what is it you would like to see as swag in caches

[Pxtyson]

I have found only 11 so far but i do find that many of them have crap in the cache.

who really wants a 5 cent eraser the size of a dime. the worst was a cache beside a driving range with a driving range golf ball in it. just seemd lazy to me.

I like to put caribeners or flashlights in the ones that i do trade items in.

[Clan Riffster]

what is it you would like to see as swag in caches

Hmmm... Good question....

Gold bullion,

An authentic Harper's Ferry pistol,

The keys, title & coords to a Lamborghini,

A cure for the common cold,

Proof of a second Kennedy shooter,

 

Failing any of these, just kewl trinkets.

[+Moore9KSUcats]

$100 bill?

 

No, seriously.... we found a GAP gift card with $100 on it a couple of years ago. Now THAT was a neat gift!

[+Team Woodward]

I really don't care about the swag. I just love being outside, walking and the thrill of the hunt. What I do like though is trading personalized items especially caribiners & wooden coins. I really don't consider those "swag" but more of a collectible if that makes any sense to anyone but me. ;-)

[+cimawr]

I really don't care about the swag. I just love being outside, walking and the thrill of the hunt. What I do like though is trading personalized items especially caribiners & wooden coins. I really don't consider those "swag" but more of a collectible if that makes any sense to anyone but me. ;-)

 

It makes perfect sense. The things I most enjoy finding in caches are:

 

1) Signature items, which I've started collecting - I enjoy seeing other cachers' creative efforts and personal style. I most enjoy the unusual ones; for example. one local cacher leaves small local rubber duckies in pirate costume, another small pins in the shape of bees, a third a bead which looks like an eyeball.

I sort of have a sig item myself, although it isn't yet personalized... in some caches, I leave tiny silver/pewter Jack Russell charms in memory of a dog I lost to cancer recently. Which also reflects my "screen name" (means "big dog" in Welsh <G>) in a backwards, pun-ny sort of way.

 

2) Traveling geocoins. It's fun to look at them - again a matter of appreciating creative effort - and to see what custom icon pops up. And they're easy to carry.

 

3) Small useful items like carabiners, compasses, keychains, etc., although more often than not I end up trading them back into another cache.

[+cimawr]

 

It makes perfect sense. The things I most enjoy finding in caches are:

 

 

Meant to add that I agree WRT finding dirty golf balls, which I usually toss out of the cache since I figure anybody who really wants a dirty golf ball** can pick up plenty from the ground on their way to/from the cache. Which is what the eejits who leave them do.

 

**Every time I find this, it's a case of the cache being placed in an area where people practice golf drives - which in my area, is pretty much any park that doesn't specifically prohibit the activity.

[+Dave&Stacy]

We like to find: geocoins, wooden nickels, PEZ dispensers, collectible pins, stickers, patches, travel bugs, etc. Occasionally we find some little toys that are kind of cool. Some of the cool stuff we have seen or placed in caches are: metal camping mug, rain poncho, first aid kit, breast cancer awareness pin, various commemerative pins, glo-stick, bug spray, and scratch-off lottery tickets.

 

We really don't like finding: dirty golf balls, used fishing bobbers and fishing tackle, religious propaganda, etc.

 

**Edit: We love finding signature items too. We're hoping to do our own line of signature items sometime this year.**

Edited January 11, 2007 by Dave&Stacy

[+fox-and-the-hound]

The stranger the better. I can't help myself. I love to dig through everything in there and see what's been left. Kid's treasures are often overlooked, but if you admire them for a minute they often tell a good story. Signature items and coins are definitely at the top of the list, too. Great conversation starters later.

[+StarBrand]

Somewhat out-of-the-ordinary but useful items. My son likes matchbox cars. My wife likes books, books on tape. Newer, nicer items.

 

I don't like broken, rusty stuff.

[Backup]

A logbook.

[+ePeterso2]

US state quarters. Especially ones I don't already have.

[+BuckeyeClan]

We hunt with our kids, so anything that appeals to them is good. Funny tho, sometimes there's no accounting for taste! I've seen them pass up items that I was sure they would love, to choose something that I never would have expected. Personally, I like when they choose consumables--stickers, rub-on tattoos, craft supplies, etc. Something that they can enjoy, but that doesn't just end up cluttering the toy box!

