+fat bloke Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 The micro is a good drive by But Just latly, I have been to some caches (micro's) that just warrent a BIG box!,(Or puzzles they should have a big box) do you have coin's or tb in the back pocket with swaps, and you just can't get them back out into the game? I went to Morrisons last week and for £4.99 they had a selection of 8 box's of all sizes it was a "bogof" I know that some urban micro's are the must, Can we have some more big box's THANKS Quote Link to comment
+PopUpPirate Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 All caches should be a big box hidden at least 0.1 miles from the nearest road Quote Link to comment
+Mr'D Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 I can think of many caches that could easily have supported a full size box. However a micro is cheap, easy to hide and easy to replace. They are usually more challenging to find, whether in an urban or rural setting. Micros in forests are a pain and micros in busy urban areas are a pain. Yet I'd rather have them to find than nothing at all Jon Quote Link to comment
+The Mars Bars Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Rural micros and micro power trails are begining to annoy me also....I feel I'm in need of some "quality finds" big time! I think that over the last 12 months the quality of hides has degenerated to a point where it seems acceptable to cut corners, with little thought, put into the hide and no effort in the container. i.e. A film canister with no identifying sticker, no stash note, no pencil, and a log book made from a scrap of paper folded up and stuffed in so that it bears more resemblence to litter than a bonefide geocache. The point about keeping coins and TB's in circulation is also a very valid point. Cheers Dave Quote Link to comment
+milvus-milvus Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Hear hear... Part of the challenge is to hide the biggest box that the location will support. Micros should only be used when there is no opportunity to hide something bigger. And they should never be hidden in ivy!! Quote Link to comment
+sometimers Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 The micro is a good drive by But Just latly, I have been to some caches (micro's) that just warrent a BIG box!,(Or puzzles they should have a big box) do you have coin's or tb in the back pocket with swaps, and you just can't get them back out into the game? I went to Morrisons last week and for £4.99 they had a selection of 8 box's of all sizes it was a "bogof" I know that some urban micro's are the must, Can we have some more big box's THANKS test Quote Link to comment
+Foinavon Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Rural micros and micro power trails are begining to annoy me also.. Absolutely. What often happens also is that their names are often so unimaginative. They will have something like dulltrail no1, dulltrail no2 ..... dulltrail no56 etc etc. The problem is that when I log them I can't remember which one was which. I suspect this is the case for most people as these trail caches all seem to have the same log repeated 30 odd times (nice quick find etc, or number 6 of 23 tftc). I tend to do about three of them and then go somewhere else. Its caching for numbers! Quote Link to comment
+PopUpPirate Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Also generic cache listings. If a cache is, say, one of five in a park, can each cache not have at least a description of what is special about that area of the park. If not, then maybe it's not worth a cache hide? Not saying for one moment I'm blameless here Quote Link to comment
+Pengy&Tigger Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 A lot of people complain about micros and especially power trails of them, but the sad fact is that most people will go to find them. This includes us, though we will spend the walk complaining bitterly about it In the North West especially, it seems you can't get people to go and find your caches UNLESS you put out several in the same area. We've tried to resist doing this ourselves, and have even pulled in a power trail before release because we weren't happy wasting people's day with it. I've had lots of good ideas for individual caches lately, but haven't put them out because it seems a lot of effort when people would rather pick up a dozen dull micros elsewhere. It saddens me to think that the good caches are not done as much, and the area is already getting a reputation for lots of dull caches. T Quote Link to comment
+Alibags Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 (edited) All caches have the potential to be either dull or good, it just depends upon how much work the setter has put in and your own personal perspective... and sometimes too on what sort of day it was when you did the cache (sun shining, found a fiver on the ground by cache as opposed to raining heavily, stood in dog mess). I agree with many of the sentiments expressed in this thread so far, but I think the real problem is inappropriate use of micros. My pet micro hate is a soggy 35mm stuffed in the grass at the foot of a post, but they don't have to be like that. I have done plenty of ZZZZ regulars too. As has been already said, hide the biggest container you think the location will accommodate, but that may just be a micro! I would not turn my nose up at a power trail. I have done some PTs where the setter has made an effort to vary the hides from cache to cache so picking them up is not merely a formality. Size is only a single factor in the mix that makes for a good cache. The numbers junkie should not scorn the lowly micro! My favourite cache in a numbers day is often a micro because it's the sneakiness of the hide that I usually appreciate. Edited July 27, 2007 by Alibags Quote Link to comment
