Good First-to-Find prizes

[norman-ramsey]

I'm getting ready to hide my first cache. I've found about 5 now so I have some idea what to expect as regular contents. But do people have suggestions about what makes a nice First-to-Find prize?

(This is the only time I ever expect to see one as there seems to be a lot of energetic competition in the Boston area.)

[+jringer07]

I'm getting ready to hide my first cache. I've found about 5 now so I have some idea what to expect as regular contents. But do people have suggestions about what makes a nice First-to-Find prize?

(This is the only time I ever expect to see one as there seems to be a lot of energetic competition in the Boston area.)

 

My kids and I just hid our first cache a few hours ago. We haven't even looked for one yet. We went down to the dollar store and bought a good mix of toys and trinkets and filled up a 1 qt. tupperware bowl. I'm thinking of doing some theme caches of other activities that interetst me and my family (surfing, fishing, camping, NASCAR, etc). I think that some of the fun is actually putting the caches together and finding a cool place to hide each one that will go along with the theme. I also beleive that these will be the types of caches that I'm drawn to and will eventually seek.

 

jringer07

[+Woodbutcher68]

Generally a FTF prize is something more valuable than a dollar store trade item and something that the finder would want to keep. I've read about gift cards for stores or restaurants up to $50.00 being used with some caches having prizes for first, second and third finders. It depends your resources and what you think would be appropriate.

I do some woodworking and used items I made (Wood Christmas ornaments, wine bottle stoppers, keyrings, etc.) as FTF prizes.

[+krisandmel]

One thing to keep in mind is to not fill up your container completely full.

 

Gotta make sure there is room for people to leave something.

 

I've come across several caches packed so full the lid barely stays on & a couple wouldn't even seal completely, and of course everything inside was damp including the logbook.

 

You don't want to put out an empty container, but a good rule of thumb is to only fill the container half full to start.

 

$.02, ~K

[+briansnat]

I've found about 5 now so I have some idea what to expect as regular contents.

 

I don't know that 5 is a good indicator. If you happened to find 5 junk filled caches you will assume most caches have junk.

 

In reality I've found caches full of absolute garbage and caches full of really nice and useful items. Often caches start with really nice stuff and fill up with junk over time.

 

A FTF prize is optional. The overwhelming majority of caches do not have FTF prizes. I've put FTF prizes in a handful of my 181 hides. The few I left were a Petzel headlamp, binoculars, Geocaching.com hats and a pair of nylon hiking pants (for the FTF with a 34" waist). All new of course.

 

Some other nice things I've left that really weren't meant to be FTF prizes but might make a good one are unactivated TBs and geocoins, collectible coins like Indian head pennies, buffalo nickels (the last cache I placed had a 1934 Liberty half dollar) and silver certificates.

[+GIDEON-X]

My self, I have left / placed LOTTO TICKETS as first to find prizes, one finder won $10.00 and wanted to share it with me..........I passed. Living here in Yuma, AZ (on the state line) I have the choice of 2 states to choose from .........

[+evelbug]

For all my caches, I leave a special FTF poker chip. I would rather find something like that rather than a gift certificate or lotto ticket or something like that. But that factors into my attitude while caching. I am out more for the adventure and the hunt as opposed for what I can find. Usually the only items I take are personal items, tokens, wooden nickels, etc.

 

If the cache you are placing is a themed cache, you may want to leave something related to that theme. One of my caches is geared toward trading wooden nickles and other tokens. For FTF prise, I left a pack of poker chips and labels.

[+NickRac]

I'm doing lotto tickets in my usual FTF caches - but I'm planning a highly difficult one soon which will most likely contain a Shell Gas or Exxon Mobil gift card

[norman-ramsey]

I don't know that 5 is a good indicator. If you happened to find 5 junk filled caches you will assume most caches have junk.

 

Caches I've found have been a mix of nice stuff and junk. I would say heavy on the dollar-store items and little doodads for the kids.

 

For FTF I think I like better the idea of a coin or chip that is unique to the hobby rather than some random high-value item. But I'll look around.

 

Thanks for the replies!

[+jon97511]

After 100 finds, we just hid our first cache two days ago. It's really a tough hide in my opinion. Camoflaged VERY well.

 

Anyway, Lori and I offered Dinner for Two with us at a local restaurant as a FTF prize. Thought it would "up the ante" a bit and be a fun challenge to those seeking to find it. Also, the meal so would provide both of us with a neat way to meet and get to know other local cachers.

 

Named the cache: "Food 4 Thought"

[+fm2f90x]

For my first cache hidden I put a battery charger and battery set in for the FTF prize. The finders said that they were probably going to buy a charger soon, so that worked out great for them. You can find the battery charger kits at a reasonable price.

 

Tom

[+Rockin Roddy]

All good ideas...I've used most!! I try to leave batteries, toys, doggie goodies and such as swag, and I'll put something like a flashlight or something along those lines as a FTF...OR our personal coin (after we had it made of course). Those "all-in-one" tools are nice too!

 

Use your imagination...and common sense!! Don't place knives or weapons of any kind, no food items or candy, and anything NOT child friendly is probably NOT a good idea...family sport after all (I'm talking porn, or inappropriate items of that nature). Leave things you and your family would like to find!!

[+rhelt100]

I've only ever gotten 1 FTF prize in my 20 FTFs. It was an unregistered travel bug tag, an excellent FTF prize. I also heard that just this week a $10 subway gift card was pulled out as an FTF prize in my area.

[+Belfrypotters]

Most of our caches are nature-themed, or are in natural areas, so we left a field guide (to birds, flowers, trees, or bugs) in each for a FTF prize. We put the books in heavy ziplock bags, to protect them in case it took a long time for the first finder to come along. We once received a FTF prize of a gift certificate to a well-know coffee/donut chain, which was much appreciated after we'd trudged for over an hour on snowshoes through deep snow to find the cache. It was a tough find under the snow, and I tripped over my snowshoes several times in the bush, so the hot chocolate and donuts afterwards was heavenly.