As an accredited D of E Supervisor and Assessor I am often asked by parents ‘what gear should I buy my child’ and ‘where can I get it?’

The aim of this website is to build a definitive gear list and provide links to the best online retailers that I personally use for my gear and would be happy to recommend to young people about to embark on one of the most exciting adventures they may ever have.

The D of E Award is aimed at young people aged 14 to 25 and is about much more than just the expedition, it consists of other sections including Sports, Physical and Skills, and for the Gold Award a short residential placement. Your supervisors will be able to advise you on all these sections as I will be concentrating on preparation for the Expedition part of the Award.  There are 2 expeditions for each level, the first one is a practice / training expedition where you will hopefully learn all the skills required to complete a successful assessed expedition. At Bronze level this is 2 days and 1 night, at Silver level 3 days and 2 nights and at Gold level 4 days and 3 nights.

The expeditions will generally take place in ‘wild country’ for example the various national parks in the UK, I personally have taken groups to Dartmoor, Brecon Beacons, Snowdonia, the Lake district and Cairn Gorm, but there are other places that expeditions can take place.

As for kit the general rule is if you can afford to buy yourself good quality gear then you are more likely to be comfortable during your expedition, I will talk about them in brief below, please follow the links to separate pages for more information on any of the below, the list is in no particular order of importance, pretty much everything on this list is important, leaving anything out will leave you at a disadvantage, especially if the weather turns out to be slightly different from the forecast.

Walking Boots:- You will be wearing these all day every day and sometimes through the evening so I cannot impress upon you strongly enough that it’s essential to get these right, if you spend 3 or 4 days with wet feet in uncomfortable boots your expedition will become a misery that you will want to forget.

Socks:- Just as important as your boots, they should be proper walking socks, your everyday socks just won’t do the job.

Walking Trousers:- These don’t have to be expensive, they should be comfortable, have some water resistant to cope with a light shower and be quick drying, waterproof over trousers will do the waterproof bit. Jeans are not appropriate in the hills!

Base layers:- Synthetic or Merino wool are the best materials to ‘wick’ the sweat away from your skin. Cotton is not suitable as it retains the sweat and becomes heavy and cold.

Mid layers:- A fleece or similar is best here, it should be thick enough to keep you warm on cold days or a thinner one on warmer days.

Waterproof Jacket:- Should be waterproof and windproof, a good jacket will make the difference between spending your time wet and cold or dry and warm, there’s a huge range of different technologies available but thin breathable and lightweight are all important factors in your choice.

Waterproof trousers:- These should be lightweight and obviously waterproof. You will want to get them on quickly if it starts raining so consider a full length zip so you can get them on without taking your boots off.

Gaiters:- These are a personal preference but they certainly help to keep your legs dry when walking through wet grass and bogs.

Spare clothes:- A complete set of spare clothes carried in a dry bag to change into in the evenings if your daytime clothes get wet, a little comfort in the evenings is a great morale booster and the importance of this cannot be overstressed. You can change back into your wet clothes in the morning before you start the next day, you never know, they might even dry out but if they don’t then you still have a dry set the next evening again.

Hats and Gloves:- The primary purpose of these are to keep you warm, in my experience even the best waterproof gloves are only waterproof for a short length of time but even when wet they still keep your hands warmer than none at all.

Rucksack:- Most D of E centres can supply these for you but if you are buying your own then between 50 and 65 litres is sufficient, you want to travel as light as possible as you have to carry this bag with you everywhere for between 2 and 4 days depending on which level you are undertaking.

Rucksack liners and Dry Bags:- There are 2 schools of thought on this one, either you go for a single large rucksack liner and put pack everything in there or, as I prefer to do, use several small dry bags and separate your kit in an orderly manner, the added advantage of this method is if you have to empty your rucksack to get something from the bottom you won’t get all your kit wet if it’s raining. I find it easier to look after my gear when I adopt this second approach.

Tent:- A whole range of tents are available, but again, your D of E provider may be able to supply this for you. 2 or 3 person tents are ideal as the tent can be carried between 2 or 3 people to spread the load.

Sleeping bag:- You should know that at the end of your days walking that you have a warm place to curl up and go to sleep, a good sleeping bag will make your nights on the hill so much more comfortable. Sleeping bag liners are a good way to add warmth and comfort to any sleeping bag and are light and small to carry.

Sleeping Mat:- Light, durable and comfortable are key points here, a basic roll mat will suffice but if you want to spend more then there are some great lightweight inflatable mats on the market.

Cooking:- Most D of E centres recommend the Trangia as they are a complete cooking system with pots, pans and in some cases a kettle, they are tried and tested and are available in either meths or gas versions. A personal preference here is always for the gas, slightly less convenient when carrying spare gas canisters but in my opinion also much safer. There are other alternative stoves available but check with your D of E coordinator before going down that route.

