Caving Hacks, or things you learn with age?

[PeteHall]

I've been caving for 55 years, and I have never felt the need for elbow pads. One of my caving companions, however, wouldn't dream of going underground without them. Another example of one size doesn't fit all.

I wear my watch on my elbow pad strap, which saves it digging into the back of my hand when crawling and means it's always easy to check, rather than stuck under two layers of cuffs and a glove. For this reason alone, I always wear at least one elbow pad.

 

[langcliffe]

I wear my watch on my elbow pad strap, which saves it digging into the back of my hand when crawling and means it's always easy to check, rather than stuck under two layers of cuffs and a glove. For this reason alone, I always wear at least one elbow pad.

So all those posters above who wear elbow pads have a specific reason for doing so. This reinforces my original point that, as with many of the 'tips' in this thread, on the one hand the writer shouldn't be too definitive, and on the other the reader shouldn't regard them as universal truths. "One size doesn't fit all".

That doesn't negate the value of the thread, however.

 

[Roger W]

You can buy a 'dead' key (i.e. without the transponder) for many cars by sending a website e.g. keysinthepost a photo of your car keys. It won't start the engine but it will unlock the doors.

You can then put this key somewhere secure e.g. the 'secret pocket' on an AV undersuit and not worry about it getting wet in the cave. You can then lock the 'real' car keys inside the car (somewhere not obvious) and in the worst case scenario you lose the 'dead' key and have to either break in (but at least you have the real car keys to drive away with then) or phone for help and either get spare keys or get someone who knows how to break into your car non-destructively.

You could even get two 'dead' keys and leave one in a different pocket/taped inside your caving bag or something...

PS if you didn't already know, there are two pockets on a standard AV oversuit - the normal top flap pocket and the 'secret' pocket on the side

You may well find a "dead" key hidden in your transponder for getting into your car when the battery in the transponder dies or other such circumstances. You will need something to grip this to turn it in the door lock - there is a groove in the innards of the transponder to do this, but you will have locked that bit in the car. At least, that's how it works on my Ford..

 

[wormster]

Always keep your head down and reach above you when receiving any line or ladders from above!!

 

[pwhole]

That ain't correct!

Haha - are you the other one then? We meet at last

 

[MarkS]

Haha - are you the other one then? We meet at last

There are certainly more people that do wear them - I do from time to time, and I know of a few others too.

 

[pwhole]

That's good news all round then. Keeps more water out of your wellies too.

 

[kay]

When you get back to the car always take your knee pads off first. If you forget you may struggle to get your oversuit off. Inevitably you will be on Leck Fell in horizontal hail at this point.

Get the top stuff off and replaced by warm dry stuff before you even attempt to do anything with the bottom half.

Put your clothes away in reverse order, so your top half stuff comes out of the bag first. No matter how cold and miserable you feel when changing to go caving, it'll be much more cold and miserable when you come out. There's limits to the warming power of post-cave euphoria.

 

[rsch]

There are certainly more people that do wear them - I do from time to time, and I know of a few others too.

Quite - it's MarkS whose practice of doing so I copied in the first place.

 

[aricooperdavis]

You can then lock the 'real' car keys inside the car

Worth noting that this will invalidate the theft cover of almost all car insurance policies.

 

[afraidofthedank]

Being fit can help you compensate for bad technique to an extent, but good technique will make your life easier (and potentially longer).

 

[Blueberry]

Carry a knife, compass and whistle on a lanyard round your neck.

 

[Ian Ball]

Carry a knife, compass and whistle on a lanyard round your neck.

No thanks.

 

[Brains]

A friend always used to keep a Stanley knife blade duck taped to the inside of his helmet

 

[cavemanmike]

magnetic box that you can hide anywhere on the underside of your car 🚘

 

[andrewmcleod]

Carry a knife, compass and whistle on a lanyard round your neck.

but only on a breakaway lanyard (don't put anything around your neck that could strangle you, and that includes bungee cord).

I keep my knife on my harness, and my (keyring) compass and whistle in my AV secret pocket.

 

[pwhole]

So where exactly is this secret pocket?

 

[wellyjen]

So where exactly is this secret pocket?

We're not allowed to tell you.
😶

 

[mrodoc]

I used to wear a swiss army knife on a lanyard until, many years ago, I entered Dale Head Pot and it got ripped off my neck in Heartburn Crawl. And the bit of advice about not going down something you are not sure about reascending applies just as well to going up something you wouldn't like to reverse (and there are plenty of examples about).

 

[Ian Ball]

Regarding shin pads, I would say everyone who wears wellies is wearing shin protection.