DofE expedition kit - help!

DD took rolls, peanut butter and jam for lunches. Also cereal bars and apples and satsumas.

Walking boots - main thing is to go to a decent shop where you can expert advice.

Waterproof trousers - I would say only if forecast terrible.

Worth investing in a decenr breathable waterproof outer jacket.

Camping outdoors makes one ravenous. Bring extra lightweight food. Pack a lightweight mess kit with a small saucepan. Soccer slides or plimsoles make great camp shoes. Dry and clean socks are like gold. Rub feet with Petroleum jelly as you put on socks. It helps prevent blisters. Pack everything you can in zippered food storage bags-very lightweight for and prevents ripped packets.

Hi. Just seen this. For those still wanting DofE advice - this blog is SO helpful: www.dofehero.com

And blister socks (Trespass are best - double layer)

Inflatable small pillow off e.g. Amazon.
Don't bother with pjs - just some trackies and T-shirt (maybe thin fleece too if it's cold at night) which can also be camp clothes if hiking clothes are wet or muddy.
Camp shoes - like pool slides as they will be sick of their boots by the evening, otherwise they might walk around camp in their socks (muddy, grassy socks came home with my DS).
Make sure your child has nice treat food as otherwise they will be looking longingly at the neighbouring group and maybe one of their party will actually abandon the group to go live with the group with better food - and it isn't just the abandoner that gets threatened with failure, for some reason the whole group were seen to be at fault. Boys and food fgs.

They will be expected to cook at least once per day, but if it is cold/wet he might appreciate a second hot meal. It won't count as a cooked meal for tick box purposes but you can get self heating meals which you just pour some water into an outer bag and it activates. Put it on the ground and then remove the inner bag after 5 mins and eat with a fork. Only pack one if it will be cold/wet when he goes.
Actually that's the biggest tip for D of E: be ruthless with the packing. Everything they need but nothing that won't be used or they are just carrying additional weight for no reason.

Sorry, really need an edit button. I meant I'd just realised that the pp said £600 for gold.

Just registered £600 for gold...horrifying.

DD's school does it as cheaply as possible - £23 for bronze or silver, £29 for gold. Tents, sleeping bags, rucksacks, stoves and boots are available for loan and they will if they can help any pupils really struggling.

Yes, it’s quite expensive, especially as many school now do it all through external companies because there aren’t enough staff to run it/the risk assessment highlights too many risks for the school to take on.
In our place, bronze costs £100 to sign up for. Silver is £150 and Gold over £600.
School provided some equipment but everyone needs their own waterproofs, boots with ankle support are required and own tents and sleeping bags. D of E and it’s ‘recommended suppliers’ are probably keeping outdoor shops going.

Older one did assessed silver expedition a couple of weeks ago and the waterproof trousers are still pristine in their bag, but he hates wearing waterproof trousers anyway. I think they're mandatory to have, though?

Erm no, DD's school has an above average amount of disadvantaged kids, hence none of her group having waterproof trousers (or hiking boots). The school does what it can, but not everyone has cash for items they may only wear once. This is part of the reason why some universities see DofE as a middle class pursuit, it is far harder to take part without throwing some cash at it.

@Magpiecomplex if your child had done D of E last weekend the waterproof trousers would have been used!

Older one did assessed silver expedition a couple of weeks ago and the waterproof trousers are still pristine in their bag, but he hates wearing waterproof trousers anyway. I think they're mandatory to have, though? We went to Mountain Warehouse for kit but had a lot of it already from Scout camps.

I agree that he'll come back very smelly - the first thing mine did when he got home both times was run a bath!

Compeed is good in case of blisters. A good 3in1 will last years, if they are likely nearly adult size, I got my crag hopper fleece nearly 30 years ago and I have still dragged it out for gardening and have a 20 year old Berghaus I still use.

Couscous and tuna is an easy meal, first lunch take pasta salad, kendal mint cake, cereal bars

When I did DofE silver award back in 2011 it was this time of year. For lunches we did pitta breads and got some packets of john west tuna and mixed it with squeesy tubes of cheese stuff (cant remember the name) they didnt need refrigeration. For breakfast we all brought our own. I took cereal bars and some fruit. Dinner we did the sausages that are vaccum packed so no need to refrigerate sorry cant remember their name and ramen noodles with a packet of sweet chili sauce mixed in. Tasted really nice.
Snacks I took kendal mint cake, crackers, rice krispie squares and crisps.

