What is your favorite SWAG to leave/find?

[+jasondulac]

I usally don't take anything but lately I've been leaving trick dice that when you roll them you always get 7 or 11 also I've been leaving pogs

[bfarmdad]

I haven't taken much in the form of swag but have started leaving custom pin back buttons we make that are designed with geocaching in mind. Not sure if anyone else has found them interesting yet as few people list what they take and leave in the cache logs any more. I'm still working on ideas for a sig design for myself and once I nail that down I will leave those as well. When my 7 year old goes with me of course he loves to find army men and hot wheels so those might leave the cache but we always leave more than we take to help stock up the cache.

[jholly]

My favorite swag is pictures of Ben Franklin printed on green colored pieces of paper.

 

Jim

[+Zolgar]

My favorite swag is pictures of Ben Franklin printed on green colored pieces of paper.

 

Jim

 

I will remember this if I ever go caching in WA.

[+PorscheSpyder]

Other people's sig items.

[+slukster]

I leave weird stuff such as sealed packs of sticky notes, highlighters, Sharpie pens, packs of glitter pencils, new pencil sharpeners.

 

Sounds like someone raided the company supply closet.

[+slukster]

I enjoy finding caribiners which I end up using to hang a cache in a tree with. I like to leave the small hand sanitizers you can get 2 for a buck at the dollar store.

[knowschad]

Almost anything that you are carrying as deliberate SWAG material. But please please please please please do not "buy" swag. Taking that 3" x 4" McToy and replacing it with a 24.26mm diameter quarter just doesn't cut it... especially when the ammo can is full of nothing but a few coins sliding around on the bottom. To me, that's more than just sad... its a sad social statement about our belief that we can have anything we want if we just have the money. No... trade swag for swag, please.

 

And no used, dirty golf balls, either. I know many will state the tired old "One man's trash" mantra, but that is mostly BS denial. We know the value of things. This is not about getting the best deal you can from your trade. If you want a garage sale, you probably passed one a half mile back. Trade equal or BETTER, not get the best deal that you can.

 

Did I get carried away? I guess I should add that I haven't swapped swag for about 4 9/10 years. But I see what others swap.

[Quizes]

I always leave a guitar pick from the Buddy Holly Center in Lubbock where I'm from. I also will leave other things to add to swag poor caches: small fridge magnets, dora the explorer stickers, unopened mctoys, etc. I also raid the party supply stores for small swag: bead bracelet kits, metal puzzles, koosh balls, and other birthday grab bag items.

 

I always leave something in a cache container, whether I trade or not. I sometimes cache with my nieces, so I know how disappointed they can be if there is nothing in a cache.

 

I will always trade for pins for the collection on my cache bag. I carry Buddy Holly glasses pins for that trade. I've only found one pathtag so far, but would always trade for them. I'll also trade caribeaners if I need one, or other camping type item.

[+Jackalgirl]

I'm in Japan, currently, so I occassionally wander through the local 100 Yen stores. They're like Dollar Stores, only better -- and quirkier, since Japan has a way of making everything...quirky.

 

I end up with stuff like Disney-themed chopsticks and chopstick boxes, small puzzles, and lots and lots of cellphone fobs/keychains. Some of my favorite fobs include (in plastic, of course) sushi, corn dogs, and donuts. There's a store that has fobs that are little soft-sculpture sushi pieces; I usually clean them completely out of those when I find them.

 

The same store also sells pencil covers that have built-in pencil sharpeners. I usually have a handful of those for when I find caches with pencils (but no sharpeners).

 

The 100 Yen stores also sell small but really cool ceramic pieces (not just the quirky good luck cat kinds of things, but chopstick stands, soy sauce dishes, etc). Sometimes I'll get those, too.

 

When we get ready to come back stateside, I swear I'll spend about $200 there. : )

 

As for taking: I like sig items. Also plastic dinosaurs. One of my 22-month-old's favorite toys is a plastic triceratops we found in a cache. Usually, though, I end up leaving stuff. I actually feel guilty for taking stuff for some reason and end up compensating by leaving two or three items for every one thing I take.

