Dr. Dave`s cave gear list

Equipment
Cave pack
Helmet
Primary light
Backup light
Hand light
Knee pads
Elbow pads (optional)
Gloves
Clothing
Boots
Water bottle, 1 L
Compass
Bargain Basics
Item
Military fanny pack
MSA V-Gard w/strap*
Coleman headlamp spotlight
Coleman headlamp 3-LED
Garrity Mini LED flashlight
Volleyball kneepads
None
Gardening gloves
Owned old pants, shirts, etc.
Rubber work boots
Nalgene HDPE 32 oz
Silva Starter
Source
MS
KS + HD
Wal
Wal
Wal
Wal
Wal
home
Wal
KS
Wal
Total
Retail
Price
$15.00
$25.00
$20.00
$15.00
$8.00
$9.00
$0.00
$2.00
free
$20.00
$6.50
$9.00
$120.50
Better than Basic
Item
Lost Creek TAG Pack
Black Diamond Half-Dome
Princeton Tec Corona
Princeton Tec Quad
Mini-Maglight LED
Howitzer kneepads
Athletic elbow pads
Nitrile-palm polyester gloves
Poly-cotton coveralls
Ozark Trail hiking boots
Nalgene HDPE 16 oz x 2
Silva Ranger
Source
KS
KS
KS
KS
Wal
OR1
Wal
Wal
Amzn
Wal
KS
Wal
Total
Retail
Price
$67.00
$60.00
$58.00
$35.00
$25.00
$25.00
$5.00
$5.00
$55.00
$25.00
$9.50
$43.00
$412.50
*V-Gard construction helmets are sold by both Karst
Sports and Home Depot for $8 to $11. A 4-point,
quick-release strap (Karst Sports, $6) must be added
for safety. The included nuts & bolts can be replaced
with 3/16" aluminum binding posts (Home Depot,
$4) for a more finished (and rust resistant)
appearance. Finally, a set of helmet clips (Karst
Sports, $5) is required to mount a headlight. Total
price is around $25.
The cost of batteries for the lights is not included.
Cavers should carry extra batteries for each light
source. Rechargeable batteries require a higher
initial investment cost, but are much less expensive
than alkaline batteries over time. Avoid rapid
chargers since they decrease battery life. Some
cavers like to use lights with all the same battery
size so that extra batteries are interchangeable.
Amzn = Amazon
Cmor = Campmor
KS = Karst Sports
MS = Military Surplus
OR1 = On Rope 1
TS = Tractor Supply Co.
Equipment
Cave pack
Helmet
Primary light
Backup light
Hand light
Knee pads
Elbow pads (optional)
Gloves
Clothing
Boots
Water bottle, 1 L
Compass
My Gear (Dave Thomas)
Item
Lost Creek TAG pack
Petzl Ecrin Roc
Princeton Tec Apex
Princeton Tex Corona
Mini-Maglight 1 watt LED
Howitzer knee pads
GGG elbow pads
Nitrile-coated polyester gloves
Lost Creek Deluxe Coverall
Heavy rubber boots
Nalgene poly-bottle 16 oz x 2
Brunton Classic 9020G
Total
Note that this is a mix of the
various levels of gear quality and
price. By watching for sale
prices and carefully bidding on Ebay, I was able to reduce my
total cost considerably. All
lights use AA batteries.
HD = Home Depot
Wal = Wal-Mart
Source
KS
KS
Ebay
Ebay
HD
OR1
KS
Wal
KS
TS
KS
Cmor
Caver's Deluxe
Item
OR1 Expedition Pack
Petzl Vertex Vent
Princeton Tec Apex
Princeton Tec Apex
Mini-Maglight 1 watt LED
Dirty Dave's short kneepads
GGG elbow pads
Leather rappelling gloves
Nylon cave suit
Ozark Trail hiking boots
Nalgene All-terrain 22 oz x 2
Suunto KB-14
Source
OR1
KS
KS
KS
HD
KS
KS
KS
KS
Wal
KS
KS
Total
Retail
Price
$75.00
$115.00
$90.00
$90.00
$28.00
$44.00
$26.00
$28.00
$148.00
$35.00
$17.00
$117.00
$813.00
Prices do not include shipping, handling or taxes.
Careful shopping can yield better prices, but
remember that some "bargains" have higher
shipping/handling fees. See below for some real
examples of cave gear outfits.
