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The ten essentials are things every responsible camper should carry.
In addition to what you’ll use regularly carry some spares in your First Aid and Contingency Kit. Contingencies are more common than actual emergencies. I recommend a first-aid kit supplemented with a few other items on the ‘ten essentials’ list: a spare flashlight, spare whistle, trail food, matches, and fire starters.
To see my specific recommendations for ten essentials check out this page in my Gear Guide.
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I see you have matches on the list. What has been your experience with scouts and matches? What I’ve seen is that most of the younger ones have no rest until they have lit every match. Usually they’re either playing around or just as likely trying to use them as tinder when they haven’t gathered enough real tinder.
My larger concern would be that they might try and start a camp fire somewhere inappropriate, like their driveway at home : ) So in our troop the leaders have the matches, then when the scouts ask for the matches we can ask more questions about why and where.
John
So far as I know all of my Scouts carry matches, pocketknives, have feet, hands, and wild imaginations (any combination of these things is enough to make trouble). Do they get out of line once in a while? Yes, but racking my brain for “incidents” involving matches in the past thirty years I come up with two.
I understand your concerns, but “A Scout is Trustworthy” means something. In my experience Scouts rise to the level of our expectations.
This concept is essential for the boys to learn. I recommend using the newer “10 Essential Systems” approach from The Mountaineers, who developed the concept of the Ten Essentials back in the 1930s.
http://www.mountaineersbooks.org/Assets/ClientPages/zz_TenEssentials.aspx
I like the systems approach from the mountaineers, but they are tailored more for a different set of activities (mostly climbing and high-altitude trekking above the tree line). But the basis for their system – can you respond to emergencies and safely make it through one or more unexpected nights in the wilderness, is sound.
I’ve looked at lots of ten essential lists. Based on what I learned from them and, perhaps more importantly, 40 years of camping experience, developed the the ten essential approach in the infographic.
I think want we need to do as Scouters is look at the most common problems (that’s why I differentiate between contingency and emergency) and get Scouts equipped to deal with them.
The eleventh essential is knowledge, otherwise the first ten won’t help much!