What Type Of Container Do You Hide?

[+ADK 46-R]

Ok...are you the ammo can guy or a tupperware guy? im not asking whats better but i am just curious to what type of containers certain people usually hide. what are some cool waterproof containers you use? i know there is a thread about cool cache containers but its getting pretty long. so what type of containers do you usually use for your hides? micros, traditionals, etc...

[+fox-and-the-hound]

Final traditional caches are usually Ammo Cans although we have hidden a Lexan type sport bottle, too. Waterproof match containers and 35mm film containers (with waterproof clue sheets), and bison capsules for mid points in multistages. Our temperature extremes are tough on rubber and plastics though. Yesterdays caching uncovered 3 ammo cans all in perfect condition. We also found two rubbermaid types and both were damp/wet although ziplocks kept one's contents dry and both log books were individually bagged with ziplocks and dry. Decon canisters also seem to be popular around here.

[+Renegade Knight]

Decon or Ammo can.

 

Though some legacy caches or goofy caches are film canisters, tins or "other".

[+The Leprechauns]

1. In the backwoods, after a decent hike, I go pretty much exclusively with ammo boxes. I've never had a maintenance problem with one of my ammo box caches. And in remote locations, there's a lower possibility that an ammo box will accidentally be discovered and trigger a bomb squad callout. (Having permission and labelling the box helps with that, too.)

 

2. In urban and suburban parks, I prefer Lock 'n Lock containers because they're generally more water-resistant than rubbermaid containers. And, given the higher likelihood of an accidental muggle find, a clear container (or even a Lock 'n Lock that's camoflaged) is hopefully not looked upon as quite so threatening as an ammo box, PVC pipe, etc. I do have one cache hidden in a mortar tube that's been repainted, which is located off a trail well away from the main public area of the park, and which is known to the park management.

 

3. For micros, anything BUT a film canister, the standard rectangular altoids tin, and the tiny altoids "breath strip" containers. None of these are waterproof. I have had great success with the round style of altoids sours tins. Bison capsules are also reliable choices when properly placed.

 

Apart from that general advice, I enjoy using containers with a "twist" along the lines of what's discussed in the Cool Cache Containers thread. But the majority of my 30 or so cache hides fit in the above three categories.

[+nfa]

ammo cans, nalgene jars/bottles, some lock 'n' locks

[Ghengis Jon]

For those who place smaller caches (not film canister sized), please make sure the opening is at least 2" wide to accomodate swag. Lately I've come across what seem to be large vitamin bottles with smallish openings. My signature item comes in a 2"x2" 'coin flip' and sometimes doesn't go into a cache without disfigurement. Part of the joy of geocaching (for me) is leaving valuable/amazing swag - size matters!

[+briansnat]

Of my 120 active caches:

 

73 are in ammo boxes

 

19 are in Lock n Locks

 

5 are in Nalgene Straight Jars

 

4 are in decon boxes

 

3 are in Rubbermaind Seal n Savers

 

2 are in waterproof match containers

 

3 are in Altoids tins

 

1 is in a Surf Safe case

 

1 is in a small Motrin vial

 

1 is in a Nalgene widemouth bottle

 

2 I don't know because I adopted them and have yet to visit them

 

The rest either I don't remember or are virtuals

Edited June 12, 2006 by briansnat

[+BlueDeuce]

Ammo and waterproof match containers.

[+Totem Clan]

Everything!

 

 

 

It denpends on where I'm hiding it, and what I want the hunters to get out of the hunt. I've hidden nanoes and I'm camo'ing a 5 gal. bucket right now. The hide will tell you what container to use.

[+ADK 46-R]

what are these lock 'n' lock containers everyone talks about?

 

also round sour altoid containers...waterporoof? see you guys are doing good this is just what i'm looking for keep it up and thanks!!

[+brodiebunch]

All of our caches are in parks or public greenbelts in our city. We are slowly switching our containers (as time permits) to lock-n-locks. We have had four caches that were ammo cans, however last year three of the ammo cans disappeared but the caches survived (The contents were left in plastic grocery bags).

 

Over time here in the NW, all containers (including ammo cans) get the musty "Eu de Cache" scent that you have on your hands until you get home.

[+Miragee]

I have ammo cans, Lock-n-Locks, waterproof match containers, cookie tins, bison tubes, and Rubbermaid and Tupperware containers out there in the wild.

 

As they need maintenance, I'll replace the cookie tins and the Rubbermaid and Tupperware containers with Lock-n-Locks or small ammo cans.

 

Deciding what worked best was, for me, a very gradual learning experience . . .

[+briansnat]

what are these lock 'n' lock containers everyone talks about?

