List of Good & Bad Cache Containers?

[+countrymouse]

I wondered if anybody had ever compiled a list of good & bad cache containers?

 

Yes, we can buy containers from Groundspeak. And yes, they're not terribly expensive. Ammo boxes, I don't know what they cost. But many of us have limited budgets and still wanna play -- we have to use what we've got.

 

As I prepare, along with my kids, to hide our first cache, I'm thinking about what I have on hand...this info might help many others!

 

Obviously anything glass is out of the question. Any material that is not waterproof or is unlikely to stay that way after prolonged exposure to the elements is out. Anything that resembles trash is probably a bad idea.

 

Some good ones I've found --

Plastic coffee can

Old cell phone covered in camo tape, strapped to a tree limb! (the "prize" was in the battery compartment, actually one stage of a multi)

2-gallon round cooler wrapped in camo tape

The ubiquitous Ammo Box

PB Jar wrapped in camo tape

The ol' standard Key Box Micro

Film containers, Pill bottles

ONE Lock-N-Lock

 

Some not-so-good ones:

 

Gladware Box (my first find a couple years ago -- actually a letterbox, in really sad shape)

Film container missing the cap

NO container, just a log sheet stuffed in a fence pipe

Paintball jar (lid was hard to open and leaked)

 

Thanks in advance for reading & commenting.

[+Renegade Knight]

Locally I've seen coffee cans gnawed by rodents and I seldom see that on any other cache type. Film Canisters suck all around.

 

Ammo Cans

Decon Containers

Tupperware

Rubbermaid with the blue top.

 

Are my personal favorites.

Peoples experience with the Decon varies. Some areas seem to be able to keep them dry and some areas you never see one that isn't wet on the inside.

[+martinell]

I've tried a glass jar, fishing bobber, tackle box, coin collector box and ammo cans.

 

The only good one was the ammo can. (Which I now use on most of my caches. I have yet to replace the tackle box.)

 

I've wondered about the new Lock N Seal containers from Glad though. They are cheap, but will they hold up?

Anybody tried those.

[+Knight2000]

Much depends on your location.

 

A nice review can be found here:

 

Micro

 

Regular

[Clan Riffster]

Film Canisters suck all around.

I'm seeing a new T-shirt in my future!

[+sbell111]

The problem with lists like this is it only deals with generalities. For instance, film cans with the caps that snap over the container stink. Those that have the cap that snaps into the container are generally pretty water resistant.

 

In fact, location is everything. The baddest of the bad containers can be an excellent choice in the right location. A leaky container placed in a dry environment can be awesome. Containers that strike fear in the heart of the populous are terrific if placed in muggle-free zones.

[+whistler & co.]

Refillable plastic water bottles (from the dollar store) seem to work well. They are often clear or transparent, so the "It's a bomb!" thing won't happen. The shape allows them to be hidden in hollow trees and logs with ease. They are not huge, but are ample enough to hold swag and TB's. And since they are made to hold water, they are watertight.

[+wordnerd]

I love ammo boxes and decon containers. I've never had problems with film canisters as long as they have the lids. Peanut butter jars are okay too (see the peanut butter jar war thread if you want to argue, lol). Tupperware seems to warp too easily so the lids don't seal properly. Small ziplock bags that are simply squeezed into the bottom of a magnetic decoy (like something without a cover) always seem to be soaked. I also don't like pill bottles because they are a pain to get the log out of.

 

I love cammoed containers, like things that look like something else. But those sometimes get ruined if not properly contained. I have yet to hide my first cache (waiting for 100 finds to earn the privilege), but I've seen what works and doesn't work. When I start hiding mine, I think I'll go with ammo cans, decons and fake cammoed containers. Oh yeah, and I HATE nano-micro-whateveryoucall them containers. Can't remember if any that I've seen have been wet inside, but they can be hard to work with (I can never get the log to roll up tight enough).

[chuckr30]

I painted a large, screw top vitamin container for one of my caches. I use screw tops to keep the water and moisture out. It has worked well so far.

 

Tupperware should be good, but not Gladware containers. Match containers seem to be waterproof as are beach coin containers with a screw top. The beach containers are designed to hold a few dollars, your car keys, and are designed to float.

 

Anything with a screw top and flexible seal, o-ring, or rubber washer should be good.

