National Jamboree

National Jamboree is a fantastic event and many lessons were learned by attending this.  

Camp Equipment

Having the right gear is always important.   You will be there for 2 weeks and extra luxuries are nice to have. 

Tent

Scouts and Adults should figure this out before departing to Jamboree.  Large car camping style tents were used.  2 Scouts or 1 adult per tent. 

Camp Chair

A camp chair is a must for National Jamboree.  Some adults packed giant camp chairs while other packed something that was easier to pack.  The bigger ones were more comfortable but needed a larger bag to pack them. 

Scouts who brought economy camp chairs destroyed them.

Recommendation - Camp chair - bring one. 

Lockbox and Locks. 

Theft is always a concern.  A small Pelican Case with lock was nice to have for medications, extra money, passports and other valuables.  Some people locked up their swag.  

A steel cable will allow you to lock off of your bags and charging bank together.   

A lock on your tent deterred visitors in camp. 

Recommendation - Small lockbox or use a pelican case as a carry-on;  Extra locks for your check-in bags and one for your tent.

Clothing

Uniforms

A full Scout Uniform is required for the opening and closing ceremony, while on tour and when traveling on the plane.

Patches didn't arrive until just prior to the Jamboree.  Some Troops, with less experience or organization, did not get some of their patches prior to departure. 

Our Troop 60 Scouts brought 3 uniforms for a dual National and World Jamboree event.  One uniform was worn and the other two came back with tags still attached.  One adult wore full uniform for most of these two events, and still just used one top.  It was washed frequently and would dry overnight or while being worn.  

Some Adults didn't have all their patches or new patches sewn on their uniforms.  Although this is not preferred, you can get away with bringing your home uniform with you and wash it as needed, at least in high heat areas.

For the most part, full uniforms were NOT worn during the event.  Most chose to wear a Scout T-shirt and pants or shorts.  Even at ceremonies, most US members wore a Scout T-shirt due to the heat. 

Recommendation - have one fully decked out uniform for wear and pack a second top if you have one. 

Pants vs Shorts

This is personal preference.  If your Troop is prepared, it will have bucket to wash clothes in.  Some Scouts won't wash their clothes the entire Jamboree and should therefor pack more clothing. 

Recommendation - 1-2 pairs of green pants and 1-2 pairs of shorts; more for Scouts who just won't do laundry

Shirts

Scouts and Adults leaders mostly wore T-shirts.  Having several would allow you to wash one while wearing the a clean one.  

Recommendation - 2+ official Scout T-shirts and other t-shirt

Hat

Nice to have and worn by some.

Recommendation - Hat provided 

Socks

A weeks' worth is nice and a little overkill, unless you get your feet wet a lot.  

Recommendation - 6 pairs of wool socks or Scout socks

Footwear

Trailrunners work well.  You should have shower shoes for the shower to protect your feet from all the fungus there. 

Recommendation - 1 pair of Trailrunners; 1 set or shower shoes 

Underwear

Underwear is honestly optional in the tropics and subtropics.  Wearing moist clothing next to your private parts all day in hot environments puts you at risk of developing a nasty fungal infection.  If underwear is used, it must be changed out daily and washed and dried. 

Pajamas and Sleep Clothes

Having clean and dry clothing for sleep is nice to have. 

Rain Jacket

It rains at National Jamboree.  A rainjacket, poncho or umbrella is highly recommended. 

Recommendation - rainjacket, poncho or travel umbrella

Warm Layer

It may get cool at night.  A sweatshirt can be nice to have late at night or early in the morning. 

Recommendation - one sweatshirt or softshell jacket in case it cools down

Electronics

Less is more.

Laptop

Unless your job requires this, it is best left at home.  

Recommendation - not worth it's weight and one more thing that could get stollen or broken

Cellphone

A cellphone is vital to have.  Carry cables for your powerbank and if that isn't USB, carry a USB cable to chage on other powerbanks or at charging stations

Recommendation - Charge it overnight and pack a pocket powerbank with you.  Don't forget extra cables.

Charger

I packed a SinKeu 146Wh Portable Power Station with SinKeu 40W Foldable Solar Panel.  This proved to be very nice at National Jamboree, where I could recharge the power station in just a few hours in the AM.  

This was overkill, but allows you to indepently charge your powerbank without trusting that it won't disappear at a charging station. 

Recommendation - A pocket sized powerbank and appropriate charger is a minimum, but a larger powerbank is so nice to have. 

LED Lantern

I had may favorite LED lantern and used it for an entire month on the same fresh batteries.  It was not used for late night reading.  Late nights were used for sleeping.  A small lantern was far better than using a headlamp

Recommendation - small LED lantern

GPS Tracker

This was packed in Scout Backpack.  This proved very useful on multiple occasions. 

Personal Gear

Wallet and Cash

Wallet with basic ID was carried at all times.  Credit or Debit card might be needed for a cold drink or purchasing swag.

US dollars were carried in shirt pocket for emergency use and at the food court.

Water Bottle

A water bottle was carried at ALL times.  I used a 1 liter metal Klean Kanteen hung from a carabineer from a belt.  If a backpack was worn, it was carried on the outside. 

Most attendees had a large water bottle in their backpack.  Some hung them from a belt or carried it in a cargo pocket.  Others had a fancy holder with strap for their bottle. 

Recommendation - sturdy 1 liter bottle and a way to carry it

Pocket Roster

Pocket Roster with everyone in Troop separated by Patrol with contact information.  This was used a lot. 

Sunglasses

Vital in the blazing sun. 

Phone

Needed for everyday communication. 

Knife

Always handy.  Some adults from various parts of America and not comfortable with knives, so don't flash your around.  A small lockblade or pocket knife came in handy several times.

Recommendation - small knife

Jamboree ID

Not having this can cause issues.  Wear around neck or affix it to your shirt. 

Neckerchief

It's just part of your Jamboree attire. 

Backpack Gear

First Aid Kit

Not used, but good to have.

Extra Socks

Not used, but good to have.

Emergency Meds

Nice to have 

Hand Sanitizer

Nice to have!  Scouts loved to high 5 each other.  Many later had Covid or Influenza. 

Wet Wipes

Use to clean hands as needed.  Use as toilet paper if needed.  

Headlamp and LED Mini Light

Nice to have if it gets dark.

Water Bottle

Main 1 liter water bottle always carried.  Extra bottle sometimes carried for more remote trips.   

Food and Snacks

Need to have these. 

Swag

When people want to trade, you have something to trade.