B&C Wunderwear
Steve L.
Several people have asked about B&C Wunderwear. They are
now located near Nashville, TN.
B&C Wunderwear
2368 Antioch Pike
Antioch TN 37013
They make good cave packs, cave suits, rope pads, knee pads etc.
--
Steve LePera /\v/\ Reacting Flow Lab
Graduate Student /\v/\ Randolph Hall
Mechanical Engineering (540) 231-5882 Virginia Tech
Remove spaces and spam to reply to: leperas @ spam . vt . edu
Triumph Daytona 1971, Yamaha Seca 750, 1981 VPI #351 NSS#40805
CaverShack
>Several people have asked about B&C Wunderwear. They are
>now located near Nashville, TN.
>
>B&C Wunderwear
>2368 Antioch Pike
>Antioch TN 37013
>
>(615) 315-9777
>
>They make good cave packs, cave suits, rope pads, knee pads etc.
>
>
I would like to second what Steve said about the quality of B & C Wunderwear's
products. I have a custom made cave suit that I've had for several years and
it is the most comfortable and durable suit that I have worn underground.
Cleans great and there is ample pocket space that keeps things secure. Try to
catch them at a caving convention or outing to look at their stuff. Well worth
the effort!
Shack
Not all of Mother Nature's beauty is above ground.
^-^ ^-^ ^-^
(^-^) (^-^) ^-^
(^-^) ^-^ (^-^) ^-^ ^-^
^-^ (^-^) ^-^ (^-^)
Caver...@AOL.com
jbed...@floweb.com
> I would like to second what Steve said about the quality of B & C Wunderwear's
> products. I have a custom made cave suit that I've had for several years and
> it is the most comfortable and durable suit that I have worn underground.
> Cleans great and there is ample pocket space that keeps things secure. Try to
> catch them at a caving convention or outing to look at their stuff. Well worth
> the effort!
>
In complete contrast with this post, I have several friends who have had
nothing but trouble from caving suits from B&C. First the suits look great.
The first guy bought a suit, it fit him perfectly. In fact I almost bought
on myself, but decided to stick with my suit I got from Bob and Bobs. On the
second trip in a cave with this suit, several seams blew out. He sent it off
for repair and got it back several months later. It has blown seams several
more times since and the material does not even stand up to mild caving
rigors.
The other guy had his wife order him a cave suit for his birthday. That has
been over a year, and to my knowledge (1month old news) he still has not
received his suit. Every caving event he asks her and she says that they are
working on it.
So my point is, if you order from B&C be careful. You might get a great
product, you might not or you might never get it.
-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
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michael steed
CaverShack wrote:
>
> >Several people have asked about B&C Wunderwear. They are
> >now located near Nashville, TN.
> >
> >B&C Wunderwear
> >2368 Antioch Pike
> >Antioch TN 37013
> >
> >(615) 315-9777
> >
> >They make good cave packs, cave suits, rope pads, knee pads etc.
> >
> >
>
> products. I have a custom made cave suit that I've had for several years and
> it is the most comfortable and durable suit that I have worn underground.
> Cleans great and there is ample pocket space that keeps things secure. Try to
> catch them at a caving convention or outing to look at their stuff. Well worth
> the effort!
>
>
> Not all of Mother Nature's beauty is above ground.
> ^-^ ^-^ ^-^
> (^-^) (^-^) ^-^
> (^-^) ^-^ (^-^) ^-^ ^-^
> ^-^ (^-^) ^-^ (^-^)
> Caver...@AOL.com
got from them was a caver "laundry bag" made of ballistic cloth with
mesh vents. No more garbage bags for muddy cave clothes. The bag goes
in with everything else on wash
day.
MLS
Brad Blackburn
jbed...@floweb.com wrote in article <6e3kfj$iu3$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
>
>
> > I would like to second what Steve said about the quality of B & C
Wunderwear's
> > products. I have a custom made cave suit that I've had for several
years and
> > it is the most comfortable and durable suit that I have worn
underground.
> > Cleans great and there is ample pocket space that keeps things secure.
Try to
> > catch them at a caving convention or outing to look at their stuff.
Well worth
> > the effort!
> >
>
>
> nothing but trouble from caving suits from B&C. First the suits look
great.
> The first guy bought a suit, it fit him perfectly. In fact I almost
bought
> on myself, but decided to stick with my suit I got from Bob and Bobs. On
the
> second trip in a cave with this suit, several seams blew out. He sent it
off
> for repair and got it back several months later. It has blown seams
several
> more times since and the material does not even stand up to mild caving
> rigors.
