Equipment List
"His step has never been lighter and more sure-footed.
He's never been more present and centered. Never happier."
—Pine Island Parent
All boys attending Pine Island Camp
must bring certain required items of clothing and equipment. Years of
experience have taught us that these items are essential for
participation in our hiking and canoeing trips, as well as for daily
island living.
We have included our equipment list
below as a general reference - feel free to print out a copy. Please
keep in mind that every family sending a son to Pine Island will be
sent an official packing list by mail, as well as contact information
for reliable mail-order suppliers.
You may also download a PDF copy of the equipment list by clicking the link below:
NOTES ON THE EQUIPMENT LIST
1. Pack a trunk (footlocker) and a duffel bag. You can find both on the Summer Camp Supply website. Please do not get a trunk that is more than about 13" high. Summer Camp Supply offers one that we designed. We have contracted with Maine woodworker and Pine Islander Nick Buck to build trunks to our specifications. They are of a simple and sturdy design and have a split tray for ease of use. All trunks will be delivered directly to Pine Island. A cardboard box will be included for shipping your trunk home at the end of the summer. The duffel bag should be sturdy and should have a zipper the whole length. Get a good big one.
2. A tent is optional, as Pine Island provides
tent shelter on all trips. Nevertheless, a boy is welcome to bring his
own tent if he has one.
3. A hip-length foam pad assures a good night's sleep on the trail. Pads come in a range of types and prices and are available in stores and through Summer Camp Supply.
4. Each boy must bring a backpack. It can be an external or internal frame pack, but must be more than simply a school backpack. Summer Camp Supply is very enthusiastic about the quality of the packs they offer.
5. Buy plenty of socks. Especially recommended are
the heavy athletic socks a boy would normally wear when participating
in school sports. SmartWool-type socks are recommended for hiking trips (see below).
6. Each boy must have a sturdy, comfortable, and
well-fitting pair of hiking boots in good condition and at least three
pairs of boot socks. We recommend SmartWool or other merino wool
styles. While the new nylon hiking boots do not take the breaking in
that the old leather ones did, they still need some. It seems leather
boots are making a comeback. Ask for advice where you buy them.
7. Each boy must bring a sleeping bag to camp. Good sleeping bags are available in many stores and catalogues. A boy's bag should be warm enough (down to +20 degrees at least) and should have a stuff sack that makes the bag as small as possible for packing, such as the compression sacks that Summer Camp Supply offers. All sleeping bags offered by Summer Camp Supply come standard with a compression stuff sack. A good sleeping bag is a good investment and will last a boy a long time.
8. Remember to send towels, sheets, blankets, pillow, pillowcases and a mattress cover. The camp does not supply these items unless a boy is coming from abroad.
9. Send only Ivory soap or Dr. Bronner's liquid soap - and no shampoo! Neither Ivory, Dr. Bronner's, nor the other liquid soaps Summer Camp Supply offers contain phosphorus, and both the Ivory bar and the liquid bottles float (in the lake).
10. Be sure to include a set of long underwear, a fleecy jacket, a wool or fleece hat, and some light gloves. Boys may not go out on camping trips without these essential items, and we will require anyone who does not bring them to buy them from the camp store. It gets a lot colder than you might think out there, especially in bad weather. Summer Camp Supply offers good options for all these items.
11. Do not forget to include two laundry bags. It is a real inconvenience for the boy who arrives without them.
12. For rainy days on the trail, our trip leaders recommend lightweight, flexible rain pants and jacket instead of ponchos. However, your son may find a poncho easier to manage on rainy days in camp.
13. Pine Island is committed to giving your boys an electronics-free summer. Boys MAY NOT bring cell phones. Boys MAY bring devices that play music, but they MAY NOT bring any device that will do anything OTHER than play music. This is a CHANGE in policy from last summer. We are eager for boys to listen to music and to share it with each other at Pine Island, but we feel that for the sake of keeping video games, access to the internet, etc. off Pine Island, it is necessary to add these new restrictions. Boys should also know that they may only listen to music while in their tent. Any devices that do anything but play music will be impounded until the end of the summer.
14. Pine Island has a NEW KNIFE POLICY. Boys may bring only Swiss Army-type jack knives or Leatherman-type knife tools to camp. You can see examples of knives we will allow at the Summer Camp Supply on-line catalogue. Boys may also bring a single-bladed folding knife. HOWEVER, knives MAY NOT have a blade longer than 4 inches, have a serrated blade, or be spring loaded so that they open by themselves. Our firm belief is that knives boys bring to Pine Island should be practical tools. As has been the case in for many years, boys may not use their knives unsupervised until they have passed the first rank in Woodcraft. Any knives not in compliance (or that are not used in a safe manner) will be impounded until the end of the summer.
15. Mark everything! This includes electronics and gear as well as clothes. Our experience unfortunately has been that the more valuable an item is, the less likely it is to be marked! Emily and I use a combination of name tags, thermal print labels, and a marking pen. Labels and fabric stampers are available on Summer Camp Supply's website. If you order by May 1, they will affix name tags to your son's PIC shirts if you desire that service. Remember, anything that comes to camp without a name on it runs the great risk of disappearing forever....
16. Some numbers on the list may seem awfully high, but remember that laundry goes out once a week and is gone for a week.
REQUIRED EQUIPMENT LIST FOR CAMP
- 3 PIC t-shirts (see the Summer Camp Supply Catalogue)
- 8 other t-shirts (including 2-3 short-sleeved, lightweight, quick-drying synthetic shirts for hiking trips)
- 3 flannel shirts or other warm long-sleeved
shirts (including at least 1 long-sleeved, lightweight, quick-drying
synthetic shirt)
- 2 sweatshirts
- 1 fleecy "Patagonia" type pullover or zip-up jacket
- 2-3 pairs blue jeans or other tough pants
- 2 bathing suits
- 6 pairs shorts
- 10 pairs of underwear
- 1 set polypropylene long underwear (two pairs of long underwear bottoms for boys who intend to go out on a lot of trips)
- 10 pairs athletic socks
- 3-4 pairs hiking socks (Smartwool socks or socks made of mostly Merino wool are highly recommended)
- 2 pairs sneakers
- 1 pair hiking boots
- 1 pair Aquasox, Keens, or other lightweight shoes that are made to get wet
- 1 hat (for sun)
- 1 lightweight wool or polypro hat
- 1 pair light-weight gloves for hiking trips
- 1 rain jacket
- 1 pair rain pants
- 1 backpack (internal or external frame)
- 1 sleeping bag with stuff sack (should be warm down to +20 degrees)
- 4 towels
- 4 sheets (2 sets of sheets)
- 1 mattress cover
- 2 pillow cases
- 1 pillow
- 3 blankets or their equivalent in warmth
- 2 laundry bags
- 2 toothbrushes
- 1 tube toothpaste
- 2 bars Ivory soap
- 1 soap dish
- 2 water bottles
- 1 flashlight
OPTIONAL CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT
- insect repellent (non-aerosol)
- jackknife
- tent
- PIC cap
- PIC sweatshirt
- wool sweater
- sleeping pad (for trips)
- tennis racquet (if you plan to take tennis classes)
- trunk lock
- fishing tackle (no lead sinkers, please; half of loon deaths in New England
are due to lead poisoning.)
AVAILABLE IN THE CAMP STORE
- insect repellent
- water bottles
- wool socks
- Ivory soap
- toothpaste & toothbrushes
- polypro shirts and bottoms
- soap dishes
- flashlights
- PIC hats
- pens and pencils
- batteries
- stationery
- mosquito netting
- envelopes
- laundry bags
- post cards
- playing cards
- stamps
