Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby LukeM » Feb 26, 2011 3:12 pm

Sungura wrote:OH and edit: HOT CHOCOLATE GUY YOU WIN!!!! Just no schnapps, its always been fine for me but with alcohol sometimes being a migraine trigger I refuse to drink it anytime around being underground. But yeah, you'd be my instant BFF with that :D (also I'm going to get a thermos to carry something warm with me, tea instead though, probably, I think it might help me freezing when I eat)


Glad you like the idea! :big grin: Trick is to get a thermos that fits your cave pack well.
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby self-deleted_user » Feb 26, 2011 3:52 pm

LukeM wrote:
Sungura wrote:OH and edit: HOT CHOCOLATE GUY YOU WIN!!!! Just no schnapps, its always been fine for me but with alcohol sometimes being a migraine trigger I refuse to drink it anytime around being underground. But yeah, you'd be my instant BFF with that :D (also I'm going to get a thermos to carry something warm with me, tea instead though, probably, I think it might help me freezing when I eat)

Glad you like the idea! :big grin: Trick is to get a thermos that fits your cave pack well.

Any suggestions? :)
Also I might visit NY in spring so we should have a hot chocolate cave trip.
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby mgmills » Feb 26, 2011 6:25 pm

NZcaver wrote:
I like carrying little squished chocolate bars and granola bars, but for real food you can't beat a couple of bagels. I like crunchy peanut butter and super sharp cheddar cheese on mine, which also seems to double as insurance against other people stealing and eating them. I usually carry a 1.5 liter Nalgene with water, and often an additional 1 liter in warmer climates. I deliberately under-hydrate myself a little so I can last about 8 hours without having to pee in the cave. But I carry a burrito bag setup I designed myself and sometimes a pee bottle too, just in case.

I'm a big fan of low self-discharge rechargeable NiMH AA cells (I have Rayovac ones), but I also carry a set of disposable lithiums for emergencies. I also carry 20 feet of webbing, a carabiner or two, a small first aid/survival kit, and a piece of foam padding against my back. I add other items depending on the cave and what I'm doing there.



Re: Power Bars or others bars of that type. The recommendation is to drink a lot of water with those. As noted above cavers often don't drink a lot of water so those bars aren't really a good choice.

Re: bagels. I find they are great cave food as they hold together well. NZ, you'd be in trouble with me because peanut butter and super sharp cheddar sounds like a good combo to me. High protein and you get carbs from the bagel.
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby NZcaver » Feb 26, 2011 6:56 pm

mgmills wrote:Re: bagels. I find they are great cave food as they hold together well. NZ, you'd be in trouble with me because peanut butter and super sharp cheddar sounds like a good combo to me. High protein and you get carbs from the bagel.

Well Martha, if we ever go caving together I guess I'll have to be careful! Most Americans I know find that combo unappealing. However the classic Americans combos of PB and J, PB and chocolate, PB and bananas etc are not at all appealing to me, even though I eat all the individual ingredients quite happily.

Good point about drinking water with your energy bars. I guess I'm a hypocrite because I always tell new cavers to carry plenty of water, even though I carry a reasonably minimal quantity myself (although I sometimes stash water near the entrance). Out in the backcountry, I consciously try to hydrate well. Particularly in winter when dehydration can sneak up on you.
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby self-deleted_user » Feb 26, 2011 7:50 pm

Peanut butter and bologna and a slice of sharp cheddar.

Best combo to be on bagels. Just sayin'.

(I'm not kidding, either, I really like that combo. The bologna ties the cheddar and PB together nicely.)
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby mgmills » Feb 26, 2011 9:35 pm

NZcaver wrote:
mgmills wrote:Re: bagels. I find they are great cave food as they hold together well. NZ, you'd be in trouble with me because peanut butter and super sharp cheddar sounds like a good combo to me. High protein and you get carbs from the bagel.

Well Martha, if we ever go caving together I guess I'll have to be careful! Most Americans I know find that combo unappealing. However the classic Americans combos of PB and J, PB and chocolate, PB and bananas etc are not at all appealing to me, even though I eat all the individual ingredients quite happily.

Good point about drinking water with your energy bars. I guess I'm a hypocrite because I always tell new cavers to carry plenty of water, even though I carry a reasonably minimal quantity myself (although I sometimes stash water near the entrance). Out in the backcountry, I consciously try to hydrate well. Particularly in winter when dehydration can sneak up on you.


Have you ever tried raisins with the peanut butter?
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby mgmills » Feb 26, 2011 9:55 pm

Sungura wrote:Peanut butter and bologna and a slice of sharp cheddar.

Best combo to be on bagels. Just sayin'.

(I'm not kidding, either, I really like that combo. The bologna ties the cheddar and PB together nicely.)


I do like bologna and cheddar, never thought to add pb to bologna. I pretty much avoid bologna now due to salt and cholesterol content. . .as one gets older he/she must monitor the diet more. I buy the low sodium pb. The cheese. . . well, it is a good source of calcium so I put up with the cholesterol there and the salt isn't that bad in the cheese. However, exercise helps control cholesterol so when I'm exercising (as in caving) I might could get away with an occassional slice of bologna.