 

I like the idea of jewelry and hand-made jewelry. Might get more into that. It's possible to find some really nice shells on the shore of our local lake and I think they might make handsome necklaces, provided I can figure out a way to protect the necklace so that the shell doesn't break. There are some great ideas here!

[+DatCrazyMongoose]

I do a bit of travelling, so I collect foreign currency and use it for trades. There is a foreign currency themed cache in my neighborhood, which I thouht was a great idea. I took a bunch of bills/coins and basically donated them to the cache. I went back a couple of weeks later to discover all my swag gone and some #!!#$^ &^@@$ %&@& !#@$21 thief's worthless U.S. pocket change in its place. Needless to say, I was ticked off something fierce.

[+bittsen]

I do a bit of travelling, so I collect foreign currency and use it for trades. There is a foreign currency themed cache in my neighborhood, which I thouht was a great idea. I took a bunch of bills/coins and basically donated them to the cache. I went back a couple of weeks later to discover all my swag gone and some #!!#$^ &^@@$ %&@& !#@$21 thief's worthless U.S. pocket change in its place. Needless to say, I was ticked off something fierce.

 

That is what knowschad refers to "buying" cache.

I don't like the practice either.

 

The question is did you leave more foreign currency value than the pocket change that was left?

[+DatCrazyMongoose]

I do a bit of travelling, so I collect foreign currency and use it for trades. There is a foreign currency themed cache in my neighborhood, which I thouht was a great idea. I took a bunch of bills/coins and basically donated them to the cache. I went back a couple of weeks later to discover all my swag gone and some #!!#$^ &^@@$ %&@& !#@$21 thief's worthless U.S. pocket change in its place. Needless to say, I was ticked off something fierce.

 

That is what knowschad refers to "buying" cache.

I don't like the practice either.

 

The question is did you leave more foreign currency value than the pocket change that was left?

I put in at least $10 worth of currency (a low estimate, I believe), and there wasn't even enough chump change in exchange to buy a small Starbucks latte!

Ironically, the cache description specifically mentions that this cache is not to feed your Starbucks habit!!!!

Edited June 24, 2009 by DatCrazyMongoose

[+bittsen]

I do a bit of travelling, so I collect foreign currency and use it for trades. There is a foreign currency themed cache in my neighborhood, which I thouht was a great idea. I took a bunch of bills/coins and basically donated them to the cache. I went back a couple of weeks later to discover all my swag gone and some #!!#$^ &^@@$ %&@& !#@$21 thief's worthless U.S. pocket change in its place. Needless to say, I was ticked off something fierce.

 

That is what knowschad refers to "buying" cache.

I don't like the practice either.

 

The question is did you leave more foreign currency value than the pocket change that was left?

I put in at least $10 worth of currency (a low estimate, I believe), and there wasn't even enough chump change in exchange to buy a small Starbucks latte!

Ironically, the cache description specifically mentions that this cache is not to feed your Starbucks habit!!!!

 

It's a shame there are people out there like that.

[+Chrysalides]

My favorite swag is pictures of Ben Franklin printed on green colored pieces of paper.

 

I will remember this if I ever go caching in WA.

I regret to inform you that the ones jholly leaves does not have any image of past presidents. Instead, it has a silhouette of a train and a house, and a picture of Marvin the Martian

Edited June 24, 2009 by Chrysalides

[+tzipora]

somebody was leaving $5 REI gift cards for a while. I would have really liked finding one of those, but they were usually FTF prizes.

 

I tend to leave camping things behind. Small first-aid kids with bandaids & antibiotic ointment, match boxes, AA batteries, things like that. I'll usually trade for those types of things, too, especially when it's something I forgot to bring with me.

 

I trade for pins when they're related to something that interests me. I got an EarthCache pin last weekend, for example. My other recent favorite was a natural healing balm made by a local company that I'd never heard of before but now love.

 

I try to avoid trading toys and money, but have done both. I know a decent toy will eventually find a home. As for the money, I didn't have any swaps with me and came across something I had to have, so I left what I had.

[+DatCrazyMongoose]

I also remember the most fortuitous thing I ever scored at a cache. While nearly being carried away by the blood-thirsty horde of mosquitos at a cache site, I opened up the container to find an OFF wipe! I immediately opened it and applied to my (by then) very pale skin. I think it might have just saved my life!

