What are good types of containers to use?

October 13, 2006

I am new to Geocaching and love it. I am getting ready to place a few caches in the outdoor areas. I was wondering what containers people have used that work good and not so good. I am specifically looking for the small to regular size cache containers.

1.5k · October 13, 2006

Ammo cans are wonderful. Decon containers aren't bad either.

Lock N Lock's seem to work well, but I haven't used one.

May I just vote again for nice ammo cans???

October 13, 2006

Are ammo cans water tight, as in just setting in the normal rain and or snow?

1.5k · October 13, 2006

As long as the lids are closed they are! Ammo cans are def. going to last the longest, making cache maintenance much easier.

Just stay away from glass, gladware and the like and anything that smells like food (or ever had food in it).

1.5k · October 13, 2006

As long as they're closed properly, yes...some have been used as submerged caches even. I've never opened an ammo can to find a soggy log.

October 13, 2006

Outstanding, thanks for the info.

October 13, 2006

As long as they're closed properly, yes...some have been used as submerged caches even. I've never opened an ammo can to find a soggy log.

As long as the rubber seal along the lid is in good shape, they are good sealed containers, once that rubber seal lets go, they are just another box in the woods. Overall tho, Ammo Cans are the best, lock & locks seem to be a good 2nd choice.

Film Canisters, while popular, have almost no protection from water so using those isn't good.

Decon containers, while I have found a few are good, but if you lose the top aren't very good <_< .

Bison tubes are great for micros, small enough to be hard to spot, big enough inside to hold a small logsheet where you can still sign your name, have a rubber ring to keep the water out, and have a ring at top for easy hanging.

38.2k · October 13, 2006

The best regular sized containers are, in order:

1. Ammo boxes – Pros: watertight, durable, animal proof, inexpensive (usually under $4) and paintable so they can be camouflaged to fit a variety of surroundings. Cons: Size and shape makes them unsuitable for hiding in some places. Some places do not allow them. Not great for hides in high traffic areas because accidental discovery can alarm some people.

2. Lock ' Locks – Pros: watertight, inexpensive (50 cents to $4 depending on size), come a variety of sizes and shapes. Cons: Not real easy to camouflage, but people have had good results using camo tape and special paints. If tab breaks off (and they do) they are useless.

3. Nalgene Straight Jars - Pros: watertight, inexpensive (under $3), come in several sizes, clear for those areas that require clear containers. Fairly easy to camo using tape or special spraypaints. Cons: Rim on lid holds water. Can leak if not firmly tightened.

4. Rubbermaid Flex n Seal (Blue rim on lid- formerly called Seal n Savers) – Pros: Watertight, come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Cons: Not easy to camouflage. Odd shape makes using tape difficult. Fairly expensive unless found on sale. Lids can pop off during extreme temp changes.

5. Nalgene Wide Mouth Bottles. - Watertight, easy to camouflage (using tape). Shape makes them easy to hide. Cons: Hard getting logbook and items in and out of the not so wide mouth. Somewhat expensive.

Containers with mixed results:

1. PVC pipe - Pros: Easy to hide, make them any size you want, easily camoflaged, paintable. Inexpensive if you have the parts around. Cons: Leak if not tightened firmly. Hard to open if tightened firmly. Look like pipe bombs and can cause public alarm if accidently discovered. Can be very expensive if you have to buy all the parts.

2. Tupperware - Pros: Watertight at first Cons: Expensive, leaks after a while in the elements.

3. Rubbermaid Serve 'n Savers, Stainshield, etc... - See Tupperware.

Unsuitable containers:

Gladware - Leak and are not durable. Lids come off easily.

Coffee cans (metal) - rust, leak and lids split easily after a short while.

Coffe containers (plastic) - leak and lids split easily after a short while. Container is designed to degrade.

Tackle/tool boxes - leak

Sterlite containers - leak

Deli/Chinese food containers - Lids split easily. Not durable.

Dollar store plastic containers - Leak. Warp easily.

Of course you should always consider the area where your cache will be hidden. If it will not be exposed to the weather, nearly any contianer will do, including ones listed under "unsuitable". You are also dependent on the finders to close the lids properly. Believe it or not, they don't always do this.

