D of E help please!

[MWestie]

My DS is doing his first D of E expedition in a couple of weeks and we are very unprepared.

For various reasons we haven't been able to get things sorted for it until now.

We have a kit list, and can get to Go Outdoors, but as we'll need to get a tent, walking boots, rucksack, sleeping bag, waterproofs and loads of other things, it's quite overwhelming not to mention very expensive.

If anyone has any useful tips, advice, recommendations, dos and donts that might make it more manageable then it would be much appreciated

We didn’t need to supply a tent for Bronze or Silver DofE. Do check what they supply.
Can you get anything second hand?
Borrow anything?
You do need to get on with the walking boots ASAP as they will need to be worn in.

You can hire kit. My DC's school arranged it, as did mine decades ago! eg
www.expeditionkithire.co.uk/duke-of-edinburgh-kit-list-hire.html

Who is he walking with, surely they provide tents?

I would see what you can borrow first, apart from boots. Buy the boots sooner rather than later and wear them as much as possible. If you don't have any of those things, I take it you are not campers or outdoorsy people so unlikely to get much use out of them afterwards.

Who is he sharing a tent with? Do they have a tent? Can you borrow one from the organisation he is doing it with? Likewise camping stove. Many D of E providers have a store of this kind of kit that you can hire. If you buy everything from scratch, it will cost a fortune!

Thanks all. He's doing it through school and we have to provide everything. We're not campers so don't have any of this kit. He's in a group and some others are providing stove, gas canister etc but he (volunteered? ) to get a tent, some others do as well as think 7 or 8 in his tent group.

I was also under the impression that Bronze level expedition were 2 days 1 night but he's going Friday to Monday.

@chesirecat99 thanks for that hire link am going to look at that now

Can you go on Facebook and see if anyone has a tent you can borrow? Maybe parents from older years that would have had to provide one.

Local scout group may be able to help out for a donation

I would definitely try speak to the other parents and look at whether you can share the cost of the tent. He will be sharing it out and not carrying it on his own. A lighter tent is going to be easier to carry, so look for that when buying. (But obviously can be more expensive, so it is a balance. You don’t need to spend a fortune though, it isn’t the wild moors for Bronze!)

Agree with the other poster about buying boots soon and walking them in.
I would say that something people on bronze expeds often do is take too much. I would try and encourage him to try to make his bag as light as possible (whilst taking the essential kit) it will make all the difference.
He won’t need spare shoes, a pair of flip flops if he wants to wears something in the showers. The smallest toothpaste, a toothbrush snapped in half etc. It doesn’t sound like it will make much of a difference but they all add up to make weigh a lot.
Don’t let him think ‘oh I’ll take it just incase’ unless it is emergency kit.

Good waterproofs are essential, they can really make a difference between feeling miserable and being able to cope.
Socks are important to go in the boots as well.

When it comes to the rucksack, hopefully he has had lessons in packing it? A well packed bag helps. The DofE website has some good guides.

www.dofe.org/shopping/expedition-kit/rucksacks-and-packing/

Make sure he has a liner in it to stop everything getting wet, strong bin bags can be used for this instead of buying expensive rucksack liners. It can be a good idea to pack everything in individual bags too so they are protected and sorted and easier to cope with. Looking after your kit is part of the whole experience and the assessor will look at how they are at the campsite!

Some shops do discount for DofE so always worth asking.

Also, I would check how many people are really sharing the tent. 7 or 8 is quite a lot for one tent. That usually the size of the whole team and then there would be more than one tent within that? Smaller tents are easier to carry and you wouldn’t want to carry a tent for that many people, it wouldn’t pack down small enough.

Also isn’t there a limit on how many can share a tent at the moment due to COVID?

rubble sacks rather than bin bags to line the rucksack (much sturdier).

Also agree with looking at the pile of stuff to be packed, and massively cutting it down - for reference my DCs took less on Gold than they did on Bronze for a three times longer expedition .

And volunteer to be the one carrying the majority of the food, our rucksack then gets lighter the further you go.

Are they actually allowing overnights?
Do put out feelers to friends/family and borrow what you can. I am so surprised that school don't provide tents/sleeping bags/rucksacks. Many people at our school just wouldn't be able to participate if school didn't maintain a supply they can loan out. Stoves too.

DDs gold d of e went ahead but they had to sleep in individual tents so they needed a lot more than usual - maybe this is it? But normally tents and stoves would be supplied, so check he's volunteered to buy and not just to carry? I doubt school would want you to buy new for this. How wasteful. I think you mean two others are also bringing tents for the group of 7?

Yes smaller tents so more of them needed. Not individual though, but 2 or 3 man.

Some are providing them, some stoves etc.
I'm trying to justify it to myself by thinking he'll use all of the kit we get (less the boots if they're outgrown) for any future expeditions and for my younger daughter too in future, but it is a lot.

Thanks all for replying.

Agree with getting good boots, socks (I find the lighter walking socks best) aand Compeed blister plasters ( cheaper ones definitely not as good). Break in the boots properly a few weeks ahead of the trip. Also agree that less is more, it's a couple of days, they can just be smelly! For food pack portions of just what is needed, dried stuff like rice etc. which can be reconstituted with water will be lighter to carry. A sachet of hot chocolate is very comforting if they are cold and tired.
Borrow what you can, it doesn't have to be super high spec gear. The kids who did it last year may have a tent they can let you have. If you have to buy things places like BM bargains have a surpriing amount of cheap camping stuff.
I have found (DoE) leader that what makes the pupils miserable are sore feet (hence breaking in boots and compeed) and being wet and cold so if you make sure your son has measures to avoid that he'll be o.k.
I love the journey on the bus home from expedition with the kids all buzzing from what they've acheived (and then fall asleep because they've been up all night chatting in thhe tent).

Agree that’s expensive - I would try and borrow as much as possible. Decathlon good for basic kit including boots. Can be false economy to buy a cheap rucksack - most I’ve come across (DofE leader) break the first weekend. The vango ones are good.

@capercaillie (fab name) his rucksack we got today is a Vango so fingers crossed

Thanks @Periwinkletoes too for your reply...re walking socks admit I'm confused...the D of E kit list/school says liner socks and then others on top, but person in Go Outdoors today contradicted that and said no they don't recommend that and instead advise double layer socks (which they'd sold out of )

@Hollytreenew great tip thanks about knowing how best to pack rucksack etc, we need to look at that

And definitely yes, to those advising to cut down as much as possible, I think that's where we'll have problems.

He's also a very fussy/limited eater who can't get on with "wet" foods so the add water type hot things might not work. Usually he'd load up with apples and bananas but can't do that here!

My DS did Bronze and school hired out all the kit (tent, stove etc) so all we needed to buy was a groundsheet, sleeping bag and boots.
My poor DS had to do Fri-Mon in the worst storm last October and the lads were soaking wet and freezing. He returned with the worst foot length blisters I've ever seen, bless him. I felt awful for him. If we had our time again, I'd have bought waterproof/weatherproof socks and tucked in a couple of those disposable handwarmers. I sent him with loads of Compeed and plasters, but he said they didn't really take their boots off.
I'd have made him wear his boots in more too beforehand.
Ask around for families like us who aren't campers and are stopping at Bronze-I'd have happily donated our groundsheeet for example to someone else. Now I have no idea where it's gone!
Good luck with it all!

@MWestie a lot of the pouch foods are cook in the bag foods, you don't add water to the actual food.

Surprised it’s a weekend. Bronze was just one night when DD did it.

Mine liked the Wayfarer meals. You don’t add water. And he tried a couple at home before going.

Good boots and good socks.

And snacks. Lots of snacks.