[+Lina & Koy]

I get allot of cool nick-nacks from venders at work so I like to give em away as trade items. recently I we have been giving away die cast Best Buy Racing gift card cars. Most aren't for more than $5 but you get to keep the toy car after you use the gift card which I think is the best part of the swag.

 

our swag bag

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11075777@N03/3659496918/

 

The goods

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11075777@N03/3659503676/

 

some ear phones

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11075777@N03/3659501892/

 

Bracelets

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11075777@N03/3659486622/

 

Toy Car

http://www.flickr.com/photos/11075777@N03/3659485538/

 

Other things like to give are I tunes down load cards, LG pens & note books, Sony/Blue Ray/blackberry/eyefi/canon lanyards, G.E. measuring tapes, tivo pens and stickers.

 

The neatest thing we have ever taken was a trackable fish which we could collect or move

Edited June 25, 2009 by Lina & Koy

[+nericksx]

As a newbie, I read this whole thread to get an idea of what I should bring along to trade. I discovered that people like things that are 1) useful, and 2) handmade. So I've started crocheting washcloths. I dropped my first one on Tuesday. We'll see how it goes over

Edited June 25, 2009 by nericksx

[+lostinthesparks4]

i like leaving fitness finders that i have from teaching physical education they can be put on your shoe lace or on a key ring they come in a bunch of different things from food to feet so i always have them on my shoe strings and i know the kids at school love them when they earn them.

[+Arrow42]

i like leaving fitness finders that i have from teaching physical education they can be put on your shoe lace or on a key ring they come in a bunch of different things from food to feet so i always have them on my shoe strings and i know the kids at school love them when they earn them.

 

 

O.o These things? Oh my. What have we done to our children?!

[cp75]

I have decided on a cp75 trade make swag.

 

I collect Cicada shells, I then repair the split that the adult emerges from and then I paint them pretty.

 

Because so many friends and family think they are cool and I have so many I thought they would make

a good swag item.

 

Let me know if you find one.

 

As for what I remove so far I've been lucky I collect pins so that's what I hope to find.

I have one set of dog pins from "From Grandma's Jewelry Box" and one from Beaver Feast 85.

[+4boehms]

My kids never want to leave anything, and they sometimes "forget" their trade goods back at the car so that they won't have to give up the loot they bought with their allowance. Finding something princess-themed, or butterfly-themed, however, will send them running back to the car.

 

Personally I'm most interested in trading for personal or signature items. Kootenay Pirates in western Canada leaves the coolest hand-made coins. My family and I are making plans for our own batch to leave as swag.

[+ksuwildcats1]

Whenever this comes up I usually point out that ready-to-hide caches are one of the most quickly traded-for items that can be left in a cache, either by the owner or by a visitor.

I had thought about that. This was my take on it.

 

For a cache to be SWAG usually it is a micro. While i have nothing against micros and like them when cleverly placed, i kind of think of cache placement as children.

 

Most anyone can make a baby, but not everyone should. Or however it goes. Most anyone can hide a cache, but everyone cant make it a decent hide. I didn't quite say this right, but you get where i am going with it.

 

For every crappy cache placed that is just one more area which voids out a 219,000 square feet of possible cache placement area. (If my math is correct.) How many times have your heard that someone found a perfect spot but there was another cache close by so the idea got abandoned?

 

I like it when people think about the hides and tailor them to the situation. I dislike when people are driving in a car and say look a sign/guardrail where we can stick a key holder. When people have to tailor the containers and ideas for each situation- then its hard to anticipate what type of container to leave for SWAG.

 

Maybe i think too much.

 

Actually I believe it would be more like 1,115,136 sq ft as it would be 528 ft in all directions from the cache which would account for a 1056 ft x 1056 ft area. But that being said they found the place first and hid something there, which may be the only reason a cacher ever visited the area.

[+flask]

My favorite swag is pictures of Ben Franklin printed on green colored pieces of paper.

 

Jim

 

yes, it is lovely to find one of those.

