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.

Also for those still looking for suitable gear, H&M do some sports wear that is reasonably priced. I got DS some track bottoms that he using for Kayaking.
www2.hm.com/en_gb/productpage.0156610006.html#Black

New Look has a massive selection, too. Sports gear seems to be "in" fashion.

What walking boots are good? We got a pair of waterproof Gelert ones from sports direct for ds yesterday. (Quite ugly looking!)
He is normally an 8 but they had 8.5 with an insole and walking socks he said they feel ok. He needs to break them in. Do you think they will be fine?

Also how does he break them in? Apart from walking in them - long walks at weekends?

What jacket? Ds usually wears fleeces/hoodies (all the time), only has a superdry jacket so need to get one sorted too.

Nowhere will undercut Sports Direct for price (walking boots). Can get ones with supposed waterproof layer for under £15 at sizes like ladies 3-4. (had to solve this problem for trip to Lake District last year, they have been fine & DD will use again in 2017).

Or try Ebay.
We didn't break them in....

jackets I also suggest Sports direct but worth a look in charity shops & Ebay & online & so on.

They do seem to be good value, were £30 reduced from £60.

Will try them and eBay for a jacket.

Ignore the "reduced from" tags from both Sports Direct and Mountain Warehouse. They make their own brands and set their own artificially high RRPs so you think you're getting a one-off discount. But regardless of that annoyance they will give you an unbeatably cheap deal, and for Bronze D of E it'll be perfectly adequate quality.

So glad I've found this thread. I'm trying to convince DS that hiking in jeans is a BAD idea but he keeps looking at my suggestion of walking trousers!

Update: I have a returned DS, tired, slightly sunburned and a bit smelly but otherwise unharmed by the experience 😊

I have to say if you are provisioning up, Mountain Warehouse is astonishingly cheap. There are always BOGOFs which are great for socks etc. We bought a good pair of shoes (chunky Merrell trail shoes, which he will actually wear otherwise, cf hiking boots which he wouldn't). Cotswold Outdoors were great - helpful and knowledgeable- and gave us a 15% discount on pretty flimsy DofE evidence (ds had lost his discount card but accessed some emails on his phone and they were happy with that). Uniqlo do unbeatable layering things. (I believe ds wore everything he had taken in bed last night 😊)

We will be rethinking the eating utensils - the polycarbonate spork got scorched and the fashionable collapsible bowl was not really sturdy enough. I think we'll be going for prisoner of war style/old skool lightweight tin.

DD has gelert walking boots from sports direct. They saw her through bronze and silver practice so far without any problems - or blisters!

Also got waterproof over trousers from there - they fold into the pocket like a pac a mac so take up very little space.

Mine are back. Soaking wet from the snow. No bears seen. Ate about ten pounds of pasta because they were starving, and gone to sleep.

Boots are extremely personal - no such thing as a good boot for every foot. If you go to a good fitter, they are pretty good at gauging which brand is likely to work for each foot type - some have slightly narrower lasts etc - and it depends on what terrain they are likely to be covering. I can use Salomon, for example, but I can't get on with Vaude. I've tried many different boots over the years, but now realise it's a waste of time. Salomon suits my foot type, so I just go for their ranges. Every time I try to branch out, it's an expensive disaster...

For breakfast I had loads of those ready made pancakes the think ones and a pot of maple sryop

I am a Dof E co ordinator and assessor.
Seriously don't panic! The purpose of the practise is for it to be a learning curve.
If you go on to the DD E website there is a list of kit that they need. TBH they don't really need that much, and it can be shared out e.g. Someone has the tent someone else has the trangia someone else has the food.
Make sure they have snacks to hand, ( haribos are popular)
Pack a bin bag..make sure there is suncream if it's going to be warm.

The kids always have a good time, even those that haven't looked forward to it.

What purpose have they decided their expedition is about for the presentation?

Oooh, littleoldladywho, I loved it around Kananaskis - my DB lives in Calgary and DH, DD and I stayed a few days in Canmore en route to the other side of the Rockies for a massive family gathering almost 3 years ago. We've been dreaming about going back again....(DH is worried though about the excess luggage we'd need if we went back to the quilting shop in Canmore!).

