What material/equipment do you need for canyoning?

 CanyonZone has made a short overview with explanations, especially for the novice canyoneer, to start practicing the canyon sport responsibly. For a more extensive overview see: CanyonZone / Canyoning (basic) material.

What is canyoning?

 A canyon is a gorge through which a river flows. With canyoning you go through the gorge in a piece of mostly untouched nature.
You come to a place where really few people come. That is possible with canyoning!
Canyoning is a versatile way of exercising where you walk, climb, swim, slide and abseil! Every meter you move is different and that makes canyoning one big adrenaline rush!

What do you take with you with canyoning?

Canyoning is fun and exciting, but it is important to protect yourself well.

• You wear a wetsuit to keep warm.
• A helmet is for falling rocks or in case you fall down yourself.
• Sturdy shoes protect you from rocks and give you a lot of grip.
• A harness and descent system with rope help you with abseiling.
• And not unimportant: carabiners and a canyoning bag. You can take things with you in this bag, without it getting damaged or wet inside!

Canyoning in a wetsuit

A wetsuit is a suit that you put on in water activities. The suit protects you from hypothermia.
A wetsuit is not so much made to keep your body dry. A wetsuit in the right size lets in a little bit of water. This water is heated by your body temperature, so that you stay nice and warm and cannot become hypothermic.
That is very important during canyoning.

Canyoning with a safety helmet

The necessity of a helmet does not even need to be explained.
Of course you wear a helmet during canyoning. You want to avoid head injuries that can be caused by falling rocks, the currents of water that can drag you against rocks, material that can fall down and all other possible risks.
Your head is sacred and it must be protected!

Special canyoning shoes

There are special canyoning shoes, the use of which is really necessary.
The special rubber on these shoes provides a lot of grip on wet rocks.
In addition, the shoes partly consist of the same material as a wetsuit. In short, warm feet are almost guaranteed.
And last but not least: the ankle protection. During canyoning, ankles can quickly turn, because you are continuously walking over uneven terrain. Ankle protection provides strength around the ankles to prevent tipping over.

A seat belt and descender

You stand there: high and dry on a rock. You look down a few feet and ask yourself, "How do I get down?"
Of course you come down with a seatbelt and descender. Crucial for rappelling or jumping into deep water to follow the water.
Of course, a belt and descender also includes a rope.

A canyoning bag

There are special bags for canyoning. This allows you to take luggage and materials with you without it being damaged. If you do not want items to get wet, use special waterproof bags or barrels.
That's just as handy!

Good dose with guts and motivation

It often takes enough guts and motivation in the beginning to "take" a canyon.
In the beginning it seems very exciting, but when you are swept along by your fellow travelers you do not want anything else.
What an adrenaline rush when you jump down from high rocks between the gorges in the most beautiful mountains.

Good canyoning instructors

Always make sure that you go with people who are trained to make the desired trips.

Overview Canyoning knowledge base: Go back.