[+Mule Ears]

Location is a big factor in determining whether a container is good or bad. Example: Lock-n-locks are pretty good containers, as long as they are protected from direct sunlight. If they're not, they become brittle and fall apart.

 

I've had two LnL caches, one that I adopted that was covered in a pile of rocks, the other I housed inside a concrete outer box. The pile-o-rocks one fell to ruin in a year. The one in the concrete vault still has that new-plastic smell after almost two years.

 

In the desert, most plastic containers turn to junk pretty quickly. If the sun and temperature swings don't get 'em, the rodents do.

[+StarBrand]

Plastic coffee can

These get chewed up around here quickly and often leak

Old cell phone covered in camo tape, strapped to a tree limb! (the "prize" was in the battery compartment, actually one stage of a multi)

Doesn't sound too waterproof.

2-gallon round cooler wrapped in camo tape

These often leak water via the threads unless they have gasket of some kind.

The ubiquitous Ammo Box

Perfection!! (with a good gasket) - about $3 to $8 each used

PB Jar wrapped in camo tape

See recent discussion on these....

The ol' standard Key Box Micro

Almost sure to leak unless secondary protection is included or hide style keeps it dry

Film containers, Pill bottles

Many (not all) are Leaky

Lock-N-Lock

Very good 2nd to ammo can.

 

For micros - Walmart sells sealed match containers for about 88 cents and they have an o-ring.

[Uberquandary]

I have an altoids tin cache in its fourth year. No rusting or anything, and it's in a park in the hills. I just stuck it under a rock...

[GPS treasuredragon]

Tabco cans

[+briansnat]

Here are two articles regarding cache containers I wrote for Today's Cacher that might be useful:

 

Regular Containers

 

Micro Containers

 

There really are no universally bad containers that I can think of. Most containers can work as long as they are shielded from the elements and animals. Unfortunately with geocaches that is rarely possible.

 

Some good ones:

 

Ammo boxes (by far the best, the next, Lock n Locks are a distant second).

Lock n Locks

Rubber Maid Flex n Seal (formerly Seal n Saver)

Nalgene bottles, straight jars and cryo tubes

bison cylinders

waterproof match boxes

waterproof pill cases

M & M containers

Diabetes test strip containers

 

Lousy ones (many of these can work just fine if shielded from the weather):

 

Coffee cans (plastic and metal)

deli/Chinese food containers

Gladware and similar throw away containers

tool and tackle boxes

Sterlite boxes

altoids tins

Ziploc bags

Rubbermaid Serve n Savers and Stainshield

Tupperware

Dollar store plastic containers

film canisters

Hide a Keys

cassette cases

AOL tins

Listerine breath strip containers

PVC pipe

anything that once held food

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

Here are a coupe of things I've used with great success:

 

Germany Army Butter Dish - Has a gasket, and take primer/paint real well.

 

Nalgene 1 liter water bottle. Definitely waterproof! LLBean even has one pre-camo'ed!

[+briansnat]

 

 

Nalgene 1 liter water bottle. Definitely waterproof! LLBean even has one pre-camo'ed!

 

You can also buy them pre stocked. Just add pen and logbook and maybe some camo tape.

[+Snifferhound]

My favorite will always be the ammo can. One container I've used for my caches is a pelican style case, which is very weather proof, but is expensive. I came up with a few that were used as electronic instument cases. The instruments were junked, so I grabbed the old cases for caches! I've gotten a lot of compliments on them, too.

[+Lil Devil]

Nalgene 1 liter water bottle. Definitely waterproof! LLBean even has one pre-camo'ed!

 

You can also buy them pre stocked. Just add pen and logbook and maybe some camo tape.

 

... and take out the pocket knife

[+JBDiver]

I've used a Planters Peanut Jar (the large 5x5x8). It's plastic and the lid seals extremely well. I've hidden two that never leaked, but both were muggled. My newest is a paintball pod (roughly 2x12") with a snap close lid. Waterproof and easy to open, painted a in a nice camo pattern.

[+Corp Of Discovery]

Pop bottle preforms:

 

Edited July 18, 2007 by Corp Of Discovery

[+Knight2000]

Pop bottle preforms:

 

That is cool. Where do you get those at?

[+briansnat]

Pop bottle preforms:

 

That is cool. Where do you get those at?

 

The preforms make great containers. I also like them for the middle stages of multis. You can get them online.

