Our 100 Liter Duffel Bag by REI and the Osprey Transporter BSA Jamboree Edition

Update:  May 23, 2013 I actually packed the bag with all I want to take and it is HUGE (see here).

Republished and upgraded (from July 2012):  For those that asked to see our 100L duffel bags.  Here is the link to REI Cargo Adventure Duffel. (That link is no longer at REI, here is a close substitute at REI)  It is huge and also convenient. Best parts: large expandable side pockets and the backpack straps zippered away on the bottom. Somewhat awkward to carry on your back, but so much easier than lugging it at your side. Highly recommended for car camping and regular travel.  We took these to the Summit Shakedown since they require one duffel and one day pack for each participant.  Additional great feature is our Lafuma chairs (see our review)fit inside since they are only 29" long.  The National Jamboree will provide a duffel to all participants.

Update:  While the REI is our personal duffel, the National Jamboree will provide one made by Osprey (see a picture of the 115L duffel here).

From blog.scoutingmagazine.org, Photos by W. Garth Dowling/BSA

Second Update: On February 7, 2013 Byran at Scouting Mag posted a link to the actual Osprey Transporter BSA 115 liter duffel. And here it is ... (size corrected -- see response from Bryan below)

From the blog: "The bag measures 27 by 18 by 12 inches (length, width, and depth). The capacity is 5,797 cubic inches, or 95 liters. There are three compartments: the main pocket, one at the top that also holds the backpack straps, and another on the flap of the main pocket."  [Response from   Bryan February 7, 2013 @ 9:15 am
Good news — I measured wrong! Bigger is better, and these are definitely 115-liter bags. Thanks for pointing that out, Steve.]  Yeah!  [But Chris on the same site posts a link to something that looks the same.  (Osprey Transport 95).  So time will tell.

We will have more comments when ours arrive. The first comment is our 29" chairs will no longer fit inside.  I know leaders can take a chair to the Jamboree now, so that is not a real problem, but a disappointment all the same. Still two more packs to hang in the closet with care. 

S&K Troop B326 and Crew F610

Post Summit Shakedown thoughts (and Photos)

Last month, July 13-17, 2012, we were lucky enough to take 8 Venturers to the Summit Bechtel Reserve.  This fabulous new high-adventure base and permanent home to the BSA National jamborees (and host of the 2019 World Scout Jamboree) is over 10,000 acres of wild wonderful West Virginia in Steve's hometown of Mount Hope.  We got an awesome peek at parts of the plans for the 2013 Jamboree and got to pay for the privilege of being test subjects for their processes and plans.  Some when as planned, some didn't, but the 2013 National Jamboree will be so much better since we were there.  With about 2,000 attendees we saw and participated in camping at subcamp C, hiking to Action Point, Adventure Valley and Garden Ground mountain.  At Action point there was canopy tours, zip lines, challenge rope courses, climbing towers, skate boarding, BMX biking and more.  At Adventure Valley at low gear and high gear there was mountain biking.  On the last day the Venturers and Scouts went whitewater rafting. We were paired with new friends from Kansas and Virginia and nightly heard from the folks at the top of the great enterprise that SBR represents.  You can see much of this in our pictures below. 

Enjoy these photos taken on our trip to SBR


Clicking on the above photos should take you to the Picasa Album.

Lafuma Micro Popup chair

Super comfy Lafuma Micro Popup chair

Worth every dollar.  This little chair fits in the duffel and on the side of a day pack  and is ultimately comfortable.

 2013 Update:  Still love the lafuma chairs, but there is a new winner for our pack backs.   See our new blog entry on the BSA UL chair.

2012 Update:  Having these at the 2012 Summit Shakedown @bechtelsummit made a world of difference. Light enough at 2.5 pounds to carry strapped to the day pack or to a meeting where standing or hard chairs are available.  We got tons of complements and "where did you get those" questions.  The answer is at REI.com, however we have a direct link to Amazon which sells them as well.  (Steve has decided that if it ever breaks he is ordering another that very moment.) They seem very strong and sturdy.  The chair is surprisingly easy to get up from compared to the pad type on-the-ground chairs.  Putting boots on and changing socks from this chair is a breeze.

See more pictures after the jump including an update.