2008 Scout Catalog

I do believe I've found the two silliest products yet offered by the BSA Scout stores.

Disposable wooden knives, forks, and spoons. They are advertised as environmentally friendly since they are made from wood and individually wrapped in recyclable paper. After dinner, just throw them all in the fire. No cleanup, no trash.

Well now, these have got to the the perfect item for that lazy patrol with a big bankroll. A fork/knife/spoon costs $.37 which is $1.48 for a weekend or $11.84 for a patrol of 8 scouts. Disposing of gear instead of washing and reusing isn't my idea of environmentally friendly. Heck, pick up a stick and whittle your own utensils!


At least the wooden utensils have a purpose. The custom fleur-de-lis branding iron is intended to burn the brand on a piece of meat.
Anyone want to bet there winds up being brands on picnic tables, trees, scout legs, and practically anything except a piece of steak?
I just couldn't help but laugh when I saw these two items. Someone is doing an outstanding job of marketing their junk to the BSA and getting the stuff listed. Maybe I should contact them about offering my fleur-de-lis shaped Soap-on-a-Rope - perfect for summer camp showers! Or, my fleur-de-lis shaped macaronni and cheese. Or, my fleur-de-lis shaped fruit-flavored daily vitamins. Or, my fleur-de-lis shaped welcome mat. Or, my fleur-de-lis shaped waffle press.

There are some really useful items in the 2008 Scout Catalog but the scouting, camping, outdoors items that a scout needs are getting harder to find between the pages of gifts, nic-nacs, trinkets, and plastic junk. The books on Leave No Trace, Backpacking, First Aid, and Wildlife are great. But, 5 pages of keyrings and medallions seems a bit much.

Scout On