Monkeymox

I'll quote myself from a post I made a few days ago

I'm more interested in the knife component and exactly what uses people put them to. I carry mine with a vauge sense that I might need it one day, but I can't immagine what for Really? I rarely go through a day that I DON'T use my knife at least a couple of times.... Perhaps I'm not extreme enough in my activities I never really walk for more than nine hours and I don't camp (although I plan on doing so this summer). Maybe I'll find out how useful it is when I step up my game

I'm more interested in the knife component and exactly what uses people put them to. I carry mine with a vauge sense that I might need it one day, but I can't immagine what for

Hi all! I've carried a simple swiss army knife whilst out walking ever since my dad first bought me one to go camping with. Back then, I used it for the sole purpose of making toasting forks; as I never really camp any more (and when I do fires are usually prohibited) this happy pastime has fallen away. I've owned three knives in my time, and aside from occasional tweezer usage they've never really served any other purpose. So, what knives do you carry whilst hiking, and what exactly do you use them for?

I started recently too, and I went with the eTrex H. It was the cheapest I could find, and I managed to get it on ebay for £50, although I think that might have just been a lucky bargain. The eTrex is an entry level device though, a cheap option from a good manufacturer, and if you're already comfortable with using it it's probably the most sensible option

In the UK our detailed walking maps are produced by a governmental orginisation called the ordnance survey, our national mapping agency. As far as I can tell the equivalent orginisation in the US is the US Geological Survey, found here

This is very important. Technology is wonderful until it breaks. "Breaks" is a matter of when, not if. If you go into unfamiliar territory very often you will need the map and compass at some point in time. So I would assume that you carry a sextant to back up your compass?? After all - you could drop and break the compass.....or be near a magnetic rock. Technology fails you know. (A compass at some point in time was considered cutting edge technology after all - just somebody else's high tech). just sayin'..... I'm not planning on going on a voyage of discovery or anything I've always taken a map and compass on walks with me, and I find them invaluble; that might be because I have no sense of direction, but there we are To be fair though, I don't think it's being over cautious to use the proper equipment. I've never heard of an experienced walker who doesn't use a map and compass.

GPS units should always be used with a map, and indeed a compass. It's a wonderful tool, but that's all. Of course if you're venturing off the trail into an area with few landmarks the best thing to do is to mark your location on the path so that you can return to it later; most units can also provide a grid reference, so you can always see where you are and plot your way back much more easily. I'm pretty new to handheld GPS devices myself, I'd only used other people's before this month to go walking with and only just got my own, but I've already learned that they're no replacement for a map.

In my local area there don't seem to be any places where it's possible to practice CITO... Either the area is as clean as a whistle or you can't really see the floor for old washing machines and car tyres. Aside from that, although I'm new to caching and have been going on relatively easy walks to do it, my preference is hill and mountain walking. Perhaps other people have the stamina to spend half the time stopping to pick up litter so that they can cart it over hill and fell with them, but I find it challenging enough already. Not that I'd discourage events aimed at CITO; that's quite different. As far as the problem goes though, I think the solution for society is to discourage the litterers from dropping their rubbish in the first place, rather than encouraging the rest of us to pick it up for them. CITO is sadly only a very temporary fix. If there were a scheme where, whilst out geocaching, you jab anyone you see littering with a cattle prod... I'd do that

I've called my car Sat Nav 'cortana' for years Now that name has been passed to my eTrex, and I've renamed my car Garmin Nuvi 'Navi' after that irritating thing from The Legend of Zelda