 

also round sour altoid containers...waterporoof? see you guys are doing good this is just what i'm looking for keep it up and thanks!!

 

Altoids containers are not waterproof. They also rust easily.

 

Lock n Locks are plastic containers with a gasket and tabs that hold the lid shut. Next to ammo boxes, they are probably the best all around container. They come in a number of different shapes and sizes too and are easy to camoflage using camo tape. Here is a pic of a few:

 

Edited June 12, 2006 by briansnat

[+brodiebunch]

what are these lock 'n' lock containers everyone talks about?

 

also round sour altoid containers...waterporoof? see you guys are doing good this is just what i'm looking for keep it up and thanks!!

 

ADK,

 

Go to www.heritagemint.com. Click on containers, there are many sizes and varieties. I have purchased our at Target. For under $10, you one larger than an ammo can and three or four smaller ones packaged inside the larger one.

[+sbell111]

Lock n Locks are plastic containers with a gasket and tabs that hold the lid shut. Next to ammo boxes, they are probably the best all around container. They come in a number of different shapes and sizes too and are easy to camoflage using camo tape.

Be wary of the round ones. I had some that had tabs that kept popping open. They went into the trash.

[+ADK 46-R]

yea i have seen a bunch of those containers "out there" very nice, thx for the web site brodiebunch. i gotto get me some camo duct tape to i love that stuff!

 

where can i get camo tape locally?? wal-mart, target? before i go and waste my time looking any suggestions? i have never seen it before at the store.

Edited June 12, 2006 by ADK 46-R

[+briansnat]

where can i get camo tape locally?? wal-mart, target? before i go and waste my time looking any suggestions? i have never seen it before at the store.

 

Walmart has it. Some stores only during hunting season. Also any store that sells hunting supplies should sell it.

[+BadAndy]

My 40 caches that are hidden in a container, I used....

 

15 ammocans

8 decon boxes

6 custom containers (bolts, etc)

5 35mm film cans

5 altoids cans

1 Mortar tube

 

Early on I favored film cans and altoids tins. The last film can I placed was in Sept/2003 and the last altoids tin I placed was in dec/2003. Since then they've all been ammocans, decons, custom jobs and a mortar tube (I love the smell of surplus stores).

[+wiseye]

I try to use different types to keep the surprise factor up. Natural items have included a wasps nest, A large snail shell, and a desicated cat fish (attached to an old fishing pole and the log was a 1.8 nalgene in the fishs mouth) also driftwood and a large fungi made to appear that it grows on the side of a tree, then there was a large mushroom I replaced the stem with a matchcase and dried it.

Several custom containers made to look like things they aren't. I've used various Utility type boxes to cover ammo cans in downtown city type caches.

My motto is "Everything has a cache to it!"

[+The Leprechauns]

also round sour altoid containers...waterporoof? see you guys are doing good this is just what i'm looking for keep it up and thanks!!

The round altoids tins have an advantage over the rectangular ones, which leak unavoidably at the hinges. The round ones twist shut, quite snugly, IF you follow one key piece of advice: spray paint the tin, inside and out, with rustproofing paint. You'll want to do that anyways for camoflage purposes. This cache of mine is a round altoids tin, spraypainted flat black. The current container has been in place for something like two years, and has survived multiple floods, including Hurricane Ivan. If full immersion in the Allegheny River for two days isn't "waterproof," then I don't know what is.

 

In the center of the picture below, from Hurricane Ivan, there is a four-lane major traffic artery. On the left there is a pedestrian ramp leading down from street and bridge level to the riverfront walkway. The cache is somewhere along the riverfront walkway. It was dry as a bone inside when I checked after the flood.

 

 

EDIT: To ask if the big letters on the back of the road sign at the center of the picture say "DRR." Perhaps they could not access the cache, but wished to claim a find?

Edited June 12, 2006 by The Leprechauns

[+Hoppingcrow]

Ammo cans and decons, sometimes pill bottles if I can hide them so there's no danger of rain working its way around the threads. I do *not* like Lock-n-Locks because experience with similar containers for fishing tackle has shown the tabs to be unreliable under repeated opening. In other words, they break off. I accidentally broke one on someone else's cache container once. Some film cans are good, others totally worthless in wet conditions. Bisons may or may not have a good seal. I have replaced two of mine that leaked even though they had the rubber gasket in place.

[+Tsmola]

Of my 15 active hides, they break down like this

 

4 ammo cans

1 mag keyholder (adopted hide)

1 magnetic "strip" cache

2 matchstick containers that are the cache itself, 5 matchstick containers that serve as stages for a multi and a puzzle

1 coffee creamer container that's a re-used container from an adopted hide that I upgraded.

