{"id":12403,"date":"2013-08-07T00:57:42","date_gmt":"2013-08-06T23:57:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pinkoddy.co.uk\/?p=12403"},"modified":"2017-11-29T23:15:48","modified_gmt":"2017-11-29T22:15:48","slug":"battlebox-bear-grylls-dangerous-den-kit-day-out-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/2013\/08\/07\/battlebox-bear-grylls-dangerous-den-kit-day-out-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Battlebox Bear Grylls Dangerous Den Kit Day Out Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"BattleBox\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You may think that as I\u2019m a mother of 4 boys, then I know a thing or two about how to be perfect \u2013 you know happy kids, working, clean house etc. Well the thing is that I\u2019ve learnt how to be perfect for my family, and some times that means moving with the times. Whilst I do have admiration for families who do not own a tv, keep their children off technology and entertain themselves with reading, eat healthy and never have a thing out-of-place \u2013 it\u2019s not for us. I don\u2019t see why I should upset myself even trying. My children’s friends have games consoles, eat the odd bit of junk, stay up too late \u2013 and one million other things we as parents can be judged by others about. I mean it\u2019s always there isn\u2019t it \u2013 bottle\/breast, dummies, letting them get in your bed, giving them a pack of crisps as you go around the supermarket, etc. But whilst I do let them do things that I feel aren\u2019t the most ideal, I do try to balance it out too. They always have cereal or toast and juice every morning, they aren\u2019t allowed on computer games until 11am (weekends, holidays and special occasions), they have set bedtimes, they help around the house \u2013 etc.<\/p>\n

\"battleboxfounder_bengrylls_survival\"<\/a><\/p>\n

As mentioned before (in this post<\/a>) social media heavily influences how our children develop. \u00a0When Emma de Vere Hunt\u2019s son Edward turned 6 he was no longer interested in traditional wooden toys sets, trains etc the only thing Emma could see on the market was drawing him into technology and television characters \u2013 such as Spiderman. Emma told me that although she has no problem with these products, she just wished there were more things geared towards getting children active and outdoors, doing things that we used to do as children. So with her son Edward\u2019s passion for climbing trees, exploring, and making dens, together they created Battlebox \u2013 which helps children come away from a world of virtual reality and use their imaginations. The kits come in a box (as the name suggests) and contains all that the children need to set them off for their adventures.<\/p>\n

There are various kits ranging in price from \u00a314-\u00a398, with an option to create your own (items start from as little as 55p). For \u00a314 you can purchase the Scout kit which teaches the very important lesson of tying knots. The \u00a398 kit is in collaboration with Bear Grylls: The Bear Grylls Dangerous Den Kit. See the Battlebox Website<\/a>.<\/p>\n

If you spend\u00a0over \u00a320 on Wednesday 7th August 2013 – NationalPlayDay<\/a> – you will get 20% off.<\/strong><\/p>\n

PLUS<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tweet a photo of your children’s latest adventure \u2013 whether it be tree climbing, den building or bug hunting \u2013 to @BattleBoxUK @PlayEngland #PlayDay2013<\/b>. A selection of the images will be displayed on the BattleBox Facebook, Pinterest and Twitter and the winning picture will receive an Essential Bear Grylls Dangerous Den Kit<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\"Bear_grylls_den\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We were delighted to be invited to a day out with Battlebox and The Bear Grylls Survival Academy to find out what we thought about The Bear Grylls Dangerous Den Kit.<\/p>\n

Well it turned out that this wasn’t just a day for getting the children outdoors \u2013 but to get the parents involved as well. There are so many demands on today\u2019s parents, that I think we lose sight of how important us spending time with our children really is. I am guilty of setting up activities, and at most, just taking photos, rather than getting in on the action.<\/p>\n

\"mum_joining_in_with_kids\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We were taken off to a secret location (Kensington Gardens) and started off with some survival tips and training exercises. This involved some camouflage make-up \u2013 to say that the boys enjoyed covering my face is an understatement! Luckily it easily cleaned off with baby wipes.<\/p>\n

\"applying_paint\"<\/a><\/p>\n

It also involved me jumping up and down, running around and pretending to be a horse! Children model the behaviour of their parents, so me joining in was a great way to encourage them, and felt like a fun way to keep fit (it was very hot and I was sweating).<\/p>\n

\"earth_worms\"<\/a><\/p>\n

We were told about things we needed in order to stay alive in the wild \u2013 such as food, clean water and somewhere dry and safe to sleep. This is where we were introduced to the meal worm \u2013 which contains as much protein as a steak. That the youngest person in the WORLD to EVER eat one was 6 years old, before they were offered up to the group. I am very proud to say that my 5 year old son\u2019s hand shot straight up as he eagerly tried a meal worm.<\/p>\n

\"eating_mealworm\"<\/a>\"earth_worm\"<\/a>\"Rafal<\/p>\n

He was then rewarded with a badge. My other son also ate one, relieving me of the need to encourage them \u2013 yes, I was chicken and waited until lunchtime for sandwiches.<\/p>\n

The Kit itself was a heavy box and we were supplied with newspapers (to fill the 6 Hessian sand bags, but we could have used the dry leaves on the ground). It contained a Hefty Khaki Backpack which will carry the whole kit in. The boys were given one of these bags each and loved them, they used them on their next trip back to London.<\/p>\n

