Description
Appealing to children’s natural sense of adventure, The Den Kits contain all the equipment needed to build a den outdoors. Offering every child an outdoor experience whatever the weather, everywhere and for years to come – the gift of adventure.
Carefully and ethically sourced components that last. No batteries. No single-use plastic. No ‘pretend’ tools. Offering peace of mind to parents, and our planet.
Each kit includes:
- A hefty haversack made from cotton webbing that can be washed in the machine. It has a useful shoulder strap for easy carrying.
- A tough tarpaulin – waterproof as well as rot-resistant. Approx size 2.4 x 1.8m.
- A durable groundsheet – waterproof and rot-resistant. It has eyelets too, so can double up as another tarpaulin. Approx size 1.8 x 1.2 m.
- A beautiful, unique and functional wooden mallet fashioned from coppiced wood and complete with bark – made by Den Kit Co. in Shropshire.
- 10 metres of strong, natural jute rope.
- 8 holdfast steel tent pegs in a useful drawstring, cotton tent peg bag; made for Den Kit Co. in the UK.
- Helpful tips and den-building inspiration.
Plus, choose from a range of themed kits for some bonus gifts, such as a branded enamel mug, a kaleidoscope, and bunting to decorate your den with.
What our testers said
“I love this mum, my den looks pretty with the bunting. Can I add twinkly lights?” Girl aged 9
“I think we should have the net over here. Look, here’s a branch, it can stabilise it.” Boy aged 6
What our experts think
The den kits were extremely popular with all of our testers, who could have spent hours building and playing. They loved the risky play element, using rope, mallets and pegs to build their den. This is great for building confidence and resilience.
When playing with others, den-building is an excellent way for children to practise their teamwork skills. While younger children may need some extra support with this, older children did it automatically, taking on different roles such as hammering the pegs, tying the rope, or finding building materials.
It also gives children lots of opportunities to use logical thinking and problem-solving. For instance, they needed to work out the best location to build in, and were encouraged to think about aspects such as how flat the ground was or how windy the area was.
There are a few den designs on the leaflet included to get children started. We recommend that beginners start with a design that uses pre-existing supports, such as trees or fence posts, as this seemed to be the easiest to build.
Skills developed
– Supports resilience
– Encourages teamwork
– Develops problem-solving skills