Fire starters:- Whatever type of stove you go for you will need a way of lighting it. Matches in a small bag (don’t forget the striker!) is the cheapest option, waterproof matches in a special container work well, a lighter in a small bag also works as does a flint and striker, you only need a spark to light gas!

Knife / fork / spoon:- Personal choice here, to save money you can bring what you use at home, or you could buy a camping set, I prefer to use a spork, I don’t cook anything that requires a lot of cutting up, most things can be eaten with a spoon!

Plate / bowl / mug:- You need a plate or bowl depending on what you are cooking, should be plastic or similar, a mug is also required for hot drinks, again it should be unbreakable, a small thermos mug can be good as long as it seals properly, you can then make a warm drink in the morning to be enjoyed at lunchtime without setting up cooking equipment.

Food:- A menu should be prepared before embarking on your expedition, you can be pre-prepared food that just needs to be heated or dehydrated food that just needs hot water adding to it for a really tasty meal but at least one of the meals eaten should be cooked from scratch and this requires some thought and planning.

Emergency food:- This should be a small amount of easy to eat, nutritious food that will only be eaten in case of emergency, this food should still be intact on completion of your expedition.

Rubbish bags:- Nothing flashy here, small bags that can be used to get rid of rubbish along the way in bins, no need to carry old food wrappers etc providing there is a suitable bin to use en-route.

Water bottle:- Absolutely necessary, everybody needs to drink, you need to carry at least 2 litres of water with you and this can be done with either multiple bottles or a bottle and a hydration bladder.

Washing up gear:- After you’ve enjoyed that meal you prepared on the mountain you have to do the washing up! Half a scourer and a small pot of washing up liquid is all that’s required for the whole group, hot water is easily sourced from the stove.

Personal hygiene:- Consideration should be given to washing etc along the way, there will be no showers / baths etc on your expedition so no point in taking a big bottle of shower gel and shampoo with you but the bare minimums like brushing teeth and hand sanitation should be considered.

Survival bag:- You should always carry a survival bag, apart from the obvious use of survival I have also seen them used to store rucksacks in to give a little more room inside the tent.

First Aid Kit:- Every member of the group should carry their own personal first aid kit, this should also include any specific medication that is required for the duration such as inhalers, EpiPen, Insulin,etc, your supervisor should also have a complete set of medication for you should you misplace or damage it.The group as a whole should also have a more comprehensive ‘group’ first aid kit, this can either be carried in turns by each member of the group or decide who will carry it while other members carry other items that will be used as a group such as cooking equipment.

Watch:- You will need some way of telling the time, a watch is the best, don’t rely on mobile phones for this, batteries will go flat.

Whistle:- For signalling in an emergency situation, I’ve never yet needed to use one with any of my groups and long may that continue, but every member of the group should have a whistle just in case.

Torch:- A head torch fits the bill here, LED is best as the lamps don’t blow and will always remain cold, spare batteries are a must.

Maps and map cases:- There are a couple of options here, most D of E centres will be able to supply these but if you need to buy then either buy the laminated maps that are waterproof or the paper maps and a map case, there is no need to put a laminated map in a waterproof case.

Compass:- Another piece of equipment that is generally supplied but if you need to buy one then a more expensive one will last for longer than the one expedition, I have bought cheap compasses in the past to have them fall apart on me after just a few days.

Money:- A small amount of change for an emergency phone call is all that is required, while on expedition it is strictly forbidden to purchase anything from shops, you should carry everything you need from the start, the only exception to this is water, this will usually be supplied by your supervisor or assessor.

Notebook and pen:- useful for making notes about your expedition, you will be expected to do some sort of presentation at the end of it and this can help you remember all the good times, also useful in an emergency for writing down details etc.

Camera:- for taking photos while on expedition, bear in mind that it may get wet do if you can afford a waterproof camera like a GoPro or the Ricoh WG 30 then it will give you better service than some of the cheaper ones on the market, I’ve seen cameras dropped in streams on a sunny day so it doesn’t even have to be raining to get wet!

Knife:- Not strictly necessary but useful to have and can be useful in certain instances for example opening packets of food or cutting cord, a swiss army penknife is one of the best choices here but there are others available.

Group Shelter:- An important piece of gear and should be big enough to cover the whole group (or 2 smaller shelters will suffice). It’s a great morale booster during a cold wet day to get in a group shelter and eat your lunch, it will keep you warm and dry and in case of emergency will make a huge difference.

Suncream:- The sun in the hills is unforgiving and you need to make sure you look after your skin, suncream is the answer here and should at least be carried as part of the group kit.

Midge repellant:- In some places at certain times of the year you will be plagued by midges, they are the single most annoying creature in the world and anything that can be done to reduce this annoyance will be most welcome.