Hi all! My name is Ian, I'm 22 and I'm from Cheshire in the UK. I heard about geocaching a while back from a friend, but until the other week I hadn't given it much thought. Eventually though I found myself browsing the site and the forums, and after a few hours reading around the place I'd signed up and bought a GPS from Ebay. So far it's been one of the best impulse buys ever There isn't really much to say about myself, but I'll try I went to university but it turned out that I hate journalism, which sort of killed my career plan (become journalist, stay as journalist, retire). I used to work at a sports centre but was 'let go' when new management took over (I don't think he liked my flowing locks), and I've spend the last three years working as an office monkey for a large organisation. I call myself Monkeymox for a nerdy reason relating to a dispute at a friend's house about eight years ago over the game TimeSplitters 2, and it's been my online name of choice ever since. I ask not to be judged I love walking, especially with my girlfriend (when she's back from uni). One of the reasons I'm enjoying geocaching is that it motivates me to go out on walks by myself, as most of my friends are scared of sunlight. My other main interests can be boiled down to reading, writing and gaming, but I've also loved collecting things for as long as I can remember. Rocks and crystals, mugs (I'm still not sure why), fantasy-themed ornaments, erasers (again, not sure why), books, foreign coins, old coins, magic tricks, several trading card games, replica weaponry, discworld stamps, McDonalds toys, Beano Comics, magazines... there are definitely more I never throw anything away either, because I still like to look at these things occasionally, but if I collect anything else I'm not going to have any room left. Imagine my mixture of delight and horror when I heard about the geocoin. At least they're small. Following on from that, I'll ask a quick geocoin related question: I've seen some beautiful designs when browsing on the forums, Ebay and various online stores; are those of you who make geocoins generally linked to a related industry (metalwork, for example) or are the technical details left to third party manufacturers? I'm not sure I'd have a clue where to begin if I tried to make my own. It's great to have discovered such an engaging hobby in geocaching. It's theoretically just as wonderful to have discovered geocoins, I'll just have to see how much of a beating my wallet can take once I'm really in to the swing of things... See you all around

There can be no rhyme or reason to it. It sounds like you are doing it for investment rather than interest by this question. If it is for interest, then really it is up to you as to what takes your fancy. There are some themes/designs which come out each year and are highly popular (eg. the Compasss Roses), there are some designers that are usually quite popular (eg. Tsunrisebey), and there are some random coins that are popular. It is for interest, I've never sold any part of any collection even after I've stopped. It's more that I want my money's worth for what I do collect. I'm finding the sheer number of geocoins available rather daunting, it's just difficult to know where to start. I'm sure I'll develop an eye for them though Thank's for your reply

Hi all! I recently bought a geocoin to see if I develop a taste for them; I probably will, I love collecting things. I have a few questions that I've not been quite able to find the answer to in old threads, I hope they're not too stupid 1) Which geocoins are worth buying? As far as I can tell anyone can manufacture trackable geocoins, so how do you know which ones are worth spending your money on? 2) Define rare. When I looked up geocoins on ebay, I saw plenty which were listed as rare. But if most of them are manufactured independantly, surely there can't be many of each type. 3) Is there any sort of master list against which a collection can be compared? Or is it more like collecting stamps than (as I collected when I was younger) trading cards? 4) Why are they trackable? I understand the appeal of bugs, in that they can be any item you want (and therefore inexpensive). But geocoins are far too pretty (imo) to send off in to the wide world. Thanks in advance

I'm new to caching, and I bought an eTrex H to do it. So far it's been great, but not having the cable has been a bit annoying. It's possible to programme in the coordinates manually, but it's an enter-up-up-up-enter-down-down-enter-down-enter affair. This takes a while and makes the fingers hurt; on the other hand, I for one refuse to shell out twenty quid for a cable

There is a Google document called the Geocoin Address book where coin minded people put their contact details. Have to rush to a meeting, otherwise I'd throw the link to the forum thread about it, but just search on address book in this forum. Thanks

Testing again... And it worked

Testing

I'm new to this, so this would be a fantastic way to begin a collection Could anyone please tell me what is meant by the 'google list'?

First geocoin I've bought! Entirely new to this whole thing, but I couldn't resist once I'd seen the design I just hope my wallet isn't as badly damaged as it was by my last obsession. Looking at how fantastic most of these coins look though, that's probably wishful thinking

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I was happy to see there are plenty of people around my age who geocache here. I actually searched 'age' and found this thread; not that I'd be ashamed to participate if it was only my betters playing yet to find my first, but the new GPS should be arriving tomorrow. I hated the thought of taking my car Sat Nav, the poor thing hardly copes with the job it's supposed to do. 22 by the way