It seems only fair to critique Mr. Kunath's post as he nostalgically critiques the newbie Texas Caver articles.
However, I am retired from arm-chair caving and no longer burdened with such trivialities. I am now annoying Linux desktop users worldwide and have developed a similar reputation in that arena. The development team of Mageia in France unknowingly welcomed me into their fold, and are now scratching their heads trying to figure out how to get rid of me. But one of them must like me, or they would have kicked me out by now. Below is a summary from past post on the headlamp topic aimed at newbie cavers: All focus lights have a tiny gap between the lens housing and the body housing. Cheap lights have a bigger gap and no seal. So water and dirt will get in and ruin things easily. Fancy lights have a quality tolerance and rugged machined materials with a silicone o-ring. Water and dirt still gets in and the o-ring will eventually need to be cleaned and lubricated and maybe even replaced. Better to not use those in super muddy caves. Most AAA headlamps are not suitable for a primary light source on a real caving trip. 4 AA is preferable, unless you can afford a specialized battery. All of the high-powered LEDs need a way to dissipate the heat. The cheap lamps will eventually fail. Better not use them for a primary headlamp. Unless you plan to camp in the cave, you should not have to change your batteries in the cave. But that still means you need a backup plan and an emergency plan. It appears now that all the active cavers are mounting 2 or 3 or even 4 small LED lights on their helmets. It would seem there is a now an excellent opportunity for a creative caver to build a modern fibreglass or ABS plastic or Kevlar or carbon-fiber caving helmet designed for multiple headlamps. See you all at the next NSS Convention. I doubt I will go anywhere before that. David Locklear P.S. My Sequoia has not be repossessed yet.
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