Recommended equipment for Success in a Forest School
Children's camping and hiking equipment is a nebulous topic. Much of the available products are not appropriate for regular use.
Our "stewards" need equipment to serve as actual useful gear that will not fail your children day after day, 2000 hours a year. Note: Do not buy anything until after you talk to your guide, we make updates and changes to our recommendations FASTER that we update this page!
There are 4 categories of gear.
- A specific hiking backpack of a specific color which is required.
- Gear that is required for your child to carry or wear, but you can choose any brand you want.
- Gear that is required for wet or cold weather, but we'll store it on site.
- Gear that is optional that can improve comfort.
All of our recommendations are inexpensive, easy to find, and replaceable.
2: Gear that is required to carry in the backpack, but not brand specific. Check with Guide before buying!
Link to our Recommended shoeFor the record, we prefer children be barefoot. However, central Texas is not a SAFE setting for barefootedness. Our focus is on the most minimal shoe set-up we can safely pull-of.
The #1 feature of shoes is something they can pull on and off easily. Autonomy and agency (The ability to change the world are key. If a person is unable to do their own shoes without help, it's a terrible feeling of helplessness. Imagine that was you? That after a long day of work you could not lay down in bed unless someone helped you take off your shoes. Also, young bodies need rest, if they can't manipulate their shoes EASILY and QUICKLY they will not take a rest inside the tent where shoes aren't allowed. Helplessness crushes the sense of agency that a young person is vitally trying to develop.
For dry weather hiking, we DO NOT recommend hiking boots and instead recommend lightweight tennis or water shoes. Our little stewards aren't six foot ankle twisting hikers. Flexibility and light footedness are key.
We also DO NOT recommend opened toed shoes. They are wonderful for walks or general play. But for hiking with biting bugs, ticks, fleas, chiggers, and itchy plants like poison ivy, opened toed shoes and hiking sandals are a recipe for discomfort. The great exception is if they wear the sandals with socks. #dadstyle One popular shoe brand for this is called "Keens."
Flexible soles are important: Inflexible soles of shoes are good for a construction site, but flat footnotes and other foot problems adults suffer from are a result of "American Foot Binding" (Definitely read this article) the ridiculous shoes made for children. They need thin-soled and flexible shoes. If it wasn't for sharp stones, bugs, and itchy plants: The kids would be barefoot!
Our recommendation of shoe, is cheap and effective. If you find something else, let us know the brand and we'll include the recommendation. Keens sandals are good with socks (expect socks to go missing from time to time).
For winter excursions, you may elect to outfit your adventurer in a warmer shoe than we recommend, that is fine so long as you follow the guidelines above.
Improper shoes are a real problem and will result in exclusion from our adventures until your child is set up for success.
June And January long pants
Here in Central Texas it gets hot, but do not be tempted to send kids in shorts. Everything in Texas is itchy. We have microscopic spiders that bite, called Chiggers, ticks, and Poison Ivy. Long pants are required.
Additionally, the pants need to be something that children can pull up and down on their own, even when they are wet. Kindergarten aged children are at the golden age to develop autonomy and self-trust. If they are not able to take care of their own potty needs from their pants, then they will need help and this steals from them an opportunity for learning self reliance. The brand we recommend is designed by local parents here who have the same views of child-development. They created their pants aware of these developmental needs and produced an amazing product.
There are other brands, that we'll add here over time that work best.
Finally, there is a Buy-Sell-Trade group for this company on Facebook with a cult following of parents. You might see one of our students as their models.
We joke that the Forest Kindergarten is where clothes goes to die. And this is true. If you elect to buy something however, we recommend June And January for the same reasons as the pants. Not only is the company in line with our values, they are local and inexpensive.
Additionally, having Forest School clothes of a particular brand/color will help you keep track of them for treatment for bugs (more on this optional treatment below).
We use the Potette brand travel potties if we're not near an outhouse. The bags they sell are bulky and expensive. Diapers are actually cheaper. Some boys do not have bowel movements during the hiking hours, and won't need it.
We recommend a different brand, which is cheap, and will last quite a long time. It is sold in a roll that fits perfectly in the top pouch of the backpack.
If you want a travel potty for your own travel needs: Check out what we use.
