Here is the kit list I drew up the other day as part of my DofE talk. I think most of it is fairly obvious stuff; it’s all kit that has received decent reviews, is reasonably priced, and has a good value to weight ratio. The list is just an example of possible choices and was put together to give some ideas. It should not be treated as a definitive list of must-purchase items. As most of the groups have 4-6 members, the expensive kit like tents and cooking equipment can be divided between twos or threes, which will reduce the cost considerably. I’ve left out most of the clothing and footwear as they should already own these items.
| Item | Brand | Information | Weight in Grams | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pack and Shelter | In Pack | Cost | ||
| Pack | Vango | Contour 60 +10 | 2450 | £45.00 |
| Pack | Berghaus | Verden 65 | 2250 | £70.00 |
| Pack | Lowe Alpine | TFX Outback 65:80 | 2250 | £110.00 |
| Tent | Vango | Spectre 200 | 2500 | £80.00 |
| Tent | Vango | Spectre 300 | 3150 | £99.00 |
| Tent | Wild Country | Duolite | 2400 | £149.00 |
| Sleeping | ||||
| Mat | Alpkit | Slim Arctic Mat (buy 2, save £10) 3cm deep | 740 | £30.00 |
| Mat | Vango | Ultralite Full 2.5cm deep | 650 | £25.00 |
| Mat | Vango | Ultralite 3/4 2.5cm deep | 430 | £20.00 |
| Sleeping Bag | Vango | Ultralite 200 +5°c | 925 | £45.00 |
| Sleeping Bag | Vango | Ultralite 300 +2°c | 1200 | £49.00 |
| Sleeping Bag | Mountain Hardwear | Lamina 20 -7°c | 1400 | £100.00 |
| Pillow | Exped | Air Pillow | 85 | £16.00 |
| Pillow | Coleman | Comfact Pillow | 180 | £3.00 |
| Cooking | ||||
| Stove | MSR | Pocket Rocket | 86 | £24.00 |
| Gas | Any | 250 Cart | 360 | £4.00 |
| Pots | Go System | Cookset 3 | 790 | £25.00 |
| Stove | Trangia | Trangia 27 | 850 | £42.00 |
| Fuel Bottle | Trangia | 1l fuel bottle | 300 | £10.00 |
| Cutlery | Plastic | Free from any cafe etc. | 50 | £0.00 |
| Cutlery | Lifeventure | Titanium Cutlery Set | 52 | £15.00 |
| Mug | Lifeventure | Lexan Mug (plastic) | 90 | £6.00 |
| Mug | Lifeventure | Titanium Mug | 70 | £15.00 |
| Plate/Bowl | Lifeventure | Lexan Bowl (plastic) | 65 | £5.00 |
| Washing Up Stuff | Home Made | Cut down sponge and some soap | 50 | £0.00 |
| Navigation | ||||
| Compass | Silva | Ranger 3 | 30 | £14.00 |
| Map Case | Ortlieb | Good map case | 62 | £12.00 |
| Wet Weather Gear | ||||
| Coat | Waterproof Jacket | |||
| Trousers | Waterproof Overtrousers | |||
| Clothing | ||||
| LS Top Base | This stuff is up to you. You will probably own suitable clothes already, so there is no need to spend lots of money on new clothing. Just make sure you have a wicking base layer, some sort of fleece mid layer and something warm for the evenings. Don’t forget your socks! | |||
| Trousers Base | ||||
| Socks | ||||
| Underwear | ||||
| Trousers | ||||
| Fleece Top | ||||
| Down Vest | If you own or buy a down vest/jacket be sure to keep it dry! It will provide no benefit if it gets damp/wet. Keep it wrapped in its own dry bag when not in use. | |||
| Hat | ||||
| Gloves | ||||
| Footwear | ||||
| Walking Boots | Again, you should already own a good pair of broken in walking boots. You could also take shoes for around camp | |||
| Flip-Flops | ||||
| Accessories | ||||
| Pack Liner | Any heavy duty bag will do the job. Don’t use ordinary bin bags! | £1.50 | ||
| Stuff Sacks | Exped | Fold Dry Bags multipack | 350 | £20.00 |
| Water Bottle | There are several ways to carry water on the move. You could use a bottle, hydration system (such as a camelbak) or flexible water container (such as a platypus). | |||
| Water Container | ||||
| Water Treatment | Lifesystems | Chlorine & Neutralising Tablets | 70 | £7.00 |
| Water Treatment | Drink Safe Systems | Travel Tap-water bottle with integrated filter | 150 | £35.00 |
| Water Treatment | Steripen | UV Water treatment | 150 | £75.00 |
| Water Treatment | MSR | Hyperflow Microfilter | 200 | £80.00 |
| Torch | There are a few good head torches around. Look for something that’s lightweight, uses LEDs and has a battery saving mode (which will reduce the brightness) | £30.00 | ||
| Personal | ||||
| First Aid Kit | Lifesystems | Trek First Aid Kit | 240 | £10.00 |
| Wash Kit | Toothbrush, soap, deodorant etc. Make this up yourself and keep in a ziplock bag | £0.00 | ||
| Wet Wipes | Any | Travel wipes are great when camping | 55 | £1.00 |
| Towel | Non-Brand | You could just take a tea-towel or similar | 75 | £0.00 |
| Towel | MSR | Packtowl ultralite small | 15 | £10.00 |
| Trowel + Loo Roll | If you’re not wild camping this shouldn’t be necessary. I’d still take loo roll though! | £5.00 | ||
I’ve tried to give a cheaper and more expensive option for each item, with the more expensive item usually being slightly lighter, although this is not always the case. The sleeping bags are an example of this exception, with the more expensive ones being generally warmer.
If you choose the cheapest options in each of the categories you end up spending around £360, which is still a lot of money for your average DofE participant. However, as I said before, the costs can be kept to a minimum by each group member buying a different piece of equipment. It might also be possible to borrow items like tents from the assessors or from friends and family. I seem to remember taking a 5kg dome tent for my bronze expedition, complete with steel porch poles! This was still manageable as it was split between three of us, although you wouldn’t catch me taking it now!
Prices quoted here are taken from either The Outdoor Shop, The Climber’s Shop, or BackpackingLight.co.uk. These tend to be my go-to places when buying kit, as I find that they are consistently cheaper than places like Cotswold Outdoor. It’s interesting to note that for several items, The Outdoor Shop was cheaper than Cotswold, even after applying the DofE discount to the Cotswold price! That’s a steep markup, so shop around and grab yourself a bargain.