Just google "bottle preforms".

[+Packanack]

I had good success with an empty 1 gallon paint can that I purchased at Lowes, bought the lid, the can and the plastic overlid and placed it in a tree in a harsh area with a hank of rope to tie it in place. A little fleck paint to make it fit in with the surroundings and it was a go. I have several others painted up for just that type of environment. Cheaper than an ammo can.It went through 5 or 6 seperate flood episodes and remained dry for over 18 months--I called the cache I can wait GCQG6N

[+BBWolf+3Pigs]

Pop bottle preforms:

 

That is cool. Where do you get those at?

 

Stevespanglerscience.com (Search on test tubes). They have regular and jumbo "baby soda bottles".

 

I sand them up a bit, hit them with a good primer and some camo paint. They are great for stages of a multi.

[+sbell111]

I really like cryo tubes. If you are one of those cachers who likes micros, but hates film cans, buy some cryo tubes.

Edited July 19, 2007 by sbell111

[+Knight2000]

I had good success with an empty 1 gallon paint can that I purchased at Lowes, bought the lid, the can and the plastic overlid and placed it in a tree in a harsh area with a hank of rope to tie it in place. A little fleck paint to make it fit in with the surroundings and it was a go. I have several others painted up for just that type of environment. Cheaper than an ammo can.It went through 5 or 6 seperate flood episodes and remained dry for over 18 months--I called the cache I can wait GCQG6N

Do you need a screwdriver to get it open?

[H to the Bizzle!]

Ammocans are the best way to go for a regular sized caches, Matchstick containers for micro sized. Both keep the logbook and swag dry and are sturdy.

[+EScout]

Here are a coupe of things I've used with great success:

 

Germany Army Butter Dish - Has a gasket, and take primer/paint real well.

 

Nalgene 1 liter water bottle. Definitely waterproof! LLBean even has one pre-camo'ed!

The "Dish" is one of the best smaller containers I have seen. I have had them in the field for a couple of years as cache containers. The only problem is one was stolen 3 times.

They are water proof, animal proof, and strong enough to stand on, and very cheap.

 

Another source: The "Dish"

[+Corp Of Discovery]

Pop bottle preforms:

 

That is cool. Where do you get those at?

 

Stevespanglerscience.com (Search on test tubes). They have regular and jumbo "baby soda bottles".

 

I sand them up a bit, hit them with a good primer and some camo paint. They are great for stages of a multi.

 

I get mine at Educational Innovations (I think shipping is a bit cheaper there).

[+briansnat]

I had good success with an empty 1 gallon paint can that I purchased at Lowes, bought the lid, the can and the plastic overlid and placed it in a tree in a harsh area with a hank of rope to tie it in place. A little fleck paint to make it fit in with the surroundings and it was a go. I have several others painted up for just that type of environment. Cheaper than an ammo can.It went through 5 or 6 seperate flood episodes and remained dry for over 18 months--I called the cache I can wait GCQG6N

Do you need a screwdriver to get it open?

 

Yes (I happen to have found that one).

[+SousReal]

 

I've wondered about the new Lock N Seal containers from Glad though. They are cheap, but will they hold up?

Anybody tried those.

 

in my experience the Lock N Seal containers tend to degrade rather quickly in the elements.

[+Team LaLonde]

Do NOT use a large, black, protein shake jug from GNC covered in black undercoating, then covered in fleck paint. The undercoating did a great job of covering the scent of the protein shake powder, however the combo of black rubber material on a black plastic container absorbed heat like it was going out of style. Today the container looks like one of those VCR tapes left in the car window.

 

We try to stick exclusively to ammo cans or lock-n-locks these days. We don't bother to use camo paint on the lock-n-lock containers - we wrap them in camo burlap and that gets rid of the squarish look. One of our lock-n-locks has been submerged in river rapids for almost seven months and is still water tight. That's a good deal at four bucks.

 

Hiding coordinates for a multi? Use an engraved dog tag or engrave a piece of electrical conduit then paint an appropriate color. For a natural look use copper as it will camo itself over time. No container necessary.

[+Renegade Knight]

Pop bottle preforms:

 

 

I was wondering. The one you sent over is in my cache drawer waiting for when I have a suitable hide.

[+Arndtwe]

I really like cryo tubes. If you are one of those cachers who likes micros, but hates film cans, buy some cryo tubes.

where do you buy these?

