Every time a Pathfinder earns an honor, they receive a small embroidered patch to sew onto their sash: proof they learned something new with their own hands. With more than 500 honors available in the official Pathfinder program, organized into areas ranging from nature to technology, it's natural to ask: which ones do most kids earn? The honest answer is that there's no single official ranking published by the church, and popularity shifts from club to club and region to region. But some honors are so classic, so tied to the club's day-to-day life, that they show up on practically every sash. Those are the ones we're going to talk about.
First, what is an honor?
An honor is a small hands-on course where the Pathfinder studies a topic, completes a list of requirements, and, upon finishing, receives an embroidered patch for the sash. The idea took root early in the movement's history: in 1928, the Adventist youth program launched 16 vocational honors, including mechanics, bird study, cooking, gardening, and photography.
The very next year, in 1929, the number rose to 35, with the addition of topics that would become classics, like camping, beekeeping, and carpentry. Since then, the list has kept growing, and today it tops 500 honors, grouped into thematic areas that make choosing easier.
The areas that organize it all
Before getting to the favorites, it's worth understanding how honors are grouped. The official material divides the program into areas such as Arts and Crafts, Agricultural Activities, Missionary Activities, Professional Activities, Recreational Activities, Science and Health, Nature Study, and Household Arts, plus regional honors and masters (advanced levels).
This organization helps explain why certain honors come up so often: they tend to fall in the areas most tied to the club's practical life. Camping, tending to someone who got hurt, cooking as a group, and tying a rope safely are skills the club uses constantly, so the corresponding honors end up being earned by a lot of people.
First Aid, Camping, and Knots: the foundation every club uses
If there's a trio that shows up in nearly every club, this is it. First Aid falls under Science and Health and is almost a life prerequisite: since the club runs camping trips, hikes, and outdoor activities, knowing how to improvise a bandage, handle a cut, or help someone who's feeling unwell is knowledge that can genuinely be used at any moment.
Camping is the honor that speaks directly to the soul of the movement. Being a Pathfinder largely means living close to nature: pitching a tent, cooking outdoors, and sleeping under the stars. Learning to plan and carry out a safe camping trip is almost a rite of passage.
Knots and Lashings, meanwhile, is the quiet skill behind everything: it's what holds the tent up, secures the tarp, builds the pioneering structure (those wooden frames lashed together), and keeps rope-based activities safe. Because it's useful in so many other activities, it tends to be one of the first honors Pathfinders earn.
"Camping, aiding, and knot-tying aren't just honors: they're the tools that make the club run."Why this trio shows up in almost every club
Read alsoKnots and Lashings Honor: The RequirementsSwimming, Cooking, and the everyday favorites
Some honors are popular simply because they're fun and fit naturally into the routine. Swimming combines water safety with something kids love; in warm regions or near a river or beach, it becomes an almost guaranteed presence at camping trips. Cooking, under Household Arts, has obvious appeal: you learn by doing, and in the end, everyone gets to eat the result.
It's worth noting that many of these honors are tied to the regular classes (Friend, Companion, Explorer, Ranger, Voyager, and Guide). Since certain honors are part of the class requirements, they end up being earned by practically every Pathfinder of a given age, which naturally makes them very common.
Nature: Birds, Stars, and the passion for observing
The Nature Study area holds some of the best-loved honors precisely because they turn an outing into a discovery. Birds is one of the pioneers (it was among the original 16 from 1928, known back then as 'bird study') and to this day delights anyone who enjoys heading out with binoculars to identify species.
Stars carries that special charm of a nighttime campout: lying on the ground, looking up at the sky, and learning to recognize constellations becomes one of the most memorable experiences for many Pathfinders. These honors capture the spirit of the movement well, blending contact with nature and real learning.
So, which one is really the 'most popular'?
Here's where honesty comes in. There's no single official ranking of most-earned honors published by the Adventist structure, and it would be inaccurate to name an absolute number one. Popularity depends on many factors: the region (a coastal club does more Swimming; an inland club might lean toward more field honors), what's in that year's class plan, the club's resources, and even the enthusiasm of a particular instructor.
What can be said with confidence is that honors like First Aid, Camping, Knots, Swimming, Cooking, Birds, and Stars are widely recognized and common, because they support the club's core activities or are tied to the classes. If you're just starting out, any one of them is an excellent entry point, and what matters most isn't even the patch, but what you learn along the way.
"The pretty patch is just the ending. What stays with you for life is the skill you learned."The real value of an honor