[+LazyCats]

My own favorite find are small, plastic ninjas or army men. I also like pins or coins that are unique and rubber balls that have faces on them (smiley faces, etc).

 

I like to leave toy airplanes, key chains, evil micros, and picture frames. Metal toy airplanes are becoming my signature.

 

My kid likes any toy that he finds. Sometimes he leaves them after checking them out. I've made him choose what to leave when he takes a toy, so he has to leave something "equal or better." It's our only rule for swag.

 

Funny, my 12 year old girl leaves small plastic ninjas in every cache we find where a ninja will fit (even if there is nothing she wants to trade for. She likes taking the caribeaners (she has quite a collection) and marbles.

 

Our 6 year old girl loves any small plastic animals the most (fish, dogs, bugs, anything).

 

I tend to leave useful items-mini first aid kits, hand sanitizer, etc. I love patches, so I think my favorite taken item was a geocaching patch. Maybe I will have some patches made as a sig item...

[+Arrow42]

Actually I believe it would be more like 1,115,136 sq ft as it would be 528 ft in all directions from the cache which would account for a 1056 ft x 1056 ft area. But that being said they found the place first and hid something there, which may be the only reason a cacher ever visited the area.

 

It would be a circle... Pi*r^2 = 3.1415 * 528^2 = 875,800~SqFt.

 

I think. Geometry class was a long time ago.

[+simpler1773]

As a newbie, I read this whole thread to get an idea of what I should bring along to trade. I discovered that people like things that are 1) useful, and 2) handmade. So I've started crocheting washcloths. I dropped my first one on Tuesday. We'll see how it goes over

 

I would snap that up in a minute! As a sewer, I have been trying to think of things I could sew. I'm blank right now, but will keep thinking. Of course, if my seeking skills don't get better fast...this may not be an issue! LOL

[+bittsen]

As a newbie, I read this whole thread to get an idea of what I should bring along to trade. I discovered that people like things that are 1) useful, and 2) handmade. So I've started crocheting washcloths. I dropped my first one on Tuesday. We'll see how it goes over

 

I would snap that up in a minute! As a sewer, I have been trying to think of things I could sew. I'm blank right now, but will keep thinking. Of course, if my seeking skills don't get better fast...this may not be an issue! LOL

 

When I was a kid, my mother would sew barbie clothes.

You could also sew small coin purses for kids.

For a while, I was sewing "poker change bags" which were basically pouches with a drawstring.

 

I'm sure someone would enjoy owning a GPS cozy of some sort.

 

Just a few ideas to get your thoughts going.

[+uxorious]

I know many will state the tired old "One man's trash" mantra, but that is mostly BS denial. We know the value of things.

 

I've seen the "one man's trash" mantra, and sometimes felt it was mostly BS also. However, sometimes I see that and think it's true.

 

I think I figured out why the opposite feelings from the same saying.

 

If someone indicates they might leave trash that they hope someone will treasure, that pretty much equals BS. If you think what your leaving is trash so will most finders. However, if some one leaves something they believe has value and a finder doesn't "get" it that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a find for someone.

 

In other words if you leave trash, it is trash. However, if you find something that may look like trash, it probably is but may not be. It may be treasure to someone.

[knowschad]

I know many will state the tired old "One man's trash" mantra, but that is mostly BS denial. We know the value of things.

 

I've seen the "one man's trash" mantra, and sometimes felt it was mostly BS also. However, sometimes I see that and think it's true.

 

I think I figured out why the opposite feelings from the same saying.

 

If someone indicates they might leave trash that they hope someone will treasure, that pretty much equals BS. If you think what your leaving is trash so will most finders. However, if some one leaves something they believe has value and a finder doesn't "get" it that doesn't mean it wouldn't be a find for someone.

 

In other words if you leave trash, it is trash. However, if you find something that may look like trash, it probably is but may not be. It may be treasure to someone.

 

Well put! If a used golf ball is just the thing that you've been looking for, by all means, take it! If that's your treasure, there is no BS involved (as long as you leave something of greater or equal value to that (cough!!!) used golf ball.

 

Now, leaving a used golf ball hoping that it may be someone else's treasure, even though you know in your heart that you're leaving junk behind... that's the BS part.

