In Troop 116, all we ask is that you have a Scout shirt, with the appropriate patches, and that it be tucked in. Also, when it’s a Court of Honor or some other fancy event, please refrain from wearing sweat pants.
We recommend a short-sleeve shirt, a bit on the roomy side, for a few reasons:
- Long sleeves are intolerably hot at summer camp
- Short sleeves can just be put on over long-sleeved underlayers when it gets colder
- A bit of room to grow
Scout shirts are currently about $50 (free, if you can find an old one in the Troop Room). You will also eventually need a merit badge sash (usually after their first summer camp). That’s another $15.
But that’s all you have to buy. We will provide a Scout handbook and all the basic patches (pro tip: teach them how to sew them on now so you’re not stuck doing it until they’re off to college—also: life skill).
There’s no need to buy any other official SA stuff. That said, the official Scout pants are actually pretty good these days: performance fabric, zip-off legs, cargo pockets, and at $55–$60 cheaper than most brand-name trousers with similar features. (Just don’t get the cheap canvas ones.)
That’s it for uniforms. There is some basic camping/outdoors gear they will need, covered here.
Where can I get a Scout shirt?
There are three ways to get a Scout shirt (or other Scouting-branded stuff):
- Scoutshop.org: The official online shop for Scouting America.
- Our local Scout store: This is at our local Council headquarters, currently at 901 E 8th Ave, Suite 103, King of Prussia, PA, 19406-1354. It is just off Moore Rd. (turn at the American Heritage Credit Union).
[Note they are no longer at the old HQ on Valley Forge Rd. For that matter, the Scout shop is no longer in the Plymouth Meeting Mall, like it was in the 1970s and 80s.] - The troop room: We usually have a few old donated shirts hanging around the troop—conveniently, particularly in the smaller sizes. Bonus: They may already have some of the patches on there! (Then again, many of them have been stripped of patches, making them look like someone got extremely dishonorably discharged.)