Caving equipment
[1] Due to the greatly varying conditions of caves throughout the world, there is a multitude of different equipment types and categories.
Cavers in large dry systems in the tropics and in desert climates may simply opt to wear shorts and a T-shirt.
The earliest cavers in Europe and North America were limited in their explorations by a lack of suitable equipment.
His expeditionary equipment was described in 1895 as: "a canvas boat, some hundreds of feet of rope-ladders, a light portable folding wooden ladder, ropes, axes, compass, barometer, telephone, map etc.
Electric miners' headlamps, powered by lead-acid batteries were later used, eventually superseded by LED lighting, which offers superior duration and brightness and is considerably lighter.
Caving equipment made today conforms to high safety standards, decreasing injuries and fatalities.
Caves in temperate regions such as Europe and North America maintain an average yearly temperature of 11–13 °C (52–55 °F).
Cavers usually wear a one-piece undersuit made of fleece or fibre pile, sometimes used in tandem with thermal underclothes.
Cavers commonly wear protective oversuits, similar to boiler suits but made of heavily abrasion-resistant material such as cordura.
Wellington boots are a popular choice of footwear, being hard-wearing, cheap, having good grip and great water-resistance.
These were superseded by wire 'Elektron' ladders at the start of the 1960s and remained the most common method of descending large shafts until around the end of the 1980s.
Stainless steel resin bolts are used on routes that see a lot of traffic as they have a long life and, if placed correctly, are safe and reliable.
[clarification needed] The most common device used by cave surveyors is a sighting compass, such as that manufactured by Suunto or Silva, that can be read to the half-degree.
Recently, digital compasses and inclinometers have been developed by enthusiasts, some with wireless connections to PDAs, though these have not yet attained widespread use.
Laser rangefinders have recently gained popularity, though tapes remain preferable in especially wet or muddy conditions.
Paperless surveying is now becoming a reality as digital measuring devices can be wirelessly connected to PDAs where the data is stored and drawn.
Communication may be as simple as coded whistle blasts, though they are only effective across short distances and cannot be used in underwater caves.
Édouard-Alfred Martel and his cousin Gabriel Gaupillat utilized lightweight telephones of 480 g (1.06 lb) with up to 400 m (1,300 ft) of wire to explore deep pitches.
