Equipment List
"His step has never been lighter and more sure-footed.
He's never been more present and centered. Never happier."
—Pine Island Parent
All boys attending Pine Island Camp
must bring certain required items of clothing and equipment. Years of
experience have taught us that these items are essential for
participation in our hiking and canoeing trips, as well as for daily
island living.
We have included our equipment list
below as a general reference - feel free to print out a copy. Please
keep in mind that every family sending a son to Pine Island will be
sent an official packing list by mail, as well as contact information
for reliable mail-order suppliers.
You may also download a PDF copy of the equipment list by clicking the link below:
NOTES ON THE EQUIPMENT LIST
1. Pack a trunk (footlocker) and a duffel bag. Pine Island will send you brochures for C & N Footlockers (now known as Everything Summer Camp). Please do not get a trunk that is more than about 13" high. The
duffel bag should be sturdy and should have a zipper the whole length.
Get a good big one.
2. A tent is optional, as Pine Island provides
tent shelter on all trips. Nevertheless, a boy is welcome to bring his
own tent if he has one.
3. A hip-length foam pad assures a good night's sleep on the trail. It is both inexpensive and everywhere available.
4. Each boy must bring a backpack. It can be an external or internal frame pack, but must be more than simply a school backpack.
5. Buy plenty of socks. Especially recommended are
the heavy athletic socks a boy would normally wear when participating
in school sports. SmartWool-type socks are recommended for hiking trips (see below).
6. Each boy must have a sturdy, comfortable, and
well-fitting pair of hiking boots in good condition and at least three
pairs of boot socks. We recommend SmartWool or other merino wool
styles. While the new nylon hiking boots do not take the breaking in
that the old leather ones did, they still need some. It seems leather
boots are making a comeback. Ask for advice where you buy them.
7. Each boy must bring a sleeping bag to camp.
Good sleeping bags are available in many stores and catalogues. A boy's
bag should be warm enough (down to +20 degrees at least) and should
have a stuff sack that makes the bag as small as possible for packing.
A good sleeping bag is a good investment and will last a boy a long
time.
8. Remember to send towels, sheets, blankets,
pillow, pillowcases and a mattress cover. The camp does not supply
these items unless a boy is coming from abroad.
9. The PIC sweatshirts from Maine Camp Outfitters are good ones. If your son already has a couple of sweatshirts, however, pack those instead of buying new ones.
10. Send only Ivory soap or Dr. Bronner’s
liquid soap - and no shampoo! Neither Ivory nor Dr. Bronner’s
contain phosphorus and both the Ivory bar and the Bronner’s
bottles float (in the lake).
11. Be sure to include a set of long underwear, a fleecy jacket, a wool
or fleece hat, and some light gloves. Boys may not go out on camping
trips without these essential items, and we will buy them for anyone
who does not bring them. It gets a lot colder than you might think out
there, especially in bad weather.
12. Do not forget to include two laundry bags. It
is a real inconvenience for the boy who arrives without them. Our
experience is that they are available in discount stores.
13. For rainy days on the trail, our trip leaders
now recommend lightweight, flexible rain pants and jacket instead of
ponchos. However, your son may find a poncho easier to manage on rainy
days in camp.
14.
We are eager for boys to listen to music and to share it with each
other at Pine Island. For this reason, we allow boys to bring
portable listening devices with them to camp. Boys MAY NOT bring
cell phones and they MAY NOT use their iPod devices to play video games
or watch video of any kind. Any electronic devices being misused
will be impounded until the end of the season.
15. Mark everything! This includes electronics and gear as well as clothes.
Our experience unfortunately has been that the more valuable an
item is, the less likely it is to be marked! Enclosed are
brochures for several marking systems. Emily and I use the sew-in name
tags, a marking pen, and sometimes a name stamp. The Bell of Maine
brochure also offers good laundry bags that can be embroidered with
your son's name, as well as a choice of printed or woven labels. Maine Camp Outfitters offers nylon labels and will attach them for you. Remember, anything that comes to camp without a name on it runs the great risk of disappearing forever....
16. Some numbers on the list may seem awfully high, but remember that laundry goes out once a week and is gone for a week.
REQUIRED EQUIPMENT LIST FOR CAMP
- 3 PIC t-shirts (see the Maine Camp Outfitters Catalogue)
- 8 other t-shirts (including 1-2 short-sleeved, lightweight, quick-drying synthetic shirts for hiking trips)
- 3 flannel shirts or other warm long-sleeved
shirts (including at least 1 long-sleeved, lightweight, quick-drying
synthetic shirt)
- 2 sweatshirts
- 1 fleecy "Patagonia" type pullover or zip-up jacket
- 2-3 pairs blue jeans or other tough pants
- 2 bathing suits
- 6 pairs shorts
- 10 pairs of underwear
- 1 set polypropylene long underwear
- 10 pairs athletic socks
- 3 pairs hiking socks (Smartwool socks or socks made of mostly Merino wool are highly recommended)
- 2 pairs sneakers
- 1 pair hiking boots
- 1 pair Aquasox or other lightweight shoes that are made to get wet
- 1 hat (for sun)
- 1 wool or polypro hat
- 1 pair light-weight gloves for hiking trips
- 1 rain jacket
- 1 pair rain pants
- 1 backpack (internal or external frame)
- 1 sleeping bag with stuff sack (should be warm down to +20 degrees)
- 4 towels
- 4 sheets (2 sets of sheets)
- 1 mattress cover
- 2 pillow cases
- 1 pillow
- 3 blankets
- 2 laundry bags
- 2 toothbrushes
- 1 tube toothpaste
- 2 bars Ivory soap
- 1 soap dish
- 2 water bottles
- 1 flashlight
OPTIONAL CLOTHING AND EQUIPMENT
- insect repellent (non-aerosol)
- jackknife
- tent
- pajamas
- rain poncho
- wool sweater
- foam sleeping pad (for trips)
- tennis racquet (if you plan to take tennis classes)
- trunk lock
- fishing tackle (no lead sinkers, please; half of loon deaths in New England
are due to lead poisoning.)
AVAILABLE IN THE CAMP STORE
- insect repellent
- water bottles
- wool socks
- Ivory soap
- toothpaste & toothbrushes
- polypro shirts and bottoms
- soap dishes
- flashlights
- PIC hats
- pens and pencils
- batteries
- stationery
- mosquito netting
- envelopes
- laundry bags
- post cards
- playing cards
- stamps
