B0wz3r
Flashlight Enthusiast
Hi all, :wave:
I had my first real caving experience last week on a camping trip with my wife and kids to the Lava Bed National Monument, in Tulelake CA. There is a massive system of lava-tube caves there and we had a blast!
I did some of the more challenging ones with my son, that required helmets, gloves, and elbow and knee pads (no rappelling gear or anything like that though).
I found that my ST5-190NW worked very well most of the time, but having my SC50w+ on a lanyard around my wrist was helpful too; there were many times in sections where I could walk upright where it was invaluable to hold low to show the surface of ahead of me to help me plan my steps and avoid stumbling over things that don't show up because of the tunnel vision you get from a headlamp.
I also found having a small thrower was helpful too, for seeing down long tubes and into large chambers. I can see why now that cavers light headlamps that are throwy... I think that something that has both flood and a throw setting would be quite useful for that.
Right now, I'd love to be able to do more caving, and am planning on getting an ST6-470NW as I will be able to use for cycling as well as any further caving I do.
But, with respect to caving specific equipment, anyone have any suggestions for other gear that would be useful/essential for caving? I know I should have a good set of knee and elbow pads, gloves, etc., so any recommendations I can check out for this kind of stuff would be helpful. (I'm not willing to get into rappelling types of stuff yet, maybe in the future though.)
Thanks in advance for any info!
I had my first real caving experience last week on a camping trip with my wife and kids to the Lava Bed National Monument, in Tulelake CA. There is a massive system of lava-tube caves there and we had a blast!
I did some of the more challenging ones with my son, that required helmets, gloves, and elbow and knee pads (no rappelling gear or anything like that though).
I found that my ST5-190NW worked very well most of the time, but having my SC50w+ on a lanyard around my wrist was helpful too; there were many times in sections where I could walk upright where it was invaluable to hold low to show the surface of ahead of me to help me plan my steps and avoid stumbling over things that don't show up because of the tunnel vision you get from a headlamp.
I also found having a small thrower was helpful too, for seeing down long tubes and into large chambers. I can see why now that cavers light headlamps that are throwy... I think that something that has both flood and a throw setting would be quite useful for that.
Right now, I'd love to be able to do more caving, and am planning on getting an ST6-470NW as I will be able to use for cycling as well as any further caving I do.
But, with respect to caving specific equipment, anyone have any suggestions for other gear that would be useful/essential for caving? I know I should have a good set of knee and elbow pads, gloves, etc., so any recommendations I can check out for this kind of stuff would be helpful. (I'm not willing to get into rappelling types of stuff yet, maybe in the future though.)
Thanks in advance for any info!