Gear for Kids

[AlabamaDan]

I need some helping thinking of gear for a 9 and 11 year old.  They love outdoors and as we start planning this or that camping trip they asked for gear for their birthdays.  They already have pocketknifes, sharpeners, water bottles, bandannas, first aid kits, hiking staffs, decent shoes, whistles, flint & steel, 25-50 feet of rope, sporks, flashlights, compasses, headlamps, lanterns.

One thought is a water filter, but those are rather expensive and I'm thinking that's one of those things we buy as a family like the tents, sleeping pads, packs and sleeping bags.

[squidbilly]

Lightweight raingear

[wirerat123]

Well, they may not see the good in it right off the bat but good quality wool hiking socks would make a great gift.
Some base layers
like the above poster said lightweight packable rain gear (Just a jacket for Bama, you are gonna get wet in full rain gear anyway, one is sweat, the other just water.  I prefer just water myself.)
ultralight hammocks (They may just find they love hammock camping)
good quality collapsable fishing pole
battery powered glow sticks
wilderness survival handbook
nalgenes
get a bunch of materials and do some DIY camping projects.


I like the materials for some DIY camping gear myself.  Large swaths of SilNylon, items to make some penny stoves or cat stoves, bug netting, ropes, webbings, etc.

Make some DIY camping hammocks, tarptents, stoves, stuff sacks, etc.  It's both rewarding, educating, and well, you just cut some major costs in gear.  Hammockforums.co m has some excellent DIY camping hammock plans you could to with them, http://www.backpacking.net/makegear.html has some other great ideas you could do with them.    And all of it is surprisingly cheap.  You might also find that you wish to build such items for yourself, and use the money you saved to fund a great trip.

I find informational books could be a great way for them to educate themselves, and you can interactively learn together everytime you guys are hiking, when you set camp you can then make games out of some of the skills they could have learned.

First one to find an edible plant, best survival shelter built from whatever is lying around the woods, who can catch the biggest or most fish, practice first aid, set up some letter plates in various locations and have them use land navigation to find them using known coordinates, best knots, etc etc.

Get some books with hiking info, state specific would be great, and have them plan your next trips including meal planning and such, assist as needed.

They already have most of what they need for hiking.  Making some of the more expensive items with them in DIY projects could save some serious cash, and would be a good bonding experience.

[squidbilly]

Great ideas wirerat!
I don't know why I didn't suggest hammocks. We started using them this year and love them. Never slept better.
Here's some good info on hammock camping with links to making your own gear. http://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCamping.html

By the way, the Locust Fork is one of our favorite "trails" too.

[wirerat123]

Great ideas wirerat!
I don't know why I didn't suggest hammocks. We started using them this year and love them. Never slept better.
Here's some good info on hammock camping with links to making your own gear. http://www.tothewoods.net/HammockCamping.html

By the way, the Locust Fork is one of our favorite "trails" too.

I tried a Hennessy Hammock about 3 years ago, and never looked back. Since then my backcountry travels have been full of sweet dreams while hanging. I have even purchased 1 for one of my buddies birthday, and one for my girlfriend. No regrets there!

The Locust is a trail, you just have to take a boat down it. =P

As far as the gifts, well I see that they already have most of what they will need. I know they may look at some DIY materials as gifts wierd at first. As most kids would. We live in a world of instant gratification. But I guarantee you, you get a bunch of materials for Do it Yourself projects, and you all get together as a FAMILY and make the rest of the gear you need (Except packs, I suggest buy a great fitting pack) and not only will everyone appreciate it more, you will bond, in the long term, those will be memories they will remember forever. They forgot about that PS2 gift the day the PS3 came out. But family gathering together and making a crap load of camping gear together will last a lifetime.  And that feeling they get from being able to learn some self reliance skills is worth it's weight in gold.

The Penny Stove is an easy mode project that can be done in short order (As little as a couple minutes with experience), and when you pour the denatured alcohol in and that thing fires up and all the jets are spouting blue flames, you will all immediately feel rewarded, and start getting motivated to see what other handy DIY camping projects you can do to same some serious weight and money. Start off with some stuff sacks, then move up to camping hammocks or tent tarps, and graduate to some quilts or sleeping bags.

Heineken Keg Can cook pots, Tarp Tents, Tyvek is a great cheap alternative to start off with (Can be free if you know a framer, just have them bring you all the bigger scraps and left over pieces), then move to SilNylon, camping hammocks (Ripstop nylon) with a Tyvek tarp, down quilts (Ripstop nylon shell), Bamboo hiking poles (Pair with bike type grips), rucksacks, gravity filters, etc.

Figure out what your family needs to start really hiking, check out the DIY options, weigh costs to make with the cost to purchase, and get going, yes, you too can make quality camping gear on the cheap, and customize it to your tastes in the process.

Downfall = no fancy name brand logos!
And if the wifey, mother in law, grand mother, mom, or anyone you know has a good quality sewing machine, they can embroider you some fancy logos of your own! 

Gear for Kids

 

[MississippiRob]

Trekker Chairs for sitting around the camp fire with.
http://www.trailspace.com...ekker-chair/review/16525/