Duke of Edinburgh handholding thread

[ArcheryAnnie]

....is anyone else's teenager doing this?

DS has a mound of equipment in the living room which looks ridiculously huge for one bloody night (it's a practice run) and he keeps on remembering other stuff he hasn't yet told me about that he needs. It's like getting blood out of a stone.

Also I am having visions of My Baby, Lost On The Moors, which I know is pish.

[ragged]

Ha! DD hates long distance walking & would rather die than be seen in naff hiking trousers. I imagine she'll pull out her running leggings even if temps are 30 degrees. She has only done glamping before...

DD thinks DoE is one of those things that she NEEDS on her Uni application CV. Her friends all signed up. The supposed leader of the group flaked out, so DD stepped in to plan everything. I had feck all to do with that, too. She Does have good support from school. I will stay as hands-off as possible. I may remind her to charge her phone & DH will dig out a USB battery pack.

[Thingywhatsit]

Ah a d of e support thread - my teen just has his qualifying hike to do in 2 weeks time and then he has finished bronze I think..... seems to be very little organisation going on at the moment so expect they will have a flurry of activity nearer the time.

So hard to step back sometimes - but they have to learn their own mistakes. I told my teen a few suggestions for the practice one regarding food (not enough in my opinion) he refused to take it on board and suggest it to the others - all 7 of them were hungry when I picked them up.

[ArcheryAnnie]

littleoldladywho bear spray?! I'm guessing the practice hike isn't in Surrey, then!

Mine went off this morning. He took enough food to last until July, I think. Otherwise his pack was reasonably sensible. If he does his next hike in summer (rather than spring) his pack will be a lot emptier and lighter because he can use the lightweight thin sleeping bag rather than the fluffy cold-weather sleeping bag.

[Travelledtheworld]

Spare socks are essential especially if they are wearing fabric / goretex boots and walking through long wet grass. Invest in proper walking socks, either wool or polypropolene mixture.

My DS came back with terribly sore feet after getting them all wet.

Both my kids did Bronze DoE and were prepped for it by a professional outdoor pursuits company which I thought were excellent. Worth every penny. DD walked 15 miles in non stop torrential rain and another 6 miles the next day with sopping wet gear. I was so proud of her and her friends fr sticking it out.

[geogteach]

In my day we used to take our packs in to be checked before the expedition, one girl had a 3 lb fruit cake and 2 grapefruit confiscated

[littleoldladywho]

Lol, no, not Surrey. Kananaskis.
I am trying to ask surreptitious questions to gauge preparedness. And have just suggested nicely that her friend might not want to walk into town today in her wellies and ankle socks just in case that causes blisters. Y'know, as they are leaving at 8am tomorrow to hike all day... I mean, they are cute wellies. She said 'oh I don't think they'll rub, they are pretty big!' I did the long pause. Maybe just change them anyway, or put on a nice thick pair of socks, eh? This is a kid who runs up the mountain out the back a few times a year. She's perfectly capable. But sometimes I do wonder. Don't get blisters before you even start!!!
Fingers crossed, Annie - you'll be unpacking all the uneaten squashed leftovers before you know it!

[littleoldladywho]

I vaguely remember on one of mine we stopped at some random rural shop in the middle of nowhere and my helpful friend found a stack of out of date cider they were selling off. The sun was shining. We had a lovely afternoon meandering aalong disused rail tracks. A 3lb fruit cake would have made a lovely picnic...

[MaisyPops]

Do not buy cheap plasters - it is well worth spending the extra on Compeed plasters
This x10000

They're the only ones I ever use. Did a D OF E walk a few weeks back and ended up dishing most of my pack out to the students. They are all buying a pack for the practice and real thing.


And as other people have said, their first one they will be carrying WAY too much. Cut 1/3 off what they start with.

[MaisyPops]

You won't need anything too expensive. Have a look at Decathlon or Amazon.

Disagree. Some things are worth spending money on. I've seen too many people end up sore and miserable by having cheap kit that's not as good. I did that when I first started walking.

E.g. microfleeses just buy as cheap as possible. Base layers same.

Windproof and waterproofs I'd spend a decent amount on. Some survive worse rain than others.
Boots I'd spend a reasonable amount on too

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Maisy - we were talking about trousers.

