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What's the best GC material?


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Hello...

I'm new to CGing. I've found my first two just last week and I'm plotting and planning my first cache's right now.

 

Ammo can's seem too big especially for lugging into the back country.

Film cans are too small.

What about Tupperware type containers with a good snap down lid? Say around 7X7X2?

Those types of containers seem to stay sealed pretty well.

 

This summer I'll plant a GC in the eastern Sierra Nevada. It'll only be accessible to the majority of people during summer. For that reason should I avoid locations on the ground and attempt to hide it in a rocky area where it will be less exposed to running water from the spring thaw?

 

Also, how important is the color of the container? What's up with the camo duck tape?

 

Cheers!

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Ammo can's come in various shapes and sizes. Some 'ammo can's' were actually first aid containers. They are good because they can't be gnawed by rodents, don't get stiff under UV light etc. A small ammo can/first aid container may be better suited for a long hike. You could pack the ammo can itself full of stuff then hike with it. The space would then be offset...

 

Lock and locks are reported to be good. I've only just started seeing these containers in the stores so have no direct experience.

 

There was a paint can once that I found. It held up well...they provided the tool to open it wired to the can.

 

Tupperware does ok if you keep it out of the sun. Rodents are not a huge problem here. I've seen them gnaw on coffee cans though. Coffe can's and cookie tins suck. Unless you use them in an area that doesn't get rain, wet, or much dew cycle.

 

Decon containers are ok. Different areas seem to have different success with them. The problem being you have to shut them for them to hold up to the weather. The more widespread the use the better luck people seem to have due to expereince I'd guess.

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Hello...

I'm new to CGing. I've found my first two just last week and I'm plotting and planning my first cache's right now.

 

Ammo can's seem too big especially for lugging into the back country.

Film cans are too small.

What about Tupperware type containers with a good snap down lid? Say around 7X7X2?

Those types of containers seem to stay sealed pretty well.

 

This summer I'll plant a GC in the eastern Sierra Nevada. It'll only be accessible to the majority of people during summer. For that reason should I avoid locations on the ground and attempt to hide it in a rocky area where it will be less exposed to running water from the spring thaw?

 

Also, how important is the color of the container? What's up with the camo duck tape?

 

Cheers!

Ammo cans are the best for that environment. You can buy smaller ones. Decon containers are also pretty rugged but people don't seal them properly. Tupperware never seems to handle the test of time. You only need cammo if the container is not going to be covered by rocks or something. Cammo all depends on where you are going to hide the container... Edited by TrailGators
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Also, how important is the color of the container? What's up with the camo duck tape?

I ask myself that every time i see a duct taped cache. I mean, it doesn't really even camouflage it. It just looks tacky and cheap. (Although i know the duct tape is expensive.)

 

I do not think color is important but hiding it well is important. This may require camouflaging it in some way. I really like the ones i find where the hider took time to paint and craft their container. I usually email them and thank them. Its is a nice change.

 

Ammo cans are good. If you decide not to go with those then i would say the next best thing are Lock N Locks. At least in my area. They are always dry when we find them.

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Many of the tupperware type container do leak. Many others wear with UV exposure and bcome quite brittle. I would go with a Lock-n-Lock type with the rubber gasket.

 

Depending upon the hide location, the camo tape sometimes helps a great deal in concealment. It isn't appropriate in many areas but really helps in others.

 

I really hope you will consider (and I am recommending) an ammo can. These have proven themselves to be the toughest and most durable cache containers around. Maybe a pain to hike in with but certainly the best.

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Depending upon the hide location, the camo tape sometimes helps a great deal in concealment. It isn't appropriate in many areas but really helps in others.

I will say this. Camo tape degrades over time and turns kind of white and doesnt do much good after a while.

Again - depends on the quality of it and the location - I have a few out for 4+ years and they still look new. 2 others did turn colors and forced me into different camo.

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Again - depends on the quality of it and the location - I have a few out for 4+ years and they still look new. 2 others did turn colors and forced me into different camo.

That is good to know. I thought they were pretty much the same.

 

We recently have tried the camo cloth from Walmart in the crafts section. I am curious as to how it will hold up. Even though the cache is sitting there without a hole to be in or anything, it is hard to see.

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I too would suggest .30 cal ammo cans. They aren't too much bigger than the tupperware you mention (about 12x8x3" I'd guesstimate?) And they are pretty tough. I even found one that survived a fire in the area, though the contents didn't fare wuite as well. :smile:

 

Also, how important is the color of the container? What's up with the camo duck tape?

 

Camo duct tape doesn't seem to be the best. it tends to not like the weather over time.