Edited October 21, 2006 by briansnat

October 13, 2006

Although unbeatable for durability, the problem with ammo boxes is that you can only use them in places with hidey holes big enough to accomodate ammo boxs. Smaller Lock n Locks can be hidden in places where an ammo box would stick out like a sore thumb.

18.9k · October 13, 2006

Just can't beat a good ammo box. - By far my favorite.

Lock-n-Locks are a very decent substitute for ammo cans and come in a wider variety of sizes.

The rubbermaid seal-n-savers (blue lid) have woked very well for me too.

For Micros (if you must) - use the camping match holders with a rubber seal - something like 82 cents at Wal Mart.

2.7k · October 13, 2006

Ammo cans are first priority. After that metal cookie tins with a plastic container inside. Sometimes I make a plywood box and put plastic inside them. You can make a nice micro container from the containers that diabetic test strips come in then drill a matchig hole is a large stick and stick it in a rock pile with all the other duff from the woods.

October 13, 2006

Lock-n-Locks are a very decent substitute for ammo cans and come in a wider variety of sizes.

A lot of you are talking about Lock-n-locks, what are these? Post a link?

1.5k · October 13, 2006

Lok N Lok's are a plastic containe that has 4 tabs (one on each side). The have a rubber ring seal and are water and air tight. Made of a heavy duty plastic and can be bought at target/walmart and the like. Target has sets of them for around $8 and you get 3 or 4 varying sizes in it.

1.5k · October 13, 2006

Here you go

October 13, 2006

Oh cool. I stopped and picked up 3 like new ammo cans today. You guys are right, these are perfect containers and the price is good too.

October 14, 2006

What are good sources for ammo boxes? The only place near here I know of is an army surplus store 1.5 hours away (or more), and their cans tend to be rather old and the gasket's seal questionable. I'd rather not do mail order due to their bulk/weight (I know places like Cheaper than Dirt wold sell them mail order.)

Never heard of Lock N Lock... interesting, I'll have to check them out.

38.2k · October 14, 2006

Lock-n-Locks are a very decent substitute for ammo cans and come in a wider variety of sizes.

A lot of you are talking about Lock-n-locks, what are these? Post a link?

There is a link to Lock n Locks in my above post, but I'll post it again.

1.5k · October 14, 2006

Hey, what do you know, if you click on the word it takes you to a picture. Ok, I thought you were just underlining for effect, didn't realize that you had links (and yes, I know that links look that way, duh moment on my part!)

That's really nice briansnat, especially when I actually look at the obvious!

Your picture is much better than my pasta picture!

October 14, 2006

"What are good sources for ammo boxes? The only place near here I know of is an army surplus store 1.5 hours away (or more), and their cans tend to be rather old and the gasket's seal questionable. I'd rather not do mail order due to their bulk/weight (I know places like Cheaper than Dirt wold sell them mail order.)

I picked mine up at our local Army Navy surplus store, they have all different sizes and they all apeared like new and had great seals. I don't know where else to get these other than ebay....... I am going to check out the lock n locks when I go to Walmart tomorrow.

Edited October 14, 2006 by Mike3117

October 15, 2006

I just picked up a couple Lock & Lock containers at Target today and will try to hide my first cache tomorrow. Target's selection was a bit limited though so I didn't get the exact shape I was hoping for. I'll see how it goes.

October 15, 2006

I have 3 young kids who LOVE cheese so Parmesan Cheese containers are always available! Toss on some camo duct tape and they work pretty good.

My hides are getting to be known as pretty "cheesy!"

October 15, 2006

Ammo boxes are excellent when you have the space and locale to hide them. Alot of times it is hard to find a suitable hiding spot in urban areas. What I have done recently is use different sizes of empty vitamin or over the counter pill bottles. What I do is remove the normal paper gasket inside the cap and cut a circular piece of rubber from and Bicycle innertube. Then I put rubber cement on both pieces let it sit for a few minutes and press them together. Then I gently screw on the cap till I feel it seat and let it sit that way for an hour or so. Then I just take off the cap let it finish drying and voila. Instant rubber sealed container. I still have one that I made filled with rocks in a bucket of water. It has been there two weeks now and no leakage what so ever. Again if isn't closed well enough leakage is possible. Easy to camo tape, the bottle cost me nothing since I needed the vitamins or medicine anyways and even if I had to buy a bicycle tube for the amount of uses I get it is next to nothing. Now I have just about any container size I want. They will never be as big as an ammo box and true the mouth can make it a little difficult to the contents out however it is still alot easier then fumbling with some of the mircos I've run across.

