The pea tends to stick inside, so that it's not possible to produce any whistle at all.

They get stupid and don't work if they get wet. And the metal ones can be a massive problem below 0.

The pea creates the sound. If the pea falls out, gets frozen or stuck or even in some cases gets wet and swells up the whistle does not function. The pea is a moving part that is a weak link.
All signal / rescue whistle are pealess.

I am sure Doug has written a great article on whistles.

The knife, and matches/lighter might get them the boot, but the rest of this can be stuck in an old pouch or small bag and tossed or clipped to their backpacks. Add in a sparklight or hot spark, a mini FAK with gloves, and they'll be good for all but the most anal retentive principle or headmaster.

When EDC becomes every day, you feel naked without it.

Not for a kid in school- altoids tins that are too beat up looking get attention. They are called "stash tins" in certain circles for a reason. The Alkosak or zippered soft case is less likely to get attention.

Hi
As a former Eagle Scout, I did LOTS of hiking up in the Sierra Nevadas, and a fair amount in the deserts around SoCal with my troop. At the very least, the scouting leaders made us have a whistle around our neck and a pocket knife (usually in the BSA nylon holster on our belt). But you're right in that they usually don't carry much while running around.

What I found, around the time I hit First Class (what, about 13?) is that the Army-Navy stores have TONS of bags and such. I had a small old cotton pack that carried my 10 essentials (minus the canteen) that I kept on my belt. If you can get each Scout to carry something about 5x7 inches (maybe a tad smaller) that their 10 essentials can squeeze into, they're probably more likely to take it. An added bonus, "army" stuff might be better accepted than "fanny" packs or daypacks (the 'cool' factor).

Of course... YOU are the ADULT. That means, if you have to, the rules become "no exploring without the 10 essentials."

I think your troop is taking a sensible approach. A possible approach to the problem of getting scouts to carry some essentials on their person: neither I or my 12 yr old Scout go so far as a day hike without a lanyard around our necks holding a Fox whistle, photon LED light knock off, and on mine a P38 can opener. About $8/Scout-lanyard. More than that and you seem to risk Scout rebellion, neck-wise. But I'd rather have a Scout with a whistle and the sense (training) to STOP and blow it when lost than a whole lot of nothing because he's away from his pack and essentials.

The LED is handy for 3AM latrine visits, and maybe a bit of moral support for a Scout lost in the dark. The P38 of course is for fending off bear...

Whistles should be everywhere imo. REI Sahara zip off pants, the pants of choice for local Scouts, come with an ok whistle hanging from the belt. Lots of whistles incorporated into pack zippers too. Better than none, but no substitute for one of the Fox models on person.

Another Boy Scout EDC frequently missing these days is the buddy system. It can be hard to enforce on the trail with hikers of varying abilities, but it can be such a protection I wish it was invoked more than I see it.

It would be nice to understand the age of the children in question. I'm not sure I can give a real razor-sharp survival knife to my 7 year old son yet... Though, I'm not familiar with the Boy Scout culture, may be that rank imply some age range already?

A boy scout is between 11 and 18 years of age. Roughly 6th grade through high school.

I see quite a few good ideas on this thread, some I am going to take to my own EDC that I keep forgetting about. But I am also seeing a lack of the word KNIFE in most of these lists.

I dont want to spark another debate here, but I see so many posts on how to equip a boyscout or a kid in general (here and elsewhere) and there is such an aversion to giving child a knife. I have been carrying a knife since I was 7 when my granddad gave me first Case knife. Since then, I have gone through literally dozens until I found Spyderco and have had them ever since. I have never hurt myself or anyone else in doing so. I even remember carrying my knife to school. Why are we, as a culture or as a forum, so much against giving a child a knife. With the proper education and supervision, a child of 7 or 8 should be able to carry a knife.

I know that BSA has changed over the years, and what I could do when I was a Life Scout has probably changed dramatically, so there I cannot comment. But I think as responsible adults, which we all are, or we would not be here, we should be able to teach our children how to carry and use a knife responsibly.

Just my two cents.

Garrett