The Hipster

It affected our web store where I work too. I would not be surprised if someone (or many someones) in their USPS Information Tech Dept. receive a lump of coal in their stocking come Christmas morning.

Swag/Treasure: I purchase keychain light/whistle combos, compasses & travel alarm clock radios at a local surplus store. My lady puts together Farkle dice games by printing up the instructions & combining them with 6 dice purchased in bulk from dollar stores, all of which go into a small Ziploc bag. She also purchases pretty polished rocks in bulk (Amethysts, Agates, Tiger-Eyes, etc… – very popular with the kids). As has been mentioned, surplus stores, dollar stores, anyplace small useful or interesting items are on sale are great resources. In the Bemidji, Minnesota area there are several savvy cache hiders (“Kellyart”, “Momandson2006”, “Fargnot” & “Family Circus” to name a few) that not only place very interesting caches, they also make sure to put in special FTF, 2ndTF & even 3rdTF prizes. (Examples: artwork, powerful little flashlights & geocoins) My personal FTF prizes are now going to be Lithium AA batteries & GeoGems. The quality of their caches & prizes set the tone. It also seems to raise the bar on all future area hides & finds. Geocaching Kit Bag: I am using a camera bag purchased at an electronic big box store. It has many useful pouches, dividers & compartments. I carry swag, extra batteries, an extra gps, several flashlights & a headlamp, packets of OFF wipes, surgical gloves, my calling cards in two sizes, a letter box stamp, my log book, cache repair items (extra pens, pencils, Ziploc bags, small & large log books), CITO bags, a couple of good quality compasses, small binoculars & survival items (such as a loud whistle, waterproof matches, a lighter, fruit/nut bars & light poncho). I carry the bag into remote areas. For cache & dash or urban areas I just grab whatever I think I will need for that cache out of the bag. It is sure handy to have everything needed for caching in one location. I also carry a few different size spare cache containers in the truck to make sure a damaged cache is in good shape for the next finder!