My son joined a scout troop about a year ago and I noticed that traditional backpacking was out of reach for many of the kids. On one hand, much of the equipment was simply too heavy for the younger kids to carry (an 11 year old can walk all day long, but turn them into a 'pack mule' carrying more than 25 pounds for very far and everybody is in for a long day). On the other hand, I've always been impressed with the idea of 'ultralight' packing; however, the cost of the equipment quickly gets out-of-hand for most families. There's nothing like spending several hundred dollars on a pack, tent, sleeping bag, stove, etc. and then finding out that the kid doesn't really go for hauling the gear around.
My intent with Thriftypacking is to develop backpacking and camping gear that is as economical as possible, and can hold up to the rigours of 'normal' use. While the equipment won't be designed for years of usage, it should be cheap enough to replace when its no longer usable.
I'm setting down several ground rules for the gear that I'm building:
1) The materials must be available at discount/hardware store. I'm avoiding anything that comes from a specialized store or has to be ordred over the internet.
2) The gear has to be relatively light (not the lightest) but light enough that the average kid can pack 3 days worth of gear, and easily pack it 5-10 miles a day.
3) The material should be as affordable a possible. Thrift stores can serve as a good source of materials; however, a certain amount of luck and skill are required to find precisely what you need. I avoided listing thrift store materials unless I was fairly certain that items would be readily available in thrift stores everywhere.
4) The gear should be easy to make. There are quite a few resources online for making gear, however, making these items might require more experience/skills than the average 12 year can muster.
5) The gear has to work. I hope to trial the gear, find what works and fix what doesn't.
