I have several friends who were very involved in scouts for a number of years. Whenever they reminisce about camp outs, I am constantly amazed by the creative and various ways a group of 20 boys can manage to destroy just about everything that exists.
If it were me, and I were judging by their stories, I would buy the cheapest working model on Craig’s List, and budget for getting a new one every year. If he makes it through middle school without incinerating either the pack or a tent, then invest in a good-quality bag that is comfortable on him, and highly adjustable (the kind of bag that’s comfortable on a 14-year-old’s frame may not work as well on him when he’s 18… the more straps it has in various places, the more likely it will). Hopefully that will last him through high school and college.
He is going to grow, so that bag from year 1 probably will be too small by year 3 or 4.
An internal frame is a lot easier for the Scout leader (such as myself) to toss into the trunk.
I use an external frame, because I tend to remove weight from boys who are struggling (I have finished a trail with 3 tents and 2 sleeping bags before). For the Scout - internal is fine.
Get fitted and check out models at REI or equivalent.
See if you can find the same gear used online. FYI - Luggage stores have the right stitching gear to fix a strap, and do the work for a lot less money.
Everything gets dirty and buggy. If it is clean, that means it was not used.
After a thru hike of the AT, I can agree with this partly. Though my internal pack had a bottom zipper that allowed me to get to my pack w/o unpacking. However since when I was at the camp site I usually removed my ‘food bag’ for dinner, I only had my ‘clothes bag’, ‘sleeping bag’ and very small ‘electronics bag’ to remove to get to my tent bag.
Where bag means waterproof stuff sack full of related items.
But if you have a bottom zip your post is a non issue, if you don’t then yes you will need to remove some things. And yes digging down in a pack in the pouring rain is not fun, nor is putting 4 bags down on wet ground.