Jump to content

best place to buy a few magnetic hideakeys?


weylan

Recommended Posts

I am looking to maybe create a few geocaches. I am tired of nanos. And my area is pretty void of geocaches. I can go north and south of me and there are quite a few, but in my area there are not that much. So I wanted to place a few more around. I found that I want to be able to see more geocoins, and geotags, but with a nano or micro, there just is not enough room for a geotag or geocoin. So to see geocoins or geotags maybe appear in the geocaches, we at least have to start with geocaches that are size appropriate.

 

 

So who knows of cheap sources of hideakeys? Do they go on sale? Can we get them in bulk? Is there a good alternative that is sized and magnetic and reasonably weather proof if people don't think they are good enough?

Link to comment

I am looking to maybe create a few geocaches. I am tired of nanos. And my area is pretty void of geocaches. I can go north and south of me and there are quite a few, but in my area there are not that much. So I wanted to place a few more around. I found that I want to be able to see more geocoins, and geotags, but with a nano or micro, there just is not enough room for a geotag or geocoin. So to see geocoins or geotags maybe appear in the geocaches, we at least have to start with geocaches that are size appropriate.

 

 

So who knows of cheap sources of hideakeys? Do they go on sale? Can we get them in bulk? Is there a good alternative that is sized and magnetic and reasonably weather proof if people don't think they are good enough?

 

The dollar store ones are kinda junky. There are jumbo ones that work out great! You can put a log and a pencil stub in there and they will hold some smaller coins and such.

Link to comment

Magnetic key holders are junk for the most part.

I found Lock and Locks verging on micro size at walmarts.

Just superglue a few neodymium magnets to the inside bottom and your good to go.

 

In the camping Dept?

House wares for the lock n lock, arts and crafts for the magnets.

If they don't have neodymium magnets at your local walmarts then you can find them at JoAnn's, Franks (if they still exist) and Micheal's or how ever you spell it.

Why do we have to take a ski name and pronounce it with it's English version?

 

Whats your name?

Chekhovski.

How do you spell that?

Es em i te ach.

Whaaa?

Don't worry about it, every thing is silent.

Link to comment

In my experience, a hideakey is never waterproof and almost always contains one of two things:

  1. A sopping wet log
  2. A crammed in plastic baggy that likely has holes all through it because it is too big to actually way too big to fit back into the container. This, most often, contains #1.

Trying to stuff a geocoin into such a container will almost invariably cause the baggy mentioned in #2 to be full of holes & wet log, so you might want to rethink your reasoning that such a container will hold one.

 

Of course, in sunny CA, this might not be as much of a problem as it is in New England where we have real weather. :D

Link to comment

{removing the truth others should read, read and reread.}

Of course, in sunny CA, this might not be as much of a problem as it is in New England where we have real weather. :D

Yeah! Those Cali wimps complain that they will catch a cold if the temp get below 70. :D