 

BuckeyeClan

[+grueinthedark]

GPS exchange

[+aaromash]

We will pick up any little rubber frogs to add to my wife's collection.

So if you're passing through southern Missouri, there you go.

[+Billk72]

I Normally don't take anything its my kids that do. So anything to keep them interested and enjoying the day with us is great for me. I find my caching to be more about family time. I tend to leave things like caribiner's, and trigger locks.

[+nytrostarss]

a local cacher where i live leaves 1943 steel pennies with a description of why they were made and where he got them as his sig item. very interesting piece of history there..

[+Pegasi]

Sig Items, GeoCoins, Carabiner Clips, Cold Hard US Currency (Where's George Bills)

 

I would love to find a cahe that is not full of either: Used golf balls and pocket change, or toys discarded from a 5 year olds mouth.

 

McToys would even be acceptable if they were in their original wrappers.

 

Worst ever was the dog themed cahce with the slobbery tennis ball as swag.

 

If I find a cache that seems to be family friendly I will leave ***NEW*** toys from the dollar store or sticker sheets. Other cahes get carabiners, compasses, tape measures, etc.

 

Still trying to find the "perfect" sig item so all of your thoughts are greatly appreciated.

[+vaddynwashere]

US state quarters. Especially ones I don't already have.

 

Ooh, I totally forgot that some people collect those.

Thanks for pointing that out.

 

Generic quarters (NOT dimes and nickels) are also quite worthy b/c they're parking money.

This quarter dependency, btw, is even more frustrating after visiting Portland and Seattle. Both cities have adopted a very simple and effective method of collecting payments for parking - pay w/ a card, the machine prints a sticker for you and off you go. No more "aaaarrrrgh I left all my quarters at home".

 

Other than that... something small and useful.

I like Changes in Latitude's guitar picks. It's more than a swag item for me. Sooner or later a situation will arise when, sitting by the campfire in some remote location, b/w the 10 of us we'll have NO picks... and it will be put to use

Paperclips are useful to me because I cache with printouts.

Tiny pretty thingys, like charms and such... just cuz I'm a girl and I like tiny pretty stuff.

Trackables - bugs, coins, fishies, dollars...

[vermontcathy]

What do people think about recipes? I was at work and found out there was a cache close by, and I wanted to drop off a travel bug, but I didn't have any swag to contribute (just in case I wanted to take something) and so I printed out my favorite recipe - for awesome, easy, healthy granola bars. It didn't cost me anything (other than paper and ink) but I wouldn't mind finding a good recipe as swag (beats a dirty golf ball, right?) but what do you all think? I've only found 3 caches so far, and in the other two I left origami crane ornaments I've made (I've given them as xmas presents so I think they're pretty nice).

 

Cathy

[+fox-and-the-hound]

What do people think about recipes? I was at work and found out there was a cache close by, and I wanted to drop off a travel bug, but I didn't have any swag to contribute (just in case I wanted to take something) and so I printed out my favorite recipe - for awesome, easy, healthy granola bars. It didn't cost me anything (other than paper and ink) but I wouldn't mind finding a good recipe as swag (beats a dirty golf ball, right?) but what do you all think? I've only found 3 caches so far, and in the other two I left origami crane ornaments I've made (I've given them as xmas presents so I think they're pretty nice).

 

Cathy

 

First, I'd love to find a recipe card (being a kitchen nut anyway), but keeping in mind to trade up or trade even it should be trade for something similar (If it didn't cost you anything, then it should be traded for something that doesn't cost anything, too) or used to just improve or increase the swag content. It would be a great signature item for you though. There are a surprising number of things that cost pennies or less to make that we've collected because we love them. You could even laminate them with your personal logo or something and end up on cachers' fridges all over

[+Fairly Oddparents]

We know that the point of geocaching is the hunt istself and not the finds buuuut, since you asked...

 

The best thing we found in a cache was a small uncut ruby. So small uncut gemstones would be fun, not necessarily for any monetary value, but for the general interesting geological value. Small fossils would be good for the same reason.

