NZcaver wrote:I don't deny that carbide lamps are a great heat source, especially for slow trips (like surveying) in really cold caves. When you weigh-up the light quality, fuel source, and any temperamental issues some carbides are known for - they might still the best choice
in some circumstances based on the heat factor alone.
My 2 cents...
I once led a survey trip into a very wet and muddy cave, 2 teams totalling 7 cavers (pre-LED days), and 21 lights, 4 of which were carbide. We came out with
6 working lights, including the 4 carbides. One by one the electrics failed, and being so far from soldering irons, blow dryers, and the requisite AC electric... The old tried and true carbides kept on going. That is when I came over to the dark side.
The greatest advantage of carbide over electric is that, short of a drop that cracks the stem, water reservoir, etc, a carbide lamp can be fixed in cave. The notorious "temperamentality" of carbide is usually just ignorance in action (overfilling, failing to clean the tip, etc) The only
real disadvantage (to me anyway) is dealing with the dump (much easier to just throw spent batteries in the pack)
All that said, electric technology has advanced alot since those days (the Sten
rocks). I have an Apex for backup and have so far been impressed (including with my depth perception when using it) BUT... I am still distrustful of electric and like arcaver I don't like the quality of light.
tom