1 Mr. Magneto nano

4 decons

last but not least, my first hide which is a hand painted Eclipse Gum container which has held up quite well.

 

I'm not too fond of tupperware, Ammo cans and Decons are my 2 favorite containers.

[+norsehawk]

Only 4 hides so far, so not a whole lot of variety for me so far, but...

 

2 bison tubes

1 small round container with a twist on cap.

1 super micro container similar in usage to a bison.

 

I have an ammo box, 3 lock-n-locks, tons of bisons, the dreaded 35mm film cans 100 for $4 on ebay what could I do? I am also working on making some really interesting cache containers based on critters (my plastic alligator with a matchstick container in its mouth got stolen)

 

On some of the film canisters I'm seriously thinking of using a sharpie to write DRR on them in commeration for the Dallas Record Run, even tho I am in florida.

[CacheNCarryMA]

I've hidden:

 

8 ammo cans

3 micros (mint tins)

7 screw top plastic containers

8 "other"

Edited June 13, 2006 by CacheNCarryMA

[+StarBrand]

35 - Ammo Cans

14 - Lock-n-Locks

7 - Magnetic Key Holders (misc)

8 - Rubbermaid Save-n-Seal (currently out replacing these with ammo boxes and l-n-l)

3 - other

[+EScout]

4 ammo cans

2 German Army butter cans

1 metal cylinder,

 

Regarding the butter cans (new, never filled): Heavy gage aluminum, strong enough to stand on, Rubber seal, twist on lid, totally waterproof, same interior volume as a decon container, rustproof-- no iron/steel. I have one on the ground, and one hanging in a tree (using a brass/stainless fishing snap-swivel, no hole needs to be made) They take camo paint well. The best thing is the price at 6 for $10!!

 

Major Surplus

[+SG-MIN]

I recently have had sucess using kitchen storage containers with gaskets. I am talking about the ones your mom uses to store the flour in. They come in a varity of sizes and materials, and have the cam latch that tightens down on the gasket keeping the contents secure. These are easy to work with and offer many options. You can also lock them if needed.

[+scavok]

Original ones. Most of my hides I did before I found all that many, now I know why a lot of cachers get bored. From now on I will only place caches in containers that I haven't found myself

[+TMAACA]

Our hides consist of a film canister (heavily camoflaged)

A bison tube

2 30mm ammo can hides (we placed)

3 ammo cans (we adopted)

2 custom made containers

A magnetic keyholder (that was archived and was just a terrible cache)

We are waiting to hear on approval of a puzzle that is a mix of ammo cans and decon containers.

[+brodiebunch]

Ammo cans and decons, sometimes pill bottles if I can hide them so there's no danger of rain working its way around the threads. I do *not* like Lock-n-Locks because experience with similar containers for fishing tackle has shown the tabs to be unreliable under repeated opening. In other words, they break off. I accidentally broke one on someone else's cache container once. Some film cans are good, others totally worthless in wet conditions. Bisons may or may not have a good seal. I have replaced two of mine that leaked even though they had the rubber gasket in place.

 

All are very good points. I have seen ammo cans and decons will mildew in them out here in our damp climate.

 

Ultimately, all containers are going to have to be replaced at one point or another. Cache proprietors means cache maintenance.

[+SG-MIN]

 

Ultimately, all containers are going to have to be replaced at one point or another. Cache proprietors means cache maintenance.

 

I just recently visited the oldest active cache in the world and it happens to be in its original container. Granted we are talking Kansas, but this one is so old it is still called a stash. (Mingo - GC30)

Edited June 14, 2006 by SG-MIN

[+JohnTee]

7.62mm Ammo Boxes for my regular caches. Micros vary from cache to cache. I've used ihutnungjh btkny olkjju, jybv pides, jmajmetjc eo xok and even a sxiexl puxzjn. Haven't used any 35mm film cannisters.

 

JohnTee

[+hikergps]

One of these:

 

And one of these match cases with a rare earth magnet attached, wrapped in black tape:

[Scuzball]

I am only fifteen, so I went through the huge gameboy craze while I was little. Upon searching drawers for swag the other day, I came across my old gameboy games and the small cases they were in. I immediately put them in a pile to use. They are about 2.5 x 2.5 and 1/2 inch deep. They are waterproof and seemed perfect, so people should look into using them.

[+Nels_Anderson]

My first hides were tupperware type plastic containers. After realizing that these caches just did not stay dry I have since switched completely over to ammo boxes. All the early plastic containers have been converted to ammo boxes by now too.