+Just Roger Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 If it carries on like it is at the moment I am going to modify my PQ's to exclude Micros. In a similar vein has anyone got a GSAK macro that will delete anything with 'vil' in the hint? Quote Link to comment
+HazelS Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 (edited) Some micros have their place.... We have a great series of caches in N Wales called Village Vexations... they are all based in different villages across N Wales. Each one is designed to be a sneeky hide, and a bit of a head slapping moment when you find them. No two VV's will be hidden in the same way.... This is what caching should be about - not a trail of very boring micros hidden down a dog mess strewn alleyway. Edited July 27, 2007 by HazelS Quote Link to comment
+Budlaw Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 (edited) Good job Roger wasn't criticising caches with 'vil' in title in view of HazelS' next entry Edited July 27, 2007 by Budlaw Quote Link to comment
+scanker Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 (edited) It's ivy decrypted in hint form. [i'm too slow and the post's been edited anyway] I've only set one cache and it's a micro. In my view it was the only appropriate size for the location. I'm soon to set another one too, for exactly the same reasons. Surely if you don't like micros, you don't print the sheet and don't go and find the cache. Simple as that. Just for the record, I don't mind micros, it's DNFs I don't like! Edited July 27, 2007 by scanker Quote Link to comment
+L8HNB Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Agree with most point above, but NOT all micros are 35mm canisters so please don't ignore all of them. Our only cache placed to date is a micro but definitely not one of this type We think that some of the problems are caused by Newbies placing caches with out having completed enough finds, don't the guidelines say to find 10 or more before setting a cache, but we reckon it should be at least double that. Not wanting to have a go at Newbies, indeed they should be encouraged, but when we have done a very average cache and checked the setters stats this often seems to be the case. Another observation is that what is "the norm" in an area seems to set the standard for others locally, maybe due in part to the above. There is no substitute for getting out and about to different areas and see how others do it, as they say "steal shamelessly" - and improve if you can! H&L Quote Link to comment
+gazooks Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I agree with the comment about using a container that will fit the location. Several times I have come across micros and only 10 feet away is a perfectly good hide for a small box. It does not always apply to micros either. I have found small boxes in large tree root hides that would support a larger box. and (while I'm on a rant ) - micros should not be used as multi finals - its not fair after all the hard work getting there. In my early days I had a micro as a multi final but was never happy about it - did a bit more searching around this year and made it a regular. (sorru moved off original thread - sort of) Micros - urban yes - countryside no IMHO Quote Link to comment
+BeetleDuo Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I must admit when we started just over a year ago, to find 1 cache on a day out was great! We tended to go for the longer walks and enjoyed the walk/view/environment as much as the caching. I know we started to cache differently after we reached 200 finds. We looked for groups of caches to try and get at least 10 finds to add to our tally and to get to the next milestone asap. Our experiences over the last few months has been a far higher percentage of micro finds. We have hidden a few caches this year and yes quite a few are micros and I think this is in part because we (Beetleduo that is) may have gotten into a trap. I think I have gotten stuck in thinking (or worse assuming!) cachers mainly want to get to the next milestone (so many records and congrats threads in the forums) therefore you need to hide in series rather than individuals. There is a cost to placing caches, micros are cheep and if you putting out a series they will properly always have a high percentage of micros. Maybe this is just how caching develops over time? Do other areas/regions show a similar pattern? I can feel a GSAK macro coming on to reveal any such trends. Quote Link to comment
+SidAndBob Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Rural micros are usually (I know there are exceptions) about costing very little and taking little effort. Personally I'm not interested in a difficult find as I prefer to walk and enjoy the scenery rather than rummage through a pile of rocks. But we're all different I guess and I have come to learn that I am in the minority. Quote Link to comment