I found some cheap 2 season hiking boots from mountain warehouse for like £20 or so and I took a fleece, hoody, hat and a waterproof shell jacket no lining which I could put on if it rained.
I had waterproof trousers but it didnt rain. I ended up wearing shorts even in the cold with my hoody and was fine. Definitely have some warm clothes for the night. I was freezing!

Weigh the packed rucksack. Weight is so important.
Our school weigh their packs before they set off. They are advised to aim for below 15kg and closer to 10kg. Once you’ve got to pack your tent and sleeping bag and the stove, you realise every extra 100g of food really counts and you need to cut back. I think they have to carry 2litres of water too, so that’s 2kg in itself.

So while yes you need enough socks, you can’t take loads of pairs. The food really needs to be very light (and squashable) and you want the lightest camping mat you can get, not a really comfy one.

You can take a pillow case, and then just shove all the clothes in it for a pillow. Yes to the lightest flip flops for around the camp site.

And some people like to take 2 or 3 sponges. Yes sponges. They use these as a bit of extra moveable padding for wherever the rucksack is rubbing and uncomfortable. Honestly 15kg is huge and heavy.

Oh and lots if compeed blister plasters.

My DS did his silver practice expedition in the spring…walked 63km in 3 days. I think he thought he might die. But now, whenever anything hard comes up he says ‘I survived silver DofE so this will be easy’….think that’s the whole point of it. It’s very very hard and very character building…..although that said, a quite a few dropped out after the practice and decided they couldn’t do it again!

Bubble wrap is surprisingly good at insulating the ground to sit on.

Mine loved the army type packed sachets of food - the beef and chicken stews are really tasty. They sell them on Amazon.

Most of all think light. It is a very heavy weight to carry. Some kids take tins of beans and saucepans - just too heavy.

DD took trail mix that she made herself from granola, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, m&ms. But think how good that would be with added marzipan chunks!

We definitely didn't shower on ours! The campsite had a loo with a wash basin and a standing tap, and that was it!

DD took a facecloth to wash her face and armpits (she gets a rash from wipes!). She also used my rucksack from 20+ years ago that I bought for university expeditions.

They're so lucky these days with the lightweight materials available- fleeces weigh nothing extra in the rain (we got soaked in the Pennines and Peak District), leggings also are light but warm, modern baselayers are fantastic, as are fleece beanies, boots are amazing now- mine were ancient leather and weighed a ton! On my bronze I had an ancient canvas rucksack with external metal frame that weighed so much before I'd even put any kit in it. We had canvas tents too [weeps]

Afaik the wild camping is usually (though evidently not invariably) just on the gold expedition. You're not supposed to do it in many places in England, not sure about Wales. If you live in London I would be surprised if they were going anywhere wild camping was allowed for silver, esp not the practice.

If you can find and afford them there are ready meals that have a heater built in. They save time finding the stove and getting and heating water. DD really rated them.

The man who ran the school DoE reckoned marzipan was the best for an instant energy boost.

DD took waterproof trousers, but she was the only one who had them, ditto walking boots - the others wore trainers, although the school did have loan boots, but no one wanted the stigma.They all had leggings, spare clothes (it did rain) and layered, leggings could also be slept in. No one took soap or towels, as they learnt from the trial run that no one would shower. Toothbrush and toothpaste though - one girl was sick and glad she could at least brush her teeth.
DD's rucksack was a second hand Lowe Alpine one from eBay, it was a bargain and was great (and still gets used). School had them to loan too, as well as tents.

Food, cereal bars, but they had to be nut free, way too many sweets, "add boiling water" type food. John West Tuna salad things that were apparently disgusting! Long life individual wrapped brioches/chocolate rolls, biscuits They basically ate calorific crap.

The one thing DD really regretted was taking such a thin sleeping bag. It wasn't even that cold, but she got really cold at night.

Coat from Millets. Waterproof trousers - mountain warehouse. Merrell are good comfortable walking boots.
Wayfarer boil in the bag meal for supper. Long life rice pudding or chocolate/vanilla pudding
Breakfast - porridge pots you add water to, belvita breakfast bars
lunch - any sandwich filling the first day, rolls with nutella or marmite for subsequent days
snacks - dried fruit, nuts, cereal bars, chocolate and emergency rations of kendal mint cake.
hot chocolate sachets.

Ready-brek is a good breakfast option.