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Canyoning Checklists

This section has checklists to help guide you on what you need to bring with you on a trip. We are adding checklists in the future on what skills you can develop for each stage of your learning, how to search for a canyon, and how to plan a canyoning trip.

To download the canyoning checklist, click here: Excel Spreadsheet. PDF file.

There are many factors that influence the selection of equipment and clothing required for a canyoning trip. Some of these factors include:

  • type of canyon (wet, dry, vertical, undulating, cold).
  • technical difficulty (height, water flow, temperature, altitude).
  • techniques required (anchors pre-existing, ghosting, single rope, high water flows).
  • participants skill level (beginner, intermediate, advanced, experience on certain types only).
  • participants ability to handle adverse conditions (temperature, altitude, duration, length).
  • location (close to population, remote, foreign, access to and for emergency resources).

As a result, these checklists are a guide only. How do you decide what to take on a trip?

You should undertake a risk assessment process of your intended trip. A process that you could follow is:
1 – Decide which canyon you want to go to.
2 – Use online resources to gather as much information as possible about the trip (maps, guides, photo’s, reports, GPS coordinates). Talk to people who have already completed the trip.
3 – List all the possible things that could go wrong on your trip (hazards). Yes, everything (getting lost, flooded out, failed anchor point, fall off rope, snake bite, rope stuck, hypothermia)!
4 – Rate the likelihood of each of those things going wrong (risk).
5 – Determine what the consequence is of each factor if it does go wrong (hypothermia, injury, death).
6 – See if you can make each of those factors safer (control the hazards). Re-rate each item.
7 – If the risk is still too great, then you should decide to not go. Saying NO is a very important skill.
8 – If the risk is manageable, then look at the equipment lists and choose the equipment you need to manage the hazards (i.e abseil gear for vertical canyon, wetsuit for wet canyon, overnight gear for remote trips, etc).

You have to be careful when choosing equipment. Carrying too much will slow your progress and may put you in danger of exhaustion and getting lost. Carrying insufficient gear may lead to getting stuck in adverse conditions or locations. As a rule of thumb, you will need more gear when:

  • the trip is technical / complex.
  • the group is inexperienced. More skill and experience allows less gear required.
  • the conditions are adverse.
  • the location is remote.
Personal / Group Category Item Wet Canyon Day Trip Non Vertical Day Trip Vertical Multi Day Trip Vertical
Personal Clothing Hat Yes Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Beanie Yes Maybe Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Sunglasses Maybe Maybe Maybe
Personal Clothing Wetsuit Yes Maybe Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Thermals Yes Maybe Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Raincoat Yes Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Shirt Yes Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Shorts Yes Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Gloves Yes Maybe Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Socks Yes Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Shoes Yes Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Dry Hiking Clothes Yes Yes Yes Yes
Personal Equipment Backpack Yes Yes Yes
Group Equipment Cookware Maybe Maybe Yes
Personal Equipment Utensils Maybe Maybe Yes
Personal Food Meals Maybe Maybe Yes
Personal Food Water Yes Yes Yes
Group Safety First Aid Kit Yes Yes Yes
Group Safety PLB Yes Yes Yes
Group Safety GPS Maybe Maybe Maybe
Personal Safety Maps and Compass Yes Yes Yes
Personal Equipment Headlamp Yes Yes Yes
Personal Equipment Dry Bag Yes Maybe Yes Yes
Group Equipment Camera Maybe Maybe Maybe
Personal Food Snacks Yes Yes Yes
Personal Safety Helmet Maybe Yes Yes
Personal Equipment – Vertical Harness Yes Yes
Personal Equipment – Vertical Descender Yes Yes
Personal Equipment – Vertical Carabiners x 4 Yes Yes
Group Equipment – Vertical Rope Yes Yes
Group Equipment – Vertical Rope Bag Yes Yes
Group Equipment – Vertical Pull Cord Yes Yes
Group Equipment – Vertical Rigging Equipment as Required Maybe Maybe
Group Equipment – Vertical Bolting Equipment as Required Maybe Maybe
Personal Safety Knife Yes Yes
Personal Safety Cowstail / Safety Line Yes Yes
Personal Equipment – Vertical Prussiks Yes Yes
Group Safety Ascenders Maybe Maybe
Group Safety Pulley Maybe Maybe
Group Equipment – Vertical Quick Links Yes Yes
Group Equipment – Vertical Rope / Slings / Webbing Yes Yes
Personal Safety Whistle Yes Maybe Yes Yes
Personal Clothing Warm Clothes for Night Yes
Personal Sleeping Sleeping Mat Yes
Personal Sleeping Sleeping Bag Yes
Group Sleeping Tent or Fly Yes
Group Sleeping Ground Sheet Yes
Personal Safety Medication Yes Yes Yes
Personal Sleeping Hygiene Yes
Group Safety Fire – Matches or Lighter Yes Yes Yes
Personal Equipment Flotation Yes Maybe Maybe Maybe
Group Skills Suitable for Canyon Yes Yes Yes Yes
Group Safety Trip Registered / Informed Yes Yes Yes Yes