I got into a philosophical debate with the boy this past weekend as we were heading out for a short camping trip. He took the position of taking the bare minimum of things he would need where as I was taking the position of you bring everything you'd need regardless of the length of the camping trip, projected weather, etc.. My reasoning was this: First of all, don't trust weather reports too much. Yes if its June you don't need to bring your cold weather gear, but you should always pack at least rain gear. Another point I brought up was better to get used to packing your normal load even if its a short trip. Develop habits that become second nature so that when you are packing for that long trip you don't forget anything. Learn how your load will fit when wearing it and in what order to pack your load. Finally the basics of any pack should always go with you (first aid kit, survival kit, etc..) He just looked at me and said "Aren't you the one with the bad back?" So what are your thoughts..pack light and lean and make do if you get caught short or pack heavy and deal with the weight?
Pack more than you think you'll need, but consider your expected trip as well. IOW, don't bring the whole freakin' house on a day trip, but cover yourself if you get stuck for a couple days.
I've done more than my share of bare bones camping (going out with only what fit in/on an LBE rig, for instance). Now I literally take a truckload of stuff. Not just so I have "comforts", but because in a bug-out situation my truck would be carrying the stuff anyway so it's good to "train" that way. I can load the whole truck in about 7 minutes.
I usually end up bringing more than is needed, but for certain trips I'll go the "fast and light" route. I don't do a lot of straight camping, though, most of my experience with this is packing for endurance races that have a survival component.
One thing I always do is pack everything in a properly sized freezer ziploc type of baggie. Ain't nothing worse than having your socks get wet.
Classic old man/young man dispute. First thing we learned in Scouts, "be prepared." I see no reason to break that motto, but at the same time, you don't want to go in too heavy, so be realistic when deciding what is mandatory gear.
When I was in the Scouts I used what I called the 'Dad' system. As it's what he did back in the day. Take the bare minimum of what you need. Live rough. It's good for you. Pack as much as you can carry of what they'll need and/or want. Charge a premium.
