Cavechat.org

Hey fellow cavers :)
I was just wondering what people's opinions on the best cordura cave suit is. I've heard really good things about Aspiring suits, but would like to know other people's opinions (eg. in regards to price, durability, etc.)

Welcome to the forum.

I'm not familiar with Aspiring cave suits (do you mean Aspiring the NZ company?) There's been lots of previous cave suit discussions on the forum, and the search feature is your friend!

Take a look through these and see if anything helps:

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8042

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7343

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3225

Ive got a Meander suit..and I like it pretty good..big enough to put pads and base layer underneath..
Ryan

NZcaver wrote:Welcome to the forum.

I'm not familiar with Aspiring cave suits (do you mean Aspiring the NZ company?) There's been lots of previous cave suit discussions on the forum, and the search feature is your friend!

Take a look through these and see if anything helps:

http://forums.caves.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=8042

http://forums.caves.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=7343

http://forums.caves.org/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3225

thanks they were really helpful. I'm afraid I'm a bit of a newby when it comes to forums etc. hence the new forum post :)
Yes I was talking about Aspiring NZ. I've heard more about them probably because living in Australia it's quite a bit closer. They seem to be really good, long lasting and durable; I'm just on the lookout for something cheaper, but it seems that I'll have to pay up if I want quality :)

Yes - for the good cave suits, you generally have to spend some serious money unless you have the ability to make them up yourself.

I can't remember noticing other cavers wearing Aspiring suits when I was back in NZ earlier this year, but then I wasn't really looking too hard. When I'm in caves that require a good suit (not like the warm desert caves where I'm living right now), I use my trusty Meander cordura suit. It's lasted really well for almost 10 years. They are currently available in the US for $160 each. See the Inner Mountain Outfitters website. Or they also have Lost Creek brand suits for $150.

A couple of our forum members make custom-made suits, but I'm not sure what they charge. I have a friend who found nice used cordura motorcycle coveralls at a good price, and they worked out well for him. But I suspect if you buy those new, they'll cost more than the caver ones.

I have a Meander Cave Suit and three B&C Wunderwear Cave Suits (plus a pair of B&C Wunderwear Bibs). I prefer the B&C Wunderwear suits because they were made to fit me - and they have articulated legs which are much more comfortable for crawling. Plus you can have all the little options you might like added. The stitching on my Meander is starting to fail in a few places - fabric is still fine, but I need to get the sewing reinforced. One of my B&C suits is made from lighter weight uncoated cordura - nice for dry trips where a coated cordura suit is just too hot. Bibs are also nice for warmer caves.

It might take a bit longer to get a fully custom Wunderall right now. Cecile James is still recovering from the flood in May that destroyed her home and wiped out a lot of her stock and damaged sewing machines. But she has done some one the spot alterations of current stock when she has something close (and you are not picky about color). Her suits are definitely worth the wait.

http://www.bcwunderwear.com/

Cost is $135 without elbow pad pockets, $150 with elbow pad pockets. Bibs are $95. All have knee pad pockets (unless you order custom without). At the convention she had a good stock of kids cave suits (that have removable pleats to allow for growth). They were very reasonably priced at $35 to $55.

Cecile was still having ISP troubles last week. It is best to call her. She is in temporary quarters (both for living and business) but hopes to be moving to a permanent location before Christmas. She said she would be attending TAG. So if you need repairs or modifications done to any caving suits or packs you can have her do it then.

I'm also from Australia and am looking to replace my well loved (and worn out) Kingsdale Kingswear suit (from the UK) after about 15 years.

I've been looking at the Lost Creek Standard and Lost Creek Delux - the key differences I can see are the Velcro on the wrists/ankles, belt loops in the waist and cinch straps at the knees.

I was wondering if anyone had experience with these suits - the only photo I can find seems to show the knee straps on the outside of the suit and I'm concerned about the possibilty of snagging etc with them. Can any owners of the "Deluxe" version provide some feedback?

Obviously, I'd like to get as much info as I can (and the other posts referenced above have helped) before making a big purchase like this ($140+) across the internet from the other side of the world!

Thanks,
Brett
Melbourne
Australia.

viewtopic.php?f=2&t=10811

Brett, I replied to your questions in the other thread.

I bought my first B and C 22 years ago and I still have it. Seems to have shrunk about 2" in the belly. Funny thing about that.
On a wild whim, I bought a Meander which was coated with urethane and it turned out to be too hot (Duhhhh). Still got it for a spare.
At tag, I bought another B and C off the rack. At my age, I expect it will be my last cave suit. Beautiful suit. Very functional.
The fact that I've bought 2 should speak for itself. It will cost you about $6 per year of use.
I find many advantages of them over jeans or coveralls and I've caved in everything.
But I strongly recommend to buy one off the rack at convention or tag or ? But don't order one to fit. You will have to wait a very long time.
Price? Doesn't matter. Our sport is cheap with no expensive equipment, no membership fees, no daily use fees, no long travel to do it.

don
little egypt, southeast missouri, crf mammoth, scci

NZcaver wrote:Yes - for the good cave suits, you generally have to spend some serious money unless you have the ability to make them up yourself.

I can't remember noticing other cavers wearing Aspiring suits when I was back in NZ earlier this year, but then I wasn't really looking too hard. When I'm in caves that require a good suit (not like the warm desert caves where I'm living right now), I use my trusty Meander cordura suit. It's lasted really well for almost 10 years. They are currently available in the US for $160 each. See the Inner Mountain Outfitters website. Or they also have Lost Creek brand suits for $150.

A couple of our forum members make custom-made suits, but I'm not sure what they charge. I have a friend who found nice used cordura motorcycle coveralls at a good price, and they worked out well for him. But I suspect if you buy those new, they'll cost more than the caver ones.

I picked up one of the Aspiring kevlar blend suits https://www.aspiring.co.nz/product-cate ... /overalls/ listed as 30% lighter than similar cordura suits. They look pretty good, have to test it out. Just over $200 USD including shipping.