We went camping this last weekend (a trip report is coming soon, I promise) and I wanted to equip our friend's 6 year old with some functional, yet economically, priced gear. Here's what he ended up carrying:
- A 5 minute haversack decorated with his choice of duct tape and stickers. Cost: Free
- A ziplock bag for collecting rocks, acorns, etc. Cost: Free
- A bandana. The classic multi-purpose camping item, perfect for attaining either the pirate or cowboy look, as needed. Not to mention, useful for drying off hands, or wiping off sand at the beach. At one point, I also tied it up using a bit of furoshiki to make a bag to carry back shells from the beach. Cost: 12 for $8.35
- A whistle for signaling when lost. This one was a bit tricky, I didn't want to go so cheap that it wouldn't be functional should he ever need it. This 3 pack did the trick nicely. Cost: 3 for $2.42
- A compass. Like the whistle, I didn't want to cheap out and end up with an item that didn't really work. I went with a Brunton Key Ring Compass, and I'm glad I did. It gives fast, reliable readings, isn't fragile and was a deal at 2 for $4.99. Cost: 2 for $4.99
- A flashlight. This cheepy LED flashlight does the trick and at $8.00 for 4 of them, you can't complain about the price. Cost: 4 for $7.99
- My Totes mini umbrella. This wasn't supposed to be in his kit, but he quickly became attached to it, so he carried it. He eagerly awaited rain, and it came, but it happened while we were under enough tree cover that we didn't need umbrellas. I'd never met anyone disappointed by the lack of rain before. Cost: unknown
As he gets older, I'll introduce him to the world of paracord, pocket knives and survival blankets. But for now, he enjoyed rocking his kit, and at a price of $6.00 or so, I didn't have to worry about him trashing it. Besides, who doesn't feel more comfortable in the woods toting the Avengers with them?
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