[poker88]

What I've taken:

Amethyst

Carabiner keychain

Refrigerator magnets

Rubber ball

 

What I've left:

Rubber balls

Pewter figurines

Keychains

Moneyclip

Micros

Necklaces (inexpensive, teen style)

Rubbermaid blue ice (haven't actually put them out yet,

but got them for a buck a walmart.)

Glow sticks

Off wipes / hand sanitizer wipes (I don't trade these, just add them)

[+iclight0]

my favorite is a wooden nickle or a poker chip.

i like to leave my wooden nickle and a lite stick.

Edited July 21, 2009 by iclight0

[+MsMotorcycle]

Some of the things we stock our caches with and leave in other caches are:

Blaze Orange Vests

Small packets of hand sanitizing wipes

Small bungee cords

Cookie Cutters

Scratch off lottery tickets

Hunting socks

Playing cards

Puzzle Books

Sudoku (tear-off sheets)

Hot wheels

Caribeeners

ALL purchased at the dollar store!

 

Since many of our caches are KID CACHES, we start them with lots of toys.

My latest hide is STOCKED FULL of Polly Pocket toys, including a P.P. Treehouse.

 

When I make a kid cache, it usually has a theme, so we fill it with swag of the theme; Hannah Montana, Camp Rock, Princesses, Cars & Trucks, Icky Sticky Bugs, Tinkerbell, Monsters, Halloween, High School Musical, etc. About 99% of this type of swag comes from the dollar store as well.

 

The themed caches I am working on right now are "Military" and "Pets." I have a son in the Army, currently deployed in Afghanistan and also a wonderful dog, Rusty, who caches with me once in a while. The military cache I stocked full of swag that I got from all the recruiter stations set up at Country USA a few weeks ago, it was all FREE! The pets cache will be full of toys for dogs, as well as some baggies and hand sanitizer wipes for those times when pet owners need to do unexpected cleanup.

 

I rarely take anything from a cache, but my children always take something. Too bad they only cache with me about 10% of the time.

 

I'm rambling again, I'll shut up now. Great thread!

[pugsley&wednesday]

I'm getting really depressed reading these replies.

 

I live in a town that's locally known as a wealthy place, and the people here leave used mctoys with tooth marks and slimy dirt on them.

I don't think that I have ever seen a signature item, apart from one poker chip.

About the most decent thing I saw in a cache was a set of beads and cording to make a bracelet, packed into a small ziplock. Somebody put some thought into that.

Also love to find geocoins and TBs. We take road trips once in a while, and I get a kick out of helping to move them along.

 

Hubby and I tend to hit the stores that have inexpensive but cute small items. One local kitchen store had a number of animal led flashlight thingies, and we've left a couple of those. We've also left the squished penny souvenirs from a local Illinois attraction in caches in other states, and one party store in the area had packs of the plastic paratroopers. Flying toys are always fun, even if you're old enough to be retired.

 

Hey, anybody have some good ideas for creative sig items?

[+nericksx]

As a newbie, I read this whole thread to get an idea of what I should bring along to trade. I discovered that people like things that are 1) useful, and 2) handmade. So I've started crocheting washcloths. I dropped my first one on Tuesday. We'll see how it goes over

 

I would snap that up in a minute! As a sewer, I have been trying to think of things I could sew. I'm blank right now, but will keep thinking. Of course, if my seeking skills don't get better fast...this may not be an issue! LOL

 

When I was a kid, my mother would sew barbie clothes.

You could also sew small coin purses for kids.

For a while, I was sewing "poker change bags" which were basically pouches with a drawstring.

 

I'm sure someone would enjoy owning a GPS cozy of some sort.

 

Just a few ideas to get your thoughts going.

 

GPS cozy!!! I love it!

 

I have dropped about 7 or 8 washcloths now, and haven't read in any logs that someone has picked one up, but I've gotten a few replies on the boards that people think it's cool - so I'm going to keep dropping them.

 

We've been dropping giant Sharpies, lanyards, wallets (no money in them, sorry), boxes of crayons, tape measures and carabiners.

