One of the most useful bits of caving kit is a decent tackle sack. It might be carrying rope, SRT kit, lunch, survey gear, first aid stuff, a Daren drum, or the general underground clutter that seems to appear out of nowhere on every trip.

Choosing the right size can be a bit confusing at first. Too small and you’ll be fighting to get the rope back in. Too big and you’re dragging a floppy mud-bin through crawls for no good reason. This guide gives a rough idea of what the different sizes are best for.

None of this is an exact science. Rope diameter, how neatly it’s packed, how wet and muddy it is, and whether you’ve shoved half your personal kit in there as well will all make a difference.

Quick tackle sack size guide

Choosing by rope length

The easiest way to choose a tackle sack is to start with the rope you need to carry. You want enough room that the rope goes in without a wrestling match, but not so much room that the bag becomes awkward underground.

A bit of spare space is useful. Wet rope takes up more room, muddy rope is less cooperative, and nobody wants to spend five minutes at the bottom of a pitch trying to ram a stiff rope into a bag that was already too small.

• Short handlines or small personal loads: 13–19 litres is usually enough.
• Regular caving ropes: 22 litres is the classic useful size.
• Longer ropes and bigger pitches: 24–28 litres gives you more breathing room.
• Big rope loads: 33 litres is handy, but it gets heavy when full.

Small personal bags: 3 to 5 litres

Small waist-hanging personal bags are not really for carrying rope. They’re for the bits you don’t want floating around loose in a bigger tackle sack.

They’re useful for snacks, first aid, survey kit, spare batteries, small valuables, repair bits, drinks, or anything you want to keep together. They’re also handy inside a bigger tackle sack so your kit doesn’t turn into a muddy lucky dip.

Good examples are the Mini 3 Litre Personal Caving Bag, Personal 5 Litre Caving Bag and Sachetto mini Personal Caving Bag.

For delicate or dry kit, use a proper dry container as well. A small bag helps organise things, but it won’t magically stop your lunch from becoming cave soup.

Compact personal bags: around 13 litres

A 13 litre bag sits between a tiny personal pouch and a proper rope bag. It’s still compact, but gives you enough room for personal SRT kit, a small handline setup, snacks, water, spare layers, or incident kit.

The Rodcle EcoSac 13 is a good example of this size. It’s more of a small proper caving bag than a waist pouch, with shoulder straps and carry handles, but without the bulk of a full-size tackle sack.

This kind of bag makes sense when you want something compact and tidy, but you’ve outgrown the little snack-bag stage. 

Personal caving bags: 16 to 19 litres

A 16–19 litre bag is a very useful personal size. It’s small enough to move through awkward passage without becoming a complete nuisance, but big enough for personal kit, SRT gear, food, water, spare layers, or a short rope.

This size is a good choice if you want a bag for your own kit rather than a big club rope bag. It’s also useful as a second bag on longer trips where you want to keep personal essentials separate from the main rope bags.

The Steinberg 16 Litre Personal Caving Bag and Landjoff 17 Litre Caving Bag are both useful in this range. The Rodcle Mini 119 is the more premium, robust option if you want something tougher, with plenty of carry handles and a more durable feel.

For newer cavers, this can be a nicer first bag than jumping straight to something bigger.

Medium tackle sacks: around 22 to 24 litres

Around 22 litres is probably the most useful all-round UK caving tackle sack size. Big enough for plenty of regular ropes, but still manageable on normal grotty underground trips. If someone asks for a standard rope bag, this is usually the kind of size they mean.

Landjoff 22 litre bags are simple, tough PVC tackle sacks for normal caving use. Steinberg’s 22 litre bags offer another solid option, with a slightly different shape and feature set. Both are the sort of thing you’d use for regular caving rather than just keeping in the boot for emergencies.

The Rodcle Medium 224 sits in a similar useful middle ground, but is a more premium option. It’s more robust, has plenty of carry handles, and is a good shout if you want something a bit tougher without going into massive expedition bag territory.

