You know, it would be pretty hard to make a tent... not so much for hammock and tarp. I realize all too well the cost of getting outfitted for a hammock vs ground setups that include cheap sleeping bags and pads, can cheap coleman tents. But hammocks seem like a great way to involve kids in making their gear. Need to have the right leadership, I guess, and I wouldn't be the right one for that job either. Just highlighting the opportunity if an open mind is kept toward what hammocks offer.
"I wonder if anyone else has an ear so tuned and sharpened as I have, to detect the music, not of the spheres, but of earth, subtleties of major and minor chord that the wind strikes upon the tree branches. Have you ever heard the earth breathe... ?"
- Kate Chopin
It wasnt so long ago scouts did make their own gear. The handbook and fieldbook had examples, as did editions of the boys life magazine. It used to be part of the scouting experience. Still can be. Our scouts regularly make some things but they havent progressed to tarps, tents etc... Yet.Originally Posted by dakotaross
"There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service
My Trail log: http://ducttapeadk.blogspot.com/
OK--you inspired me. I asked my 2nd class scout if he wanted to make a tarp out of a roll of 10' polyvinyl that we had laying around from cave camping.
We printed out diy gear supply's hex tarp plans and mapped out the cuts onto the poly with a sharpie. Little dude drew and cut every line and placed every bit of duct tape for the corner loops.
I put pics up over in the DIY forum, but this was an inspiring project and we will do more of this very soon.
Most important question... Did he have fun?
"There's a whisper on the night-wind, there's a star agleam to guide us, And the Wild is calling, calling . . . let us go." -from "The Call of the Wild" by Robert Service
My Trail log: http://ducttapeadk.blogspot.com/
He wants to start a tarp company
Overall, two thumbs up as seen in the first pic.
I have been a Scoutmaster for 13 years so I have been on many camp outs with the troop. One of our unwritten rules is that scouts pair up as much as possible. If we have an odd number it will be an older scout that will be tenting by himself. With that being said, we have a new leader that regularly brings his hammock. He had an extra one with him that I borrowed and ended up sleeping better than I have on the ground. I am in the process of purchasing my own set up as we speak.
I would not have an issue with scouts in our troop using hammocks but I would like them to still be together instead of spread out all over. I think that the scouts would stick together without having to be told to anyway. I would make sure that the scouts were instructed on the proper way to hang so that the trees were not damaged and I think that I would inspect their set up to insure that they would be safe.
Derek Hansen just did an article about hammock camping and boy scout troops. Along with being a regular HF guy (dejoha), and open to answer newbie questions like I've had on tarps and quilts, he knows a thing or two about scouts and hammocks. Here's the article:
http://theultimatehang.com/2015/05/i...g-scout-troop/
I like his keep it simple scouts approach (my paraphrase), which also applies to scouters. It supports many of the sentiments earlier in this thread about letting the scouts lead.
-Slbear
We have the same philosophy of keeping two scouts per tent, however we also make sure the boys know it is their troop not mine. I am there for mentorship and guidance. Ours still gravitate towards tents for camporees and hammocks on troop and patrol outings. And you are correct they will gravitate towards each other when hanging. We had a 20 mile canoe trip this past weekend with 6 scouts. All except one had hammocks and were closer together as a group than could have been achieved with tents. The one thing I have to remember is the boys are changing and I must adapt with them. I'm old school by nature not age but if I force them down the same path they'll find something else to join. I've got my parameters I'll not sway on but anything within those parameters I let the boys decide.
I was in cub scouts/Boy Scouts/ venture for about 15 years...NEVER did anyone ever introduce to hammocks. Now that I have jumped head first into the hang life, I just think WHERE WERE YOU IN MY SCOUTING DAYS! Now I am a prophet for hammock camping and have talked to troops about the idea. My son is already converted to thinking that tents are silly, hammock or bust!
I have been in scouting for a long period of time, Eagle scout and then as an adult with Baloo training and IOLS. These trainings are not geared to teach how to tent camp but as stated before, how to camp. As also stated before, I agree that all Scout Masters should have some training now in hammocking as I have seen at Scout camps, kids do dangerous things in hammocks while the Scout Master is watching unaware of the harm done to scout and tree. Guide lines of not hanging over waist height should be followed as outlined in Guide to Safe Scouting. They also need to place into the guidelines a requirement for Tree Straps needing to be at least 1 inch.
It is sad, but there is a trend around the country that is making hanging an offense, as in hammocking. If we are all proactive, we can protect our rights through education.
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