I scored, I think . . .

[SCLocke]

Our scout troop decided they wanted to start backpacking. I'm new to backpacking and trying to gear up my son and myself as cheep as possible. The information I learned here has been GREAT, THANK YOU!

Stopped by my local Goodwill store this morning looking for light weight clothing. Needed a light jacket, shorts, shirts, really just looking.

Found a few items I liked;
a Charles River polyester pull over wind shirt
a Easter Mountain Sports down vest
a Old College Inn Nylon wind breaker
a long sleeve Starter compression shirt

All very light and compressible.

On my last lap around the store, I spotted a few sleeping bags. In and amongst the Dora the Explorer and the My Little Princess bags was a down bag. Pulled it out and found a Mountain Hardware Cloud Rest 5*-15* bag. No price. Asked, and was told $6.99.

Grabbed the bag and the other items, checked out. Grand total $22.95

I may have to go back. Biggest reason I went in the first place was on the advice from those of you here. . . .

Thanks again

[Dash]

After spending over $900 this week alone on gear at BASS PRO I might have to go to Goodwill also I have one about a mile from my house.
Thanks for the tip, now i might be able to return some stuff.

[Old Hiker]

Nice score, SCLocke !! Goodwill is hit or miss, but when you find the right items (or close to what you REALLY want), the price is usually great! Never thought to look for a down bag - I need to start poking through them.

[Sailing_Faith]

Congrats! Sounds like a great score!

[johnnybgood]

Goodwill has always been a favorite of mine. I too have scored on wicking polyester shirts and even a down jacket. Here in Virginia however sleeping bags cannot be resold once used.

[Wise Old Owl]

Tom - Great Score - unless you have a small troop you need to think a little bigger...You are investing in boys careers and experiences! The Gear will show up when you adjust the troop website. Put a geeky kid in charge of the post site and tell him he is the latest windfall. I dump a 1/2 ton ultra light stuff (Humor) on the BS. Lets just say from first impressions on the thread - you need to get Game!

[SCLocke]

Tom - Great Score - unless you have a small troop you need to think a little bigger...You are investing in boys careers and experiences! The Gear will show up when you adjust the troop website. Put a geeky kid in charge of the post site and tell him he is the latest windfall. I dump a 1/2 ton ultra light stuff (Humor) on the BS. Lets just say from first impressions on the thread - you need to get Game!

WOO, you are right. We rarely look outside the Troop or parents for help with equipment or expenses. Actually, I don't even know if we have a troop website.... If we do it's not active or updated. So do troops ask for gear on forum sites or do you seek them out?

We are a Troop of around 20 to 25 boys, 8 of those are first year Boy Scouts. We only have ten that are interested in back packing right now, and we are just getting starting. Most of the boys have gotten their equipment, or at least what they think they need. I've just been dragging my feet, trying to spread out the cost over time since I'm buying for me and my son. Had equipment that I could use, but bulky and heavy. Been looking for deals, the down bag being a good example. One of my fears was to drop a lot of cash and then have the boys change their minds.

We are set to do an overnight trip next weekend with a short 5-6 mile hike. This will be our first shake-down hike as a Troop. A longer trip is planned for November. It's a start.