>
> The other guy had his wife order him a cave suit for his birthday. That
has
> been over a year, and to my knowledge (1month old news) he still has not
> received his suit. Every caving event he asks her and she says that they
are
> working on it.
>
> So my point is, if you order from B&C be careful. You might get a great
> product, you might not or you might never get it.
>
> -----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
> http://www.dejanews.com/ Now offering spam-free web-based newsreading
I had problems with the stitching that holds the Velcro on the front
"zipper". The crotch stitching started to fail too but she did fix it for
free at Speleofest. I recommend folks buy one off the rack because I have
heard too many complaints. Order takes forever and then it is the wrong
size. On a positive note the B&C suit was better than others I have tried
from vendors.
Hoyt McKagen
jbed...@floweb.com wrote:
>
> In complete contrast with this post, I have several friends who have had
> nothing but trouble from caving suits from B&C. First the suits look great.
> The first guy bought a suit, it fit him perfectly. In fact I almost bought
> on myself, but decided to stick with my suit I got from Bob and Bobs. On the
> second trip in a cave with this suit, several seams blew out. He sent it off
> for repair and got it back several months later. It has blown seams several
> more times since and the material does not even stand up to mild caving
> rigors.
>
> The other guy had his wife order him a cave suit for his birthday. That has
> been over a year, and to my knowledge (1month old news) he still has not
> received his suit. Every caving event he asks her and she says that they are
> working on it.
>
> So my point is, if you order from B&C be careful. You might get a great
> product, you might not or you might never get it.
I waited to see if anyone else was going to call this out before I spoke,
to avoid being cast as the first spoiler ... I can second the above: I
have heard other instances of blown seams too and I also have a friend
who has personally had difficulty with Cecile and her products, including
time-frame problems and bad quality sewing.
Since Cecile evidently has a practice of hiring anyone who is a caver or
friend to work on these seamster or not and consequently has turnover
problems, it is axiomatic that her quality is going to be spotty.
Aside from that, one might want to consider dealing with someone ...
anyone ... else who is not known to be such a pure flake; just for one
thing, Cecile has a long record of having underaged drinking in her
residence, and I suspect that extends to imbibing during production.
I personally consider it a Good Thing that she has left B-Burg, my home
town, possibly related to growing local knowledge of the general
disorderliness of her home. Aside from above, she has also had a notable
and unpleasant effect on the behaviors of the local grotto, including the
practice of redemption by flaming: if you transgress anyone's opinion of
proper caving etiquette or practice, you get invited to a mass flaming at
one of the meetings. <=this evidently descends from her practice as a
counselor of mental health and advocacy of confession, the careful
performance of which is somewhat basely alloyed with her habit of talking
about her clients.) I have seen these events turn decidedly unpleasant
and potentially dangerous, for the flamee.
Too bad for Tennessee though ... you guys down there should take special
note of this, as you are going to most likely see a lot more of it up
close.
Hoyt
--
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=>`I'm having an old friend for dinner tonight, babay'<=Hannibal Lector
John Wilkerson
I've had no experience with their suits, but their knee pads are first
rate and I bought an Expediter pack from her that is still going despite
the poundings I give it.
B&C seems to have other useful cave items, I do recommend checking them
out at a cave event.
John
Take nothing but pictures, kill nothing but cave vandals and leave no
trace of their body!
(Ok, I borrowed some of my signature.)
Steve L. wrote:
>
> Several people have asked about B&C Wunderwear. They are
> now located near Nashville, TN.
>
> B&C Wunderwear
> 2368 Antioch Pike
> Antioch TN 37013
>
> (615) 315-9777
>
> They make good cave packs, cave suits, rope pads, knee pads etc.
>
Glawackus
>From: John Wilkerson <jwilk...@iname.com>
> their knee pads are first rate
>
I have to disagree. I had a pair a few years ago that were great, but the
straps eventually pulled off, and Cecile said there isn't really any way to sew
them back on The straps should either last as long as the pads or be
repairable. I replaced them with a newer style that has 3 straps instead of 2,
and they're great when they're where they should be, but they won't stay there
for more than a few minutes at a time. The only solution appears to be to sew a
loop to the coveralls and run a strap through the loop.
Dwayne
Glawackus wrote:
The coveralls are great suits for paragliding/hangliding but 12-18hrs of moderate
caving totaled mine.
John Wilkerson
I had wondered about the 3 strap version as I only have the slipping two
strap version. Mine do become ankle warmers, but I have never pulled the
strap off.
From what I'm reading, it appears that B&C gives mixed results. Guess it
depends on what you happen to buy.
John
"What do you mean there are no caves in Michigan? There are at least two
or three!"
