Cavechat.org

I have decided it's time for me to purchase a disto. What do you guys recommend that's not going to break the bank? I see one at home depot?:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... F0EvtnDt6U

But it kind of strikes me as garbage, and the range is pretty small.

What should I get and where is the best place to get it?

That's the one I have. I works great, for me. I cover mine in clear packing tape to keep the mud and drips off. I recommend this Bocsh.

I have that one too. It has worked just dandy. I don't share Scotts fondness for taping my instruments since I took his advice with my Suunto, but I bought an additional warranty from Lowe's that allowes me to destroy my disto however I choose and have it replaced. Of course, that won't help when you're in the middle of a survey trip.

I have an older model Disto Classic 5. Larger and more expensive than the little unit from the hardware store, but it has significantly longer range and a built in optical sight. These features may not be useful in some caves, but I found the extra range useful for surveying large booming passages and the optical sight was great surveying the circumference of pits in bright sunlight.

I bought mine used on eBay years ago. Once you pick your model, you might want to look at used options as well as new.

Lava wrote:I have decided it's time for me to purchase a disto. What do you guys recommend that's not going to break the bank? I see one at home depot?:
http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1v/R ... F0EvtnDt6U

But it kind of strikes me as garbage, and the range is pretty small.

What should I get and where is the best place to get it?

That looks like a good price for it. 165 feet is pretty dang far in a cave. I wish I could get some 80 foot shots here in Missouri. I have had a Bosch for 4 years, and has held up well. I bought mine at the CPO outlet store.

Bear in mind the maximum stated range for a unit may not be the same as the maximum usable range in a cave, particularly if you're not shooting to a proper target.

I have a Bosch very similar to the one that you are asking about. It works great.

Thanks guys. I ended up picking up a Leica Disto D2, ~200 ft range, for $150 new on ebay. It's very small and looks like it has a ton of useful features.