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johncg
Nov 17, 2009, 10:11 PM
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Hey Guys my name is John and im 15. I am looking to start a high adventure patrol in my troop. to do this i need more gear to help the other kids. I a lot of gear and im serious about climbing. i climb 5.10c and boulder v5. but the gear is expensive. help me get otheres into our great sport by donating any used or new gear. I know your gonna say to work and save up but that isnt an option.
THANKS so much
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treebierd
Nov 17, 2009, 10:24 PM
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When I was in the Boy Scouts we did fundraising for our trips. I doubt you will find many people willing to give up safe gear, but its a possibility.
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dugl33
Nov 17, 2009, 10:32 PM
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You might check with local outdoor stores, climbing gyms, etc to see if they can donate anything or at least offer a deep discount.
Consider buying a few vario-fit harnesses, they are one size fits pretty much everybody, and buy a beefy 10.5 or even 11 mm rope. New climbers are tough on gear.
Get the guys to pitch in a little fundraising or money to the cause. I guarantee they will take better care of the gear if they are helping pay for it.
Good luck and climb safe.
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johncg
Nov 17, 2009, 10:34 PM
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Thanks for the ideas i did check some out but the stores gave me an attitude\
John
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acorneau
Nov 17, 2009, 10:43 PM
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johncg wrote: Hey Guys my name is John and im 15. I am looking to start a high adventure patrol in my troop. to do this i need more gear to help the other kids. I a lot of gear and im serious about climbing. i climb 5.10c and boulder v5. but the gear is expensive. help me get otheres into our great sport by donating any used or new gear. I know your gonna say to work and save up but that isnt an option. THANKS so much
Many US gear manufacturers will give good discounts to BSA troops if you buy as a troop, but not as individuals. Also, some councils have gear that units can check out and use, so check with your council office.
I'll agree that fund-raisers are a much better way to go for you to reach your goals rather than begging for used gear on RC.com.
Good luck!
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johncg
Nov 17, 2009, 10:52 PM
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my council doesnt have rock gear. and which manufactorers do that. is there a chance of me getting a pro deal
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roperunner
Nov 17, 2009, 11:40 PM
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Make sure your council allows outdoor climbing. Some require a AMGA certified guide on all outings. What state is your troop in?
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johncg
Nov 17, 2009, 11:43 PM
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we are in NJ.
Do any of you guys know anyone geting rid of gear that they can give
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brokesomeribs
Nov 18, 2009, 1:24 AM
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johncg wrote: we are in NJ. Do any of you guys know anyone geting rid of gear that they can give
Which council and which troop? Who is your Scoutmaster?
I'm also in NJ and an Eagle Scout and assistant scoutmaster from T-226 up in NNJC. I might be able to help you out with some gear.
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bill413
Nov 18, 2009, 2:42 AM
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johncg wrote: we are in NJ. Do any of you guys know anyone geting rid of gear that they can give
I'm starting to hear a fair amount of begging, and little initiative.
What do you think caused the stores to cop an attitude? Is it rectifiable?
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lostlazy
Nov 18, 2009, 3:08 AM
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::cough:: Troll
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TheRucat
Nov 18, 2009, 3:37 AM
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I'm an eagle scout from a troop in northern NJ as well, how ever I can't help you at all. Honestly, if the kids in your troop are anything like the ones in my former troop, rock climbing is a bad idea. I once organized a XC mountain bike ride, and two kids got hurt.. One before we even left the parking lot. Boy scouts typically suck at the things they are supposed to be good at. But just sayin..
If I were you I'd check with climbing gyms, the NJRG donated a bunch of their old rental gear to my college's climbing wall.
