Just for fun, what's in your pack?

[CaveGimp]

In my Lost Creek pack

30 ft of webbing
2 locking biners
1 32 oz Nalgene for water
Camera in pelican case
Spare CR123As in pelican case
Fenix P3D
Mini-Mag with LED mod
Pee Bottle
Small first aid kit
Food for the trip (mostly Cliff bars)
Small multi-tool

The list gets longer if I am leading a trip with newbies or on a vertical trip. I have recently reduced the number of lights I carry in my pack. I got a little carried away. In one cave I counted I had 14 different lights (a lighter and several squeeze LEDs included in the count). I guess you could say I am afraid of the dark. :)

[Squirrel Girl]

Well, I have yet to put one in my *cave* pack... but I often keep a 4' snake whip in my camelbak when I go mountain biking.

Alas, though, the one time I *should* have used it, I wasn't fast enough. I was climbing a mountain in CA. I was in a cloud bank and a yappie dog came around a corner and bit me in the ankle! It deserved to have had its snout snapped! But I didn't get the whip out in time, even though it was fairly handy on my back--theoretically in reach.

The contents of my cave pack depends on the trip I'm on. How long, how far, surveying? Temp of the cave. It depends.

[Komebeaux]

Apparently most folks here are poorly prepared for encounters with unfriendly cave ninjas

That's why I always carry a shotgun....

[Adam Craig]

[VACaver]

In my Swaygo Push:

Extra gloves
Petzl E-Light (third light source is mounted inside my helmet)
Bandana
1 Quart Forest Service water bottle
Tupperware tub with Slim Jims, Power Bars, crackers, and peanuts
Plastic box with Nikon L-3 camera and two Quantaray slaves
8 extra AA batteries
Small first aid kit with plumbers candle/matches
Trash bag
Survey tape

For trips longer than about 6 hours, I'll switch to my Lost Creek pack and double up on the food/water.

[SpeleoRover]

Whoa - go backpacking overnight and then you have to play catch-up...

I carry the pee bottle on principle - I don't leave anything in there.

The zip ties are to secure kneepads, extra lights to helmets, repair straps, etc.

[ek]

On/In my helmet:

my primary and secondary lights, and sometimes my third light also
large trash bag or emergency blanket
sometimes some food

In my pack:

my 3rd light, if not on my helmet
1 box-shaped liter-size Nalgene for water
1 empty box-shaped liter-size Nalgene for urine (and makes my pack float when empty)
food
20' piece of 1" tubular webbing for use
-as a handline
-belaying
-to tie emergency seat harnesses or emergency lanyards
-to tie off bandages or splints or as a swath or part of a sling
-to replace a pack strap
-to dredge in pools for dropped items
Pelican 1040 micro case containing:
-emergency blanket or small trash bag
-sodium acetate rechargeable heat pack
-ziplock bag
-safety pins
-vinyl or nitrile gloves
-gauze
-small roll of duct tape
-1 or 2 benzalkonium chloride wipes
-small breathing barrier ("CPR shield")
-lighter or matches and striker
-candle
-4 AA batteries and 3 AAA batteries
-small light for utility use
-small compass
-whistle
-knife
Pelican 1030 micro case with my epi-pen, inhaler, and benadryl

If there are in-cave drops, I add:

whatever is needed to rig them
an extra ascender or prusik
small pulleys for possible use in a small-party assisted rescue

Sometimes I add:

a watch, if i am not wearing one on my wrist
a map of the cave
2nd water bottle
2nd piece of webbing
SAM splint
large trash bag
munter hitch compatible carabiner
waterproof paper and a space pen
a 4th light when I have 3 on my helmet
a Petzl Tibloc in the Pelican 1040

[Wayne Harrison]

I have the standard stuff, but one thing that's come in handy for me or a member of my group are a few Imodium AD caplets.

[speloman]

Hum lets see.

My helmet:
Main Light 1 Watt LED Up grade powered by 6v batt on belt
Backup Lamp 3 Watt LED 2 Cell AA Mag light
Trash bag for warmth or trash clean up

My Horizontal Set up:
First aid kit
pee bottle
Borrito Bag
Nalegene water bottle
Gloves (usualy on my hands)
Camera
7 LED stream head lamp as a back up head lamp
2 AA mag lights one LED one standard
1 Shake Light
Bussness card sized map of cave
Power Bars and MRE's
Sweater
glow sticks
Small box containing up to 20 AAA batts
Small box containing up to 18 AA batts
Spare bulbs for all sources of light
Watch

All Cramed into a Walmart Chepo pack.