Sounds like all have had a good practice so far. And probably just as well to do it already and not this week as it gets frigid again! Best of luck to them all doing it for real now (did they talk about the practice afterward and agree what did/didn't work and what to keep/change for the real thing?).

littleoldladywho I shall mention the snow and the bears to DS, who was walking in the Home Counties!

On the eating utensils, Fernet, DS took as his "bowl" a fairly sturdy ice-cream tub (one of those wide flattish oval-ish ones, like Carte D'Or, not like Ben and Jerrys). It was sturdy, a decent size, and had a lid so also carried some of the ingredients for the dinner that evening. And it was free, and if it was lost it didn't matter!

Ha Biddy, the Sugar Pine is responsible for many heavy suitcases heading back to MIL's too. she only visits once or twice a year but knows all the staff by first name. Sometimes I think she might really visit for quilting stuff, not to see the kids lol....

So glad I've found this thread. I'm trying to convince DS that hiking in jeans is a BAD idea but he keeps looking hmm at my suggestion of walking trousers!

If he tries to do an expedition in jeans, he will have a very bad expedition!

I know @Jeeves93 I won't let him. Don't worry!!

I don't think the leaders would let him anyway wolfie

Aww. Brings back memories. I did Bronze, Silver & Gold expeditions and all the practices starting around 25 years ago. I refused to chop my toothbrush handle off, which was recommended to reduce weight!

Must've blanked from my mind how we dealt with food on the longest treks - lots of pasta probably - but fit Bronze I used to have a load of pre-cooked sausages to munch on and some frozen rolls that defrosted throughout the day to eat them with!

It's due to DofE that I live where I live. Came for an expedition and ended up deciding to live there.

omg, after saying "It's all peaceful here" the hurricane finally hit. 2 hrs helping DD, who was in panicked tears this morning because we couldn't find her boots (initially). Shouting & trading when I dared to look under her bed for them. Freaked out shrieks at prospect of waterproof trousers. Ended okay with me teaching her how to use the methylated spirits stove. She is compulsive with matches & may well run out but her choice to leave matches behind. Sweaty joint effort to get the sleeping bag all stowed in its bag. New batteries in the headtorch. Muttering dark things about she cannot LIVE without dry shampoo. I suspect she'll forget to pack a toothbrush. Final bag will be 15-16kg (DD weighs maybe 50 kg).

She refuses to acknowledge many (& not long ago) camping trips (school, guides) which meant no washing self for 4-6 days. (Which was fine by me!)

At least 2 of the other kids are hiking in only trainers.

I hate meth. stoves being called "trangia". Why pile on the confusion by using a brand name for a generic item? My old stove is beat up but beautifully efficient and NOT a "Trangia".

That sounds stressful. It also sounds poorly organised by the leaders. Our lot would not be permitted on the walk without proper footwear and equipment. Trangias and tents etc are all supplied by the school. Gas canistered are checked and weighed. Waterproofs are checked to ensure that they have them. Past bronze level they have to organise and request all items themselves from the stores, but their orders are checked and queried by the leaders if necessary.

That sounds poorly organised by the school Ragged. DD's lot have to have trangia stoves but they're borrowed from the school, as is the tent. To be fair we have all the stuff but many parents wouldn't.

I'm away when DD has her trial expedition so i've said i can only help her pack her sleeping bag/mat & waterproof before i go. The rest of the packing plus organising food is down to her.

Checking the kit that closely sounds a bit like it defeats the purpose, tbh.

Our kids are supplying own tents.
DD thinks school might be supplying the stove fuel.
DD & I agreed that at no time will they be more than 1.5 miles from several houses, so really no need to bring a survival bag.
Unclear what status is on phones... I am sure most the kids will bring them (even if against official rules).
Trainers will be fine around here in my experience, I really do not think walking shoes are required but would be nice if it rains (we often do 11 mile hikes around here with DS. Shorter distances even in rainy weather).

I assumed that trangia = meth stove, but now WHnT says "gas cannisters"; does "trangia" = gas stove, too? Or is "trangia" used as a term for any generic cooking/camping stove? I think I'm hating that word "trangia" on the packing list all the more, now.