 

I like the little plastic critters, I have a couple of lizards and a snake. I've started collecting other people's sig buttons and putting them on my geobag. My fav thing was a big cloth flower with a bendable stem that I wrapped around the handle of my geobag. It's my lucky flower.

 

My kids like the McCrap toys and Matchbox cars, marbles and pretty stones.

 

We all like coins of any type. My son and I found a 1962 Worlds Fair dollar and a California statehood bicentennial coin. FAV SWAG EVER!

[+goosefraba1]

I found a very old silver spoon yesterday... it had never occured to me that silverware could be good swag.

[addictednow]

My kids love to find quarters, small plastic animals or balls.

We usually leave similar items, along with home made jewelry, squish toys, etc. We buy party favors too to leave in geocaches, although, sometimes my kids would rather keep what we buy than pick up what there is. rofl.

[+Arrow42]

Well put! If a used golf ball is just the thing that you've been looking for, by all means, take it! If that's your treasure, there is no BS involved (as long as you leave something of greater or equal value to that (cough!!!) used golf ball.

 

Now, leaving a used golf ball hoping that it may be someone else's treasure, even though you know in your heart that you're leaving junk behind... that's the BS part.

 

I swear to god I'm -THIS- close to having custom made golf-balls with the word "knowschad loves golf balls" printed on them.

 

I just priced them... it would only be 25$ per dozen. MUahahha

[+bittsen]

Well put! If a used golf ball is just the thing that you've been looking for, by all means, take it! If that's your treasure, there is no BS involved (as long as you leave something of greater or equal value to that (cough!!!) used golf ball.

 

Now, leaving a used golf ball hoping that it may be someone else's treasure, even though you know in your heart that you're leaving junk behind... that's the BS part.

 

I swear to god I'm -THIS- close to having custom made golf-balls with the word "knowschad loves golf balls" printed on them.

 

I just priced them... it would only be 25$ per dozen. MUahahha

 

You might save money if you make the message shorter. It makes sense to eliminate the word "golf".

[+tango501]

We need some pics in here

some of my favs to leave

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[+tango501]

[dlp8]

This thread is most likely regurgitated. If it bothers you, my apologies.

 

What is your favorite SWAG/trade items to find in a cache?

What are you favorite SWAG/trade items to leave in a cache?

 

I was hoping this thread will give people insight as to what others like/dislike. I polled my kids and found out this info. I don't recall ever taking anything from a cache. But maybe that will change. I just love watching my kids find it and trade stuff. Thats the fun for me. (They are 9 and 4.)

 

So far the things that they like to find:

- Quarters

- Hotwheels

- glow sticks

- stickers/ tattoos

 

The things we like to leave in caches:

- Foreign/world coin packets

- Carabiner keychains

 

Those are the things that we like to trade the most. What do you or your kids like?

 

My sons and I found a great “regular”, ammo-can cache in a suburban area. It was about 10 feet off a city walking trail, hidden in some bushes. No one would see it unless they were looking for it. In sum, it was a clever hide, showing some thought and effort by the hider.

 

When we opened it, however, the contents were beyond disappointing—no fault of the owner, but probably more the consequences of unfair and unkind trading practices. I realize the debate rages on about the worth of Happy Meal Toys as swag. As far as our little caching crew is concerned (composed of three kids 12 and under), they are generally a hit. So are Hot Wheels and Pez dispensers and even bouncy balls. So that is not the issue. It is impossible to appraise the relative value of one “toy” over another. Too subjective. We also love to leave sig items (hand crafted from leather or wood), and heck, sometimes we leave stuff without taking. I see that ethos repeated several times in the posts. Good on y’all.

 

Gum wrappers and trash, however, cannot possibly be considered a fair trade on any level in anyone’s mind. Further, the presence of a stolen Marriot Hotel key card in the cache made me seriously question the ethics of the ‘cacher who elected to offer that as a trade item. Would it be going too far to suggest that taking an item of obvious value (regardless of how minimal) and leaving one that has obviously no value (i.e., trash, the contents of your ashtray, or even contraband) is tantamount to theft? At a minimum, it is unfair play. Again, I am NOT weighing the relative value of trading Silly Putty for little green army men. I am condemning trading those little army men (or anything in the cache, for that matter) for garbage.

