Making a List and Checking It Twice
By Karen Berger
Illustrations By John R. Fulton Jr.
Here are suggestions to please almost any outdoor enthusiast, as holiday gifts for a Scout or Scouter or something to add to your own wish list.
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When you can't fit everything inside your pack, Granite Gear Compression Sacks help make the contents smaller. Granite Gear's Rock Solid bags come in three shapes—round, tube, and square. The Drylite line is water-resistant, with fully taped seams. Available in multiple sizes. $25 to $31. www.granitegear.com. |
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Finding a sturdy tree limb high enough to suspend a bear bag is a nightly chore on many backcountry treks. With BearVault, you can protect your food supply without ever heaving a weighted rope through the tree branches. The container weighs less than 2 pounds and can carry up to seven days' worth of food. Built of rugged transparent polycarbonate, it resembles a giant Lexan water bottle. An extra-wide rainproof opening provides easy access for loading, unloading, and finding items. Built-in strap guides let you secure the canister outside your pack. $80. www.bearvault.com. |  |
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Set the Scalex MapWheel's scale to match the map, then roll it along the trail you want to measure. Distances are displayed in miles, nautical miles, or kilometers. The more detail the map shows, the more accurate your reading. Remember that switchbacks can add considerable mileage and that you have to factor in extra for trails that go up and down because the wheel does not measure vertical distance. $30. www.scalex.com. |
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Take a line of quality outdoor clothing and add an effective insect repellent and voila!—you get clothes that even an Alaskan mosquito or a Scottish midge will avoid. The Ex Officio BuzzOff Clothing line ranges from T-shirts to button-downs to hooded sweatshirts to pants and repels mosquitoes, ticks, ants, chiggers, and midges (also known as no-see-ums). The cloth is breathable, sunprotective, quick drying, and ventilated. The repellent lasts for about 25 washings. $39 to $84. www.exofficio.com. |  |
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Temperature readings are just part of the story when it comes to hot and cold. Wind speed and humidity are important, too. The Discovery WeatherTech FX6000 measures both to give accurate wind-chill and heat-index readings, so you'll know how hot or cold it really feels outdoors. A sophisticated weather instrument, the FX6000 features graphic icons to display forecast and temperature trends at a glance. It also includes a clock (radio-connected to an atomic clock), alarm, calendar, and information about phases of the moon. $149.95. www.discovery.com. |
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REI Convertible Sahara Pants are a smart choice for hiking and camping. They are made from lightweight and quick-drying Supplex nylon and provide great sun protection. Extra pockets are useful for travel essentials, and one has a zippered security pocket for money and other valuables. A convenient lower-leg zip enables you to put on the pant legs over footwear. $55. www.rei.com. |  |
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Never again sew a badge on a Scout uniform! Badge Magic (BSA Nos. 50100, 50101, 50102, 50103) comes with adhesive badge templates for Cub Scouts, Webelos Scouts, Boy Scouts, and leaders. Simply peel off the adhesive cover and press the badge onto the sheet. The adhesive is now on the back of the badge. Position the badge on the shirt using the supplied uniform guide and press it into place. Throw the shirt into the dryer for 10 minutes, and you are finished. Badge Magic has been tested to hold for more than 75 washings, yet can be easily removed with WD-40 or dry-cleaning. $7.25. www.badgemagic.com. |
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Ever wonder exactly how many steps you walked during a hike? The Fitwear Sport Pedometer from Highgear can tell you, plus calculate your mileage, figure out how many calories you burned, tell you the time, wake you up in the morning, and let you know how long it took to take all those steps. $30. www.highgear.com. |  |
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Soak these bandanna scarves in water, then wear Kafka's KoolTies around your neck. Sewn-in polymer crystals expand on water contact, and the evaporative cooling provides quick relief from a scorching sun. Great for desert hikers, river runners, and others who want to beat the heat. $10. www.kooltie.com. |
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Got time to kill before "lights out" in camp or while waiting out a rain shower inside your tent? Try out Cranium Zigity, the new card game from Cranium. Zigity gets players matching, adding, spelling, and finding missing puzzle pieces as they scramble to win. It takes five minutes to learn and 10 minutes to play. Eighty see-through cards are packaged in a colorful limited-edition tin. For two or more players, ages 8 to adult, $12.95 at Starbucks stores nationwide. www.cranium.com. |  |
Karen Berger is the author of 10 books. Her most recent is Hiking Light Handbook (Mountaineers Books, 2004). Check out her adventures at her Web site, www.hikerwriter.com.
November - December 2004 Table of Contents
Copyright © 2004 by the Boy Scouts of America. All rights thereunder reserved; anything appearing in Scouting magazine or on its Web site may not be reprinted either wholly or in part without written permission. Because of freedom given authors, opinions may not reflect official concurrence.