NG article about our colleagues , their expedition took place a month after of what was described in #16 )
Extraordinary.
I can’t describe how much I admire your determination. I used to cave when much younger, but increasingly got more and more scared, after several near-misses. And tragedies. Having to delicately explain to parents how their son died (badly, but we got the body out eventually, and we were just university students at the time). Then I gave it up. My deepest trip was in the Pyrenees, maybe you know that one.
In caves you quickly understand if caves you destiny or not)
Pyrenees is wonderful place, I was there last year as simple tourist and visit grotte de la Verna. It was simply WOW. Pierre- Saint-Martin is one of desires for me)
Yep, It is a long way down. And back up.
But my caving days are mostly over, something has shifted in my head and I no longer have any desire to do this mad stuff, (frankly I get too scared, and wouldn’t want to be a burden on the rest of the team if I freaked out. I’ve had to deal with this in the past with others, whilst remaining totally calm, and it is was not easy.)
Seeing someone completely falling apart because they have got into a situation far beyond their ability to cope, is not nice.
Particularly if you are in exactly the same situation, but trying to hold it all together, and work out a way forward instead of extreme panic.
The military try to avoid this, with selection and testing. And the rules of command.
It’s a game for young people I think. Old and bold is not a good combination.
That 2M is pretty compelling. Anywhere with more information and pricing?
http://ylplight.com/en/katalog/1/nalobnye-fonari/panda-2m/
Not the high CRI version, but that link is the manufacturer.
Great article. I used to be a caver too and can easily imagine the sick feeling in the pit of your stomach when things go wrong. Since we are on a flashlight forum, how did the lights hold up? Have you changed your opinions?
That price is pretty damn competitive if the 219C is the same. Any idea what shipping is like?
Shipping is EMS ~8$. It relatively fast 1-2weeks.
I really like the looks of this headlamp. Thank you for doing this review.
Looks interesting. I was thinking about Panda 3 for some time. With the charger… I could not resist and ordered one 
Breakdown for modern flashlights is very rare event.( If we speak not about armytek:)). In our expedition all lights worked fine. Main part of our team uses ZL, H03 is popular among newbies , some “oldschool “ cavers use something like Ignivi or Scurion.(if I understand your question correctly)
Sorry I’m late to comment here, but those were fantastic subterranean photos, AEDe! Spectacular experience. Like being on an alien world. 
Thanks, xevious! Take a look at Robbie Shone photos his photography skills much better than my of course)
Thank you! I wasn’t aware of Robbie Shone. I had heard in Russia you can find some of the deepest caves… but I didn’t know it had the deepest. Are there many different spectacular caving opportunities in Russia? I wonder if one must decompress after going so deep because of nitrogen absorption, sort of like what happens in diving?
Sorry for late reply,
it’s easy to miss the message here.
Abkhazia it is not Russia actually, massif Arabica is located very close to the border )) Mountains there has unique geology. The deepest Russian cave is Throat of Barlog it is only 950m deep it also located in Caucasus.
There are many beautiful caves in Russia , not such deep as Verevkina or such long as Mammoth cave in US, but each has its own peculiarity and unique. You can also take a look at instagram of Perovo caving club it not have many photos but still )
There is no such large preasure differense in cave. 2km of air creates pressure like 2m of water. So of course there is no need of decompression.
Wow!
Those huge cavernous caves I could probably get into. They look amazing…
It’s the skinny ones where you’re making like a vole to squeeze yourself through tight passageways that give me the creeps.
Could you list the lights in that image? I think I'm spotting a Lumzoo GH10 in there...
Yes of course. (I think I even already wrote that somewhere…)
From left
1)Jetbeam HR30
2)Panda 3(two long tailcap)
3)Nitecore HC65
4)Panda 1.0
5)Spark ST6 (triple mod)
6)Lumzoo GH10 (tir)
7)Panda 3 (stock)
8)Angryfox Hr06
9)Panda 3 (two short tailcap)