If you’re buying your first proper rope bag and don’t have a very specific use in mind, a 22–24 litre tackle sack is a safe starting point.

Large tackle sacks: 28 to 33 litres

Large tackle sacks are for bigger rope loads, deeper trips and heavier club use.

A 28 litre bag is a good step up from a 22 litre bag when you need more space but still want something fairly manageable. It’s useful for longer ropes, awkward packing, or trips where you know the rope will come out wet and unpleasant.

A 33 litre bag is for proper big rope loads. Very useful when needed, but not something to take for fun. A 33 litre bag full of wet rope is a personal development exercise nobody asked for.

Landjoff Extra Tough bags are simple, durable PVC rope bags for rough caving use. Steinberg’s larger bags are another good option if you want a rugged bag with a different shape and features like haul lines or internal rope attachment points.

Bigger is not always better. Buy the size you actually need, not the size that makes you look like you’re off to rig the Berger on a Wednesday night.

Bucket-style tackle bags

Bucket-style bags are useful when you want easy loading and access. They tend to stay open better, so they’re good for stuffing rope, sorting kit, instruction, rescue work, work-at-height use, or any job where you want to see what you’re doing.

The trade-off is shape. A bucket bag can feel bulkier and is pretty much entirely unsuitable for sport trips.

If you’re mostly carrying rope and kit on more open routes, a bucket-style bag can be very handy.

What about canyoning bags?

Canyoning bags are a bit different from normal caving tackle sacks. They usually put more emphasis on drainage, flotation, wet rope handling and comfort on approaches, rather than simply dragging rope and kit through cave passage.

If you’re mainly buying for caving, stick with this guide. If you’re buying for canyoning, wet rope work or waterfall-heavy trips, see our separate canyoning rope bags guide.

Dry bags, drums and canisters

A dry bag is not the same thing as a caving tackle sack.

Dry bags are good for keeping kit dry, but they’re not always designed to be dragged through caves, hauled over rock or abused like a proper PVC rope bag. For caving, dry storage usually works best inside a tackle sack.

Daren drums, Daren jars, dry canisters and rugged cases are useful for food, phones, cameras, first aid, batteries and anything else you’d rather not destroy underground.

Think of the tackle sack as the outer transport layer. The drum, jar or case is the bit that actually protects the important stuff.

Which material should you choose?

Most caving tackle sacks are made from tough PVC or PVC-style fabric because it handles mud, water and abrasion well.

For normal caving, a standard PVC bag is usually fine. For rougher trips, sharper rock, club use or frequent rope hauling, a heavier-duty bag is worth considering.

Heavier bags are usually tougher, but they can also be stiffer and more awkward. Lighter bags are nicer to carry and easier to handle, but may not last as long if they’re constantly being dragged over rough rock.

There’s no magic answer. It’s just the usual caving compromise: tough enough to survive, not so bulky that you hate it. Caves kill all kit eventually.

What should I buy?

• For snacks, survey kit and small essentials: choose a 3 litre, 5 litre or small pocket-style personal bag.
• For compact SRT kit or small handline setups: choose something around 13 litres, like the Rodcle EcoSac 13.
• For your own caving kit: choose a 16 litre, 17 litre or 19 litre personal caving bag.
• For a first proper rope bag: choose a 22 litre or 24 litre tackle sack.
• For bigger club rope loads: choose a 22 litre, 24 litre or 28 litre tackle sack.
• For big pitch trips and longer ropes: choose a 28 litre or 33 litre bag.
• For keeping kit dry: use a Daren drum, jar, canister or rugged case inside your tackle sack.
• For canyoning: use the separate canyoning rope bags guide.

For most cavers, a small personal bag plus a 22 litre rope bag covers a lot of trips. Add a 28 or 33 litre bag when you start carrying bigger ropes.

If in doubt, go for the smallest bag that comfortably carries the rope or kit you actually need. Future you will be grateful halfway through a crawl.