SRT Kit

British SRT kits follow a fairly standard setup. There are other styles, like French or American or rope-access derived kits. None of them are unsafe or wrong. They all have pros and cons. But when you cave with a group, a standard setup means everyone knows what yours does and can help you if things go wrong.

This gear guide section covers our recommended kit list. We are not trying to do a 40,000 word analysis of every possible trade-off. We are capturing what a beginner can get without making a terrible decision.

Some of the debates around SRT kit choices are like religious wars within the community. We do not try to show both sides. We take an approach and say go with this, because it is what our club uses. That does not mean it is the only approach, and it does not mean people who do things differently are wrong. It is a guide to help you get your first SRT kit without dying of equipment failure.

When you are building your own SRT kit, you do not need to get everything at once. But there is not much benefit in having half a kit if someone can lend you a full one. From the club's perspective, we prefer to lend you a full kit and get a full kit back without bits getting muddled up.

The full recommended kit includes: a sit harness, a chest harness, a chest jammer, a hand jammer, a descender, cowstails with carabiners, a security link and footloop, a D-ring, and a braking carabiner. Each item has its own guide in this section.

You should already have basic caving equipment, including a helmet, light, oversuit, undersuit, and boots. SRT kit is for vertical caving and is not needed for horizontal trips.

Secondhand SRT kit is a complicated topic. Big savings are available, but there are many caveats. The problem is that if you are new to caving, you do not yet know what to check for. Parts of your SRT kit are technically not PPE. Once you know the rules, you can break them. But if you do not already understand the caveats yourself, it is hard to recommend buying secondhand in a guide aimed at everybody.

Some items like cowstails are cheap enough new that buying secondhand is pointless. Fabric items like harnesses are hard to inspect for hidden damage. Metal items like carabiners and ascenders can have wear you cannot see. If you have a mentor who can check things for you, that changes the equation, but this guide assumes you are buying your first kit without that support.