Go to Just Jeff's hammock website and anything by Derek Hansen (Dejoha on here). He wrote "The Ultimate Hang."

http://theultimatehang.com/about-derek-hansen/

[doc17th]

Welcome from Philly.

[GreatBigDave]

Welcome! You'll find all you want to know about hammock camping here. Derek Hanson's site and book are a great primer http://theultimatehang.com/

I'm like perdidochas in a few ways: I'm an ASM and health challenges brought me to hammocking. I have RA and pushing myself up off the ground in the morning was pushing me away from camping. A big cot was my first answer but it won't work for backpacking treks.

I also agree that tenting is important in Scouting - especially for the younger scouts. They work together to build the shelter and being together helps them stay warm. Many new scouts have inadequate personal gear. It also helps them feel safe in unfamiliar surroundings, reinforces the buddy system, and helps ward off homesickness. Sharing shelter helps bond the patrols much as sharing meals does.

That said, I think hammocks would be great for older scouts and may be a good choice as they start putting together thier own camping gear and treking away from base camp and the car.

[mountain_man_mike]

Like many here, I started hammocking as a matter of comfort. I make up each morning on campouts or hikes completely pain free at the joints. Muscles are a different story on hikes because there is not much one can do in terms of sleep accommodations (short of using a sherpa) to avoid muscular aches.

We usually have boys who are within their first year tent as most troops do for the purpose of using the patrol method as much as anything else. Boys who have been in the troop at least a year can start hammocking if they go through some basic training and for those who want to take it to another level we offer the (unofficial) hammock camping merit badge that WLMiller initiated. Depending on the location, hammocking as a troop can be achieved.