My vertical Pack has all the items above with the additional vertical gear. It is alittle bigger to fit the vertical stuff but can fit through any hole I can. If it can't fit I can't fit, but it is a little heavier.

[Syndam]

Wow, most of you travel pretty light. Since most of my trips are to places I have never been and most require a bit of a hike to get there, I pack quite a bit of stuff. I also tend to hike alone so I prepare for the worse. (Just to clarify, my scouting trips are usually solo, I don't go caving alone... but I would be lying if I said I didn't explore a bit when I do find a cave or hole in the ground.)

My hiking pack, which I wear when I go to search for caves as well, is a 2 liter hydration pack that always includes the following in it or attached on the outside:

In no particular order:
Spare large and small zip-lock bags
Extra socks
First-aid Kit w/ Suture Kit
Roll of TP in a zip-lock bag
2 Mag lights (Stored separately)
Extra batteries
Extra bulbs (Stored separately)
1 LED Flashlight w/ extra batteries
Small LED Flashlight for when everything else goes wrong
Garmin GPS
Lensatic Tritium Compass
Applicable USGS Maps
Colored pencils
Small notebook
Permanent Marker
Digital Camera
Gorilla Pod for camera
2 small pelican cases
1/2 roll of duct tape
Zip Ties
Granola bars, Beef Jerky, Rice Crispy treats & the like
Gloves
Binoculars
Lighter
Waterproof matches in sealed container
Folding knife
Gerber Multi Tool
2-way radio
~45' 10.5mm rope
Quick draw
4 Straight gate carabiners
2 screw-lock carabiners
2 100' spools of nylon cord
9x9 Noah's Tarp and poles
3 large black plastic garbage bags
Small bottle of Purell hand sanitizer

I'm sure there's a few other items... I may toss a small pee bottle in as well, now that I've read a few post on here about them.

[fuzzy-hair-man]

:
Bussness card sized map of cave
:

Wow! small cave map, you forgot to put on the list the microscope/magnifying glass etc so that you can read it

[speloman]

Fuzzy actually I do carry a magnifiying glass but the quality is pretty good to where I don't need it for a few. but the more complex ones I do. Sometimes I do carry a full sized print out folded up to.

[Jeff Bartlett]

either i'm a minimalist, i'm too lazy to lug a heavy pack, or i really just want my swaygo sink to ride REALLY flat. for a standard 8 hour non-survey trip:

2L platypus with gatorade (usually half full)
pee bottle (empty 32oz gatorade)
backup headlamp
ziploc bag with 3 clif bars
ziploc bag with extra AAs (typically 8 rechargeables and 4 alkalines)
polypro balaclava

that's it. i wear my backup flashlight around my neck on a lanyard. for photo trips, i have a pelican 1200 that i clip to my belt. for survey trips, i have a pelican 1040 micro case that goes in my pack and holds instruments. if i'm carrying tape, i hang it on one strap of the swaygo.

[wyandottecaver]

Helmet has trash bag and 3 lights all waterproof
pack has
tall nalgene of water
standard nalgene trail mix
backup light waterproof
spare lightweight polypro shirt in ziplock
pen & paper(watrproof) in ziplock
10' flagging tape

if doing vertical depends on complexity

harness, micro rack and prussiks for nuisance drops

anything else I try to bring enough hardware/software for 1 extra person and small party rescue of mostly mobile patient. (spare vert system, 2 small double pulleys, a microcender, 3 extra prussiks, 2 25' webbing, 100' of 5/16 PMI makes for a big pack, but Bruce and those NCRC guys brainwashed me :)

The spare vert system, webbing, and prussiks end up being used more often than you think when caving with forgetful, unprepared, or new cavers

[fuzzy-hair-man]

The spare vert system, webbing, and prussiks end up being used more often than you think when caving with forgetful, unprepared, or new cavers

Been there. I try to get everyone put thier vertical gear on before we enter the cave (even if they just take it off again) because at least I know that they've got it and I get to see thier system before hand and can check that there is no stuff that's too out there and wierd or just wrong.

A several accident reports I've read and the accident could easily have been avoided if the cavers had thier ascending gear on thier harness and could perform a changeover.

For me my vertical gear goes everywhere as a set I never take it apart except when washing (then it goes straight back together again) so if I've got one bit I've got the lot, also there's no dropping it down a pitch.