Just my 2 cents

Edited October 15, 2006 by knoffer

38.2k · October 15, 2006

What are good sources for ammo boxes? The only place near here I know of is an army surplus store 1.5 hours away (or more), and their cans tend to be rather old and the gasket's seal questionable. I'd rather not do mail order due to their bulk/weight (I know places like Cheaper than Dirt wold sell them mail order.)

Never heard of Lock N Lock... interesting, I'll have to check them out.

My two cheap sources, Cabelas and Cheaperthandirt have dried up. Still looking for a new one.

October 15, 2006

. You can make a nice micro container from the containers that diabetic test strips come in then drill a matchig hole is a large stick and stick it in a rock pile with all the other duff from the woods.

I thought that the test strip containers would work well. I'm just getting started and I'm saving them up. I liked the idea of drilling the hole and tying to a stick. Makes caching possibilities broader.

October 15, 2006

How well do Laffy Taffy containers work? I have come across a few and they seem to seal pretty well.

October 15, 2006

Just a random addition to the topic... if at all possible, avoid Altoids-tins for cache containers! For some idiotic reason, they're insanely popular (around here a least), aren't waterproof in the least, and rust quite easily. I just can't understand the obsession with them.

October 16, 2006

You can get some neat containers here: http://www.sciplus.com/. Good prices too.

October 16, 2006

My two cheap sources, Cabelas and Cheaperthandirt have dried up. Still looking for a new one.

I just picked up 4 ammo boxes (three different sizes) at a local swap meet.

One is very large (14" tall, 9" deep, 18" wide), one is one the small side and the other two are twice the width of the smaller one and just a tad taller. I will see if I can get pics of them today. All of the boxes are used, but are in good shape as far as I can tell. Total, I paid $23 for the 4..... $10 for the large, $2 for the little, $5 and $6 for the two middle sized ones.... I could have had another small one, but the inside of the box was all rusted and I could see that the seal had been messed up, so I passed on that one.

Now to figure out where to hide the big one!

20.7k · October 16, 2006

... Film Canisters, while popular, have almost no protection from water so using those isn't good. ...

I don't really agree. Actually, there are bad film cans and there are good ones.

This is a bad one:

This is a good one:

Although no film can is going to be as waterproof as a cryo vial:

20.7k · October 16, 2006

I have 3 young kids who LOVE cheese so Parmesan Cheese containers are always available! Toss on some camo duct tape and they work pretty good.

My hides are getting to be known as pretty "cheesy!"

How well do Laffy Taffy containers work? I have come across a few and they seem to seal pretty well.

I don't know how well these containers will hold up to the weather, but remember to bleach them well, or they will get chewed.

38.2k · October 16, 2006

I have 3 young kids who LOVE cheese so Parmesan Cheese containers are always available! Toss on some camo duct tape and they work pretty good.

My hides are getting to be known as pretty "cheesy!"

How well do Laffy Taffy containers work? I have come across a few and they seem to seal pretty well.

I don't know how well these containers will hold up to the weather, but remember to bleach them well, or they will get chewed.

Containers that previously held food should be avoided. Odors permeate the plastic and are very hard to remove, even with repeated washing and bleaching. Most of the containers that I've found that have been trashed by animals were old food containers, or someone put food inside.

18.9k · October 16, 2006

What are good sources for ammo boxes? The only place near here I know of is an army surplus store 1.5 hours away (or more), and their cans tend to be rather old and the gasket's seal questionable. I'd rather not do mail order due to their bulk/weight (I know places like Cheaper than Dirt wold sell them mail order.)

Never heard of Lock N Lock... interesting, I'll have to check them out.

My two cheap sources, Cabelas and Cheaperthandirt have dried up. Still looking for a new one.

I found one with cheap shipping (got 12 for only $6.95 s/h total) but the cans aren't all that cheap.

http://www.american-armynavy.com.ammocan.htm

Good news is that mine were in nearly new condtion.

October 16, 2006

I used to be a big fan of ammo cans and still am. Have never found one wet inside yet and that's even though I've come across some that I knew were several feet underwater when it rained last.