I never want to test another water bottle after the first-world nightmare of testing so many others. What a tedious test. Any water bottle will do, but water bottles are made for adults, then they take the same machinery and make it “squat” for kids. Also, they are made so it's impossible for kids to open and make a mess of. This is contradictory to our goals of having them be able to do it. Additionally certain shapes of water bottles get trapped under the elastic opening on the backpack's water bottle holder. If the bottle is too long, they slip out.
In the heat of Texas, water is key. It needs to be easy and accessible. Also, the “stewards” need to be able to open the bottles to refill themselves. Just like the pants, autonomy is key. Finally, they are responsible for maintaining their gear, so something they can clean themselves is ideal.
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If it tapers at the top: no good get's trapped in the bag.
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If the diameter of the base is too wide, it won't fit in their pack, or the contents of the pack may make it difficult to fit in.
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The popular Replay cups: No good. They can leak, and they get trapped in the bag, and they can't open the lids.
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If it is plastic: Probably no good. It will bake all day long in the sun, leaching into the water.
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If it has a smooth body, probably no good, they fall out.
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If it has a straw or lots of hinging parts: It breaks, and are difficult for your child to clean.
We recommend the 11 Ounce Puro bottles with the sports opening. This water bottle is the perfect dimensions for the backpack, it's easy to open to refill and clean, all the parts can be purchased separately if any are damaged, they are of a chemical free durable material, and the outside has a silicone sleeve that perfectly grips the backpack so there is no slipping. It's also really cheap.
Our “stewards” take care of their gear, including their eating tools. They have their own dedicated plate and fork/spork set-up. After eating, we don't have the equipment to clean it in the field (we clean when we get back), therefore, they will have a messy plate in their pack. When messy plates spill into the pack, the pack gets gross, attracts ants, all sorts of problems.
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The mess kit must have a sealed lid that can hold water and won't pop off.
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The UCO 4 piece works like a charm. But it is a bit bulky. We use ours from time to time.
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Food Storage containers, or used take-out containers with lids work, but they can fail and leak.
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No need for little cups and lots of silverware. Just a spork is fine.
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Inside the mess kit, when it's not in use, store a little hand rag or paper towel.
We haven't finished testing the best storage container, but any leak-proof storage container that fits, will work for now.
Any key chain or object you can tie on will do fine. For our son, we use a name tag as it helps him recognize his name and the associated letters. (Here is a link to his)
- One note, if you use a name name tag, please make sure it has a grommet and strong cord. Our Stewards tend to pull on the tags as a zipper and they can break off.
On our field tests of all the gear, we quickly learned that its too difficult to keep the entire backpack dry. Instead, dry stuff is put in a waterproof bag.
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Wet bags for hikers – too big, too expensive.
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Wet bags for diapers – don't work, the outisde fabric soaks inward. And they are too big.
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Zip-lock bags. They work as a temporary solution, but they won't survive, you'd need to change them out from time to time.
The number 1 bag we've found, is a cheap dollar store pencil and makeup storage bag.
Any bag will work, but keep in mind what doesn't work, and why while you go about your search.
Emergency Poncho
In case on the middle of a hike, any emergency poncho will do. Preferably something you know how to repack. Any will do. If it is raining, we'll take our rain gear, this is only for if we get caught in the rain. This is REQUIRED to join us in the colder months. Otherwise they cannot join us.
3: Required in the campus lockers, in case of wet and cold weather. Check with Guide before buying!
There are hundreds of brands, over the years with our student populations some shoes don't do well.
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Boots with liners. They get soggy and they peel eventually.
Many brands of boots, the cheap ones specifically, shrink, crack, and warp with heat and the elements.
There is no better rain gear than a rain suit. It is the ideal rain gear. Except for girls, who need to undress in order to go potty. This would not work in cold rainy winter months. It works for a daycare, where a dry indoor space is available to undress for a diaper change, but, not for our application. Furthermore, rain suits are problematic because if someone wants to rest inside the tent, they are difficult to get out of.
Rain gear with a liner gets soggy if wet on the inside. More comfortable, but more problematic. Fine to get in the car and going to the store, bad for an 8 hour hike through the rain, wind, and mud. The purpose of the rain gear is to act as a layer between the weather appropriate clothes and the rain. It also needs to be something they can do themselves, like all their gear.
