Caving Suppliers

This list of personal and group equipment suppliers is for the benefit of U.S. cavers. We list mostly US suppliers unless a foreign supplier offers products difficult to get in the U.S.

The NSS website home page, at the bottom, has a list of sponsored links that includes more kinds of cave-related supplies, such as videos, artwork, jewelry, etc. Many of the vendors that specialize in caving supplies come to the major caver gatherings (NSS Conventions, regional conventions, etc.) in person and bring the newest gear. This is a good opportunity to try things (new vertical gear) and get good fits (coveralls, etc.).

B&C Wunderwear, 2368 Antioch Pike, Antioch, TN 37013. Specializes in custom coveralls, kneepads, packs, rope pads, and accessories. Phone orders: 615 315 9777. This business is run by Cecile James.

BMS Rescue Equipment, HC 68 Box 64B, Friars Hill, W.V. 24938. Hardware for rescue rope climbing and descending. Phone orders: 304 497 4311, email omc01207@mail.wvnet.edu. This business is run by Carroll Bassett, noted cave rescue equipment expert and manufacturer.

Cave Books, 4700 Amberwood Drive, Dayton, OH 45424. Small publisher of cave-related books.

Caver’s Connection, 16 West Green Street, Shiremanstown, PA 17011 Relatively new (on-line anyway) general purpose caving vendor, specializing in bat-related products and accessories. Phone: 717 731 1163. This business is run by Barry Duncan.

Crab Apple Whitewater a rafting & kayaking outfitter in northern Maine Crab Apple is one of several area white water rafting & kayaking outfitters that sells used wetsuits at great prices at the end of the boating season. Several grotto members have gotten good deals on near-new wetsuits in the past decade.

Expedition Essentials, P.O. Box 22647, Denver, CO 80222 Heavy duty knee and arm pads, and accessories. Arm pads are really useful in southwestern caves, such as the guads, where it is too hot to wear long sleeve shirts, but you need occasional arm protection in crawls. Phone: (303) 582-5668.

Gonzo Guano Gear Originally offered mainly vertical gear But now a good, full service caving gear retailer, based in TX.

Howie’s Harnesses, 1061 Fines Creek Road, Clyde, NC 28721-91874:39 PM 2/14/2008. Climbing gear, cave packs, “Caveralls”, and custom sewing. Phone and Fax: 828 627 2656, Email howie@howiesharnesses.com.

Inner Mountain Outfitters, 41 Herald Drive, Bethlehem, GA 30620. Full service vendor specializing in caving supplies: Coveralls, lights, ropes, packs, harnesses, ascenders, descenders, helmets, flashbulbs, accessories. Orders: 770 307 4686 or imo@caves.org. This business is run by Nina and Jeff Martin.

Inner Realm Books, PO Box 1952, Carlsbad, NM 88221-1952. Books, CDs and DVDs for cavers. There is no web site but they have a printed catalog. Phone orders: 575 887 2845. This business is run by Rich Wolfert.

JustBackPacksOnline.com, a Boston based on-line backpack retailer They have a good selection of backpacks for a variety of uses – including caving and climbing. They stock French-made Petzl caving packs – very high quality for long wear and expedition use, and not cheap. No retail space (as of 15-Oct-2010).

JustRopes.com, a Boston based on-line ropes retailer The largest selection of ropes known to be available. Emphasizes climbing ropes but has a good selection of static ropes as well. Accessories available include helmets, rope bags, and some hardware. Gives $13 store credit for recycling used ropes at least 30M (~100 feet) long. No retail space (as of 4-Jul-2010).

Karst Sports, PO Box 555/RT 1 Box 184, Shinnston, WV 26431. All kinds of caving supplies with an online catalog on the web. Phone orders: 800 734 2851, Fax 304 592 1608, Voice 304 492 2600. This business is run by Douglas Moore.

Lost Creek Packs, 3430 Huron-Williams Rd., Williams, IN 47470. Manufacturer of what have become practically the standard for rugged cave packs. Phone: 812 388 6800. This business is run by Anmar Mirza.

NSS Bookstore, 2813 Cave Avenue, Huntsville, Alabama 35810. Cave and bat related books, posters, and accessories. Phone 205 852 1300.

One Life Outfitters General outdoor equipment vendor Mostly vertical, but helmets, lights, and other specialist equipment as well.

On Rope 1, Inc., 5940-C Hwy 58, Harrison, TN 37341. The featured products are complete rope climbing systems, featuring all the recommended hardware. They also feature pre-fabricated climbing system parts, such as foot loops and chest harnesses with adjustment straps, adjustable safety ascenders, etc. They also retail a variety of individual parts such as ascenders, racks, carabiners, chest rollers, buckles, pulleys, webbing, rope, and accessories. Phone: 423 344 4716, Fax: 423 344 9089. This business is run by Bruce Smith, principal author of the NSS publication On Rope. Email sales@onrope1.com or bruce@onrope1.com.

Outer Sports, 1068 Valley View Dr, Santaquin, UT 84655 Full service retailer of thermal underwear and climbing equipment. Phone: 866-584-3319 Fax: 404-393-9455

Pelican Lights and Cases, the manufacturer is in Torrance, CA, but the on-line store is at 812 Proctor Ave, Ogdensburg, NY 13669. Rugged lights and waterproof cases for all types of sporting activities. Phone: 800 276 3346.

Petzl, Inc. Petzl is the world leader in manufacturing vertical gear (and some horizontal) for the caving market. Most retail caving and climbing vendors in the US carry Petzl vertical equipment and lights.

Pidgeon Mountain Industries, PO Box 803, Lafayette, GA 30728. PMI was one of the first rope manufacturers to specialize in static kernmantle nylon ropes in the USA, in business since the ’70s. Now offers a broad line of caving, rescue and other special purpose ropes, harnesses and accessory equipment. Caving ropes are retailed by most of the full-service caving suppliers. Phone: 888 764 1437.

Pinnacle Arborist Supplies An arborist and general vertical supply outfit. Lots of arborist (tree climbing) supplies are useful for caving too, e.g. helmets, and esp. vertical work, harnesses, etc. In addition to mail-order, they have a retail shop, with climbing wall, if you ever find yourself in Little Rock, AR.

Rock ‘n Rescue Vertical caving and rescue equipment vendor Rescue rated equipment is stronger, heavier, and more expensive than personal equipment.

Shot in the Dark Cave Photography One of the few retail cave photography specialists Proprietor Peter Jones was co-chair of the 2002 NSS Convention in Camden, Maine. In addition to georgeous cave photos in a variety of formats, Peter offers a custom built photo strobe trigger designed for underground use. His pottery is pretty special too!

Speleobooks, PO Box 10, Schoharie, NY 12157-0010. Wide variety of cave and bat related books, magazines, posters, clothing, jewelry and accessories. Phone 518 295 7978. This business is run by Emily Mobley. Located near, and custodian of, several popular caves in the Schoharie County, NY area.

Speleo Technics Company They make the “FX” series of electric caving lamps and batteries and the Nova series of LED based headlamps. These are very popular in England and there are only a few vendors here in the US. So if you want to get them from the source, or have questions, these are the people to go to.

Sterling Rope Company, 31 Washington Avenue, Scarborough, ME 04074-9782. A local rope manufacturer sells through several outlets such as Boston Rock Gym. Phone: 207 885 0330, Fax: 207.885.0033. Chris O’Connell, Sales Manager.

Swaygo Gear Custom designed cave packs Cave packs designed for heavy use or expedition caving. Attends events (even listed on the website) and offers warranty and repair services.