Speaking of other things in the pack. Remember when carrying batteries to pack them so they can't make contact with other batteries (I tape them together with paper bandage tape -one wrap). I like to pack them in individual packs (snack size baggies work well) of the number I plan to use. I place the spent batteries in the baggies I just took the new ones out of and since they aren't taped together I know they aren't new batteries if I need a second reload. I carry all the battery baggies in one "hard" container. A plastic small peanut butter jar works perfectly for several rounds of AA or AAA batteries packaged in baggies.
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby self-deleted_user » Feb 26, 2011 10:57 pm

I got these little boxes from Staples that were $1. I can fit 9 AA's and 4 AAA's into it. Although why I carry AAA's anymore is beyond me, as my lights are all AA's. I guess I figure it's enough space to fit only the AAA's and maybe someone else will need them. The bad thing is, the box fits 9 AA's....my corona takes 3 (my backup but I might put it back as primary, it's flood is still better than the Apex I think) and the Apex takes 4. So 9 is an odd number to carry. Also the Apex eats batteries for breakfast. I had to change twice on a 4 hr trip just running the flood on high and sometimes using spot for lightpainting (maybe on 10 min total at most, the full spot). My corona on the same batteries lasted 8 hours. But the Corona is on 3, Apex on 4. What?!!!! Yeah. I think I'm gonna do the "drill holes and ziptie" a small bright flashlight on the side on my helmet for spotting when I want a spot and still use the Corona as primary.
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby NZcaver » Feb 27, 2011 1:18 am

Sungura wrote:Also the Apex eats batteries for breakfast. I had to change twice on a 4 hr trip just running the flood on high and sometimes using spot for lightpainting (maybe on 10 min total at most, the full spot).

Damn! What batteries are you using? My Apex usually lasts 6-8 hours on high flood, although I sometimes switch to low for crawls and breaks and occasionally use the spot.

People can keep their bologna. I prefer my meat to be identifiable, although I make exceptions for salami and pepperoni. But I don't like spam! :big grin:
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby self-deleted_user » Feb 27, 2011 10:30 am

energizer max was one set
energizer advanced lithium was another

It should't be eating through those. The lithiums ran my corona once for over 12 hours on high. I worried and switched them out before they started to dim (corona regulates but then when it drops it just dims quickly, there is no blinkywarning thing like apex). I have no clue why the Apex sucks so badly like that on the same batteries! No wonder those who have Apexes get rechargables. It will kill your pocket to run those damn things! And like I said, the flood is worse on the Apex than on the Corona so yeah (it's dimmer and less throw). not too impressed all around.
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby MUD » Feb 27, 2011 10:37 am

:big grin: Peanut butter can be eaten on just about anything, you should try it on some rattlesnake!

NZcaver wrote:I don't like spam! :big grin:

I'm not so sure that stuff is food! :rofl:
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby chaz » Feb 27, 2011 11:19 am

It's great to hear what folks carry and eat. I carry 1 20oz bottle of water for each 5 hours of caving and rarely drink it all.Often I freeze a bottle of water so by the time I need it on a fast pased trip, I get cold refreshing water! I have been known to bring fun food like shrimp cocktail or apple pie a la mode (right Jeff B.) but most trips I have pop tarts or sliced summer sausage, cheese and ritz crackers.( easy to share stuff)
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby self-deleted_user » Feb 27, 2011 11:24 am

I've made cookies to bring alone. They were cool bat shaped shortbread cookies. That got all smushed horribly and turned to crumble and did not look like bats at all anymore. It was sad :(
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby NZcaver » Feb 27, 2011 4:29 pm

Yeah, best to have cave-proof food and/or a suitable means of protection. My bagels sometimes end up looking ugly, but they still taste good.

Regarding the Apex eating batteries - generally speaking, alkalines are not the best choice of batteries for LED headlamps. I'm surprised your disposable lithiums did not perform better, though. I suggested picking up some LSD (low self discharge) NiMHs like we've discussed in other topics. And get a GOOD charger like the BC-900.
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Re: Packing your pack. Food, water, batteries and so on.

Postby JR-Orion » Feb 28, 2011 2:22 pm

Well, thanks for all the info. I'm currently doing the "rubber band around the batteries in a sandwich bag" technique. An actual battery storage box would be much nicer. These look pretty good for 12 bucks-

http://www.amazon.com/Battery-Case-Char ... 058&sr=8-4

5 count, each box holds 4 AAs or 4 AAAs.

And I might look into going to nalgene bottles instead of continually buying six packs of bottled water.

Yeah, guess I should start carrying some real food, depending on the trip. Snickers seem to be rather tough, but I've found granola bars ground down to powder in my pack before. So maybe some canned food... the bagel idea is a good one, too. And the Arby's roast beef, that's genius. :grin:

And something about the Banana Guard makes me laugh. Availabe in six colors! A very practical idea, but I can imagine the looks I'm going to get when I whip out my passionate purple banana guard.
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Into the blue again / in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones / there is water underground.
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