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Post-graduation caving kit

deffonotmaria

New member
Looking for a bit of advice on what kit I should be acquiring this year. I graduate (well hopefully) in July, by which time I will be wanting to venture into the big world of caving without having to rely on my uni club for gear preferably. What do people recommend for starting out?
I have managed to scrounge up money to get a full SRT kit this year as well as persuading my parents to get me a helmet for christmas to accompany my new light (thanks Tony). I'll get myself an oversuit when I can decide which one I want... (any recommendations welcome)
I'm looking for advice more towards tackle and good rope sizes (or on the alternative I might just get 200m and cut it up to different sizes).
e.g. how many carabiners/maillons to start with to give me a good foundation?
(currently procrastinating my summative based on palaeolithic cave art so I can justify asking at this time...)
 
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Whilst I’m sure some folks will go SRT caving by themselves, most don’t so the real question is who are you planning on going caving with once you leave uni?

Most folks will cave with a club or a group of friends. The bigger and popular clubs will have a tackle store full of gear to use. If you’re with a small group of friends, just figure out what you need as a group and fill the gaps. With a smart set of lengrhs, I would have thought you can do most things in the uk efficiently with about 400m of rope and 40-50 mailions/carabiners in total as a group. You can do a lot of pots with a lot less. If there’s 4 of you local to each other, then you’d only need 25% of that. Probably less because established cavers will naturally end up with more gear over time.

Rope bags that you’re happy with and nice to use make a bit of difference too.
 
On the tackle front, clubs in the non-student world also have tons of gear you can use :) 90% of the times that I need rope and krabs, I just check them out of my club's store, it's what they're there for and a significant chunk of what your membership fees are paying for. I'm mostly caving with other club members even if not on club trips, so I don't feel guilty about using club tackle.

That way, you can get away with prioritising buying other gear and building up your rope collection later.
 
Whilst I’m sure some folks will go SRT caving by themselves, most don’t so the real question is who are you planning on going caving with once you leave uni?
Hopefully the friends I've made through caving if they can deal with me that long...
But yes, my plan is to join a (Dales-based) club but I completely forgot they have tackle stores that could be accessible to new members.
That way, you can get away with prioritising buying other gear and building up your rope collection later
such as?
 
I suggest you get some knee pads. I like the Warmbac ones. Maybe try for another Christmas pressie request.

Northern caves guidebook?

My advice on oversuits is to buy the one that fits best.

Good luck
 
Look at what your caving buddies use and see if it fits your budget?
What sort of caving do you do? That has a big effect. General dales srt - thermal, furry, cordura type oversuit, wetsocks wellies and decent work gloves.
Like extended ducks like poppy passage? Add neofleece and we’ll fitting wetsuit hood.
Dry south wales caving, ditch the furry and add some running leggings
In terms of underwear I swear by Nike pro combat pants as they have no seams to chafe during srt.
Always worth having a couple of tackle bags.
If you want rope just get a couple of short ropes like a 30 and a 50 and 10 karas or maillons. You can get a lot of places with that and do all the pull through in kingsdale.
 
I'd definitely hold off buying any rope if funds are limited. Two or three krabs of your own, in addition to the SRT kit will always find a use, but you can (and will!) add to your collection over time as and when you can afford.
For oversuits, you will probably get 4 different opinions from 3 cavers. Both Starless River and ActionStash have under-£100 options.
If you go for Cordura, you may want to get a size too big, as it's apt to shrink with use.
Keep an eye on eBay (and UKC!) - I got my current PVC oversuit 2nd-hand at about a third of the price of a new one, and I also picked up a heap of krabs/maillons that way. You even see old rope for sale sometimes, obviously caveat emptor applies, but wouldn't rule it out.
 
As indicated above, join a well established club with a decent tacklestore. The "well established" bit implies a club with its own hostel in a caving area. Cheap weekend accommodation and you'll always have a base to head for, even if it's a last minute decision and you just turn up on spec to see who is doing what. (There are lots of other benefits of becoming a member of a good club of course but I'll not go into that as it's been pointed out many times before.)
 
I'll just drop my current kit list which I've found satisfactory in Llangatwg (which tends to destroy kit):

Oversuit: Warmbac extra cordura version (only oversuit which doesn't get wrecked after about 6 months so enough said) - I've heard good things about AV oversuits for vertical caving though..
Undersuit: AV British Arphidia (This undersuit is really starting to f##### wind me up... the bloody zips are broken and everybody else seems to be having the same issue. Maybe worth looking into warmbac?? Though I suspect if you're just doing vertical caving it should be fine. Love the undersuit otherwise)
Light: HM70R (enough light on one battery to last a 3 day camp)
Helmet: CT Galaxy (assuming it's the same model, I've had it for 14 years!!)

Rope and krabs wise - I wouldn't bother. Just join a club and use their tackle. That being said, worth grabbing a few steel krabs (cheaper!!)
 
I'll just drop my current kit list which I've found satisfactory in Llangatwg (which tends to destroy kit):

Oversuit: Warmbac extra cordura version (only oversuit which doesn't get wrecked after about 6 months so enough said) - I've heard good things about AV oversuits for vertical caving though..
Undersuit: AV British Arphidia (This undersuit is really starting to f##### wind me up... the bloody zips are broken and everybody else seems to be having the same issue. Maybe worth looking into warmbac?? Though I suspect if you're just doing vertical caving it should be fine. Love the undersuit otherwise)
Light: HM70R (enough light on one battery to last a 3 day camp)
Helmet: CT Galaxy (assuming it's the same model, I've had it for 14 years!!)

Rope and krabs wise - I wouldn't bother. Just join a club and use their tackle. That being said, worth grabbing a few steel krabs (cheaper!!)
For what it's worth - The AV undersuits both use a terrible zip. However, http://www.jumpsuits.randomstuff.org.uk/ can replace them for a much hardier zip for £20 or so.

This way, you get the warmth and comfort of the AV undersuit, but without the hassle of the tiny mud gathering zip it is originally supplied with.
 
If on a tight budget, i'd recommend sorting your own personal kit first, and leave the rigging bits. If you're just starting out then you're probably unlikely to do much heavy digging and instead more sporting trips. If budget allows, I would recommend the AV undersuits and oversuits. Then, as Badlad suggests, a pair of adjustable kneepads to keep your suits going longer. Make sure you get a good fit on your suits - If too tight, they may puncture and tear easier. If too loose, they'll snag and just be a pain in the arse.
Keep an eye on Ebay for second hand suits - I got an Alp Design Bitex (i think it's called) for £10 and it was 3 years in before it needed to be rebuilt.
In terms of SRT, keep it simple and what you're used to. You can always swap out for the posh gadgets as you go.

As mentioned above, joining a club gets you easy access to kit, accomodation and cavers! Some clubs have discounts negotiated with various gear shops too, so that could be worth keeping an eye out for :)

Tom
 
Without wanting to drift too far off topic, zips can be made to last way longer by an occasional application of wax to the teeth and a pinch of the zip slider with pliers. My AV undersuit must be about 10 years old now and is still on the original zip despite caving in plenty of squalid locations.
 
They haven't posted on their FB page since 2013, although I know someone who got stuff from them in 2020:
 
They haven't posted on their FB page since 2013, although I know someone who got stuff from them in 2020:
Too, not wanting to drift topic, but they're still active - I had a suit repaired November last year.
 
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