Warm hands, happy feet: WTA’s gear library and Outdoor Research’s gear help kids get outside
WTA’s Outdoor Leadership Training program has been helping youth get outside for more than a decade. But getting outdoors often requires gear, which can be spendy. Support from partners like Outdoor Research, who donates winter gear, helps keep kids warm and dry when they get outside.
For the past 2 years, BSA Scout Troop 80 in Seattle has partnered with Washington Trails Association to borrow gear for their winter camping and snowshoeing trip. This year, the troop visited Gold Creek Pond in March for an overnight trip. They snowshoed a quarter-mile to their campsite, pulling all their gear in sleds.
“Camping in the snow is something that most people don’t experience,” said Matt Wesson, an assistant scoutmaster with the troop. “The sense of accomplishment that comes from that is something that these youth will likely carry with them for a long time.”
Having access to gear is important to groups like Troop 80 because it keeps the youth warm, comfortable and dry.
Igloo built by Troop 80. Photo courtesy Matt Wesson.
“One of the key factors in keeping morale high is to make sure the scouts stay comfortable despite the conditions,” Matt said. “This is where having the right equipment makes all the difference. Something as simple as a pair of gaiters can keep your socks dry, meaning that your feet (and therefore your whole body) stay warm.”
Through WTA’s Outdoor Leadership Training (OLT) free gear libraries, Troop 80 can outfit their youth with the necessary camping and snowshoe gear. The OLT program has been serving communities in the Puget Sound region for over a decade. The goal of the program is to get more youth outside by empowering educators and youth program facilitators with skills and resources to lead safe, fun and inclusive outdoor experiences. In 2025 alone, OLT supported over 5,900 experiences across 180 unique trips.
Once a trip leader has attended an OLT workshop, they can start borrowing gear or apply for funding assistance to support their trips. One way our gear libraries differ from a traditional rental program is in the type of gear we have available. Most gear rental programs only offer technical items like snowshoes, tents or sleeping bags. This requires organizations to purchase items like gloves and boot gaiters or borrow them from friends and family members. Clothing items are instrumental in keeping youth comfortable during their trip. For many youth, the trips they are participating in are their first outdoor excursion. The OLT program wants youth to have positive outdoor experiences, so they want to go outside again and again. Having appropriate gear is one way to help foster these experiences.
OLT snowshoeing workshop participants using borrowed gear from WTA gear libraries, including OR gaiters. Photo by Emma Cassidy
“For our troop, the cost of having to rent snowshoes, 4-season tents, zero-degree sleeping bags and other gear for about 20 people would be prohibitively expensive,” Matt said. “Having access to the WTA gear library means that youth can experience something that they might otherwise not be able to.”
Groups who want to take snowshoe trips like Matt’s have access to snowshoes, clothing and camping gear from the OLT’s two gear libraries. And through generous donations from longtime partner Outdoor Research, Troop 80 and other groups have access to winter gloves and boot gaiters, keeping their hands warm and their feet dry.
OR Crocodile gaiters. Photo courtesy OR.
Outdoor Research (OR) is a Washington-based company that specializes in outdoor apparel, accessories and equipment. Since they were founded in 1981, they have been helping to get people outside to enjoy Washington’s natural landscapes and beyond. WTA and OR have partnered through the OLT gear library since 2019.
Like for WTA, outdoor equity and sustainability are important values for OR.
“Diversity in the outdoors breaks down cultural barriers, strengthens our shared connection to place, and helps build the awareness and support needed to protect our public lands,” said Dan Mayers, brand communication manager with OR. “Sustainability underpins it all. Trail networks need care. Material sourcing and manufacturing must be done responsibly. People — whether in our supply chain or on the trail — deserve to be treated right. It’s ongoing work, and we’re in it for the long haul.”
OR Adrenline glove. Photo courtesy OR.
OR has donated over 400 items to WTA’s OLT gear libraries, including gloves, gaiters and clothing. These cumulative donations to the gear libraries total over $16,000 in product. In addition to supporting snowshoe trips, these items have also supported other activities during cold and rainy seasons, including hiking, camping and backpacking. In 2025, 23 trips were supported by gloves and gaiters that were donated by OR, collectively saving our community partners over $27,000 in gear purchases.
According to Dan, supporting the gear library has been a natural fit for OR.
“Stepping into the outdoors for the first time can feel intimidating. Programs like WTA’s Outdoor Leadership Training and gear libraries make that leap smaller,” Dan said. “We just want kids to have fun outside. If our gear helps make their day better — whether that’s keeping their hands warm for a snowball fight or letting them try on their first pair of gaiters — that’s a win. If they come home excited about being outdoors, that’s even better. And if they remember OR along the way, we’ll gladly take that too.”
WTA is grateful for OR’s support in getting youth outside. Their generous donations have helped trip leaders like Matt to facilitate memorable outdoor experiences. Snow is beginning to accumulate in the mountains and, in partnership with the gear library, Troop 80 is planning to return to the mountains in 2026 for more snowshoeing and winter camping fun.
Matt says that trips like this are valuable to the kids beyond just the fun of the adventure.
"Of course, the kids have fun, but they also learn something important - that they can face some degree of adversity (e.g., cold) and recover from it," he said.
Comments