However, after recently doing some caching in Brevard, NC, I've fallen in love with the clear containers, especially the 1/2 gal and 1 gal plastic "mason" jar type. Reason is the clear lets non-geocachers that may discover a cache see what's inside without worrying. A few years ago this wouldn't have been nearly as important, but is defintely something I think about now-a-days.

38.2k · October 16, 2006

Reason is the clear lets non-geocachers that may discover a cache see what's inside without worrying. A few years ago this wouldn't have been nearly as important, but is defintely something I think about now-a-days.

That only gives you a false sense of security. If someone is devious enough to hide something dangerous inside a cache they are probaly devious enough to disguise it somehow.

October 16, 2006

I have 3 young kids who LOVE cheese so Parmesan Cheese containers are always available! Toss on some camo duct tape and they work pretty good.

My hides are getting to be known as pretty "cheesy!"

My son's love for parmesan cheese is what prompted us to place this cache. :unsure:

To answer the OPs question, ...you can't go wrong with ammo cans. They're easy to spray paint too!

October 18, 2006

I have recently been using some Lunch-box type thermos containers! i found some on clearance for $2-3 and once you put some cammo tape on, you have a solid, airtight container, between the inner lid that screws in and then the outer top of the thermos, it works great. there is enough room for a small log book and small items also! i have received some good comments from other cacher's. the last thing i am going to use ever is a glad sandwich container. i have seen too many 'soggy' cache's the short time i have been doing this. go get some thermos!

October 18, 2006

I've gotta chime in with a cache I found. The owner used a one gallon kitty litter jug. Wide opening of about 4" and really big and waterproof. The owner camo'd it well and it held quite a lot of stuff. I like lock-n-locks myself. Not hard to paint if you use that new Kryon Fusion paint for plastic first, then other paint will stick to it fine.

October 20, 2006

Of course, no matter what style of container you use, the weak link will be the person that doesn't close the lid/cover properly, or opens it in a downpour and lets everything get soaked and turns your cache into a Petri dish, or tries to jam 5 lbs of McJunk into a 4 lb container, or simply doesn't rehide it properly.

October 21, 2006

What about PVC pipe with end caps? OK, might look like a pipebomb if its used in inner city hides but what about forest hides n such? Camo'd out might work ok. Idea?

38.2k · October 21, 2006

What about PVC pipe with end caps? OK, might look like a pipebomb if its used in inner city hides but what about forest hides n such? Camo'd out might work ok. Idea?

I've never found one that was dry inside. If you tighten them enough to keep water out, they are nearly impossible to unscrew. If they are lose enough to open easily, they admit water - lots of it.

Edited October 21, 2006 by briansnat

October 21, 2006

I have about 5 PVC caches out and about, Never had an issue with them. Most are 90mm, but I have one that is 100mm. This one has an O ring in the screw cap to make it waterproof. Placement is also an issue. I wouldnt put a cache container somewhere thats going to end up lying in water without proper measures to make it waterproof. The black with grey lid film cannister is popular over here, custom make a small log book, and wrap it in a ziplock bag, and place it cup upwards, and they are waterproof. Sistema brand containers are also popular in Brisbane, these are a fridge food storage container that have a rubber seal inside the lid, and locking clips on all four sides.

October 22, 2006

I found my first PVC cache the other day; can't get it open! Made 3 trips to attempt opening. And, the log for it has most people who did manage to open before that its wet. I'd avoid the PVC caches.

October 22, 2006

I found my first PVC cache the other day; can't get it open! Made 3 trips to attempt opening. And, the log for it has most people who did manage to open before that its wet. I'd avoid the PVC caches.

As a newbie once I would just like to make one observation. Take your time and do it right the first time when hiding your first cache. There is nothing that says because you have found a few that you have to go right out and place one. I think I maybeI had found 100 or more before I decided to hide one. You will get a better idea of the types of containers that will work and the ones that don't by observing what you have found. Get to know your GPS'r and how it works and learn how to use it the proper way. There is nothing that urks me more than a newbie getting all excited about placing there first cache and in the rush just go out and put whatever they have on hand for a container and then just placing it without at least averaging their coordinates a few times. Take your time and do it right the first time and you will have a much better first experience. There is nothing worse than placing your first cache and getting all kinds of crap from the more experienced cachers about how terrible the container is or how far off the coordinates were. Just MHO

October 24, 2006

Ammocans or Lock-N-Locks would be the best route.

What are good types of containers to use?

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