 

My plea: That we all trade fairly, trade up, play nice, play fair, avoid being greedy or selfish, and generally remember all the things our mamas taught us. If we have nothing to trade, then we should take nothing from the cache. This game/sport/hobby/obsession has no referees (except in extreme cases). No one is watching us out there in the wilderness. That’s one of the things that makes it brilliant. But trading fairly is a matter of honor. It makes one feel better and individually and personally contributes to the overall improvement of the game. Good sportsmanship is on the decline in the world, generally. Let us endeavor not to let that happen to our beloved sport. If one is not willing to trade fairly, then perhaps one should either take nothing from the cache or find another pastime. It is simply common sense and common decency.

 

To those who have provided excellent responses to the original post, I am probably preaching to the choir (so, can I get an “Amen,” people?!?). But as of this response, there are approximately 95 posts compared to over 2,500 views. So, if there are any cachers out there reading this thread who may be guilty of grabbing a goodie and tossing in a wad of pocket lint in exchange, may this be a gentle (or maybe not so gentle) call to repentance, with the hope of converting you to the higher moral ground of trading fairly or trading up. I suspect this sermon has been preached ad naseum, but I needed to speak my peace (and, apparently, I can’t spell naseum). So, if we can reach just one repentant trash-cacher, we will have made the world a better place.

 

Thanks.

[+simpler1773]

This thread is most likely regurgitated. If it bothers you, my apologies.

 

What is your favorite SWAG/trade items to find in a cache?

What are you favorite SWAG/trade items to leave in a cache?

 

I was hoping this thread will give people insight as to what others like/dislike. I polled my kids and found out this info. I don't recall ever taking anything from a cache. But maybe that will change. I just love watching my kids find it and trade stuff. Thats the fun for me. (They are 9 and 4.)

 

So far the things that they like to find:

- Quarters

- Hotwheels

- glow sticks

- stickers/ tattoos

 

The things we like to leave in caches:

- Foreign/world coin packets

- Carabiner keychains

 

Those are the things that we like to trade the most. What do you or your kids like?

 

My sons and I found a great “regular”, ammo-can cache in a suburban area. It was about 10 feet off a city walking trail, hidden in some bushes. No one would see it unless they were looking for it. In sum, it was a clever hide, showing some thought and effort by the hider.

 

When we opened it, however, the contents were beyond disappointing—no fault of the owner, but probably more the consequences of unfair and unkind trading practices. I realize the debate rages on about the worth of Happy Meal Toys as swag. As far as our little caching crew is concerned (composed of three kids 12 and under), they are generally a hit. So are Hot Wheels and Pez dispensers and even bouncy balls. So that is not the issue. It is impossible to appraise the relative value of one “toy” over another. Too subjective. We also love to leave sig items (hand crafted from leather or wood), and heck, sometimes we leave stuff without taking. I see that ethos repeated several times in the posts. Good on y’all.

 

Gum wrappers and trash, however, cannot possibly be considered a fair trade on any level in anyone’s mind. Further, the presence of a stolen Marriot Hotel key card in the cache made me seriously question the ethics of the ‘cacher who elected to offer that as a trade item. Would it be going too far to suggest that taking an item of obvious value (regardless of how minimal) and leaving one that has obviously no value (i.e., trash, the contents of your ashtray, or even contraband) is tantamount to theft? At a minimum, it is unfair play. Again, I am NOT weighing the relative value of trading Silly Putty for little green army men. I am condemning trading those little army men (or anything in the cache, for that matter) for garbage.

 

My plea: That we all trade fairly, trade up, play nice, play fair, avoid being greedy or selfish, and generally remember all the things our mamas taught us. If we have nothing to trade, then we should take nothing from the cache. This game/sport/hobby/obsession has no referees (except in extreme cases). No one is watching us out there in the wilderness. That’s one of the things that makes it brilliant. But trading fairly is a matter of honor. It makes one feel better and individually and personally contributes to the overall improvement of the game. Good sportsmanship is on the decline in the world, generally. Let us endeavor not to let that happen to our beloved sport. If one is not willing to trade fairly, then perhaps one should either take nothing from the cache or find another pastime. It is simply common sense and common decency.

