gearness

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gearness

Postby bigalpha » Sep 14, 2005 8:15 am

Hey, I was wondering if anyone has some gear that they'd like to get rid of for free, or for a nominal price. Being a college student living on my own, need some good stuff, at good prices. I'm looking for just the basics - i.e. wheatlamp (or similar lamp), helmet, things of that nature. if ya could, that'd be great. if ya cant, then dang.
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Postby Wayne Harrison » Sep 14, 2005 9:14 am

Have you tried your local Grotto? Sometimes members want sell stuff. Grottos also have yearly auctions of caving gear. I bought most of my extra stuff (LEDs, Petzl helmet) on eBay.
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Postby bigalpha » Sep 14, 2005 3:44 pm

are there things that i should stay away from when buying equipment? like, any obvious no-no's?
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Postby itabot » Sep 14, 2005 9:19 pm

Thanks for the advice Wayne :evil:
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Postby hunter » Sep 15, 2005 10:13 am

bigalpha,
Don't know if your looking at vertical, but vertical gear is normally a good area to be cautious. Some people won't buy used vertical gear at all.
At the very least I (personally) would recommend against any worn nylon gear (harness, slings, ropes, etc...). Your life will be hanging on the gear, used once maybe, but if it shows wear be cautious. UV expose and, possibly, age can also affect the strength of nylon.
Metal gear is harder to say but caution is good for the same reasons. I would avoid anything with significant wear or signs of being dropped (chips).

Of course the best thing to do is find someone good at vertical in your area and work with them on training and what to get.

Also, it depends on the area and temp caves you are looking at but I often use coveralls from army surplus stores as a cheap alternative. They don't last as long but get the job done. (these don't work so well in really muddy or cold caves, mud does bad things to zippers)

Hardware store kneepads are the same way.

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Postby bigalpha » Sep 16, 2005 8:15 am

Hunter,

I've actually never been repelling or rock-climbing. Something to do with a slight fear of heights; that and i've never had the opportunity to do something like that.

I was just referring to stuff like kneepads and lamps, stuff like that. Just stuff i'd really just need to go caving w/o climbing and diving.

but yeah, i would be wary buying used vert equipment, and i dont even do vert :kaver:
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Postby Wayne Harrison » Sep 16, 2005 11:40 am

Army surplus is a good low-cost way to go for basic caving equipment when you are starting out. I used a gas-mask bag as my caving pack for years before buying an actual caving pack. Now I have a Swago, which I wouldn't be without.

As far as helmets, you can sometimes find some good buys on eBay (and some very bad buys, too). Just don't get caught up in a bidding war where you end up bidding more for a used helmet than you could have paid for a new helmet.
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Postby cave rat » Oct 17, 2005 10:25 pm

If you are looking for used gear like helmets or lights, try EBAY. They have a good selection of Petzl lights on there you can buy off of there without bidding.

I bought a Petzl Zoom for $21 off of there before the summer and that included the shipping and the 3-AA adaptor pack.
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