A
AMW
Guest
may be worth ago although Marcus would have to be banned from playing as he has the self control of a magpie in a jewellers when it comes to kit 
Andrew.
Andrew.
W
wormster
Guest
AMW said:
No No NO NO
Its:
"You die, we split your kit......"
A
AMW
Guest
I have a feeling my wife would beat you to it
Andrew
Flix said:Hi, caving is a very new interest for me, so forgive me if this info was posted eleswhere.
What I need to know is the cost of caving. How much would one likely spend on a day out caving? If you joined a club, would they provide the equipment, or is it expected that you provide your own?
Thanks,
Flix
Getting back on topic:
Your first few trips shouldn't cost you anything (except petrol perhaps) if you contact a caving club in your area. Any reasonable club will provide you with lighting and a helmet, and they will have all the "tackle" required - ropes, ladders etc, for your first few trips.
After that, if you decide you want to carry on caving, the cost is up to you. As has been said elsewher in this topic, you can spend a few pounds on cheap lights and helmets, or lots on a state-of-the-art LED lamp. You can use old boilersuits but you may prefer to splash out on expensive waterproof suits. It is up to you.
Have a look at http://www.trycaving.co.uk/
Or come along to http://mendipcavinggroup.org.uk/ if you live near Mendip
whitelackington
New member
Two Lithium batteries, charger, FX5, helmet, wet socks, fleece undersuit, warmback oversuit, balaclava, wellingtons,
that should get you going,
about ?500 or ?600.
that should get you going,
about ?500 or ?600.
A
andymorgan
Guest
whitelackington said:
That is probably more around ?300 actually!
lamp and charger ~ ?140
Helmet ~ ?40 (although I see Inglesport have a petzl lamp and helmet combo for ?100 at the mo)
wet socks ~ ?10
balaclava ~ ?10
Wellys ~ ?7
oversuit ~?65
undersuit ~ ?50
northern optional
SRT kit ~?150
Maybe cave shops would give a discount if all are purchased at the same time as well.
Not wishing to be overly fussy (but being so anyway) I've amended some of your prices to reflect the cheapest and the more durable versions that could be bought. That makes it even cheaper and the gear will last plenty of trips, despite being cheaper. Personally I'd buy a Petzl Spelios helmet-light combo, or a helmet and an ex-hire light, saving even more!
andymorgan said:
Skyrmy
Member
Why don't we let him see if he likes it first - before inundating him with tech specs and prices
As has been said - contact a caving club as they'll hopefully provide kit for the first couple of underground sessions - I know I have on many occaisions (loaned gear out that is).
If you're caving in the dales you can always hire what you need from Bernies for ?11 per day
As has been said - contact a caving club as they'll hopefully provide kit for the first couple of underground sessions - I know I have on many occaisions (loaned gear out that is).
If you're caving in the dales you can always hire what you need from Bernies for ?11 per day
whitelackington
New member
andymorgan said:
Your having a giraffe,
two lithium batteries on their jack jones would be ?150!
Where do you get your stuff from, Knock Off .com
shotlighter
Active member
Any that are free preferablyAnne said:
menacer
Active member
graham said:
So you can save yourself carrying about 200g of weight......or you could have a pee before caving.....the same weight saving....
Have you ever noticed, it seems to be the fatter cyclist that will spend an extra ?1000 on carbon fiber bike frames to save 5lbs in weight rather than just loose 5lbs in weight.....
(above figures probably not accurate...im just teasing really...)
paul
Moderator
Jeez - some people don't try to make it easy for someone to get into caving.... I didn't have oodles of money when I started while still at school - nor did my caving friends at the time.
Instead of making up expensive shopping lists, just follow the advice of some of the others: find a local Caving Club (use the Try Caving site or Google).
Borrow the essentials for the first few times underground - many clubs have the bare essentials to borrow.
At the minimum wear warm, old clothes if you cannot borrow a fleece suit and if you cannot borrow a caving oversuit, a cheap cotton boiler suit will do to start with as will a builders helmet. You can use trainers or whatever but boots would be better and wellies are better than boots.
