PVC SUIT

[Jeremy Wendelin]

Well I was going to by a Meander Criou PVC Coveralls from Inner Mountian Outtfitters when I went to order them they said they were all out of them and would not be getting any for serval months.... What to do? I guess my question is there any other place to by Criou coveralls? The only place I have found them is in England has any one of you guys ever bought from England and how long does it take? What is a good company to buy from in England and were to the caver in england buy from. while looking up PVC suits I came across the CHEMTEX PVC SUIT have any of you alpine cavers ever used it? I am going into a very cold and very wet cave in Idaho. thanks in advance for your advice Jeremy

[cavercrew]

Hi Jeremy,

I have a Chemtex PVC suit, though I've never caved in it. I have used it to protect me while pressure washing large industrial air conditioning coils in the winter. For that it worked great. It was a tad hot with minimal clothing worn underneath even in the coldest and high wind conditions. I have used it when it was 20* F and wind blowing 20 -25 MPH and been quite comfortable. My hands and face did get a bit cold though. This was with mild to moderate physical activity. It also protected against sharp metal edges and kept me dry, pretty tough suit. I have often thought it would be good for caving but probably too hot for this area (TAG) unless you were in an all out waterfall climb or semi submersion crawl. Might be great for something like Great X or other alpine type caving. Hope that helps you out some.

Mike Hopkins

[Jeremy Wendelin]

Do you think that it would be warmer or thicker that the Meander suite? thanks agian Jeremy

[fuzzy-hair-man]

You don't want a PVC suit that's too thick IMO once they are cold they get stiff and they need to warm up a little to get moving the thicker the PVC the stiffer they will be, I think the stiff suits also tend to bend at the same spots the whole time which could create wear points. This comes from observing other peoples PVC suits, one homemade thick PVC the other a Meander Criou. You could also try looking for the Petzl PVC oversuit the Styx but I'm not sure they make them anymore?

[Ciara]

Y This comes from observing other peoples PVC suits, one homemade thick PVC the other a Meander Criou.

The homemade thick PVC has now been dissassembled (and made into knee pads I think) and has been replaced by a lighter-weight PVC in a fetching blue colour - it's a bit softer and lighter so easier to cave in, and now at least his suit / kneepads / bags don't all match!

The meander has been modified to fit me ( ) and I can confirm that it's a lovely suit to cave in!

[StevenSmith]

Would something like this work?

[Jeff Bartlett]

Would something like this work?

I would actually pay some of my caving buddies to wear that while caving, for my own amusement

[Jeremy Wendelin]

That is to funny! I think I will just wait and get the Meander suit from innermountian outfitters

[Batgirl]

Jeremy,

I have a Meaner GLIS size Medium that I will gladly you sell you if it's your size. I bought it from IMO for a trip but never wore it. Still has the tags on it. Let me know if your interested.