Speading out the crew gear

[Nate Ward]

I'm having a hard time with what I know is fair and what may need to be done….I know I need to spread the crew gear out amongst everyone fairly, considering their body size, strength and ability. However, I just can't load one boy down because he has spent the money to buy top quality, light weight gear. I have some that will not or can't spend the money on good gear, do I load up Johnny because he has good gear and let Mikey carry less of the crew stuff because his base gear is heavy….I don't know why this is bothering me…in 2010 this didn't come to issue with us, all of us had about the same quality/weight gear…2016, I have done some and will get some more quality light weight gear for my son and I.

[Ken Thompson]

If you would divide your crew gear equally how much would each persons share be? I'm curious. What all does crew gear entail?

[Nate Ward]

It's not a great deal of weight for all the crew gear…2 ropes, 2 stoves plus fuel, fly, 2 pots (if I decide to do their method of cooking, which I may) plus all the other odds and ends. I just don't feel right making a boy that spent the money to lighten his base weight, carry more crew gear. (my son and I are two of these people) However, do I want a young man carrying 10-15 lbs more, while my son, who is in great shape and strong as an ox, carries a light pack. I can see both sides of this fence, just looking for opinions

[Rick Adams]

It is up to your crew leader to work it out with the other boys. Our guys decided equal shares with the exception of our weakest guy who will still carry a crew item. The boys are very concerned with fair as teenagers.

[Tyler H]

Despite the fact I don't know these boys, I'll be happy to jump in!

I think you should spread out the gear evenly. I wasn't a Boy Scout, but isn't Philmont more about teamwork and backcountry skills and whatnot than spending a bunch of money on Cuben tarps and pushing the limits of your UL kit? Try to make the shared aspect of the gear a weight asset instead of burden, many of the heaviest things will be shared (tent, stove).

I would also try to help the other boys find economical ways to lighten their packs. UL clothes can be bought cheaply at a thrift store. Lightweight aluminum cooking equipment can also be found pretty cheap at thrift stores, Walmart, online. Likewise for canister stoves. Sleeping bags could be harder, but its the middle of July right? Lots of different approaches to cheap, lightweight packs.

Edited addition: If the boys decided democratically on their own during the trip that they wanted to rearrange group gear to make the team better, I wouldn't stop them.

I think you can make it work by helping the other boys find the best thing they can afford and focusing on the natural and interpersonal experience instead of the stuff.

[Nate Ward]

I guess the thing I'm trying to justify in my mind is….I am 190 lbs, there may be a boy 140lbs carrying the same weight, do to the fact I have base gear. I feel like this is rational but is it ethical? Another example, my son, 140lbs, his base weight will be around 10 lbs, throw in water, food and crew gear he should be around 30 to 35. Little Johnny at the same body weight may be 10 lbs heavier. Do I put more on my son (punish him since he has the UL gear) or evenly distribute the weight according to size and ability of the boy.

There is no correct answer here, just wondering if anyone has had these thoughts

[Jay L]

As Rick said above – this is something for the crew to work out for themselves. It sounds like they have their personal gear pretty well set so they surely know who is heavy and who is light and who has put in the money/effort to lighten up.

The crew leader and quartermaster know what crew gear needs to be distributed. Give them a time limit then set back and watch while they make it happen.

[Mark Rash]

What I did for our crew is put all of the individual crew gear items in a spreadsheet. I sorted the items by weight from heaviest to lightest. The gear will be divided evenly among all the boys. Each boy gets about 2 to 2.5 lbs of crew gear.

The division of crew gear is irrespective of pack weight, but the tallest/strongest guy will get the very heaviest one piece of crew gear.

Don't give the lighter pack guys more than their fair division of crew gear. The heaviest piece of gear is the Philmont issued tarp at 4 lbs. Pick up a 20 oz. silnylon tarp for around $110 to take.

[Michael Ray]

I've never been there, but I'd expect it to be like any other outing where adjustments may need to be made on the fly. If it's obvious a Scout (or Scouter) is holding the crew up, it would make sense to move things around for the greater good. Where I'd have an issue is if little Johnny or old Bob missed most of the shakedowns, didn't train in advance, etc. so it comes down more to teaching responsibility vs punishing the crew by going slower. If they had put in the effort and just can't keep up then take some weight off. I'd hope some of the stronger Scouts would volunteer for that.

[Daniel Lee]

First off… This is part of the challenge for the boys to work out. You can offer suggestions but if they come up with the solution, I think you'll have far less grumbling and they'll also feel the process was fair. My two cents would be to recommend a proportional weight distribution so the 110# boy is carrying 2% of his body weight and the 190# boy is also carrying the same percentage. One rule that I have found that works is to also mandate that no boy is carrying more than 25% of his body weight, whether they have top of the line UL or run of the mill gear. Again, that's the challenge for the crew leader to work out with his crew. FWIW…

[Matt Dirksen]

Having gone as an assistant crew leader in my youth, and as an advisor twice, I can assure you (as was mentioned several times) that the "best" thing is to empower the boys to figure it out on their own.

The solution for the first few days may not work so well later on during the trek, and it will be up to the crew leader to stay on top of the "temperature" of everyone.

I will say that as an advisor, you are in a role to council the crew leader on how he/she might create consensus with the crew. That's it.

And yet, how did I help? I whipped up a spreadsheet right as we were leaving of all their body weights and their "pre crew gear" pack weights. I showed them what each persons percent to body weight they were carrying. They all knew that they should try to keep that percent below 30%, as a rule of thumb. If you have a crew member who is capable of keeping track of this data prior to departure, that could be a good teaching piece.

The boys did the rest, distributing the gear, keeping in mind that some boys were more "capable" carriers, just by their athletic physique.

The only base weight that was relevant was the entire crews.

And how the boys managed the gear changed every day during the trek.

[M B]

Like someone elses said. If crew gear is more than 3 lb person, your doing something wrong. Its really not a big deal.

Its not going to make or break anyone, no matter how small they are

Most kids parents are cheap, and stupid. They show up borrowed boots that are too big, with crap gear, etc. You cant fix these things.

Fortunately, they fit right in. Most there are insanely heavy.

Because one kid has a light pack, doesnt mean hes making the others heavier. Hes not.

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