There is no point spending £50 on merino base layers for someone (who is still growing) who is doing DofE bronze which is essentially two medium walks with a night of camping in the middle (twice). A lot of people don't go any further than that and the kit is then outgrown and unused.

[dementedma]

Wow. Am very glad none of my dcs were into this. Sounds expensive in terms of kit!

[AndNoneForGretchenWieners]

Long johns - DS has M&S ones at £7.50 from the outlet store. Much cheaper and comfy too for sleeping in rather than taking pyjamas.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

demented mine are Scouts so there wasn't really too much extra they needed, it was mainly just food.

However, the school do have lots of items of kit to borrow, including jackets, sleeping bags, rucksacks etc so it does mean that it should be accessible to everyone.

[MaisyPops]

WankersHacksandThieves
My bad. I read it as kit in general. Oops.

Yeah. Zero point getting all that expensive at their age.
Shame really as having lovely base layers and really well cut trousers makes a massive difference to how much I enjoy walking. Sadly all the narrower fit trousers for women tend to be the more expensive makes.

[SparklesandBangs]

DD1 did her bronze, fortunately she'd already done a World Challenge 10-day expedition in Y7 so we had all the kit. The boots are still being worn 10 years on. We found the volunteering aspect harder than the overnight hike. She had a falling out with her Group on the walk, she can map read but the leader couldn't so they went the wrong way. Totally agree about the plasters, she lost both her big toenails after 10 days in her walking boots on her other expedition.
DD2 opted out of DOE and did 4 weeks in South America, that was way more expensive and stressful.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Maisy, I recommend frequently checking on Amazon, I've had some cracking bargains including berghaus hats and north face gloves for a fiver, Vaude jackets for £25 and expensive european stretchy walking trousers for £15. It's just the luck of the draw if they have the size/colour you want at the cheap price. I've had DH ask me to get items in a different colour since he's loved the one I bough only to find that it's an extra £100! Unfortunately I'm getting less bargains now that everyone except me takes a L or XL men's size. The most popular sizes tend to have the least bargains. I did however get DS2 some £150 Merrell boots for £78 the other week - it'll hopefully be the last pair I buy him as they should last until he has his own income :)

[MaisyPops]

I didn't know you got decent deals on good stuff on amazon. Definitely remembering that one.

I'm after icebreaker tops and some RAB stuff.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Maisy, also look on the Amazon outlet as well as the main site and the Warehouse for returns. We've built up a very good stock of nice kit and it has cost less than the cheaper shop versions. You might need to be patient and do a lot of trawling about. We've had better bargains on the european stuff like Eider as well as the usual makes.

[CreamCol0uredP0nies]

It's always worth mentioning at the checkout that whatever you're buying is for D of E as some places offer discounts.( I'm sure we got a discount in Snow and Rock and possibly Mountain Warehouse) Not sure if you need any proof - it's been a while since my teens did theirs.

[ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander]

What do I need to look for in a rucksack? The booklet says 65 litres (it's only for the Bronze award) - is there anything else I need to check?

Thanks for the advice about trousers - it would never have occurred to me that running / sports leggings would fit the bill.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

I'd look on ebay for a 2nd hand one - that's if the school don't have any for you to borrow. I'd also ask about just in case anyone had one to lend.

features I'd look for are: good range of adjustment available to ensure a decent fit, built in waterproof cover if possible, some good bits for attaching things, My two have 65l rucksacks, they have a separate compartment at the bottom which is good for the sleeping bag and a handy wee pocket on the waist strap which is good for snacks being at hand.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Oh, also look for decent padding on the waist and shoulder straps and a good chest strap.

[ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander]

Thanks

I've left it too late for eBay and the school aren't doing loans unfortunately. For some reason DH and I have got to the age of forty something without ever owning our own rucksacks.

[WankersHacksandThieves]

Thats a shame :(

My DH has a bit of fetish for back packs - we have many different ones in many different sizes. If you happen to be in central Scotland then you could borrow one of the boys' 65 litre ones as long as there were no date clashes with our own expeditions.

Something like this is what you'd be looking for:

www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Lowe-Alpine-Kibo-65L-Rucksack-VGC-/162477347905?hash=item25d4679441:g:BdYAAOSwSypY88Ut

[ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander]

Aw that's really sweet of you. But I think if we buy one of our own it'll be handy - even if only for going to Lidl, and the DC are approaching student age so they'll find one handy. I just want to make sure I don't forget to look for some vital feature.