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Cache Containers


Fidissimus

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Okay, it's gonna be pretty obvious I'm a mom with this question...

 

I have tons of glass baby jars at my house from the hungry munchkin... While they are durable little containers, they are glass. Yet every time I look at an empty one I want to use it as a container for a cache. Is this a good idea or a bad one? My gut says "Do not use" - but I hate to just get rid of them...(yes they get recycled - but still...) What are your thoughts on using these?

 

Or what other items do you use as containers (I've seen film canisters, Altoid tins and of course ammo cans - none of which come easily to me - I shoot digital, I'm allergic to some of the ingredients in Altoids and well I wouldn't even know where to get an ammo can) So am I left to purchase tupperware at the dollar store? :anitongue::tired:

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I guess it could depend on where you plan the hide. I have a glass jam jar as one of my hides, it's well hidden on the ground down a trail at a local park that doesn't get too much traffic. I'm going to replace it with a larger plastic jar but that's only because the mouth wasn't too big on the jam jar and it's scrunching up my log book and zip loc bags. Otherwise, it's been fine.

 

But for an urban hide, eye level, downtown in a rock wall, I would not use a glass jar.

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It would strike me as a bad idea for two reasons:

 

1. The possibility of glass breakage. Obviously we don't want others reaching into holes or under trees to grab a handful of glass shards.

 

2. Rusty lids. The metal on those jars can rust with enough exposure to the elements, and it makes it REALLY hard to open the containers.

 

That said, I've had no first hand experience with glass caches. They might work a lot better than I'm thinking they would.

 

If you decide to not use them as caches, you might try contacting a school or daycare or church. They might be able to use 'em for projects and stuff. Just a thought if you'd like to seem have a life after baby food.

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We had a couple glass jars in the area. Both were placed right next to a BUSY hike/bike trail. Both had been hidden the day before and both were half full of water when we found them. One was used to replace a cache that was hit by a mower, why they thought glass would hold up to a mower better than plastic I will never know. I would hate to be anywhere near that when the mower hit it!!! I just don't think glass would hold up well next to a busy urban trail. Perhaps on a sheltered placement that won't see too much traffic or weather, a glass jar might work. Best to start out right and get some durable, beatable, sizable containers. You will thank yourself after having to trek back to replace the cache.

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I personally broke a cache in a glass jar when a rock shifted and shattered it. I guess they would be OK in a sandy area or a spot covered with soft pine needles or duff, but if the cache is among rocks its gonna break sooner or later.

 

If you don't mind going out every once in a while to replace the container and clean up the broken glass it could be fine.

 

Or what other items do you use as containers (I've seen film canisters, Altoid tins and of course ammo cans - none of which come easily to me - I shoot digital, I'm allergic to some of the ingredients in Altoids and well I wouldn't even know where to get an ammo can) So am I left to purchase tupperware at the dollar store

 

Dollar store plastic containers aren't the answer either. They often don't seal well and they warp quicklywhen exposed to the elements. Try Lock n Locks. They are available at Wal-mart, Target, in many grocery stores and online at Amazon.com. Lock n Locks come in a variety of sizes and shapes. They can be camoflaged if you like with camo duct tape.

 

Don't scrimp on your containers. The dollar or two you save will be wasted on gas for extra maintenance trips to dry out the contents.

 

Nalgene Straight Jars also work great. They are inexpensive, durable and watertight.

 

For micros, waterproof match boxes are great. They have a rubber gasket and only cost 98 cents at Wal-mart. Another option is soda bottle preforms. They look like plastic test tubes with a screw on cap.

You can buy these in bulk online.

 

Waterproof match container

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Lock n Locks

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Nalgene Straight Jars

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Edited by briansnat
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I read somewhere glass is one of the few materials that can be recycled over and over without quality degradation. So, recycle!

 

I was with my daughter caching two years back when the glass container she was holding slipped off her hands and fell onto a rock, shattering the container. Bons, poplular in the forums then, said it was my fault for letting my daughter handle the container. I think not; accidents will happen and there is no reason to take an unnecessary chance with a glass container hiddin on/near hard surfaces.

 

One thing you can do to minimize breakage, or contain breakage, is wrap it in duct tape, but pieces will fly inside.

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Thankfully, I have not run into any glass containers in my travels. I just recently started finding Lock N Locks, those are actually pretty cool containers. As for Ammo Cans, Decon Boxes, or things like that. You can find them at almost any army surplus store, as well as many different places online, last time I bought Decon Boxes (Little band-aid sized boxes with a good snap on lid) I think I got them from Cheaperthandirt.com, There are plenty of places to get decent containers as people have stated here I would spend an extra buck or two to get a good container as I have ran into several glad ware/dollar store plastic that isn't worth holding food or a geocache.

 

Oh and magnetic keyholders I have found to be an alright micro cache container, but if you put them where it will rain down on them they are gonna get wet, I have several hides using these that work just fine, maybe thats because it hasn't rained around here in a few weeks.

just my .02

Cya on the trails,

Rusty

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Well living in the Pacific North West I'd say rain is just a wee little something I should be concerned about! :laughing:

 

Okay - so I'm totally convinced now that glass is out of the question (I was pretty convinced when I posted but this just confirms many of my thoughts) SO NO GLASS! :D And if I do use tupperware I promise not to buy the cheap stuff. Thanks for all the other cool ideas on containers too -

 

I also found that thread about "cool cache containers" - :lol: It's puts the lowly ammo box to shame...

 

Cheers~

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a popular container for a micro cache is a magnetic key locker :shocked:

 

And a very poor one. I can't think of many I found where the logbook was dry.

 

That's why you put the logbook in a small ziploc in the key holder. This works fine in this area. Also, most key holder are attach underneather items, so they aren't directly out in the rain.

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