What Do You Pack In Your Pack?

[Derek]

You never go wrong with Estwing hammers, they make high quality stuff. The helmet will do for now, but eventually you will want to move to something more low profile with a chin strap.

[RockRacer]

I am glad to hear that about the hammer. I am going to get it then. What's a good helmet for for the money?

[UnderUtah]

You can go with either a CAMP Armour or a Black Diamond Half Dome. Prices range from $65 to $80. We have a few Petzl Ecrin Roc helmets but unless you are a child the chin strap is too tight and not adjustable enough to keep from sawing through your ears. Check around at Kirkhams, the Black Diamond Store, or online if you aren't in a hurry.

[Stuart]

You never go wrong with Estwing hammers, they make high quality stuff.

Agreed! I have that exact same 22oz hammer and I have pounded the crap out of everything I see and its still the best hammer around. I carry it whenever I am even thinking about going underground.

That helmet will work for now, but like Derek said eventually you will want to upgrade to something low profile.

[RockRacer]

Thanks guys! And is it mostly for bumping your head or for a possible collapse? Also, do you guys carry these hammers for gathering rock samples or emergency purposes? (I got the impression from one or two threads that it's for something other than emergencies)

Sorry for the 20 questions.

[RedRockXJ]

When going underground, you ALWAYS prepare for the worst. So when buying tools/toys, always think of it's value for an emergency situation no matter how you intend to use it.

[Stuart]

Well if there were to be a collapse on a large scale a helmet is pretty useless, but falling rock is always a possibility so keep you brain bucket tightly secured to your noggin. You also never know if a couple of mint condition dynamite boxes are going to fall down a shaft onto your head

A hammer is mostly for breaking open and extracting rock samples, but they are also useful for nailing old ladders back together, widening holes to crawl through, digging out artifacts, banging on walls to make awesome sparks, and on some rare occasions have been used in emergencies. Its not a good idea to skimp on buying any equipment that could possibly be used to save your life.

[RockRacer]

You also never know if a couple of mint condition dynamite boxes are going to fall down a shaft onto your head

A hammer is mostly for banging on walls to make awesome sparks.

Hey what about a compass? Are those worth having underground? (I wish my GPS and ham radio worked underground)

[Mike]

Unless there is something magnetic underground, they work great! You could make Ham work underground for short distances or long tunnels. We used cheap walmart radios in twisting hardrock, and were able to go a surprising distance with them.

[konigstigerii]

I've been looking at a parkzone or artech F4U.

From the specs and video they seem to handle very well, I just wonder how they will do under a load. Have you looked into camera setups at all?

I kinda looked into camera set ups... the only ones I looked at have a short range of about 450 feet... I would rather get something better. I've watched a few videos of the Parkzones with different camera set ups, and they seem to handle fine, I'm sure if I stick with a light weight and small camera they should fly fine still.

[RockRacer]

So, I am still thinking about the different hammers that you guys may carry. Anyone know what the difference is between a Bricklayer's hammer and a rock pick hammer? Both are solid steel. (At least if you compare both types sold at sears) Maybe I need to get off the internet and just check them out, but they look exactly the same? Sorry if I am over analizing this. I've been told I have a tendancy to do that.

What about a decent night vision video camera . I upgraded from one Sony video camera to another recently and donated my old one to the in-laws. As I turned on my night vision to record while in the Lucky Strike Mine, I found that it records the normal color and not the green color I was use to. At first I was excited, but then I realized I had to move the camera very very slowly to get any footage in focus. I did just win/earn a night vision w/infared monocular from my work, but I don't know how well it will work putting it up next to the camera for night shots.

Are wadders overkill? Seems like if you didn't have them and you ran into water, it could ruin the rest of the trip...

[UnderUtah]

The Estwing hammer has a slightly smaller head and the pick side is just that - a pick. The Bricklayer's hammer has a slightly larger head and the opposite end is about 1" wide, like a square shovel instead of a sharp pick. I carry the Bricklayer's hammer, and bought it simply out of convenience. The pick on the rock hammer seems to come-in pretty handy though.

I don't know much about "night vision" other than it seems to be a loosely applied term. Some footage I have seen looks as if the night vision setting just cranks open the apreture to allow the most light possible to hit the chip. It looks like many cameras go a step further and are outfitted with a small infrared illuminator to "light" the scene and the CCD is able to pick-up either the IR illuminated scene or normal visible spectrum light, depending on the setting. From what I have observed with a friend's camera the IR won't light a room, but still produces enough illumination to be able to make-out objects and so forth. This type produces the green monochromatic image. It seems to me that if you want to obtain quality underground footage the best way is to use enough light to light the scene with light visible to the human eye. This is in part why we tend to have fifteen lights on our helmets - or at least I do - to produce enough light to drive my helmet cam. A good handheld spot or floodlight will put-out enough light for filming, but the run times make feature-length shooting impossible on a single charge. We tend to carry an array of helmet mounted and auxiliary spotting lights to make the most of our outings.

[Stuart]

I personally recommend the Estwing, but many here prefer the Bricklayer hammer. It is really a matter of choice and you might want to try a few of our hammers out before you decide to make a purchase.

As far as Night Vision, don't bother with it. We get good enough footage just using the light put out from our collective helmets/spotters, you should be able to get by using the same setup.

[RockRacer]

I will get off the hammer and night vision questions now. Looks like most of you like the rock pick, so I just ordered it. And I agree with you guys about the night vision. Plus it would be a lot better and cheaper to just have the proper amount of light anyway.

Thanks for the input!

[Mike]

I prefer the brick hammer. I can blast through rock a lot better with it, for some reason.