Posted by Air 33 yeah its on a junker manfrotto that I picked up for $8 @ goodwill. I sold the fancy ass video pan head that was on it for $100!! Its short one column of legs, but after hearing a friend complain about his tripod rusting -- I figured a junker might be better in water.

My aluminum tripod does a pretty good job of gumming up, and I don't even go in CSO.

Posted by AnAppleSnail My aluminum tripod does a pretty good job of gumming up, and I don't even go in CSO.

water and metal don't mix. I think I abused the other tripod enough as it is.

Posted by Glass Am I the only one who carries a 21" black dildo on explorations?

I carry two 14"ers, I believe you've seen the photos (on the drainer's board). Apparently they come in yellow now.

So originally I thought this thread was for photos of the stuff you take with you on the average outing, but I think I misread it. So, two tripods, yay.

SeeThirty: do you bring spares of everything? Camera, flashlight, car, shoes, underwear? Personally, I prefer to use one tripod that's not going to break. But that's just me, I can be wacky and mildly sarcastic like that.

_{(Plus, don't tell anybody this, but once I actually did break my tripod in a drain. I managed to find enough pieces to keep shooting for the rest of the trip, but I had to go replace the only weak link in the setup - the clip that holds the quick release plate in place was made of plastic, I had to find a metal one to replace it. But now my tripod is indestructible, I tell you.)}

Posted by mortimer Personally, I prefer to use one tripod that's not going to break.

Sweet. Does yours swim? I guess even I've been places where a dropped tripod won't be found until the next flood.

They make floaty tripods, right?

Posted by AnAppleSnail They make floaty tripods, right?

Not that I've ever seen, but you can do this yourself by cutting a pool noodle to fit the largest parts of your tripod legs, and then the center post. Makes it a bitch to fold and carry, though.

Posted by velcrozeppelin Not that I've ever seen, but you can do this yourself by cutting a pool noodle to fit the largest parts of your tripod legs, and then the center post. Makes it a bitch to fold and carry, though.

Hmm. I don't know that I would have thought of such madness. Zip ties and partial sections of noodle so you can fold the legs in?

OK here's another nice pic of my floor, and assorted stuff.


for lighting
led lantern
6 v floating spotlight
led lenser P14
2x elbow joint flashlights
maglite w/ headband
led headlamp

other stuff
motorola's
wrenches
rope
drybag
water bottles
HI-LITER
knife n multitool
monocular
GPS
notepad

Posted by Glass Am I the only one who carries a 21" black dildo on explorations?

is it double ended?

Posted by AnAppleSnail Hmm. I don't know that I would have thought of such madness. Zip ties and partial sections of noodle so you can fold the legs in?

I totally pulled that out of my ass but the more I think about it, the better the idea seems!

Edit: I feel that if I'd actually cobbled this together, I'd seem even more batshit insane than our own MetaWaffle has already admitted to us in the Embarrassing Lighting Ideas thread.

Posted by AnAppleSnail Sweet. Does yours swim? I guess even I've been places where a dropped tripod won't be found until the next flood. They make floaty tripods, right?

Mine's been baptised, and it actually came with foam similar to pool noodles -but thinner - wrapped around all three legs, although I haven't extensively tested how long it'll stay afloat once they're thoroughly saturated.

A spare tripod just seems like a waste of energy to carry around, that's all I was getting at before I realized that these are just photos of all the stuff people own, not what they regularly carry with them.

HI-LITE, what's with the wrenches and monocular?

I've sometimes taken two tripods draining if I've known everything is covered in tidal mud, and used one for hanging my gear:

monocular really has no use underground, but can be handy elsewhere to see far away, wrenches are to gain access to new drains,

click to view

Surefire L1
Surefire L4
Inova T1
Princeton Tec Surge
Princeton Tec Apex headlamp

MSA Altair oxygen meter
Canon S3 IS camera
Manfrotto 714SHB tripod
Camelbak (I forget the model) backpack

edit: I forgot the most important piece of gear! My Garmin eTrex Legend HCX gps unit didn't make it into the picture.

Some of my assorted gear whore goodies...

click to view

Flashlights...
Two Lanterns rated for 100m underwater.
AAA Minimag.
Two AA Minimags.
Surefire U2 Ultra
Surefire diffuser and color filters.
Petzl Myo XP headlamp.
Two 4D Mags with LED conversion.
AE Xenide 25W HID light with 2.5 hour Li-ion battery.
AE diffuser and color filters.
6 Hour battery backup for AE.

click to view

Camera n stuff...
Tripods.
Minolta 7000 Film SLR
Minolta 28-85mm f/3.5-4.5
Minolta 2800 Flash
Nikon D90
Tokina Digital 11-16mm f/2.4
Nikon Digital 17-55mm f/2.4
Nikon 70-200mm f/2.4
Nikon SB-600 Flash
Pentax Optio W10 Waterproof Point n Shoot
Garmin 60CSx GPS
Motorola HT600
Motorola GP300's

click to view

Some of the climbing gear...

Posted by metawaffle I've sometimes taken two tripods draining if I've known everything is covered in tidal mud, and used one for hanging my gear: http://lh4.ggpht.c...00/SAA_2603-sm.jpg

Now there's neat idea. Smaller, light weight, compact thing that's man enough to hang a back pack on. The number of times I've precariously balanced my bag at the waters edge for it to silently topple while my backs turned . . . Back packs awash with poop flow make for grumpy drain0r.

Gear whore I'm afraid I probably am, more specifically torch whore, so no doubt I'll contribute to this thread soon enough. My latest addition to the JD torch stable should arrive tomorrow, we shall see if it's fit for purpose.

Posted by Banditt27 Some of my assorted gear whore goodies... click to view Flashlights... Two Lanterns rated for 100m underwater. AAA Minimag. Two AA Minimags. Surefire U2 Ultra Surefire diffuser and color filters. Petzl Myo XP headlamp. Two 4D Mags with LED conversion. AE Xenide 25W HID light with 2.5 hour Li-ion battery. AE diffuser and color filters. 6 Hour battery backup for AE.

Interesting . . . .

Posted by Banditt27 click to view Some of the climbing gear...

Some VERY clean looking climbing gear. My ropes were pretty colours once.

Posted by metawaffle I approve of the Drainor sticker!

As do I.

Aren't Manfrotto's supposed to be able to handle fresh water?

Posted by tholcomb Aren't Manfrotto's supposed to be able to handle fresh water?

Yes? Mine does.

I don't have a photo or I'd post that instead of a list.

I have a mag D, a mini mag, a led light that clips to the brim of a hat, my cannon 50D with kit lens, and my tripod.

I try to stay as lightweight as possible while still sticking to the two light rule by having three.

Hopefully I'll have a photo soon.