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johncg
Nov 18, 2009, 11:56 AM
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haha i know thats we hand picked the kids that dont suck at everything
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adatesman
Nov 18, 2009, 3:01 PM
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kmehrtens
Nov 18, 2009, 3:09 PM
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John,
I help operate a BSA council climbing training program in the St. Louis Area and teach the Climbing Section at National Camping School. Does you council have a climbing or COPE program? Have you ever though about starting one? BSA at the national level allows rock climbing for Boy Scouts but not Cub Scouts (check the guide to safe scouting). You may also want to look into the Climb On Safely program too.
As a trainer and a climber too, I would warn you against accepting used gear from people. You don't know the history of the gear. This is real important for rope and webbing. Remember your live hangs by the rope and you don't know how the other person treated that gear. Did he store it in a cool dark place or in the truck of his car next to the gas can and old car batteries. I know that gear is expensive and the attraction to take what you can get, but just think about it.
Just a few links to look at:
http://www.scouting.org/scoutsource/HealthandSafety/GSS/gss09.aspx
http://www.scouting.org/filestore/pdf/ageguides.pdf
Also, I have found that all ages of kids want to go rock climbing too. If you want to start a separate patrol, I think you might want to look into a high-adventure Venture Crew instead.
(This post was edited by kmehrtens on Nov 18, 2009, 3:16 PM)
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rockclimber919
Nov 18, 2009, 3:18 PM
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I'm a BSA climbing instructor in Texas. Since you are still attached to your troop, and not a venture crew, go to your troop's committee and submit a request for gear. Have the troop start getting troop gear. then you don't have to use as much personal gear. and just an fyi, if you haven't been through a BSA instructor class, scouts are UBER ANAL about safety, and pretty much everything has to be done on a top rope. to lead climb you have to have another top belay. stuff like that. it sucks. start off with 5-10 harnesses and helmets, a few static ropes, about 15 steel biners and lots of webbing. that is enough to run your troop through a few climbs. hope this helps.
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putputgolfer
Nov 18, 2009, 4:40 PM
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Ask whoever keeps the books but your organization should be a 501(c)(3) non-profit. That means you shouldn't have to pay any sales tax when you purchase as a troop. There are some forms for that which your troop should have, or if you are associated with a church you may be able to purchase gear through them. This is how it was in FL when i was in scouts and could save you another 7%. I could be way off on this so i would check with an accountant before you demand sales tax free stuff from your local store.
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LostinMaine
Nov 18, 2009, 5:28 PM
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adatesman wrote: johncg wrote: haha i know thats we hand picked the kids that dont suck at everything Silly me, thinking the Boy Scouts were a welcoming, inclusive sort of group.
Inclusive... as long as you're not gay and believe in God. And now apparently, as long as you don't "suck at everything."
I wouldn't give a dime to the BSA.
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acorneau
Nov 18, 2009, 5:48 PM
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rockclimber919 wrote: ... and pretty much everything has to be done on a top rope. to lead climb you have to have another top belay.
Not true. Units can lead climb but they must receive the training from outside the BSA.
Remember; units only have to follow Climb On Safely, district and council activities follow the National Standards.
(10+ year BSA director and facilitator at the C&R NCS at Philmont Training Center every September)
(This post was edited by acorneau on Nov 18, 2009, 5:49 PM)
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Alpine07
Nov 18, 2009, 6:34 PM
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rockclimber919 wrote: I'm a BSA climbing instructor in Texas. Since you are still attached to your troop, and not a venture crew, go to your troop's committee and submit a request for gear. Have the troop start getting troop gear. then you don't have to use as much personal gear. and just an fyi, if you haven't been through a BSA instructor class, scouts are UBER ANAL about safety, and pretty much everything has to be done on a top rope. to lead climb you have to have another top belay. stuff like that. it sucks. start off with 5-10 harnesses and helmets, a few static ropes, about 15 steel biners and lots of webbing. that is enough to run your troop through a few climbs. hope this helps.
You're joking right? Some of the dumbest things that I have seen and heard about in the world of outdoor recreation, have been performed by boy scouts. Not including tourons of course...
