I think you've got a really great kit going their for your Scouts. But I do have to wonder, as haertig pointed out, if this kit doesn't extend way beyond the skill level of a Bear or Webelo to use effectively?

My experience with kids this age is limited, but having sat in on some of the meetings and helping out sometimes, I was a bit surprised at the number of things kids this age don't know how to do (not saying the scouts I've seen represent all scouts, but they seem like pretty typical 8 and 9-year-olds to me).

Like - watching these kids earn their whittling chips was an eye-opener - three cut fingers in two sessions (soap bar and then balsa wood)...one boy who didn't know cutting edge of the blade from the spine, etc...they've got their whittling chips, but they have a ways to go before I'd call them safe, let alone proficient, with a knife.

I think the "Hug-a-Tree" program, which Doug and others have praised here, is really valuable and viable, for this age group and even younger. For those purposes, I'd trim the gear to mirror, whistle, orange bag (and show them how to tear open a hole for their face), the Fauxton, a water bottle and then, perhaps, the water purification tablets, and maybe a protein/snack bar.

For the times I've taken my son camping, starting when he was 5, I made a "Hug-a-Tree Pack" for him (and my daughter) that they were to have on them every time they stepped outside the clearing where the tents were. It's a small fanny pack that has a .5-liter water bottle, whistle, plastic poncho, Heatsheet blanket, and an LED flashlight. Nothing fancy, but nothing they couldn't figure out how to use. And, we would practice in our yard. "OK, we're camping and you realize you're lost...what do you do?" And the answer was stop, find a tree and wait there. "Oh no, it's raining, what do you do?" Put on the poncho. "Oh no, you're cold, what do you do?" --wrap up in the blanket. "How do you get found?" --blow on the whistle in groups of three. We practiced several times before going camping, they always had their bags with them, and they remembered the following winter what they were supposed to do.

The stuff you've got in there is a great basis for improvising for a lot of possibilities...but I think at this age, the kids are still learning how to do some simple things in the most straightforward way (carry with them/put on appropriate clothing to the conditions, get inside a bag they have along as shelter) rather than turning a bag and some string into a lean-to shelter. Not saying kids that age can't do any of this stuff, just that my take on the skills of kids this age leans toward simpler the better, the fewer variables for them in how to use what they have, the better.

Anyhow, more items in the kit aren't a negative, and if you can get the boys the skills to utilize the things you've included, all to the better.

Dave