+The Mars Bars Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I do however like "clever micros"...make of that what you will. [] Quote Link to comment
+scanker Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Well, as my only cache so far is a multi micro, I'm looking outside waiting for the lynch mob to arrive. The cache is a multi, as I think the walk around the park is the important bit, rather than the cache at the end. The cache is a micro as a larger cache in the same sort of area last year was muggled. It's had very positive logs so far. I've found plenty of caches with a bigger box that have been full of rubbish. A bigger box doesn't necessarily make a better cache. I concede that micros don't allow the placement of TBs and most geocoins, which is why I only plan to use them when really necessary. I guess it all depends on your focus and as I've stated on here already - everyone seems to have a different focus. For some people a cache is all about the walk/area/view, for others it's the swappable items, some the trackables, some the hunt and the more fiendishly difficult and small the better. It's all about variety. Quote Link to comment
+gazooks Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Well, as my only cache so far is a multi micro, I'm looking outside waiting for the lynch mob to arrive. The cache is a multi, as I think the walk around the park is the important bit, rather than the cache at the end. The cache is a micro as a larger cache in the same sort of area last year was muggled. It's had very positive logs so far. I've found plenty of caches with a bigger box that have been full of rubbish. A bigger box doesn't necessarily make a better cache. I concede that micros don't allow the placement of TBs and most geocoins, which is why I only plan to use them when really necessary. I guess it all depends on your focus and as I've stated on here already - everyone seems to have a different focus. For some people a cache is all about the walk/area/view, for others it's the swappable items, some the trackables, some the hunt and the more fiendishly difficult and small the better. It's all about variety. I agree with what you say and as said before we all play the game our own way and you cannot please everyone all the time. p.s lynch mob called off Quote Link to comment
+SidAndBob Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I do however like "clever micros"...make of that what you will. [] I've just run through my 45 micro finds (I was surprised it was that many as we tend to avoid them, though a weekend around the Quantocks raised the number considerably) and excluding magnetic micros and one's in hollowed out logs (some of these can be done well) I have only ever found one clever micro. Unfortunately it took me three attempts to find it! Quote Link to comment
+GeoCornetto Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I do however like "clever micros"...make of that what you will. [] I have only ever found one clever micro[/b]. Where was that then? Quote Link to comment
+SidAndBob Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 I do however like "clever micros"...make of that what you will. [] I've just run through my 45 micro finds (I was surprised it was that many as we tend to avoid them, though a weekend around the Quantocks raised the number considerably) and excluding magnetic micros and one's in hollowed out logs (some of these can be done well) I have only ever found one clever micro. Unfortunately it took me three attempts to find it! It was Up the Junction. Quote Link to comment
+GeoCornetto Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 It was Up the Junction. I was only asking! Quote Link to comment
+Alibags Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Sorry, I have just been out setting micros... have I missed anything? Quote Link to comment
+Alibags Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 yes dear, I am sure it is... there there! Quote Link to comment
+GeoCornetto Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Im only 2 hours away from watching the Simpsons Movie! Oh mate! OT sorry... I like micros! Quote Link to comment
+Team S-J Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 When is a cache not a cache? When it's a micro. One day micro's will go the same way as virtuals. It's like geocaching without the caching. Quote Link to comment
+Pharisee Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 When is a cache not a cache? When it's a micro. One day micro's will go the same way as virtuals. It's like geocaching without the caching. Quote Link to comment
+Birdman-of-liskatraz Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Hey - Morrisons have a nice little set of pretend Tupperware - small ones - Ideal for micros and only 99p for 12... I've bought loads! Urban Caching hits Cornwall! Quote Link to comment
