by wyandottecaver » Apr 20, 2008 4:00 pm
I can only speak for myself, I have done very few wet multi-drops but I have done LOTS of very wet caving so my experiance may or may not be applicable.
pvc vs fabric makes a incredibly huge difference. I once forgot some clothes and caved a very wet muddy horizontal cave in a pvc oversuit, t shirt, shorts, and kneepads. I wouldn't even think about that in fabric. also, many fabric coveralls have a moisture resistant coating inside that flakes off the first time they see a dryer, never put treated coveralls in a dryer.
I prefer to use a thin layer of polypro that will dry quickly from body heat, covered either by a fleece undersuit (I use a petzl) or heavy polypro covered by an oversuit of pvc or fabric depending. This lets me unzip layers as needed to manage temperature.
Unless I am doing a lot of swimming or very wet surveying wetsuits seem too restrictive, too hot, and create challenges to releiving yourself. They also seem colder if you get out of the water and then stop moving. I have used a farmer john bottom, fleece top, and oversuit with good results. Thin diveskins however, can also be quite helpful when your are getting wet but still doing a lot of moving.
Sealskin gloves and socks are very good (I like them a lot, especially the socks) but they don't take much abuse so protect them. I wear fabric gloves over my sealskin gloves. neoprene booties are ok, neoprene gloves (wallmart style) suck. they are too bulky, too hard to get back on, too cold. true dive gloves may be better. synthetic and/or wool socks are fine and work well out of water, but as long as your actually in the water they wont do much for you.
a thin fleece beanie cap under your helmet and a trash bag stuffed up in the top works wonders.
Always always carry a dry polypro top (even a thin one but med weight is best) in a waterproof bag in your pack. If you get really cold, or have to stay longer than expected, being able to put on a dry top next to your skin is a gift from god.
Also, if you get cold...eat. when you get tired...eat...when you stop moving....eat.
I'm not scared of the dark, it's the things IN the dark that make me nervous. :)