Expert hikers cannot agree on rain gear, how can we possibly make a final recommendation? We cant. PVC and Vinyl rain gear is perfectly impenetrable, but it also locks sweat in. So for winter-months, it can be problematic. Breathable rain gear works too, unless your child loves to play in the rain. Ultimately between the two, it is up to you.
For our son, we'll use the impenetrable PVC/Vinyl material for rain jacket without an inner liner. If he sweats and gets cold, there is the extra set of clothes in his bag. After more testing, we'll have better recommendations.
(pending more testing)
4: Optional Gear for comfort. Check with Guide before buying!
This is protection from the sun, cold, and/or rain. Get something you're not afraid to lose. Kids notoriously forget hats. Some young people don't like to wear hats at all. We chose a hat with a drawstring that can hang behind the back so it is less likely to be lost.
The best sun protection is shade, this is why we also recommend pants and a hat. Additionally, our Stewards go about their work largely in the shade cast by trees. However, certain fair skinned children can get burnt if they don't yet know to hang out in the shade when waiting for their friends to empty their inappropriately sized shoes of pebbles.
As far as sun blocking and sunscreen chemical lotion, they are known to cause skin cancer if used regularly; However, children rarely, if ever, get skin cancer. The medical concern are the endocrine disrupting chemicals that effects their hormones and immune systems. With this in mind we recommend choosing a sunblock over a sunscreen. And if you choose a sunscreen elect for something oxybenzone free and paraben free. HEB sells an SPF 50 version called “Baby 50”.
We will not able to have the time to apply sunscreen to everyone in the morning, especially if everyone has a different brand. Therefore, please apply in advance to the face, neck and arms if you feel it's needed. Additionally, if you'd like us to apply it again part-way through the day, we can. Please stock a bottle in their backpack and let us know if you want a mid-day reapplication.
Link to Permetherin concentrate to mix with a water mister.
Link to Chigg Away lotion to apply on ankles and waist.
Bug spray is only needed for the warmer months. Nature in central Texas inflicts people with ticks, fleas, and chiggers, surprisingly, mosquitoes are the easiest bug to handle. The worse of these are the microscopic spiders, called chiggers, which is the #1 reason why we require pants instead of shorts. We've yet to find a tick on anyone except the dog, but it's possible.
Before you use any products the IDEAL setup is: Shirt tucked in pants, Pants tucked in socks. (It will undo through the day.)
We're also extremely cautions about the chemicals in bug spray. So we recommend the following specific protocol.
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Try to avoid spraying directly on the skin, instead spray onto the clothes and let dry.
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We cannot apply the bug spray for you unless it is chemical free. We learned this doesn't work, because it creates of cloud of chemicals and by the time we get to the 3rd or 4th person we're all coughing and wheezing.
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Pre-treat PANTS and shoes with Permethrin (its a chemical) the brand we recommend is cheap and lasts on a pair of pants for 6 washes. (You need to put one ounce of the Permethrin concentrate into 20 oz water bottle) saturate the clothes with the sprayer, and let them air dry: don't breathe it in when you do this. It cannot handle skin contact so spray it on the clothes while your child is NOT wearing it. Once it dries on the clothes, it's no longer a danger to skin. This is the same chemical used for treating head lice, and bed bugs.
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Give the OUTSIDE of socks/shirt a quick squirt of DEET if you MUST. It absorbs into the blood stream through the skin and causes neurological problems. Don't let your child breathe it in. Despite being heavily used since the 60s, fogging kids with it, the stuff has been later determined to be toxic. #ScienceDisprovingScience
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Use the natural stuff on exposed ankles. Lemon Eucalyptus
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At the end of the day when your child is changing clothes, briefly check for ticks. We haven't seen one on anyone yet, but it's a good habit. Try and bathe as soon as possible to wash away any bugs who made it through all your lines of defense.
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If the pants aren't too dirty, send them out another day! We recommend setting aside "forest school clothes" from the other clothes so you can keep track of what's treated and what's not.
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If you're extra worried about bugs, one of the parents recommended the brand Chigg Away. Which you'd apply a small amount on the ankles and waistline.
None of these protocols are very time consuming, it's all just part of the morning routine and would take a minute or two extra of preparation.