We also like any camping items or small tools, Swiss Army knife, Leatherman type tool, foreign coins, nice non-glass holiday ornaments, cute refrigerator magnets, flower seeds, handy kitchen utensils (I once found a Tupperware orange peeler and I use it often), batteries, blank CD/RW discs, new deck of cards, or anything that makes our wee princess happy. My daugher likes unopened McToys, plastic animals, unused hair barettes, new stickers, temporary tattoos, nice pencils or erasers, small books (printed or blank), magic towels, tokens for our local arcade, prize tickets for our local arcade, pool or beach toys, shell necklaces or bracelets, small flaslights or keychain lights. The operative words here being new, funtional, and clean. We typically leave the kinds of things we would like to find.

 

Unfortunately, we are almost always trading up at a cache. At most of the caches we've been to lately we haven't even bothered to take something but we leave something decent hoping that it will set a good example and encourage others to be slightly more thoughtful.

 

We hate dirty, used anything, religious propaganda, things of an X-rated nature, anything advertising a business, business cards, random broken pieces of garbage that were scraped out of the bottom of a junk drawer, Army men, toy guns, Mardi Gras beads (Mardi Gras is popular along the Gulf Coast so these beads are in every stinking cache), dice, coupons, photocopies of money, lip balm or anything else that is sticky and will melt all over the inside of a cache, feces, feminine hygiene products, etc. We have found all of these things in a cache.

[+Fairly Oddparents]

What do people think about recipes? I was at work and found out there was a cache close by, and I wanted to drop off a travel bug, but I didn't have any swag to contribute (just in case I wanted to take something) and so I printed out my favorite recipe - for awesome, easy, healthy granola bars. It didn't cost me anything (other than paper and ink) but I wouldn't mind finding a good recipe as swag (beats a dirty golf ball, right?) but what do you all think? I've only found 3 caches so far, and in the other two I left origami crane ornaments I've made (I've given them as xmas presents so I think they're pretty nice).

 

Cathy

 

 

I think recipes are a good idea as long as the card is waterproofed in some way. Soggy paper stuck to the bottom of a cache is icky and hard to get out from under your fingernails. I once found and used a nice recipe for oatmeal cookies with currants. I think the cranes sound lovely too. That would be appreciated in my house.

[+vaddynwashere]

...and will melt all over the inside of a cache, feces, feminine hygiene products, etc. We have found all of these things in a cache.

I'm sorry, FECES?

 

Bastards.

[+Fairly Oddparents]

...and will melt all over the inside of a cache, feces, feminine hygiene products, etc. We have found all of these things in a cache.

I'm sorry, FECES?

 

Bastards.

 

Yep. I don't think it was human, I think it was canine but it was definitely put in there on purpose. Needless to say, we didn't sign the log book.

[+Colombian Princess]

One thing my family and I have enjoyed finding is coupons for Free Bowling Games at our local bowling alley

 

Also, sometimes I've left amusement park/entertainment coupons near airport caches so people that are arriving in the area can maybe get a discount if they go to one of those places while they visit (I generally leave the usual small swag along with the coupons)

 

One thing I'd love to see as swag is micro/small logbooks! They are almost impossible to find! hehe. I"ve even gone online to try and find some before but even the "small" ones are too big for some of the small caches I've wanted to put them in

[crawil]

a local cacher where i live leaves 1943 steel pennies with a description of why they were made and where he got them as his sig item. very interesting piece of history there..

 

I've found two of them so far. They are pretty cool. There is a numbered wooden nickel that goes along with the steel penny. My wife is going to send one to her non-geocaching father.

 

As a question - I was thinking of having my kids (at least the 6 and 10-year-olds) paint small rocks as a sig item. I figured that would keep them interested in the game. Thoughts?

[crawil]

We also like ... Swiss Army knife, Leatherman type tool, ... flower seeds ...

Um, I don't think some of those are really good ideas but I really like the rest of the list!

 

What shouldn't be in a cache?

 

Use your common sense in most cases. Explosives, ammo, knives, drugs, and alcohol shouldn't be placed in a cache. Respect the local laws. All ages of people hide and seek caches, so use some thought before placing an item into a cache.

 

Food items are ALWAYS a BAD IDEA. Animals have better noses than humans, and in some cases caches have been chewed through and destroyed because of food items in a cache. Please do not put food in a cache.

