Oversuits and wellies

How do you wear your oversuit?


  • Total voters
    95

mikem

Well-known member
Typing wellie & suit into search brought up this masterpiece (that has no real relevance, but is worth repeating):
 

mikem

Well-known member
I have some suits that will fit (relatively) easily over my boots & others that the legs are too narrow...
 

caving_fox

Active member
Inside. I crawl a fair bit and haven't ever had wellies fill with anything but water. Ease of draining certainly helps, but mostly my oversuits legs won't easily fit over my size 11 wellies. My Landjoff might have enough spare material, but even then why fight and faff when you can just tuck. I'm sure outside will roll off/up during caving anyway.
 

Huge

Active member
Outside. No big views one way or the other, just always done it that way. Seems a bit more streamlined and helps keep grit out of your wellies. Can sometimes wade through water that is over the depth of my wellies but get very little water inside. The legs don't wear out quicker than other parts of the suit and don't roll up and off the wellies. It's no big deal to just hook the front of the leg up a bit and empty the wellies out.
 
I'm just surprised no one has mentioned that their oversuit simply will not stay tucked inside. Maybe my body is disproportionate, maybe it's because I stopped tucking in when I was still wearing club warmbacs rather than an appropriately sized AV, but any sort of crawling or climbing at all and the oversuit pops out of the wellie. Usually only on the right leg as well, it looked supremely silly.
 

MarkS

Moderator
How about drain holes in your wellies for wet trips, no drain holes for dry trips? Oversuit outside for both, for reasons stated above.
I've never had any particular issues with grit etc. getting into my wellies with my suit tucked in, so it's never really seemed necessary.

Odd how people have such different perspectives on suits fitting and what happens when they cave, e.g.
I'm just surprised no one has mentioned that their oversuit simply will not stay tucked inside.
whereas I find my suit doesn't stay outside my wellies as easily as it stays inside - I have to keep pulling the legs down when they're on the outside.
 

Frog2

Member
Custom, made to measure suits must be the answer.
And/or elastic straps on the bottom of the oversuit to go under the feet. Option for either inside or outside the wellie.
Wellies with one way valves in the soles.
 

A_Northerner

Active member
Depends on the trip.

I spent a year with one welly outside and one welly inside to test this, and the one I preferred more was on the inside, with a snoopy loop round each ankle to keep things in place.

But it really depended on what cave I was in, I just preferred my method more often than the other method. I also have feet that are small enough that I can get my AV Oversuit on whilst already wearing my wellies, so I can drive to a cave in my full caving kit and don my oversuit to get going.

With wellies tucked in + snoopies securing the suit I can do most trips with dry feet, even up to waist deep water for short lengths of time.
 

A_Northerner

Active member
I've never had any particular issues with grit etc. getting into my wellies with my suit tucked in, so it's never really seemed necessary.

Odd how people have such different perspectives on suits fitting and what happens when they cave, e.g.

whereas I find my suit doesn't stay outside my wellies as easily as it stays inside - I have to keep pulling the legs down when they're on the outside.
Snoopy round the ankles Mark, I can offer you a pair if you want!
 

Babyhagrid

Well-known member
Odd how people have such different perspectives on suits fitting and what happens when they cave, e.g.
.

I think that oversuits are not that tailored to peoples individual body types and sizes and the action of caving is pretty good at making them ride up and get disturbed.
 

kay

Well-known member
If you tuck the oversuit in, the wellies shovel up gravel when you're crawling.
 

pwhole

Well-known member
If you wear football shinpads inside your wellies, they don't - and you don't hurt your shins, ever ;)
 
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