"Give a boy a tent, he will camp for a night. Teach him how to make his own tent, he will camp forever."

I figure a leader should always bring a spare of the main troop gear (tent/stove/cooking equipment/wood/ect) and keep them in his vehicle. A leader should also bring a spare (or two) sleeping bag. Before the trip at a meeting proper packing should be discussed and reviewed and before the trip if possible a "shakedown" should be done to make sure everyone has the right gear. The packing review meeting should be led both by adults and by the older scouts (if you have them) as younger guys usually listen to older scouts better, but scouts will tend to say what they need to keep comfortable, which is usually less then what a younger scout needs. Also, I like to during the trip do random checks to see if everyone has a good knife, firelighting device, and other supplies on their person. Each scout is also expected to take turns starting the nightly fire (if we have one) by starting it with their own supplies they have on them. I really believe the scout should not have anything handed to them, if they need help they should have an older scout try to help first before going to an adult. The spare gear is there and the boys know it, but it is emergency use only. If they do have to use it they have to sing a song in front of the troop. It helps to teach responsibility, a lot of guys don't like it, but it works. I can say with pride none of the spare gear has been used by the boys in atleast a year, adults I can't say the same.

We've done quite a few "under the stars trips" where the middle/older guys do tarp camping in the winter and no tent camping in the summer, with the younger guys in tents close by, those are always the best trips as the guys learn the most about how to stay safe and comfortable.