60-Minute Activity Plan: The Great Gear Sort

Looking for a practical Scouts equipment activity that teaches more than simply naming outdoor kit? The Great Gear Sort challenges Beavers, Cubs and Scouts to choose, pack and prioritise equipment for different outdoor situations. As the weather and circumstances change, teams must rethink their choices and explain why particular items are important.

Rather than simply testing whether they can name equipment, this activity encourages them to think about purpose, priorities, weight and changing conditions.

Before You Start

Collect a selection of genuine outdoor equipment alongside a few harmless everyday objects.

You could use a water bottle, waterproof jacket, map, compass, torch, hat, first-aid kit, food, spare socks, whistle, notebook, gloves, sun cream and small personal items.

Mix these with less useful objects such as a book, toy, large mug, unnecessary spare clothing or other safe items.

For older Scouts, you can add several objects where the answer isn’t obvious. A cord, emergency shelter, spare batteries or extra food may become more or less useful depending on the scenario.

Lay everything out where teams can see it clearly.

Safety

Use clean, safe equipment and avoid including medication, sharp tools or other hazardous items unless they are being handled directly by a suitably responsible leader.

Keep the equipment area tidy so bags, ropes and loose items don’t become trip hazards.

If young people are carrying loaded backpacks, keep the weight light and appropriate for their age. The activity is about decision-making, not testing how much weight they can carry.

Remind everyone that the exercise is a simulated planning activity. In real outdoor situations, equipment choices should always reflect the route, weather, group and circumstances.

0–10 Minutes: What’s in the Bag?

Place all the equipment in front of the group.

Ask:

“You’re going out for a few hours. Which of these things would you take?”

Give everyone a couple of minutes to look without touching anything.

Then let teams begin sorting the equipment into three areas:

Take it
Maybe
Leave it

Don’t tell them whether their decisions are correct.

Instead, ask questions such as:

“What would you use that for?”

“Would the answer change if it started raining?”

This gets them thinking about equipment as a solution to a problem rather than simply a collection of things they are expected to carry.

10–20 Minutes: Build the Day Pack

Give each team a rucksack or bag.

Their first challenge is to create a sensible day pack from the equipment available.

Give them a fictional route:

“You’re going on a three-hour walk in mixed countryside. The weather forecast is dry but cool.”

Teams must decide what goes in the bag.

Once they’re finished, ask each team to explain its three most important items.

Don’t immediately tell them what they should have chosen.

The purpose of the exercise is to expose different ways of thinking.

20–30 Minutes: The Weight Limit

Now introduce a restriction.

Tell the teams:

“Your pack is too heavy. You need to remove three items.”

They have to decide what goes.

This is where the discussion becomes more interesting.

An item that seemed unnecessary before might suddenly seem important once other items have been removed.

For Scouts, give every item an imaginary weight and set a maximum total.

They must build the best pack they can while staying under the limit.

This introduces the idea that good outdoor preparation involves balancing usefulness against weight and space.

30–42 Minutes: Change the Weather

Give each team a new scenario.

For example:

“The forecast has changed. Heavy rain is now expected.”

Give them five minutes to modify their packs.

Then introduce another:

“The walk is taking longer than expected and it will be dark before you return.”

Allow another few minutes for them to adapt.

The point is to show that equipment decisions depend on circumstances.

For younger sections, make the changes obvious.

For Scouts, avoid telling them what the problem requires. Let them work it out.

42–52 Minutes: The Missing Item

Now remove one important piece of equipment from each team’s pack.

Don’t tell them what is missing.

Ask:

“Something has gone missing. What problem could this create?”

Teams have to inspect their remaining equipment and identify what they think is missing.

For Cubs, make the missing item fairly obvious.

For Scouts, remove something where there could be several reasonable answers and ask them to justify their choice.

This encourages them to think in terms of consequences.

52–57 Minutes: Pack Check

Each team gives its final pack a quick check.

Ask them to imagine that they are leaving in five minutes.

What have they forgotten?

What is difficult to replace?

What would be particularly useful if something went wrong?

For Scouts, introduce a simple final question:

“If you could add only one more item, what would it be?”

The answer matters less than the reasoning behind it.

57–60 Minutes: Final Review

Bring everyone together.

Ask:

“Did your most important item stay the same throughout the activity?”

Then discuss how the best equipment choice depends on the situation.

A waterproof jacket might be unnecessary on a warm, dry day but extremely valuable during heavy rain. A torch might not be needed for a short daytime walk but becomes much more important if the return journey could extend into darkness.

Finish by reminding the group that preparation isn’t about taking everything.

It’s about thinking ahead.

Adapting for Different Ages

Beavers

Use fewer items and keep the scenarios simple.

Focus on identifying basic equipment such as a drink, waterproof clothing, hat, snack and torch.

Rather than introducing a weight limit, ask Beavers to choose five things they think they would need.

Cubs

Give Cubs a larger selection and introduce the idea of changing weather.

They can sort equipment into categories and explain why particular items have been chosen.

A simple “remove three items” challenge works particularly well for this age group.

Scouts

Make the decisions more realistic.

Give Scouts a route, weather forecast, estimated duration and weight limit.

You can also introduce specialist situations such as an overnight delay, navigation problems or a change in temperature.

Challenge them to distinguish between essential, useful and nice to have equipment.

Leader Notes

Try not to turn the activity into a quiz where the leader has a predetermined list of correct answers.

Outdoor equipment is highly dependent on circumstances.

Instead, concentrate on the reasoning behind each decision.

If a Scout chooses not to pack something you consider important, ask:

“What would you do if the situation changed?”

That question often leads to much better learning than simply saying, “You should have taken it.”

This activity also provides a useful opportunity to discuss the difference between being prepared and carrying everything just in case.

Good outdoor planning means considering the route, weather, duration, group and potential problems before deciding what to take.

Learning Outcomes

By the end of the activity, young people should have had opportunities to:

Final Thought for Leaders

A well-packed rucksack isn’t necessarily the one with the most equipment.

It’s the one that contains the right equipment for the situation.

The Great Gear Sort gives young people a chance to discover this through trial, discussion and changing scenarios. It also creates a useful habit of thinking beyond “What should I take?” and towards the much better question:

“What might I need, and why?”