Actual
Price
$60.00
$80.00
$44.00
$33.00
$28.00
$25.00
$25.00
$3.00
$150.00
$35.00
$10.00
$10.00
Sean's Gear
Item
Source
Used daypack (yard sale)
Petzl Elios
Ebay
Coleman headlamp spotlight
Wal
Coleman headlamp 3-LED
Wal
Husky LED flashlight
HD
Athletics kneepads
Wal
none
Polyester gloves
Wal
Owned old pants, shirts, etc.
home
Rubber rain boots
Wal
Recycled media bottles 0.5 L x 2
(No compass)
Actual
Price
$1.00
$35.00
$20.00
$15.00
$6.00
$4.00
$0.00
$1.00
free
$10.00
free
Loan Gear
Item
Military fanny pack
CAMP Armor helmet
Coleman headlamp spotlight
Coleman headlamp 3-LED
Garrity LED flashlight
Construction kneepads
Athletic elbow/knee pads
Nitrile-coated polyester gloves
Owned old pants, shirts, etc.
Rubber rain boots
Nalgene PC 16 oz x 2
(No compass)
$503.00
Total
Sean is my youngest child, and
always goes caving with
properly outfitted adults to
relatively shallow/easy caves.
His gear requirements are
minimal. All lights use AAA
batteries.
$92.00
Total
This is the typical outfit that I
loan to new cavers. All lights use
AAA batteries.
Source
MS
Amzn
Wal
Wal
Amzn
HD
Wal
Wal
Wal
KS
Actual
Price
$15.00
$48.00
$20.00
$15.00
$6.00
$15.00
$5.00
$3.00
free
$20.00
$9.00
$156.00
Basic caving gear: lights
$8.00
LED flashlight
$20.00
LED spotlight
All of these lights use 3 AAA batteries.
$15.00
LED floodlight
Basic caving gear: protection
$9.00
Volleyball knee pads
$15.00 - $25.00
Construction helmet
with four-point chin
strap
$20.00
Rubber rain boots
Basic caving gear: clothing
$2.00 - $8.00
Gardening gloves
(cotton or polyester)
$10.00
Polyester long-sleeve shirt
Synthetic fabrics retain much less water
than cotton fabrics.
$10.00 - $25.00
Baseball pants or jeans
Basic caving gear: miscellaneous
$4.00 - $20.00
Backpack or fanny pack
$6.00 - $20.00
Water bottle(s)
Packs with buckles are less likely to clog with
mud than packs with Velcro or zippers.
Carrying two smaller water bottles is
preferable to carrying one large bottle.
$8.00 - $15.00
Basic compass
Basic caving gear: miscellaneous
$7.00 - $20.00
Watertight box
$2.00 - $5.00
Duct tape, flattened
$20.00+
Batteries and charger
(avoid fast chargers)
A small, flattened roll of duct tape is useful for emergency repairs. Cavers
should carry extra batteries for all of their lights. Rechargeable batteries
require a larger initial investment, but in the long term, are much less
expensive than alkaline batteries.
Dave’s caving gear: lights
$16.00
Mini MagLite LED
flashlight
$65.00
Princeton Tec LED
spotlight
All of these lights are waterproof, use AA
batteries, and have lifetime warranties.
$43.00
Princeton Tec LED
floodlight
Dave’s caving gear: protection
$25.00
Howitzer knee pads
$80.00
Petzl Ecrin Roc helmet
(discontinued)
$35.00
Servus XTP work
boots
Dave’s caving gear: clothing
$3.00
Nitrile-coated
polyester work gloves
$35.00 - $45.00
Dickies Deluxe poly-cotton
blend coveralls
Synthetic fabrics retain much less water
than cotton fabrics.
$145.00
Lost Creek deluxe cave
coveralls
Dave’s caving gear: miscellaneous
$69.00
Lost Creek TAG cave pack
$5.00 (x2)
Nalgene 16 oz. poly bottles
$10.00
Brunton classic compass
Packs with buckles are less likely to clog with mud than
packs with Velcro or zippers. Carrying two smaller water
bottles is preferable to carrying one large bottle.
Dave’s caving gear: miscellaneous
$12.00
Outdoor Products
large watertight box
$2.00
Duct tape, flat pack
$60.00
Ray-o-Vac universal
charger, Eneloop NiMH
batteries
A small, flattened roll of duct tape is useful for emergency repairs. Cavers should carry
extra batteries for all of their lights. Rechargeable batteries require a larger initial
investment, but in the long term, are much less expensive than alkaline batteries.
Dave’s caving gear: miscellaneous
$9.00
Water purification
tablets
$3.00
Flagging tape
$5.00+
Emergency medicines
Water purification tablets are useful when your regular water supply runs out. Most
cave water is non-potable. Flagging tape can be used to mark new routes or avoid
getting lost. Bring needed medications.