You can always get the rest of the gear later and a bit at a time.
Don't just walk into a caving shop and buy the lot - ask around first and see if you can borrow a helmet, light or whatever and try them first. Start with the bits which are personal to you with regard to size and comfort. If you have a choice between buying a light or caving suit and can still borrow a light - get the suit first as it will be more likely to fit you better than a borrowed one.
If you eventually need SRT (Single Rope Technique - used for abseiling down ropes and climbing back up them) and need to borrow stuff, again at least get the bits personal to you such as cowstails and footloop/safety link first then harness, then the rest afterwards.
Instead of making up expensive shopping lists, just follow the advice of some of the others: find a local Caving Club (use the Try Caving site or Google).
Borrow the essentials for the first few times underground - many clubs have the bare essentials to borrow.
At the minimum wear warm, old clothes if you cannot borrow a fleece suit and if you cannot borrow a caving oversuit, a cheap cotton boiler suit will do to start with as will a builders helmet. You can use trainers or whatever but boots would be better and wellies are better than boots.
You can always get the rest of the gear later and a bit at a time.
Don't just walk into a caving shop and buy the lot - ask around first and see if you can borrow a helmet, light or whatever and try them first. Start with the bits which are personal to you with regard to size and comfort. If you have a choice between buying a light or caving suit and can still borrow a light - get the suit first as it will be more likely to fit you better than a borrowed one.
If you eventually need SRT (Single Rope Technique - used for abseiling down ropes and climbing back up them) and need to borrow stuff, again at least get the bits personal to you such as cowstails and footloop/safety link first then harness, then the rest afterwards.
M
MSD
Guest
One other thing....my advice is don't buy ANYTHING which isn't proper gear. No crappy builder's helmets, no cotton boiler suits, etc. etc. Save up and buy decent stuff from the beginning (and borrow what you don't have). It's cheaper in the long run.
Mark
Mark
Peter Burgess
New member
paul said:
That's more or less what I did. My first underground places were very easy. All I needed was something to stop my clothes getting filthy, a helmet to stop me cutting my head open, and a lamp.
1) Builder's helmet.
2) Cotton boilersuit.
3) Stinky.
When I started going into places that weren't dry and easy walkabout/crawlabout stuff, and where my clothes started to get ripped to shreds I bought an oversuit, wetsuit, and proper helmet.
If you want to start off caving in stream caves, and climbing shafts and the like then you would be better off borrowing and then buying proper stuff.
It depends on what your intentions are. When I started, I was only interested in exploring our local mines. I hardly needed to shell out on wetsuits, heavy-duty oversuits, and proper caving boots and helmets. That came later as I decided to go further afield.
Hughie
Active member
I started out with my normal work gear - overalls and wellies - and a hired light, belt and hat.
No need for massive expense until you decide it's actually for you.
As others have said, best to approach a club - www.trycaving.co.uk should give you some good clubs to try where you will undoubtedly be able to borrow some kit.
It's actually very cheap.
No need for massive expense until you decide it's actually for you.
As others have said, best to approach a club - www.trycaving.co.uk should give you some good clubs to try where you will undoubtedly be able to borrow some kit.
It's actually very cheap.
cap n chris
Well-known member
Flip-flops, a condom and a box of matches. Everything else is just overkill.
whitelackington
New member
Trouble with the just borrow it approach is
it has to be lent by someone.
Now that is fine if it is your bestest mate or your spouse or parent or child and you live in the same house or in the same village and will be travelling in the same vehicle and returning in the same vehicle.
BUT any other combination is almost guaranteed to loose / damage gear.
Then usually none knows nuthing!!!
Result lost / damaged gear and the lender is shy next time. :-\
it has to be lent by someone.
Now that is fine if it is your bestest mate or your spouse or parent or child and you live in the same house or in the same village and will be travelling in the same vehicle and returning in the same vehicle.
BUT any other combination is almost guaranteed to loose / damage gear.
Then usually none knows nuthing!!!
Result lost / damaged gear and the lender is shy next time. :-\