[Clan Riffster]

You can get 50 of them for $26 on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nunc-CryoTube-Internal...VQQcmdZViewItem

[+Arndtwe]

thanks, i di a search on ebay but came up empty handed

[+briansnat]

You can get 50 of them for $26 on Ebay

http://cgi.ebay.com/Nunc-CryoTube-Internal...VQQcmdZViewItem

 

That's a bit expensive. I paid $15 including shipping for a bag of 50 on Ebay and a fellow geocacher (forget who it was) sold me a bag of 25 for 6 bucks.

[+Bob Blaylock]

I wondered if anybody had ever compiled a list of good & bad cache containers?

  ·

  ·

  ·

Some good ones I've found --

  ·

  ·

  ·

The ol' standard Key Box Micro

  I don't think I've ever found a key box cache where the log sheet hadn't been damaged by water.  Some times, the owner tries to protect the log sheet by putting it in a ziplock bag inside the key box.  That doesn't work.

 

  A cache container really needs to be watertight.  Key boxes are not.

[+Knight2000]

I wondered if anybody had ever compiled a list of good & bad cache containers?

·

·

·

Some good ones I've found --

·

·

·

The ol' standard Key Box Micro

I don't think I've ever found a key box cache where the log sheet hadn't been damaged by water. Some times, the owner tries to protect the log sheet by putting it in a ziplock bag inside the key box. That doesn't work.

 

A cache container really needs to be watertight. Key boxes are not.

Key boxes are for keys. I hate 'em. They are a lazy mans cache container.

[Clan Riffster]

Key boxes are for keys. I hate 'em. They are a lazy mans cache container.

Yup. Right up there with film canisters.

[Orly]

http://www.containerstore.com/browse/Produ...PRODID=10018277

[+desync0]

Anything that can be described as micro would be on my bad list.

 

Around here everything seems to be a micro in a pine tree. Yey.

[+sbell111]

Anything that can be described as micro would be on my bad list.

 

Around here everything seems to be a micro in a pine tree. Yey.

The good news is that you can totally avoid micros if you've decided that you don't like them. Yeah!!!

[+briansnat]

Anything that can be described as micro would be on my bad list.

 

Around here everything seems to be a micro in a pine tree. Yey.

The good news is that you can totally avoid micros if you've decided that you don't like them. Yeah!!!

 

Well if everything there is a micro in a pine tree then that effectively eliminates geocaching for the guy.

[+sbell111]

Anything that can be described as micro would be on my bad list.

 

Around here everything seems to be a micro in a pine tree. Yey.

The good news is that you can totally avoid micros if you've decided that you don't like them. Yeah!!!

Well if everything there is a micro in a pine tree then that effectively eliminates geocaching for the guy.

My psychic powers tell me that everything is not a micro in a pine tree.

[+Tsmola]

 

ammo cans and Lock n Locks for me

 

I used to really like matchstick containers, my opinion of them has gone downhill in recent months as I'm finding more and more of mine are wet. I'm doing less and less micros nowdays anyway because I want big logbooks in my caches people can actually write something in.

[+sbell111]

<SNIP>

 

ammo cans and Lock n Locks for me

 

I used to really like matchstick containers, my opinion of them has gone downhill in recent months as I'm finding more and more of mine are wet. I'm doing less and less micros nowdays anyway because I want big logbooks in my caches people can actually write something in.

Nice camo.

[+TrailGators]

<SNIP>

 

ammo cans and Lock n Locks for me

 

I used to really like matchstick containers, my opinion of them has gone downhill in recent months as I'm finding more and more of mine are wet. I'm doing less and less micros nowdays anyway because I want big logbooks in my caches people can actually write something in.

Nice camo.

That is nice camo. Some people are really artistic.

[+9Key]

I really like cryo tubes. If you are one of those cachers who likes micros, but hates film cans, buy some cryo tubes.

 

where do you buy these?

I'd like some of those too. Briansnat - if you remember who sold you those vials please let me know.

[+Knight2000]

Anything that can be described as micro would be on my bad list.

 

Around here everything seems to be a micro in a pine tree. Yey.

How do you know unless you try them?

 

Some can be really fun if you have other locals that are more creative.

 

If they aren't then challenge yourself to make a cool micro or two.