Cave exploration is such an exciting and challenging quest for personal discovery. As you go along this quest, you will surely need cave exploring tracking devices or pieces of equipment with you. Below is the checklist of the instruments or devices that you must bring and that you may use when the need arises. So, pick them all now for each one has its own purpose. Check them out.



?Compass While you are inside the cave and you are well-lighted, you are able to move to every corner of the cave if you bring a handheld compass. You won't know your direction unless you have a compass or a map. We will be having a separate discussion for a map.

Most cave trackers in the US prefer the Suunto compass. The Suunto KB14 may be packed with rubber covers. These rubber covers are only optional. You may just borrow a compass to your colleagues who also go caving occasionally. If you could see yourself frequently doing cave tracking, buying a good one is practical. Suunto's compass may range around $200 and up. Other brands of compasses can be found along stores that have specializations in forestry. Speleo vendors may also provide you one that doesn't hurt your pocketbook. However, in most cases, the higher the cost, the longer is its life span. So whatever you choose, it all depends on your preference and on your budget.

?Map Even an expert cave tracker surely needs a map, much more so if you are a first-timer in this field. Maps are generally written on a wide sheet of paper. But special cases like tracking a cave, special papers are being used in plotting the points of direction on to the map. Usually, your map is waterproofed so you can pull it out anywhere inside the cave.

A cave has several openings that lead you in different directions. You never know if you are only going around the same place or you are lost. This won't happen if you have a map. But an understanding on how to read a map is a requirement. There are set procedures on how to read a map. That is what you should have learned during your cave exploration training.

Simply put, by following the directions and by signing what you have already passed, you're surely on the right track!

?Special Robots Going technical, there are available but expensive hopping microbots on the market that will support you in your tracking. Because of the modern technology and the power of microchips, the possibility of having a robot companion while you track a cave became a reality. Allegedly, NASA is also using specialized robots like this in their experiments. Anyway, it should be natural for them to use such and that's extremely unquestionable and must be automatic.

In this connection, these hopping microbots are tested to conduct special functions. These functions can be recording what's inside the cave through video or can be calculating the changes in temperature. Whatever functions these hopping microbots have, they are absolutely of great help for you. Your next cave tracking activity won't be the same if you secure just one of these hopping microbots.

There might be other devices that will help you as you track your chosen cave. The checklist above only presents the most basic, yet the most important devices that you shouldn't forget when you go cave tracking.