 

To those who have provided excellent responses to the original post, I am probably preaching to the choir (so, can I get an “Amen,” people?!?). But as of this response, there are approximately 95 posts compared to over 2,500 views. So, if there are any cachers out there reading this thread who may be guilty of grabbing a goodie and tossing in a wad of pocket lint in exchange, may this be a gentle (or maybe not so gentle) call to repentance, with the hope of converting you to the higher moral ground of trading fairly or trading up. I suspect this sermon has been preached ad naseum, but I needed to speak my peace (and, apparently, I can’t spell naseum). So, if we can reach just one repentant trash-cacher, we will have made the world a better place.

 

Thanks.

 

AMEN!!! Very well put.

[+Team ChAmCa]

Most of the time we're a TNLN team. Im a 25 year old woman and the rest of the team is my 28 year old fiancé, and a big 'ol dog If we do happen to come across some nifty trinket in a cache (a small fimo mushroom comes to mind, its attached to my cars rear view mirror to this day), I like to leave hemp beaded bracelets/anklets/necklaces that I make myself in my spare time. i hope that people dont think of these items as junk, I like to find things that look like other people have made them

[+NicknPapa]

For myself, I don't often take anything. Nick on the other hand.... If there's anything in there he thinks he just has to trade. He seems to prefer cars, probably because we haven't found any airplanes yet. Also boy scout or park patches unless he already has one. I do enjoy moving tackables around occasionally and may start collecting signature items. We haven't seen many of those though.

As for leaving, we leave a fairly large assortment of stuff. Carabiners (and I'm happy to see people like those), lanyards, thumb drives, keyrings from places we have visited and yes even a few golf balls. For the record though, they were NEW golf balls. I've never managed to keep more than one used ball at a time, I could lose them in water traps in the middle of the bloody Sahara. Also cheap LED flashlights that do work. We haven't made any signature items yet but are planning to as soon as I can get a brand made. When we do they will be a leave item, not a trade item.

[theyetty0071]

I'll agree with tape measures - I too have found 5 or 6 but I only know where 1 is.

 

I also like hot wheels

duck tape

foriegn coins

deck of cards

tools

camping stuff

[+d+n.s]

I really like dice. I've never found an interesting die in a cache, but I would certainly trade for one if I saw it.

Which reminds me... I need to visit the local comic shop and pick up some interesting polyhedral dice and dump them into my small.

 

Beyond that, I suppose i could always use more tent stakes and would probably trade for one if it was in a cache, but that hasn't came up yet.

Edited November 15, 2010 by d+n.shults

[+thecaswellfamily]

Our kids pick some of the strangest things out of caches... sometimes completely surprising us. We like to leave brightly colored compass caribeaner clips and little flashlights for other geocacher/explorer kids out there. Since they are the ones who do most of the trading, kid swag is the stuff we bring. Momma likes coins and wooden nickels, so she keeps a few of those in the swag bag too. We also keep a few adult minded things along in case we feel a need to leave them (mini maglights, etc). Daddy found some small packs of toilet seat covers, we find it fun to leave them in caches that have porta-potties nearby.

[+narcissa]

I mostly ignore "swag." When I started geocaching, people seemed to talk about "trade items," and very few people got all uppity and offended about junk drawer stuff in cache. The idea that other people were visiting the cache, and leaving a little something behind was cool in and of itself.

 

I find the incessant whining about "swag" to be kind of depressing. If you want new stuff, go shopping. Geocaching should be a little vacation from the endless, rat-race acquisition of stuff, not an excuse to judge others about stuff.

 

And for the record, I geocache with a small child, and he has never been left disappointed or in tears because there wasn't something shiny and new in a cache. He likes being out in the world, and he finds it exciting to find a container that somebody else hid.

 

Really, at the core, that is what is cool about geocaching. Somebody else hid something, and now you're finding it where they said it would be. Nifty. And maybe you got a nice walk out of it too. Awesome.

 

If that whole experience was ruined because you didn't like the "swag," your priorities are whack.