[+bilbad]

Personally it is the hunt for Jill and I but it is nice to find "treasure" like collectibles.. many people collect wooden nickels, coins, and so many other things. I sometimes get tired of the junk some put in as many cache containers are limited in space. Things I leave are Unscratched lotto tickets (could be a real treasure)and I like to trade travel bugs ( I watch these and see where they end up) I try also to trade equal or better. If everyone did this the caches would become more valuable as time went on. In my area, hunting is a big thing and I seem to remove ammo often. I don't like to find ammo, lighters, and other dangerous items in caches. I would rather someone just took something and left nothing then to choose to leave inappropiate items. To me the one most exciting thing is the logbook. The next time you find a cache take a min and read some of the past logs. Some of the logs are funny, interesting, and tell a story of thier adventure... I read in one that the cacher before me saw a bear... made me look around over my shoulder.

[+WalruZ]

I've found from experience that the one thing that geocachers really want to take or trade for are ready-to-hide caches. They are inexpensive to make and sure to please. Leaving them is a pro-active way of 'trading up', in that it costs little to leave them but they will be swapped with a nicer class of item.

[+Totem Clan]

I like Sig items such as cards, wooden coins etc.

 

Things like small carabiners, flashlights, key chains and the like, are nice little finds.

 

I also like it when a cacher leaves a certain type of swag. For instance one cacher in Alaska would leave hand warmers in the caches in the winter. If you found one, you could bet he had been there.

 

The cubs loves the toys, if they're in good shape.

 

We leave our Sig item and things like key chains, lanyards, hat pins and such.

 

The cubs leave toys they bought at the dollar store.

[+Tahoein' Bunch]

We don't do too much trading but I just picked up some cool Screwdriver keychains wholesale $2.00 List around $3.00-3.50 They will make good tradeables, we also get 4-for a dollar Carabiners from Dollar tree and they usally go to good use. Any mccrap i don't like so i leave, i have removed asprian, match books and lighters from some caches not cool. My Kids dig through some of these boxes first.

 

Thanks for the thread.

 

Greg

[+Ringo67]

I picked up some NSACAR helmet PEZ dispensers the other day at the dollar store that I thought would be cool to leave in a cache, but then I was thinking the candies could be considered "food" - and I use the term loosely.

 

But seriously, what do people do, generally, when they leave PEZ dispenser packs? Do you open the pack and remove the candy?

 

I'm worried about leaving something that will attract animals.

 

- Paul

[+Ringo67]

I picked up some NSACAR helmet PEZ dispensers the other day at the dollar store that I thought would be cool to leave in a cache, but then I was thinking the candies could be considered "food" - and I use the term loosely.

 

But seriously, what do people do, generally, when they leave PEZ dispenser packs? Do you open the pack and remove the candy?

 

I'm worried about leaving something that will attract animals.

 

- Paul

 

After an hour or so of trolling the forums, I think my question has been answered before.

 

I guess I'll just trash the candy and leave the dispensers.

 

- Paul

[+TreeSqueezers]

Although I love seeing sig items. I haven't taken any because I feel they are an "I was here" item and taking it removes that tag.

 

I mentioned in another thread that when I do create a sig I would create a sig cache for collectors. That idea has evolved in my mind to a cache half filled with it for sig traders (take only my sig, leave only your sig).

 

I think it would be interesting to come upon a cache I haven't been to that contained one of my sigs.

 

I've been trying to create a sig item myself and some of the things in this thread have given me some ideas. I have some bell shaped magnets I can use to create "sticks to the inside of an ammo can" sig items but I'm not sure how to make them stick to plastic .

 

The other thing with sig items is how to handle them with micros. I've found some stuffed in with them, but it makes them awkward. I was thinking of maybe a stamper or something.

 

Along these lines, what do people like to find as FTF items? I would imagine it would be something of a little higher value than the standard trade item.

I was thinking:

Batteries

Gift cards

Geocaching.com items

Oriental Trading has 12 plastic #1 medals that are inexpensive, maybe combine one with any FTF item.

 

Any other ideas?