+martlakes Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Well I've hidden 43 caches and 6 of them are micros. One of them is a "1 Degree of Separation seed" but it's hidden next to an historical monument that people don't usually notice as they drive by, so like most good caches it has shown folk something new. One is absolutely appropriate to the place it's hidden; a couple are variations within a series providing novelty and a change of difficulty/pace to the usual boxes; and a couple are in the country but in places where it is actually quite hard to hide anything bigger in the same place. The logs seem to suggest that people have enjoyed finding them 'even though' they are only micros. I think they are fine caches and would be sorry if people excluded them just cos the container was the wrong size. I think it is odd to exclude a whole class of caches as not worth it. I know many people seem to exclude puzzles or multis cos they will apparently be too much trouble compared to driving up and finding a box in the hedge, or whatever. Traditional caches can be boring, as can micros. Puzzles can be jolly hard and frustrating and/or great fun; multis can be badly thought through with lots of ambiguity counting the "bars of a gate" so leading to confusion, or they can be a great journey of discovery. Surely caches need to be judged on their merit by looking at the cache page and perhaps getting to know a hider's style. I like micros that take me to interesting places, just like trads. I like micros that are cunningly hidden but can be found without too much hassle. I hate micros (or trads) which have off co-ords or poor clues and a myriad of potential hiding places, that take forever to find, or need scratting about in the woods or in piles of rocks within a 30m radius. Fun to me is getting to the place, seeing what the cacher wants to show me (sometimes a great hide is the thing) and finding the cache with a bit of diligence but not just pointless scratting. "Pointless" caches can be any size, although I agree there may be more micros that are badly hidden than bigger boxes for the reasons people suggest. But I don't exclude any particular type of cache but take the trouble to read the page, check the map and decide if it looks like it might be fun, whatever the size. And even a pointless cache adds another one to the total found - although, of course, it's not about the numbers. As we know (or is it 'hope'?!) - size doesn't matter!! Quote Link to comment
+Captain Gore-tex Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 The only thing that really gets me is a long complicated multi rewarded with a micro that doesn't befit the excellent stages before it. Other than that, bring them on, I'm talking thousands, not hundreds, it's all about the numbers, I think. Quote Link to comment
+The Cache Hoppers Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 The only thing that really gets me is a long complicated multi rewarded with a micro that doesn't befit the excellent stages before it. Other than that, bring them on, I'm talking thousands, not hundreds, it's all about the numbers, I think. Yeaaaah and the lids make lovely little cookie cutters cos they are all pretty shapes. Bought some of the special offer lock n locks too, half price set £4.99. Incidentally, 35mm film canister micros do have other uses ... I filled them with sand and played a game with the kiddies of throwing them in a bucket on Southport beach . They will be washed and placed in an area near you soon. Quote Link to comment
+Matt_Harpenden Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Hear hear... Part of the challenge is to hide the biggest box that the location will support. Micros should only be used when there is no opportunity to hide something bigger. And they should never be hidden in ivy!! Cannot agree more about the ivy Quote Link to comment
+LollyBob Posted July 27, 2007 Share Posted July 27, 2007 Micros............... Stick em in dog toys! LOL Lolly not Bob Quote Link to comment
+The Spokes Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Expect more Miros Expect more Macros Expect more caches placed in awful locations Expect more short logs (Found it. Thanks) Expect more logs with things that are impossible to understand ( TNLF TTF FIT NCT ) Cast your bread upon the waters and it will come back a thousand fold. You reap what you sow. With so many new people finding awful caches they will think that this is what the game is all about and will place more of the same. It has now reached the point where its all downhill, and very rapidly now. There is no turning back. Victuals were put on different listings its time Micros and Nanos were. I would think that only one in ten put out now are good caches and that will be one in 20 by next year. In 3 years … Go figure We will be putting out Micros mostly from now on. Its easier isn’t it? Quote Link to comment
+GeoCornetto Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 You guys are spending a lot of time and energy slaging off micros and nanos. Im not a fan of finding ammo cans in the woods. They are full of TAT left by cachers that dont like micros. Soggy half deck of cards, pencil sharpener (used), golf ball... just a small selection of poop dropped off in great regular caches! I have set alot of micros around Crawley, with the odd regular cache. I go back to check mine and they are full of cack. The micros get the odd coin dropped off but are always left in good order. I understand about the coin & bug thing. Regular and large caches have their place but so do micro 'n nanos. This is a forum afterall. Full of the same old questions and answers. A place where you make a point and then get shot down in flames for not following the norm. Dont bitch about them, just dont do them. Dont leave cack in my caches. Think about the swag you want to trade. Close the lid on ALL caches properly. BRING THE FLAMEING! Quote Link to comment