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rockclimber919
Nov 18, 2009, 8:44 PM
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sorry, correction, scouts are supposed to care about safety. many of them tend to forget that from time to time.
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evanwish
Nov 19, 2009, 4:11 AM
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johncg wrote: Hey Guys my name is John and im 15. I am looking to start a high adventure patrol in my troop. to do this i need more gear to help the other kids. I a lot of gear and im serious about climbing. i climb 5.10c and boulder v5. but the gear is expensive. help me get otheres into our great sport by donating any used or new gear. I know your gonna say to work and save up but that isnt an option. THANKS so much
I'm an eagle scout, got my eagle over four years ago and aged out a half year ago. Like you i started our troop's High Adventure Patrol and even got the motivation for the rock climbing started and know EXACTLY what it entails.
first of all, before you start going off looking for gear you need at least two BSA certified instructors to go on all trips. Without the instructors it is a major liability and BSA can shut down the troop if it finds out (that is even assuming no one gets hurt). Click here and here too read more about BSA's "Climb On Safely" program. Its a good program and i even had the opportunity to help teach a small portion of the class!
As for gear acquisition, you're going to have to fundraise weather you like it or not. Gear like you said is EXPENSIVE. You could though, try simply writing out to shops and manufacturers for things like harnesses or carabiners. At 14 or 15 I did just that for my eagle project and within a week had over $600.
and as for BSA's STRICT standards and requirements on gear, NONE of it may be pre-owned. NONE! It also requires that you have a log of every individual use of each individual piece of gear. This is annoying, brain-numbing work, but it saves your troop's ass if something goes wrong. Oh and your council will most likely have an inspector that checks for this at least once. (they did in our troop)
Finally, a 5.10c is less than a V0, and a V5 is considered a 5.12c, so i'd question the accuracy of ratings where you're climbing as well....
anyway, i hope this helps.
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evanwish
Nov 19, 2009, 4:20 AM
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bill413 wrote: johncg wrote: we are in NJ. Do any of you guys know anyone geting rid of gear that they can give I'm starting to hear a fair amount of begging, and little initiative. What do you think caused the stores to cop an attitude? Is it rectifiable?
yeah agreed. Also, you should write to the stores a NICE letter and show up and present yourself well in the store if the store's local enough.
also, my troop got all of our own gear through troop funds (voted and approved by the troop and the committee) along side with fund raising. Almost none of the other troops in our council have climbing gear so they call up us and we do joint trips and they pay US for the usage of the gear. maybe someday soon before the gear has to be retired it will come close to paying off!
my point: contact other troops.
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dugl33
Nov 19, 2009, 5:28 AM
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rockclimber919 wrote: I'm a BSA climbing instructor in Texas. Since you are still attached to your troop, and not a venture crew, go to your troop's committee and submit a request for gear. Have the troop start getting troop gear. then you don't have to use as much personal gear. and just an fyi, if you haven't been through a BSA instructor class, scouts are UBER ANAL about safety, and pretty much everything has to be done on a top rope. to lead climb you have to have another top belay. stuff like that. it sucks. start off with 5-10 harnesses and helmets, a few static ropes, about 15 steel biners and lots of webbing. that is enough to run your troop through a few climbs. hope this helps.
Personally I'm not sure using static ropes is a good idea. I know some guides set up top ropes with static line, but it only takes one belayer letting too much slack develop to create some monsterous loads on the anchors. I'd opt for beefy 11 mm dynamic ropes, with carefully constructed anchors which minimize friction at the clip in point. Beginners are tough on gear.
Also, consider buying a few harnasses like the BD vario. One size fits most.
If I saw a group of 10 scouts climbing, I'd run the other way, and I earned my eagle scout BITD. Start with a smaller group and not more than two top ropes at a time. Remember the adults normally keeping an eye on things, in this case, probably won't know what they are doing.
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johncg
Nov 19, 2009, 8:16 PM
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what exactly did you do for your eagle project
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