 

~~~edit~~~

added missing Smilie

Edited by Vater_Araignee
Link to comment
I found that I want to be able to see more geocoins, and geotags.

A worthy goal. :ninja:

 

So who knows of cheap sources of hideakeys?

Huh? Weylan, hide-a-keys of any sort are junk. They are not even remotely waterproof. Besides, after stuffing in a scrap of soon to be soggy paper, enclosed in a soon to be ripped baggie, how much room would you have for geocoins? If your goal is to see more coins/tags, why not hide caches which can store them easily? Small Lock & Locks do this very well. Ammo cans do it even better.

Link to comment

I knew you people would put me on the straight and narrow on what to use.

 

 

I just thought of the keyhold would be a great almost ready made container.

 

 

But going to a glue or taped magnet to the inside of a locknlock continer may just be a better option and more weather proof. i just worry about the UV beating the thing up.

 

 

Yes I agree that the hideakeys might not be weather proof. And you guys bring up a good point about baggies, stuffed inside the hideakey being too big and now you are back to you can't get anything inside the container and the container not being waterproof again...

 

 

Yes, I am in sunny California, were we still have 4 seasons. Spring and Fall, and 2 weeks of summer and 2 weeks of winter. The temperatures are almost always 60 every day. I can almost garantee some time today it will be 60, sometimes this is the high, and sometimes it is the low, but almost always it will be 60 today. Tough part here in CA where I live, the temperature spread can be like 30-40 degrees in a single day.

 

 

Is a hideakey one of those metal panels that look like they screw on to something, but really just are attached by magnet?

No. This is one example of the dreaded hide-a-key:

5589e00f-56a8-4773-9f7f-03d5b8a81df6.jpg

Link to comment
yes, But better a hideakey instead of a nano any day!

Also better having a cache placed then no cache at all I feel. So long as it is not pointless.

 

Hey! I have a cache called Pointless and folks like it!

 

I agree that something other than a hide-a-key is preferable. Sadly, there seem to be very few people out there who use ammo cans anymore. Granted it's harder to find a spot for them but I love using ammo cans for caches.

Link to comment

Magnetic key holders are junk for the most part.

I found Lock and Locks verging on micro size at walmarts.

Just superglue a few neodymium magnets to the inside bottom and your good to go.

 

Agreed. Be sure you glue those magnets to the inside of the lock-n-lock. I've had luck with some fist-sized screw-top plastic containers as far as the water-proof problem. These are usually cheaper too. There is one brand that is slightly larger that has a blue lid and a smaller one that has a clear lid. The second seems to hold up better than the first.

Link to comment

I know I'm going off topic but...

 

In my experience, likelihood of finding trackables is directly related to the size of the container. Hide-a-key sized container will rarely contain coins or travel bugs. If your goal is to encourage trackables, hide the biggest container the area will support.

Link to comment

If you'd like something with about the same inside space as a hide-a-key but is totally waterproof and can be easily made to be magnetic, try one of these >>

JM-MMINI.gif

 

They're very easy to make! Just cut the top off of a plastic soda bottle and then cut a round patch out of the side of the bottle. Using Liquid Nails or RTV silicone glue the patch onto the bottom of the head of the bottle that you just cut and let it dry overnight. You can put a magnet in it too. Completely waterproof, at least mine have been so far!

Link to comment
Yes, I am in sunny California, were we still have 4 seasons. Spring and Fall, and 2 weeks of summer and 2 weeks of winter. The temperatures are almost always 60 every day. I can almost garantee some time today it will be 60, sometimes this is the high, and sometimes it is the low, but almost always it will be 60 today. Tough part here in CA where I live, the temperature spread can be like 30-40 degrees in a single day.
60's? That sounds like our summer. You're telling us you have 50 weeks of summer. :laughing:

 

I like the idea of 9key's container. Use a larger-mouthed bottle to make a larger container.

Link to comment

..............

But going to a glue or taped magnet to the inside of a locknlock continer may just be a better option and more weather proof. i just worry about the UV beating the thing up.

...............

Krylon plastic primer, paint to color/s of your liking and finish with Krylon UV-Resistant Matte.

 

I have a Lock-N-Lock that has been in the wild, in direct sun, for just over three years. It is covered with camo Duct tape. The tape has discolored but the Lock-N-Lock is still going strong.

Link to comment

I am looking to maybe create a few geocaches. I am tired of nanos. And my area is pretty void of geocaches. I can go north and south of me and there are quite a few, but in my area there are not that much. So I wanted to place a few more around. I found that I want to be able to see more geocoins, and geotags, but with a nano or micro, there just is not enough room for a geotag or geocoin. So to see geocoins or geotags maybe appear in the geocaches, we at least have to start with geocaches that are size appropriate.

 

 

So who knows of cheap sources of hideakeys? Do they go on sale? Can we get them in bulk? Is there a good alternative that is sized and magnetic and reasonably weather proof if people don't think they are good enough?

 

If you want to see geocoins and geotags, then why are you looking for a micro container like a hide-a-key?

Link to comment

I like that idea too of using the wide mouth bottles! I will keep those in mind, BUT this is still a problem because even with the wide mouth bottles you still can't get most of the regular geocoins into them.

 

 

I want to encourage people to place more geocoins. While my area is a tad cache poor. Alot poor compared to some of the areas I have been, where you can walk 1.2 miles and cache 9. I am going to do something about it. BUT it does not do me any good to use these if the geocoins don't fit in the bottle still! So to be selfish, while I want to make them reasonably small i want to make the geocaches large enough to suit my purpose. I also hate trying to pry the logs from some of the nano caches I have come across lately.

 

 

We don't get 50 weeks of sun, but i bet it is pretty close Last year we had like 32 days of clouds and rain, it felt like the descriptions of Washington with the dreary weather. But we do get to see the sun almost every day at some point.

 

 

