Do you carry any kind of cache repair kit

[+The_4_seasons]

Do you carry some kind of cache repair kit? And if so what do you have in it?

[+IV_Warrior]

Not usually. If I know ahead of time that a cache needs something, I'll try and bring it along to make the repair. Most of the time, my caching isn't that "pre-planned" though.

 

Edit to add: I forgot, I do keep a couple of the "micro logsheets" in a bison tube on my keychain, so I at least have that if a log is soaked, missing, full, etc.

Edited August 16, 2006 by IV_Warrior

[+The Laughing Gnomes]

We usually carry some extra baggies, a couple pencils and a spare log book just in case. No towels or tape yet but we need a bigger cache bag and those might make their way in soon after.

[+Goldfinch593]

I usually carry extra zip lock bags, extra pens/pencils, a small log book in case I find the log book full, and paper towels to dry off soggy contents.

 

I had someone voluntarily repair one of my caches (the contents got wet because the cover was not sealed tight by the previous finder... so they dried things off and replaced a log book that got wet!). I really appreciated it because I was busy at work that week and didn't have time to run out and do the proper cache maintenance. I was grateful for the favor, so I carry my "repair kit" and hope that some day I can return the favor!

[+niraD]

In my geocaching kit, I carry a couple sizes of ziplocks, and a couple sizes of preprinted stash notes. The stash notes are sized to fit the ziplocks, and they're folded like a little 4-page brochure, with the stash note on page 1 and lines for logging on pages 2, 3, and 4. When I'm driving, the defroster is handy for drying out damp logs. And I've occasionally used a Sharpie to make fading writing legible again.

[+kc8bdr]

Like The Laughing Gnomes I will carry some pencils, logbooks, zip lock bags. Pens, Small things like that. Anything else I email the owner or note it in my log.

 

I am willing to do what I can if I see a problem before I go out.

 

Jim

Kc8bdr

[+Torry]

I try to always remember extra baggies, log books, pens and pencils as well as some emergency swag. I get a big kick out of fixing up a cache, especially the older ones.

[+Zzyzx Road]

We have the usual baggies, both snack and sandwich size, extra logsheets, pens and pencils of different lengths (I got them from my daughter's school at the end of the year, they were going to throw them away!);

AND some contact cement, surgical tape, electrical tape, duct tape, sharpie markers, a white tire marker, small screwdriver (more for the battery cover on the Magellan), jewelry pliers (that can also cut small wire), and blank mailing labels...

We have needed all of those things at one point or another so far this summer!

[+GreyingJay]

Yeah, my backpack is getting bigger and heavier as I keep finding useful things to put in it...

 

I keep a ziploc bag in the back pocket of my bag, and it includes a few more (smaller) ziplocs, a pair of latex gloves, and an extra logbook). I also keep extra pens and markers just in case I need them. I have not thought to bring much more beyond this, as I don't want to weigh down with too much junk (I'm also already carrying sunscreen, bug spray, After Bite, a first aid kit, flashlight, clipboard, bag of swag, bag of signature items, water, compass, extra batteries, ...)

[+Thrak]

Spare baggies and pens. One day I hit two caches in a row that were missing pens and it was good to be able to replace them. I've also dried out caches up in the woods and replaced their torn up baggies. It just seems like a good thing to do and the repair items aren't a big hassle to carry since I already have my caching bag along. I also have a couple of micros in the bag "just in case" and I've used the log sheets from those to add to caches where I've found the log full. I've noticed that most of the cachers I see just carry their GPSr so perhaps I'm a bit of a weirdo but then I've never really been "normal" anyway.

Edited August 16, 2006 by Thrak

[+The Fun Group]

We made little "Cache Aid" kits to be left as trade items or to be used for in-the-field repair. Our typical Cache Aid kit is in a quart size ziploc bag and includes:

 

small composition book

pen

mini sharpie

2 AA batteries

CITO Kit (film canister with grocery bag stuffed inside)

2 ziploc bags

 

We put a sticker on the bag identifying it as a repair kit so others will know that they can trade it down the trail if they want. We made a bunch of these (and about 100 extra CITO kits) before a 1200 mile caching road trip and they came in handy quite a few times.

Edited August 16, 2006 by The Fun Group

[+Webfoot]

Yes. At the last event cache that I attended, our hosts gave each attendee a cache repair kit in a cammoed coffee can. Zip lock baggies, rubber bands, screws, hooks, pencils, extra log book, CITO filled film canisters, extra log sheets, geocaching instruction pages. It was a fabulous gift and I take it everywhere I go caching now. I've used it three times already since the event on July 10.

[+Clothahump]

Yes, sort of.

 

I do have extra baggies, pencils, etc., so I can do some minor damage control. However, I can't fix one like I ran across the other day, where the container was split and the log book and cache contents were soaked.

[+Munin]

When I first started caching I didn't carry any kind of repair stuff. But it started to bug me when I came across a torn Ziploc and realized that I had a whole box of Ziplocs...at home. Or a worn-out pen, when I had dozens of spares...at home. Or a touch of dampness that a single paper towel would handle, when I had a whole roll of them...at home. Really minor things that I could easily have taken care of, if only I had something that was -- all together now -- at home!

 

Now I keep a little zippered nylon pencil case in my regular caching pack that contains basic "cache first aid" supplies that I've found myself wishing for at one time or another. It holds an assortment of Ziplocs (snack, 1 quart, and 1 gallon sizes) - handy for protecting contents in damp/damaged caches, and also good for protecting cellphones/wallets/etc if I get caught out in the rain. A couple of extra pens and pencils. A little 3x5 notepad to toss into a cache to supplement a full logbook. Small roll of duct tape for impromptu crack/hole repairs. A few yards of 1/8" nylon rope for servicing tree/rope hides. (Can also work for hanging fallen trail signs/markers back up where they can be seen, emergency boot laces, etc.) And usually a good stack of napkins (unused! ) periodically replenished from various eateries when I take a lunch break - obviously handy for drying out cache/contents after a deluge, also doubling as tissues for runny noses and TP for ...ummm... "other emergencies"

 

I figure that if I'm at a cache and it needs a little TLC, well...I'm already there. I'm more than happy to spend a few minutes doing a wipedown on a damp cache rather than having the owner hop in the car, hike to the cache, run a towel around the inside, and then going all the way back home again. Much the same for donating a notepad/writing utensil/ziploc/etc - I'm on site, I've got spares, and it'll either save the owner the time and money for doing a maintenance run or at least buy them a little time to schedule a visit when it's convenient. Sure, sometimes a cache might be so badly damaged that it can't be serviced in the field, but a lot of the time it just needs a few minutes of attention or a few pennies worth of material to keep it ticking along nicely. It's just another way of saying "TFTC!"

[+msrubble]

Two each of: normal size pens, "Shortie" type pens, regular pencils, golf pencils with cap erasers, pencil sharpeners, snack size baggies, pint freezer bags, quart freezer bags, logbooks.

 

Also a Sharpie and a larger permanent marker.

 

If I know the cache container is damaged, I take along a tape measure. Perhaps I can find a replacement that is nearly the same.

[+Mule Ears]

I don't carry a cache repair kit per se, but I've improvised repairs by donating some of my normal supplies--notebook, Ziplocs, duck tape, pencils, etc.