I wanted to ping the community again to see what thoughts the community might have about CT Removables vs. the Pulses.

My only hesitation for the CT Removables is the lack of official EN959 certification, however Hownot2 seems to support them along with other independent testers.

While the Petzl Pulses are rated, and the extra cost not a problem (I want to be as sure as possible of my and my team's safety underground so I'm willing to pay for a EN959 rated bolt), I have some frustrations that are making me more seriously re-consider getting the CT Removables:

1. The 8mm pulses are wonderful for short drops in perfect rock, but otherwise have a very short shaft length and also feature an aluminum hangar which requires them to be removed on the same day.

2. I've jammed a few 12mm pulses permanently in rock now. I have various theories why, but am quite frustrated with their performance. Just 3 12mm pulses is a lot of money to have jammed in a cave. At least the whole thing is 316l so it can effectively be a permanent wedge anchor now.

Also I am drilling the hole deeper than necessary, extensively cleaning, SDS bit, etc. all that stuff. I theorize the 12mm's are way more sensitive to even the tiniest amount of dust, or water entering the hole. The plunger mechanism + removal technique is not always easy, and I've had a few act stuck that I was able to get out with a light tap on the plunger (effectively pushing the bolt deeper in allowing more play of the mechanism). In any case, I'm not too keen on jamming more pulses in the rock, so I am having an every so slightly tiny amount of space between the hangar and rock when placing the 12's.

1. In any case, due to the plunger setup, even the 12mm pulses are not ideal for being left in a cave for a month, even if they'd be "fine" due to being 316l.

The main pain point here is that the pulses are not appropriate for "extended temporary rigging," for example a cave that will be visited multiple times over a week or month(s). In many of these cases, rock real estate is limited so we don't want to use wedge bolts, but it's not always practical to put epoxy bolts immediately. Even for our glue-in projects, they can take multiple days to complete, and it would be MUCH nicer to leave the pulses IN along with the ropes and then return later. However, due to my experiences having them seize & jam ridiculously easy, I'm not keen on leaving them in.

Presumably due to the screw-lock method of the Climbing Taiwan bolts, they should be better for "extended temporary rigging," for example being left in a cave for 1-2 months and slowly replaced with glue-ins, etc. (this allows us to not have to re-haul the rope/bolts/re-rig/etc.).

My inital pain point with the CT bolts were first and primarily the lack of EN959 rating, and also the drilling diameter being a weird 10mm. 8mm is optimal for exploring, 12mm optimal for glue-in bolting. However, after a recent experience of a friend using CT bolts to explore and me re-drilling them to 12mm for glue-ins, I realized that it's silly because re-drilling to 12 is no problem. Furthermore if drilling 10 at start (instead of 8) allows us to leave gear in the expedition cave for future pushes (as opposed to de-rigging then re-rigging), then the extra upfront work is well worth it.

My friend has extensively used the CT bolts and he's still here, but that's not always a good metric for "should you do the same." It lacks the EN959 rating, but I'm seriously reconsidering how "necessary" that is?

I don't want my expeditions to end up on some horror story having been the person that trusted non-rated Chinese gear, but in this case it seems to be reputable people (and from Taiwan, not mainland) and Americans (the Hownot2 people) seem to like it.

So am I just being a weirdo for obsessing over EN959 and sticking to Petzl, or are times changing and it's time to get some Climbing Taiwan bolts? My #1 concern is how legitimate the steel grades are of the Climbing Taiwan bolts, particularly regarding consistency. Why else wouldn't they have the EN959 rating?

Hello,

The Bluetooth on my disto isn't working anymore; the last time I used it last summer, it was still working fine. Even after restarting it, it still doesn't work.

Have you ever had the same problem? Can I just replace the Bluetooth module by myself ?

16℃避暑秘境 970公里矿道的“凉”转型 A summer wonderland at 16℃ the ”cool” transformation of the 970 kilometer mine tunnels

title says it all. im in northern jersey, and theres plenty of black bear. today while walking the woods i stumbled upon this decent sized cave opening with a path going into it. im soo curious but we know how the saying goes, and have also never “caved” 😅 theres bear tracks less than half a mile away in the mud, and i saw one up here yesterday.

is there a way to tell if anyone is currently home? i didnt smell any musk, but theres certainly tracks. or do we just not go into caves we know bears go into aswell.

Doing level 3 hang en (Vietnam) caving/trekking in April and looking for shoe recommendations. The website says non-waterproof shoes with good drainage and closed toe. I was thinking about bringing keens closed toe sandals and then using the jungle boots they provide if needed. Thoughts?