I used to live in Buffalo Grove, IL (near Chicago) and I don't miss the cold, but I do miss the beauty of the thunderstorms. Not the damage they do, but the shere raw power and visual display that they provide. In California we don't really have weather.

 

 

 

Yes, I am in sunny California, were we still have 4 seasons. Spring and Fall, and 2 weeks of summer and 2 weeks of winter. The temperatures are almost always 60 every day. I can almost garantee some time today it will be 60, sometimes this is the high, and sometimes it is the low, but almost always it will be 60 today. Tough part here in CA where I live, the temperature spread can be like 30-40 degrees in a single day.
60's? That sounds like our summer. You're telling us you have 50 weeks of summer. :laughing:

 

I like the idea of 9key's container. Use a larger-mouthed bottle to make a larger container.

Link to comment
I like that idea too of using the wide mouth bottles! I will keep those in mind, BUT this is still a problem because even with the wide mouth bottles you still can't get most of the regular geocoins into them.

 

I want to encourage people to place more geocoins. While my area is a tad cache poor. Alot poor compared to some of the areas I have been, where you can walk 1.2 miles and cache 9. I am going to do something about it. BUT it does not do me any good to use these if the geocoins don't fit in the bottle still! So to be selfish, while I want to make them reasonably small i want to make the geocaches large enough to suit my purpose. I also hate trying to pry the logs from some of the nano caches I have come across lately.

 

Then why not small containers? Something like this small Lock n Lock will hold geocoins. Tape a rare earth magnet inside the lid and you have a magnetic container that you can conceal in a guardrail.

 

21c99e66-1127-4bbd-be52-5830e879f6ca.jpg

 

2a66ed82-c424-4320-a822-1ecf1c628ff4.jpg

Edited by briansnat
Link to comment
Tape a rare earth magnet inside the lid and you have a magnetic container that you can conceal in a guardrail.

Heck, for that matter, you could even hide it somewhere interesting. :laughing:

 

Go on...

Like a guardrail in a scenic location?

 

I would recommend using clear silicon on the magnet after gluing it in place with gorilla glue. I rough up the plastic surface to get the best surface for adhesion and then glue the magnet to the lid. After the glue has dried thoroughly (2 days or more) I cover the whole glued on magnet with clear silicon.

This way the magnet is not mistaken for a trade item which has become trapped under the piece of tape.

Link to comment

In my experience, a hideakey is never waterproof and almost always contains one of two things:

  1. A sopping wet log
  2. A crammed in plastic baggy that likely has holes all through it because it is too big to actually way too big to fit back into the container. This, most often, contains #1.

Trying to stuff a geocoin into such a container will almost invariably cause the baggy mentioned in #2 to be full of holes & wet log, so you might want to rethink your reasoning that such a container will hold one.

 

Of course, in sunny CA, this might not be as much of a problem as it is in New England where we have real weather. :laughing:

 

Well I just changed one out a week ago on the account of the rain after 3 years, of course if I'd just waited this 80 + degree weather we're having would have dried it out :laughing::laughing:

Link to comment

Then why not small containers? Something like this small Lock n Lock will hold geocoins. Tape a rare earth magnet inside the lid and you have a magnetic container that you can conceal in a guardrail.

 

21c99e66-1127-4bbd-be52-5830e879f6ca.jpg

 

2a66ed82-c424-4320-a822-1ecf1c628ff4.jpg

They make lock n locks even smaller than that, and they are round too, perfect size for a coin stop.

 

Lock & Lock 6 Pc Back-to-School Set 3.6 cup total capacity:

ZHPL822S_dt.jpg

One - 6 oz/0.75 cup Container. Measures 3.5" x 4.3" x 1.9"tall

One - 3 oz/0.37 cup Container 2.9" round x 1.7" tall <--- This one, 2.9" = diameter not circumference like saying round implies.

One - 2.5-cup Container 6.1" square x 1.8" tall

 

About $7.00 for the set and ya got 2 more small containers to work with.

Link to comment

Then why not small containers? Something like this small Lock n Lock will hold geocoins. Tape a rare earth magnet inside the lid and you have a magnetic container that you can conceal in a guardrail.

 

21c99e66-1127-4bbd-be52-5830e879f6ca.jpg

 

2a66ed82-c424-4320-a822-1ecf1c628ff4.jpg

They make lock n locks even smaller than that, and they are round too, perfect size for a coin stop.

 

Lock & Lock 6 Pc Back-to-School Set 3.6 cup total capacity:

ZHPL822S_dt.jpg

One - 6 oz/0.75 cup Container. Measures 3.5" x 4.3" x 1.9"tall

One - 3 oz/0.37 cup Container 2.9" round x 1.7" tall <--- This one, 2.9" = diameter not circumference like saying round implies.

One - 2.5-cup Container 6.1" square x 1.8" tall

 

About $7.00 for the set and ya got 2 more small containers to work with.

I've had good luck with the little Lock n Locks. They seem to last 2 or 3 years out in the elements, then the seal fails or the tabs break off. After a light sanding and a couple of light coats of the Krylon plastic spray paint they look nice.
Link to comment
After a light sanding and a couple of light coats of the Krylon plastic spray paint they look nice.

A liberal application of Liquid Nails black roof repair stuff, and some sheet moss make 'em even kewler. :anicute:

0653e7cc-4cfa-4d3a-aef3-38e85bdd4ed2.jpg

If you used sphagnum peat moss you could eventually get the moss to grow on them using them in a wetland hide.

 

~~~grammar correction~~~

Edited by Vater_Araignee
Link to comment

Oh, that is just evil! I could see that being hard to find.

 

As it is I have trouble finding some of these.

 

 

After a light sanding and a couple of light coats of the Krylon plastic spray paint they look nice.

A liberal application of Liquid Nails black roof repair stuff, and some sheet moss make 'em even kewler. :anicute:

0653e7cc-4cfa-4d3a-aef3-38e85bdd4ed2.jpg

If you used sphagnum peat moss you could eventually get the moss to grow on them using them in a wetland hide.

 

~~~grammar correction~~~

Link to comment
sphagnum peat moss

Not being a botonist, I had to play with Google to figure out the difference betwixt sphagnum and sheet moss. Neat stuff! Apparently, sphagnum is such a unique product that there is a Canadian Sphagnum Peat Moss Association, and their website includes a material safety data sheet for it. :cry:

I love the stuff, of course I'm a Carnivorous plant enthusiast so it only natural.

Ya gotta be careful though because "peat moss" is different from "sphagnum peat moss".

Link to comment

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
×
×
  • Create New...