Wood Badge

[JamesA]

Good morning all!

Long time no post. I have recently been accepted to a BSA Wood Badge Course, and am rather anxious to have a good excuse to wear the McLaren tartan.

My questions to all of you more knowledgeable, and certainly more fashion savvy than myself is this: What color of leathers would you wear? What accessories would you choose to both honor BSA, Wood Badge, and the highland tradition of it all?

JamesA

[BEEDEE]

Dark brown/chocolate.

Brian (I used to be a bobwhite....)

[McNulty]

Ditto on the browns. A nice, simple day sporran.
I used to be a Fox, a good old Fox too.........
Nulty

[ggibby]

I'd even consider a medium brown, as seen on the band of the BSA Campaign Hat.
Looks better with the uniform shirt, IMHO.

I was very lucky to find a Ministry of Defence-issue sporran that's a dead-on match with the BSA palette. The belt was a bit of a challenge, but a friendly fella at Tandy leather set me straight.

Good on ya for Wood Badging - volunteers making Scouting what it is,
and the boys what they will be - better men.

[EagleJCS]

Congratulations on your being selected to Wood Badge! (I used to be a Bear ... you'll figure out what that means after your first day on the course.)

I concur on the simple brown leathers. I also suggest not a lot of flashy stuff for your other accessories (leave out the jeweled sghian dhu and use a wood-hafted one instead). Perhaps brass/pewter instead of silver, etc. Try dark green hose and red flashes. Or, since the BSA just changed over to dark green tabs, try brown (not tan/ecru but brown) hose with dark green flashes.

A word of caution - per the BSA National office, the kilt is not an item for uniform wear. There have been several discussions on this forum (and I think a couple of others) about people wearing it with their uniform shirt for various Scouting functions. I think most professional Scouters (District/Council office folks) would allow you to bend the rules a little and not say anything, but you may get a hard-liner that will insist on your changing into the correct uniform.

I was once informed by my Council's Field Executive (not the current one) that I can wear my kilt with my uniform shirt, but only if I'm piping at a ceremony. Otherwise, it's the regular uniform.

[dutchy kilted]

I used to be a Bear, a good old Bear too ... (NE-V-98)

Reddish brown leather I think would look good. Don't be surprised in you run into some opposition about the kilt, but it depends on who is running the show.

Congrats and enjoy the experience!

[Sir William]

After reading this thread I got to wondering if I could find a large enough Wood Badge buckle (I used to be a Beaver) for a kilt belt. In the process I found the following article. The author, a Wood Badge Coordinator, has obviously given some thought to a Wood Badge Scout uniform (non-regulation or not) that should appeal to those who've thought about it.

http://www.nancynorland.com/cmsna/ar...hlanddress.pdf

With one exception, I've never worn a kilt as part of my Scout uniform. The exception was when our local camporee used "Highland Games" as their theme. There were several people running around with a piece of cotton tartan cloth wrapped around them like a short sarong, and at least one wearing a girl's tartan skirt, but I was the only one I saw wearing a kilt. I had more than one ask me if it was a real kilt, too. In that instance, I was "regulation" Scout from the waist up, and daywear kilted from the waist down.

[O'Callaghan]

Not a woodbadger, not even a scouter. Never got beyond cub scouts. However, my wife has her wood badge. Maclaren is the scout tartan, and any scout may wear it, even the youngest cub scout, albeit not as uniform in the USA. Just saying.

[Downunder Kilt]

I think your MacLaren tartan will look smart with the all brown accoutrements.
I wear the Maclaren ancient most of the time and have recently acquired a dark brown plain sporran, sporran belt, and kilt belt with brass buckle. I tend to wear hose that were cream, but have now been dyed with coffee, and green garter flashes.

I have an sgian dubh, known as The Officer, which has a brass top with brown wooden handle. I think this compliments the other browns well.

[Skipper1]

well done on starting Woodbadge. I did WB I and II a few years back for the Beaver, Cub and Scout level up here in Canada. Did a bit of teaching as well. Sure miss it. You will have a blast.