Cap'n Chris said:
Just to even out the balance a bit, started on a Stop, moved to a Simple, returned to Stop. Prefer the idea of a piece of kit that if you lose hold of the rope gravity doesn't take over. Plus the versatility of it.
I suppose it does all come down to personal preference and the type of caving you do.
I found the Stop a total arse when space is constricted as you need a hand on the descender (I know you can put it on a cowstail, but still an arse).
The Simple fixes this problem and is also much smoother.
A petzl rack is very smooth, but far too long and makes free-hanging re-belays very hard work.
I ended up making a U-rack with 4 bars (2 fixed, 2 openable). I made it quite short to suit more technical SRT, rather than long pitches. The compromise here is that if you use a thicker rope it is very slow. I normally use 9mm so this isn't a problem. The other benefit of most racks is the ability to run on a double rope, which can be very handy on a pull-through trip; there is much less chance of the two halves of your rope becoming twisted together as you pull it down
In short, just as there is no one set-up that suits everybody, there is also no one set-up that suits every cave. Any basic kit you get from Bernies, Caveclimb, Starless River or wherever else will be ok, but once you get a bit more experience with it, you may swap out certain bits.