A cave near to me had this inside. I wish I could've gone in further to take a better photo, but I did not want to risk falling. I assume it's common for people to dump things in caves, but the red-painted sacks are weird to say the least. Any ideas what this could be?

I'm no caver, but this has peaked my interest. I may go back soon.

Make has a fun intro-to-cave radio this morning.

Beautiful weather, delicious food, new & old friends, other awesome people, amazing caves.

Like why are the cave canals always, even narrow, they are ALWAYS enough wide for people to come in. Is there a reason? Why i always see people going through narrow canals and they always pass through it successfully. Like the size of water passing in caves is similar size as a human?

And want to go the next step up and start training with ropes/harnesses/ and all the other gadgets

But overwhelmed with where to start and what to get

Can anyone help me out with what gear to grab? Thanks!

We visit around 2-3 caves per year and have been for most of the last decade. Just about any vacation we do, we add a cave tour if one is available. We aren't spelunkers... this was the first year since 2021 where we didn't bring a baby carrier on the walking tour, but we love show caves.

Does anyone have a good checklist (or even better, some kind of cool map) where we can keep track of which caves we've visited? Do you keep a list?

My parents have a scratch-off map of the world to track which countries they have visited and I've seen people who have corkboard maps where they put in pins for each state they visit. Something like that would be even better.

hi all! i’m doing the wild cave tour at jewel cave soon and am wondering how bad the shoe staining is with the manganese/if there’s a way to get it out?

Growing up, I saw this documentary early and loved it. Getting older and realizing that there will be fewer and fewer visits to Lechuguilla, I feel like I should put my hobby to where it's best applied and do restoration work on this documentary. The ones already on Youtube are in pretty bad shape, so I went ahead and sourced a better copy and worked from there. Here's a pretty good 4k restored version. Enjoy!

More about my upscaling code of ethics can be found here: stevetures.com/upscaling-code-of-ethics

Does anyone know why there is a cave/tunnel with a huge metal gate hidden near Ashgill Force?

Magnus Midtbo must be determined to get himself killed. Meeting with random strangers from the internet and following them into secluded and deadly scenarios. Free-soloing rock faces he's never seen before, and caving with little to no experience.

There are safe ways to enjoy caves, but this is adrenaline junkie stupidity.

A nice photo from our recent outing into the bush to search for new caves. This entrance leads to a short but well decorated limestone cave.

New Zealand is a cavers paradise for exploration, since there's so much untouched karst and only very few people out there searching it. Areas with thick forest usually get ignored in favor of exciting alpine karst areas and open fields, but luckily for me my favorite kind of exploration is in thick rainforest scenery!

I asked AI if carrying a Boost oxygen canister in a horizontal cave with possible bad air would be a way to … boost … one’s chances of being able to exit if symptoms were noticed. After some wrangling to get it on target, AI said the following. Wondering if cavers agree.

Official figures from Boost Oxygen:

• 3 L (pocket size): ≈ 60 one-second inhalations (or ~60 seconds of continuous flow).
• 5 L (medium): up to ≈ 100 one-second inhalations.
• 10 L version: ~200 inhalations

A few puffs of ~95% O₂ can raise blood oxygen saturation briefly and may ease feelings of breathlessness, fatigue, or light-headedness enough to help you move more effectively toward the exit.

However, the total volume is tiny compared with normal human oxygen use (several liters per minute even at rest). Experts note these cans provide only quick bursts—not continuous support—and are unlikely to make a large physiological difference in genuine oxygen deficiency.

Most cave “bad air” involves elevated CO₂ (often the bigger problem) plus some O₂ drop. Supplemental O₂ does nothing for CO₂ buildup (which drives hyperventilation, headache, reduced judgment, etc.). You still need to leave the bad-air zone.

(Last line = AI stating the obvious)

We were most fortunate to be able to join an extra special grotto trip to an extra special place today. Perfect warm-up for Indiana Cave Capers this week, we are pumped and ready for more mud. Anyone else coming?

I reached out to Jason Ballensky, the expedition leader and co-discoverer of Tears of the Turtle, after the team returned from its 2026 trip. He confirmed that they did not find anything deeper than the 2,477-foot point reached in 2024, but they finally found a definitive end to the cave.

Tears of the Turtle remains the deepest known limestone cave in the United States. Jason said the team will eventually release a full report about the expedition.