[+wordnerd]

I'm getting used to finding old toys and stuff. Being a mom, I already have old action figures and McDonald happy meal toys. So those aren't really exciting. My kids like them, I guess, just because they are different action figures and happy meal toys.

 

What I like to see are the coins and travel bugs. I guess because those are tokens of the game.

 

What I'd like to see that I haven't yet are tourist type trinkets, like little models of the statue of liberty or a di-cast double decker bus from England. Things that are brought from elsewhere.

 

Other than that, it doesn't matter. I figure if I don't want what's in there, I won't take anything. I like leaving stuff better than taking anyway. I usually only take so the box doesn't get filled up.

[+mamid]

I make scarves to put into geocaches for finds, but they have to be really good finds, not just the micro behind the sign finds.

 

I've also made some window cling stuff that I plan on adding to my geocache trades bag. My kids dumped it out so I have to find all the pieces again.

 

Then there's the beanie babies I also found on sale. I have some of those in my trades bag.

 

I have a few other ideas too. But the worst thing I found in a cache was weed. The second worst thing was a flashlight that I brought home. Only then did I find out it was broken. I've "fixed" it but it don't turn off.

[+Jedi Cacher]

I really like kewl signature items or things that you can utilize on the trial. You can learn allot by some of the forum topics on swag items such as backpack trail items. I just recently purchased some rain ponchos, carabiners, and small flashlights for swag. I currently leave foriegn coins, polished agates, fossils and new matchbox cars in the package.

 

So far my caching experience with swag has been great except for my last outing we found 2 Geo Junk caches. I would much rather find a cache with just a log in it than somebody elses garbage!

[+rk91279]

This may be the start of a new thread and possibly already hashed over but here goes.

After reading most of these replies and the dislikes of mctoys,dirty golf balls,worthless junk from the bottom of a kitchen drawer or any paper material that is ruined be it from water or just old and ripped up, I have a question, Is it ok to clean out someone else's cache for them when it is obvious the cache is not being attended to?

[+Scare Force One]

My favorite thing to find in a cache is any signature thing. I started to collect these and keep them in a special container seperate from all the other crap (also known as swag) i find.

I did however enjoy finding a 251 megabyte camera memory chip in one cache.

 

Scare Force One

[MelN2LilMen]

My kids like little erasers, McToys, and even little junky things like 2 cent plastic bugs and army guys. #1 Lil Man loves finding plastic easter eggs or silly putty eggs. He makes stuff with them. To others, they would probably be pure junk.

 

I try to leave an assortment of kid's stuff and stuff that adults might like... like keychains, flashlights, tape measures, fishing lures... that kind of stuff.

[calebbrave]

I go to the bank and ask for half dollar coins. They are always good to leave.

[Cydriver]

This may be the start of a new thread and possibly already hashed over but here goes.

After reading most of these replies and the dislikes of mctoys,dirty golf balls,worthless junk from the bottom of a kitchen drawer or any paper material that is ruined be it from water or just old and ripped up, I have a question, Is it ok to clean out someone else's cache for them when it is obvious the cache is not being attended to?

 

I like to clean out caches, take out the garbage or food and dump out the dirt, leaves, etc. If I have my backpack I will carry new ziplock baggies and even pens or pencils to replenish the cache.

[+Colin and Nelson]

I like metal keychains, Cool and interesting pens, Pins especially of a non local towns and cities. flashlights, wooden toys - tops or whatever, Geocoins, carabiners, compass', McToys in their original wrappers, small tools.

 

In general it should be reasonable dollar store stuff. Good quality metal and wood, preferred over cheap plastic.

I try and leave a $1 item, not 3 for a dollar, dollar store items. Just avoid paper (maybe recipes if individually ziplocked), or old rusty junk, and avoid the cheap flimsy plastic junk.

 

Fossils would be really cool.

The best I found a "genuine black bear claw zipper pull" in a ziplock bag with description.

Wow, left two items for that one!

[+Markwell]

Of the swag I've found that most sticks out in my mind, there were two items from different caches. One was a multi-tool screwdriver - not like a leatherman, but more like a screwdriver with interchangeable heads. It also had a telescoping shaft. Very cool.

 

The other one was a cache full of older coins, one being a Morgan Dollar. Cool.