Caver99
> The coveralls are great suits for paragliding/hangliding but 12-18hrs of
>moderate
>caving totaled mine.
That's impressive. I've done maybe 30 trips of moderate caving over 10 hours
long and my B &C coveralls took it pretty well. In total I have well over 1000
hours underground in my Wonderalls, and each year at OTR have them patched up,
usually for 8 to 12 bucks. They were measured for me, and not off the rack,
and yes, they needed one adjustment initially as the legs were just too tight
(putting them on sucked my polypro up over my knees). It's not the moderate
trips that do them in though, it's the out and out rough stuff that pounds
them. I've since bought a shazaam suit from Mike Artz for that stuff, and
found that matching the coveralls to the cave helps a great deal.
Keith Christenson
RopeWalker
Bob Reardon wrote:
> As to Cecile's capabilities as a custom coverall manufacturer, she
> sucks. I had her take my measurements at the '95 Blacksburg, VA NSS
> Convention and received a suit that would turn me into a soprano every
> time I lifted my hands over my head. She told me that a bunch of suits
> had the torso length screwed up because of a mistake by the cutter.
> She also screwed up the color combination I had ordered. The suit was
> well put together, although I think it had too many seams to be
> durable for heavy caving. Luckily I had a friend who needed some
> coveralls and the suit fit him like a glove. I've had other friends
> who had to send their suits back two or three times to straighten out
> Cecile's screwups, and everyone of those folks had her measure them
> for the suit.
>
> I've had one of the Bob & Bob suits for 10 years and it has been
> patched and had seams resewn numerous times, and it just keeps on
> going and going. If you can find a suit on one of Cecile's racks that
> fits you, buy it. Don't have her make you a custom one, it will take
> forever and a day to get it and it won't fit.
>
> Bob Reardon
>
Sounds like Cecile has a consistancy problem. I ordered one of her
custom-made suits and it fits great. Mine was made while they were in
the process of moving and that's a bad time to try to get good work
done. And yet, the suit fits "like a glove". The only problem I noticed
was that the collar doesn't line up at the throat evenly, but that's
purely cosmetic and if I were interested in cosmetics, I wouldn't be
into caving.
At any rate, if off-the-shelf suits fit you, why bother getting a custom
fit suit? I only ordered one because of my odd body dimensions (short
torso, long limbs).
For what it's worth, I'd still buy another suit from her, but that may
be because I had a good experience with the first one. However, I would
express my concern over the apparent inconsistant results other
customers have experienced. She should have no problem seeing that
consistancy is good for business and that word-of-mouth does spread.
--
RopeWalker
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RopeWalker
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T. Lounsbury
Yes, Hoyt
You are 100% correct about B&C Wunderwear. It is a terrible travesty to
let her keep taking the ignorant cavers money. I was once just like them,
not no more.
BrkdwnBob
Despite all the on going critisism about B&C I
purchased a pair of caving pants from her today. It was on the shelf so it does
not have to be custom made. Several of my caving companions also have these
pants and they have undergone rigorous torture with no problem. In addition ,
absolutely the best cave pack I have ever had is also made by B&C. I knew of
the velcro problem before hand so I stitched it myself before it became so
engulfed with mud that a sewing needle would not go through it. The pack has
endured flawlessly. I do however, have a cave suit made by Lost Creek I
purchased in '91 that requires maintenence avery time it is worn. Similar
situations that you have described like seams coming undone are a constant
repair on the Lost Creek suit.
bob biddix
Steve L.
For those of you who have never purchased any cave suit, or any
vendors cave pack, it should be obvious that the playing field
is pretty level. Everyone caves with different style, and
everyone has different bodies...depending on YOU, a different
knee pad or pack or suit will wear completely differently
than the same gear on another person.
If you get a chance to go to a convention or other organized
caving function, take the time to look at all of the stuff
first-hand.
Everyone I have purchased from has been extremely helpful
in repairs and adjustments...and are always ready to listen
to your suggestions for improvements.
Thunder
I don't know about the suits, but I have a Lost Creek pack that will
probably outlive my grandchildren. I rolled it along during a 45 minute
crawl and it looked brand new. I tredged through knee-deep mud with it,
slipping the whole time, and it still worked flawlessly. I have
squeezed through the tightest of openings where my body not only barely
fit, but was bleeding when I emerged - not even a scratch on the pack.
It fell 115 feet in a rappell and looked great afterward (although the
stuff inside didn't fare so well)! Lost Creek packs are unbeatable.
--
-Thunder-
mailto:bp...@2geton.net
o(|:^) CAVERS DO IT IN THE DARK!!