A Scout is thrifty … with backpacks?

A Scout is thrifty. We make good use of the tools we have, and we only buy new ones when they’re needed.

Our family has had an orange-and-green Kelty daypack for years. We got it when my wife worked for an outdoor company … and that was 24 years ago.

Yes, this pack is older than my son. Heck, it’s almost twice as old as my son.

The Kelty went on dozens of trips, including a bunch of scout trips like Gettysburg and Washington, D.C. It’s been drenched in rainstorms, soaked in mud, and tossed in the back of a lot of trucks.

I’ve used it a lot but, truth be told. It’s not a very good pack. It only has one exterior compartment. It has a tiny interior sleeve that’s only good for putting things in … and then forgetting about those things. It doesn’t have a frame, interior compartments, a hip belt, or any place to put a bottle of water. It’s not very comfortable – especially when you’re carrying a day’s worth of gear

And, truth be told. It doesn’t smell very good.

So yes, I was thrifty … and but I wasn’t particularly smart.

After all that time, I finally got a new day pack. It is a very spiffy Osprey Stratos 24. It is a 24 liter, internal frame pack. It has multiple external pockets (great for storing and finding your keys), sleeves for external or an internal water bottle, and a hip belt. It’s torso height is adjustable and it even comes with its own built-in rain cover.

It cost $140, which wasn’t cheap. But just because it was’t cheap, doesn’t mean I wasn’t thrifty. Thrifty also means that you carefully use time and property (or in this case, money). This pack does exactly what I need it to do (which I learned using a pack that didn’t do most of what I needed it to do) It’s a well-built pack that both my son and I can use and it will likely last me a good long time (though maybe not as long as the other pack).

Choosing the right tool, saving up for that tool, and then buying it, can be ever bit as thrifty re-using the same pack over and over again. That’s something to keep in mind when you’re buying your own gear, be it a new backpack, a new computer, or a new car. Thrifty doesn’t mean cheap – it means being purposeful and mindful of your time, money, and property.

Ken Newquist is the scoutmaster of BSA Troop 3 in Easton, Pa.