\"tree_climbing\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The boys had already found a tree as soon as we arrived at the secret location, and made sure it was a good one for climbing. They had found some broken branches and were keen to use them to help further camouflage the den. With some strong para cord the tough camouflage tarpaulin was draped across and held into the ground by 10 holdfast steel pegs banged in with a sturdy wooden mallet. I was impressed with the fact that my son knew the names\/techniques of some knots from Cub Scouts. The boys came across their first challenge as they had ran out of pegs doing the first side, they not only needed to do the second side, but to put up their Wooden \u201cDanger mines\u201d sign and Union Jack Flag (they ended up cutting some of the para cord and tying it up). They then covered their den in a tough camouflage net.<\/p>\n

\"danger_tree\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The kit also contains a Caley\u2019s Heroes Chocolate bar \u2013 the original Marching chocolate given out to British Troops during the Great War. Retailing at 80p with a 5p donation from Battlebox to Help for Heroes with each bar sold. We also had some Snaps \u2013 which enable me to teach the boys the importance of not throwing them near people (and actually that they needed a hard ground to work). They were also given a 7 in one survival whistle (retailing at \u00a38.00) and it most definitely was a hit \u2013 and will be useful on the next hike with the Scouts!<\/p>\n

The Bear Grylls Living Wild book that comes with the kit is fantastic. Only having time for a quick look it is beautifully illustrated and very informative \u2013 such as advice on if your feet are going to get wet taking a couple of sets of socks. My boys and I could have benefited from this advice when we went in the Brook as they got very sore legs walking home from where their wellies rubbed.<\/p>\n

\"bear_grylls\"<\/a><\/p>\n

I try to be really thrifty, and if I was asked before the day, I would say that this could easily be achieved by using a bed-sheet in the garden. But actually the quality of the product was really good, and could obviously be used over and over again, storing neatly in the bag. I am pretty certain that the boys could camp out in the rain in it too. We talked about how we didn’t have the right trees in our garden \u2013 but that, actually, we could utilise the washing line! This is definitely on our Christmas wishlist.<\/p>\n

\"dangerous_den\"<\/a><\/p>\n

The boys even took their dad to their tree to show him where they had made the den. I bet my 10 year old would love for his dad to do the 24 hour survival course<\/a> now and it would be great for a bit of male bonding!<\/p>\n

\"tunnel\"<\/a><\/p>\n

You may recognise the Battlebox brand as it was on episode 7 of series 9 of the Apprentice, where teams had to sell products at the Motorhome and Caravan show. Both teams bid for the chance to sell the Dangerous Den kit \u2013 but winning team Evolve were the ones that won the pitch Battlebox on The Apprentice<\/a>\u00a0– A different Kind of Adventure.<\/p>\n

The Bear Grylls Dangerous Den Kit was named the winner of the ToyTalk Outdoor Toy of the Year 2012 and was Highly Commended Toyology\u2019s Active Play Award 2013.<\/p>\n

Related Posts<\/span><\/p>\n

NorthernMum<\/a><\/p>\n

Tiredmummyoftwo<\/a><\/p>\n

FamilyFourFun<\/a><\/p>\n

Kind thanks to Battlebox<\/a>, CampbellBell.com<\/a>, Bear Grylls Survival Academy<\/a> &\u00a0Photos courtesy of\u00a0MacPhotography<\/a>. We were invited to the event and provided with lunch, a travel allowance and the boys received a gift bag each. I was not asked to write this post but decided to because I really endorse the product. All opinions are my own.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Sunday\"
\n\"Family<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You may think that as I\u2019m a mother of 4 boys, then I know a thing or two about how to be perfect \u2013 you know happy kids, working, clean house etc. Well the thing is that I\u2019ve learnt how to be perfect for my family, and some times that means moving with the times. … Read more<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12410,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[2017],"tags":[2565,2566,2567,2568],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/54.155.211.39\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Rafal-M-Photos-4.jpg?fit=1698%2C1008","uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/54.155.211.39\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Rafal-M-Photos-4.jpg?fit=1698%2C1008",1698,1008,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/54.155.211.39\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Rafal-M-Photos-4.jpg?resize=150%2C150",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/54.155.211.39\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Rafal-M-Photos-4.jpg?fit=300%2C178",300,178,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/54.155.211.39\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Rafal-M-Photos-4.jpg?fit=768%2C456",768,456,true],"large":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/54.155.211.39\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Rafal-M-Photos-4.jpg?fit=1024%2C608",1024,608,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/54.155.211.39\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Rafal-M-Photos-4.jpg?fit=1536%2C912",1536,912,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/54.155.211.39\/wp-content\/uploads\/2013\/08\/Rafal-M-Photos-4.jpg?fit=1698%2C1008",1698,1008,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"pinkoddy","author_link":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/author\/pinkoddy\/"},"uagb_comment_info":8,"uagb_excerpt":"You may think that as I\u2019m a mother of 4 boys, then I know a thing or two about how to be perfect \u2013 you know happy kids, working, clean house etc. Well the thing is that I\u2019ve learnt how to be perfect for my family, and some times that means moving with the times.…","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pepM9j-3e3","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12403"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=12403"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12403\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/12410"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=12403"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=12403"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/54.155.211.39\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=12403"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}