 

As for container color, do you mean the container itself, or in terms of painting it? Painting the container can be an important part of camoflage as is the hide location. Matching the environment helps. See the Cool Cache Containers thread for some frighteningly good examples. :smile:

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Second: when you're trying to hide a bright orange prescription bottle, camo tape helps.

How about hiding a container that isnt a prescription bottle? If you feel you must hide a container like that then paint it.

 

I suppose that depends on the location. If it's somewhere dry, but will get csraped up on its way in and ot of it's hidey hole, camo tape will probably hold up better. I have seen painted containers where the paint has gotten scraped and scuffed to the point of being more of a beacon than camoflage.

 

In environments exposed to weather more, the tape will wear out and fall off though.

 

I guess it's really all about the right camo job for the hide location.

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Tupperware tends to warp after not too long in the wild. I would absolutely use an ammo can for a hide like this, unless you want to keep visiting it for maintenance.

 

There are just too many things that can go wrong with a plastic container, including cracking, animals gnawing through, warping and the lid popping off as the air inside expands and contracts.

 

Ammo boxes are fairly worry free.

 

A .30 cal ammo box doesn't take up too much room in a pack and doesn't weigh all that much. Not long ago I packed in 2 of them for a few miles to hide a pair of caches.

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Lock'n'Locks do let in water after a couple of years if left in areas that retain damp. Ammo boxes are perfect for rough terrain: they keep out all weather, they are easy to paint (get some matt spray paint) and label. What more do you want?

 

The weight is as nothing compared to having to hike out to replace the wet log book and slimy swaps, or disappointing those that took the trouble to get there. :smile:

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I packed a 3 gallon bucket full of swag to the top of a mountain.(7 mile round trip)It has made it through 2 winters.As of now there is still snow along the trail.If I ever have to replace the container I will use a 50 cal. Ammo can.I just hiked a 50 cal.Ammo can deep into the woods to an old logging camp(3 miles in)I just put it in my backpack and took a little hike.Peice of cake.

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This summer I'll plant a GC in the eastern Sierra Nevada. It'll only be accessible to the majority of people during summer. For that reason should I avoid locations on the ground and attempt to hide it in a rocky area where it will be less exposed to running water from the spring thaw?

 

Also, how important is the color of the container? What's up with the camo duck tape?

 

Cheers!

 

There's remarkable agreement on the type of container...I think we've covered that bit.

 

As for the placement, it's better if you can place it amongst rocks - as you say, it'll keep it out of the worst of the water. That will make it a bit more pleasant and clean for the finders. I'd recommend painting it roughly rock-coloured (perhaps dark grey (gray) patches with some matt green bits left showing, or dark grey with matt green brush-stipples). Then you can just place it discreetly between a couple of situ rocks a few yards off the trail without having to pile up a lot of rocks on top (which tends to give the site away and scratches the paint). Take some paint with you (the quick-drying type) and add some finishing touches on site. Rust will come through eventually, but that won't hurt the camouflage.

 

The paint and box might cost a bit more initially, but if it means that the box is muggle- and weather-proof you won't have to spend any more on it ever (make sure you put a large log book in it as it will become a classic cache of the area!). Add a selection of decent swaps, a couple of pens and pencils, a FTF prize (unactivated geocoin?) and a traveller or two and you'll have a sure-fire hit...

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One more vote for ammo cans. They are easy to pack in if you simply put them in your bag or backpack. WalMart sells flat camo paint in green, brown, and black. You can do a pretty good camo job with it. If you are placing the cache in a wooded area you can put leaves or small pine branches on the can and paint it to make natural patterns - see HERE for an example.

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Haven't done any hides yet, and probably won't until I've got 100 or so finds under my belt. But when I do hide, I'm going to use a clear plastic container of some sort, and I'm going to prominently label it as a geocache. I've been reading too many stories about geocaches being mistaken for explosives and blown up by LEOs.

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Haven't done any hides yet, and probably won't until I've got 100 or so finds under my belt. But when I do hide, I'm going to use a clear plastic container of some sort, and I'm going to prominently label it as a geocache. I've been reading too many stories about geocaches being mistaken for explosives and blown up by LEOs.
I realize that this is not quite on topic to this thread, but clear boxes and labeled boxes get destroyed by bomb squads, also.

 

If you are looking for a container that is immune to this, you might be left with the much maligned film can. :unsure:

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But when I do hide, I'm going to use a clear plastic container of some sort, and I'm going to prominently label it as a geocache. I've been reading too many stories about geocaches being mistaken for explosives and blown up by LEOs.

 

Clear plastic containers have been mistake for explosives as well. It's more of WHERE you hide it than what you hide, though common sense should be used (e.g. no PVC pipes on city streets.)

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