Wellies

  • Thread starter Thread starter Neil B
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Neil B

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What wellies does everyone use, and does anyone prefer lace-up boots? I ask because like a lot of cavers, I'm just using yer average garden centre £10 welly at the moment, but I feel that they lack in grip and don't inspire much confidence when I'm climbing or traversing.

Is it worthwhile investing in dedicated caving wellies, such as the rubber Etche ones that Bernie's Cafe sell at around £20?
 
I use the Dunlop suretred ones with steel toecaps as sold in HnH for 20 quid, and also it seems in Machine Mart, for a little bit cheaper.

The main difference between them and the average garden welly is the Nitrile sole- much better grip, even on wet limestone! The steel shank in the sole gives better climbing support too.

I gladly pay the bit extra, although the pair I have at the moment were police surplus and cost me 8 quid. I have to make do with my old bendy normal to ones at the dig in Bagshawe and i really notice the difference. And it hurts my little toes to crawl in them now.... :cry:
 
suretred for me to - they seem derigur in the peak. Mine too, were from police surplus (worn once) for 8 quid. :)
 
Thanks for the feedback folks, I'm going to get myself a pair of those steel toe-capped Suretreds, real cavers' wellies. I'll save the Alan Titchmarsh Specials for the dig. :)
 
A word of caution: nitrile soled wellies when used in "popular" caves (i.e. ones with smooth surfaces here and there) are effing potentially lethal - you might as well be wearing ice skates. Having shelled out £30 for a pair of Dunlop Puroforts I found this out the very next day; unfortunately there was no refund/return policy at the Farmers' supply shop where they were purchased so I had to go cap in hand to BAT Products and buy a "proper" pair of rubber-soled wellies which stick like a sticky thing onto almost any surface.

Despite having spent £60 in two days on wellies this is not a tale of sour grapes since I have two pairs of wellies now - one for outdoor use and one for caving. Heyho, you learn something new every day.

P.S. I've had to retype this (again) since all you have to do with this software is move the mouse to make an edit in the text and the whole thing disappears - very annoying. Hence if there's a typographical error I'm not going to alter it and you'll have to forgive my spelling. I'm going to submit this before it gets zapped!
 
Why are wellies at least £30 round here; you lot all seem to be paying under £20? The £30 pairs are the cheap ones; the shops have them up as much as £70+. I'm beginning to suspect that people round here are getting ripped off. Myself included.
 
Get Hitch & Hike to mail order you some if you're getting skanked like that - £70 for a pair of wellies - f*** that :shock:
 
I've always found Dunlop wellies to be potentially lethal on any surface. The best I've found for caving come from Mole Valley Farmers. They last for years and have excellent grip - and at £7 they're cheap enough to run 2 pairs. a pair for dry caves and a second pair that have been drilled with holes to facilitate drainage in wet caves. mole Valley have a website, but I'm not sure if they do mail order. Want me to get you a pair, Chris?
 
Thanks for the offer but there's a Mole Valley Farms nearby so perhaps I'll go to them for a browse on my next day off. Like you I presently run two pairs for caving - one dry, one wet; the wet pair being one size larger so I can get neoprene socks on (and get the wellies off without needing to drill holes in them! - something I'd done in the past with a "standard" size but the problem was with the neo socks on my feet were getting squeezed enough for it to make them ache). Glad to hear someone else doesn't rate Dunlop for caving.
As for the prices, there's a lot of weekend warriors around here with their horses and 4X4s and somehow I get the feeling they weren't born round these yer parts. Oi spec they've got more money than sense and more vanity than money.
 
Definitely Suretred.
They have good grip and seem to last longer against abrasion. I get through about two pairs a year as most ofmy caving is in very aggresive (mineralised) caves and Suretred last the longest.
I find that there is a sweet spot with wellies when they are worn enough to get a split on the side, which aids draining, but not too worn out when they loose all thier stiffness and I end up twisting my ankles through lack of support.
I find other wellies wear through before this point and the toe-cap falls out but then you use these for marking passages in Mendip dont you? esp. Swildons?
I have got Suretred from Eyres in Brough, Derbyshire for £17 but it was a few years ago.

Cap'n Chris said:
P.S. I've had to retype this (again) since all you have to do with this software is move the mouse to make an edit in the text and the whole thing disappears - very annoying. Hence if there's a typographical error I'm not going to alter it and you'll have to forgive my spelling. I'm going to submit this before it gets zapped!
Click to expand...

I often write my replies in word then cut and paste into the reply box. I do this for two reasons, firstly I rely too much on the spell checker :oops: and secondly I dont not trust t'internet
 
Not ever had any probs with text disapearing. Very odd. Like the idea about word though, since Im at work like.
 
Johnny said:
Definitely Suretred.
They have good grip and seem to last longer against abrasion.
Click to expand...
I'm definately going to jump on the Suretred bandwagon and give 'em a try. The abrasion factor was one of the reasons I decided against getting the rubber soled Etche wellies from Bernies, I reckon rubber soles would wear down pretty rapidly in a cave. But if I don't get on with the Suretreds, then I'll go for rubber. I wouldn't mind buying say, two pairs a year for ultra grippiness.
 
SamT said:
Not ever had any probs with text disapearing. Very odd. Like the idea about word though, since Im at work like.
Click to expand...
I've never had any probs with vanishing text either.. what I do, is after typing my post, I press Ctrl-A to select all the text, then Ctrl-C to clip it all to the clipboard. So if my post disappears into a cyber black-hole during the submit process then I can get it back again by doing a Ctrl-V.
 
SamT said:
Not ever had any probs with text disapearing. Very odd. Like the idea about word though, since Im at work like.
Click to expand...

I've had that problem on a running website and had to use a wordprocessor then paste the message in. Never any problems on this site though.

Rhys
 
Neil B said:
I ask because like a lot of cavers, I'm just using yer average garden centre £10 welly at the moment, but I feel that they lack in grip and don't inspire much confidence when I'm climbing or traversing.
Click to expand...

I am one of those "lot of cavers" and consider it one of the worst moves I ever made in caving gear.

:oops:

Agree with you on the issues of grip (or lack of!!) and after reading these posts, I think I will sell my body and get the funds together for a pair of Suretred.

:D
 
And here they are;

suretred.jpg


:worthy: All hail the mighty Suretred :lol:

http://w01-0504.web.dircon.net/acatalog/Main_Menu_Wellies_50.html
 
Millets £10 - 2 pairs in 3 years and ~200 trips. Bargain :D

I think the person charging £70 :shock: is having a laugh - they're only wellies for f@*ks sake
 
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