+GeoCornetto Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 AND ANOTHER THING..... Geocaching is a FREE sport/hobby/game. Yes? How much do you spend on setting a regular/large cache? Ammo can £6 Log book from Tesco 50p Pen/pencil 20p Cacky kids toys £2 Micro Cache. 35mm film pot FREE 1/4 of a pencil 5p log book printed off from the web 2p Thats 7p well spent for the not so well off cacher. Quote Link to comment
+Pengy&Tigger Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 My own personal annoyance isn't with micros, it's just with badly thought out caches. It just so happens that these are more likely to be micros. In general if someone has given the location and hiding place little thought, chances are they won't have given the container much thought and grabbed the first container to hand, usually a 35mm. If a carp cache doesn't take up too much time, we'll usually go for it, tut a little bit at the lack of thought gone into it and then move on. It's when we have to go back to root around again in piles of litter in a layby (for example) that I get wound up. I wouldn't want to tar all micros or even all drive bys with the same brush. Some micros and drive bys can be good, just like some regular caches and walks can be rubbish. T Quote Link to comment
+GeoCornetto Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 I wouldn't want to tar all micros or even all drive bys with the same brush. Some micros and drive bys can be good, just like some regular caches and walks can be rubbish. T Too True! Quote Link to comment
+hiho9 Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 if i find a cache at the end of a walk im not realy bothered what type it is. what bothers me is if it is damp/wet or hidden in nettles/ivy Quote Link to comment
+cacherelle Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Well out of our 4 FTF's....................... 4 are micro's ..............................so we gotta love 'em!!! Quote Link to comment
+Just Roger Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 My own personal annoyance isn't with micros, it's just with badly thought out caches. It just so happens that these are more likely to be micros. In general if someone has given the location and hiding place little thought, chances are they won't have given the container much thought and grabbed the first container to hand, usually a 35mm. SNIP T I completely agree. At the moment we seem to be swamped with series where someone has set off with a rucksack full of 35mm film pots and gone along a canal towpath or some other trail and at 0.1001 mile intervals has stuffed one into a convenient clump of the dreaded Vil. It isn't the micros per se that are the problem but, because they are cheap they tend to get placed without the thought that goes into placing a regular sized cache. Micros do have their place as Urban caches and also, for example as stages of a multi, though I would always hope for a regular cache as the final. Quote Link to comment
+Alice Band Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 The only time I hate micros is when it turns out they are hidden in a deep, dark woodland area where its pretty obvious a container as large as an ammo can could easily have been hidden. Nothing more frustating than looking for a 35m container in a series of large Ivy covered spiky trees Saying that, I chatted to a cacher a while back who, being utterly fed up with all his caches all having been picked clean with nothing left in them except for the log book he swapped them all for micros. In his view, if people are too mean to play the game properly then why should he be the only one spending the money on the caches? Quote Link to comment
+cacherelle Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 Saying that, I chatted to a cacher a while back who, being utterly fed up with all his caches all having been picked clean with nothing left in them except for the log book he swapped them all for micros. In his view, if people are too mean to play the game properly then why should he be the only one spending the money on the caches? He has a point!!! Quote Link to comment
+fat bloke Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 The micro is a good drive by But Just latly, I have been to some caches (micro's) that just warrent a BIG box!,(Or puzzles they should have a big box) do you have coin's or tb in the back pocket with swaps, and you just can't get them back out into the game? I went to Morrisons last week and for £4.99 they had a selection of 8 box's of all sizes it was a "bogof" I know that some urban micro's are the must, Can we have some more big box's THANKS I did say I was beginning to Quote Link to comment
+The Biffas Posted July 28, 2007 Share Posted July 28, 2007 The micro is a good drive by But Just latly, I have been to some caches (micro's) that just warrent a BIG box!,(Or puzzles they should have a big box) do you have coin's or tb in the back pocket with swaps, and you just can't get them back out into the game? I went to Morrisons last week and for £4.99 they had a selection of 8 box's of all sizes it was a "bogof" I know that some urban micro's are the must, Can we have some more big box's THANKS I did say I was beginning to You,ve stirred em up now, you rascal How come 6 out of your 17 hides are micros then , huh, eh ? Bet them boxes in Morries werent fullof salad. Quote Link to comment
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