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Where did the Lock & Locks go?


hofy67

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After reading this thread this morning, I thought I'd have a look when I was at our local Wal-Mart and I found that the 18 piece Starfrit lock-n-lock sets that had been previously selling for $19.99 are now on the clearance pile at $9.99. As well, most of the other plastic containers that usually line the shelves in the storage department were gone as well. So I bought 4 boxes of lock-n-locks. LOL I'm good for a while now. Add those to my pile of ammo cans and I should be able to hide for a while yet.

 

I checked out the rubbermaid lock style containers while I was there, and I think that they wouldn't last nearly as long as the lock-n-lock style, so I passed on those ones.

 

I then checked our local Dollarama and Giant Tiger stores for the lock-n-lock knock-offs. They were sadly lacking in those containers. It is a giant plasticware conspiracy to end geocaching, I tell ya!! :D

 

Sarah, of SNSGKrieger

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A while back, someone predicted that Snoogans would personally cause the death of geocaching. Maybe this is his first salvo?

Could be he's buying up all the recyclable plastic on the planet for some dark, nefarious purpose? :unsure:

 

Uh oh! Maybe I shouldn't have said anything....If I go missing, please check all nearby ammo cans for my pieces. I guess I'll be my own signature item! :):o

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Just today I saw some L&L's in a local grocery store here in zip 11961. I bought one 1.2 qt container for 5.99 just so I could look at it closely. It does have "Hanacobi" on the bottom.

I followed this link and it seems to be the real deal. I didn't order anything though, so it remains to be seen whether they're still active. Prices were a buck cheaper than I paid and there was one combination set offered. I've been using the "Snaplock" containers from Costco for a few years and they seem to be doing well. Some I've painted and some I've used cloth camo tape, including over the hinges to prevent them from eventually breaking. I've had some doing fine for over two years now.

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I don't know if I should be giving up my secret L&L location in fear of there being a run on the store. Hmm, well, about 3 months ago I bought a 20 piece set at JC Penney's for I think it was $20 on sale. It was in the advertisement. JC Penney's has about 3 different sets (16 - 20 pieces, round and square). Check it out.

 

Hey Slukster, thanks for the heads up on JC Penney. They have several different sets for $20 per. You can check them out online and then see if your local store has them in stock. Luckily mine did, and I sent the wife to pick up a couple of sets.

 

http://www2.jcpenney.com/jcp/X6.aspx?DeptI...agpageview=true

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Yesterday I drove about 45 miles across the desert to replace three "L&Ls" due to UV damage and broken lid tabs. Even when camouflaged, and covered with rocks, "L&Ls" due poorly in hot and arid environments. I'm not said that they are disappearing, only peeved that I wasted money on flimsy containers. Your results may very.

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Yesterday I drove about 45 miles across the desert to replace three "L&Ls" due to UV damage and broken lid tabs. Even when camouflaged, and covered with rocks, "L&Ls" due poorly in hot and arid environments. I'm not said that they are disappearing, only peeved that I wasted money on flimsy containers. Your results may very.

 

All about the right container in the right location. I have one that has been in place since Nov. '05. It is as good as the day I placed it. That's four Buffalo winters. Of all the LnLs I've used I've only had one problem. The contents of one got wet and that was when a cacher closed the corner of a ziploc in the seal. I've had the same trouble with an ammo can.

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Yesterday I drove about 45 miles across the desert to replace three "L&Ls" due to UV damage and broken lid tabs. Even when camouflaged, and covered with rocks, "L&Ls" due poorly in hot and arid environments. I'm not said that they are disappearing, only peeved that I wasted money on flimsy containers. Your results may very.

 

All about the right container in the right location. I have one that has been in place since Nov. '05. It is as good as the day I placed it. That's four Buffalo winters. Of all the LnLs I've used I've only had one problem. The contents of one got wet and that was when a cacher closed the corner of a ziploc in the seal. I've had the same trouble with an ammo can.

 

I have some that have been in the wild 3 and 4 years and are still going strong. They've survived 100+ degree and below zero days, monsoon rains, deep snow and numerousf finds.

 

UV exposure is an issue with nearly any plastic container, but mine only see the light of day when they are found. They either have a coat of paint, or duct tape and are are not hidden where sunlight will find them.

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Yesterday I drove about 45 miles across the desert to replace three "L&Ls" due to UV damage and broken lid tabs. Even when camouflaged, and covered with rocks, "L&Ls" due poorly in hot and arid environments. I'm not said that they are disappearing, only peeved that I wasted money on flimsy containers. Your results may very.

 

All about the right container in the right location. I have one that has been in place since Nov. '05. It is as good as the day I placed it. That's four Buffalo winters. Of all the LnLs I've used I've only had one problem. The contents of one got wet and that was when a cacher closed the corner of a ziploc in the seal. I've had the same trouble with an ammo can.

 

I have some that have been in the wild 3 and 4 years and are still going strong. They've survived 100+ degree and below zero days, monsoon rains, deep snow and numerousf finds.

 

UV exposure is an issue with nearly any plastic container, but mine only see the light of day when they are found. They either have a coat of paint, or duct tape and are are not hidden where sunlight will find them.

 

My personal experience with hiding caches on the desert floor since 2004 is that re-painted cookie tins and ammo cans work best. I've tried cookie tins above 4000 feet elevation, and they end up wicking the snow inside of the containers, not much of an issue below 3000 feet ASL. If I had a garage full of ammo cans, I would use more of them. I tend to reserve my ammo cans for all my quality adventure caches.

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Yesterday I drove about 45 miles across the desert to replace three "L&Ls" due to UV damage and broken lid tabs. Even when camouflaged, and covered with rocks, "L&Ls" due poorly in hot and arid environments. I'm not said that they are disappearing, only peeved that I wasted money on flimsy containers. Your results may very.

 

All about the right container in the right location. I have one that has been in place since Nov. '05. It is as good as the day I placed it. That's four Buffalo winters. Of all the LnLs I've used I've only had one problem. The contents of one got wet and that was when a cacher closed the corner of a ziploc in the seal. I've had the same trouble with an ammo can.

 

I have some that have been in the wild 3 and 4 years and are still going strong. They've survived 100+ degree and below zero days, monsoon rains, deep snow and numerousf finds.

 

UV exposure is an issue with nearly any plastic container, but mine only see the light of day when they are found. They either have a coat of paint, or duct tape and are are not hidden where sunlight will find them.

 

My personal experience with hiding caches on the desert floor since 2004 is that re-painted cookie tins and ammo cans work best. I've tried cookie tins above 4000 feet elevation, and they end up wicking the snow inside of the containers, not much of an issue below 3000 feet ASL. If I had a garage full of ammo cans, I would use more of them. I tend to reserve my ammo cans for all my quality adventure caches.

 

Yeah, hot & dry might be ok for hiding a cookie tin but I guaranty six months around here and it would be a rusty bucket of water. Just what I meant when I said it was about the right container in the right place. If I could I'd use only ammo cans, but the size and shape variations of the LnLs are hard to beat.

 

I found one yesterday that was a small covered tin bucket, same kind of thing as a cookie tin, inside a cammo taped Ziplock. It was in better shape than I expected but still wet and rusty. Ever find one of those Ziplock containers? I bet they don't hold up any better in the dessert, do they?

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Yeah, hot & dry might be ok for hiding a cookie tin but I guaranty six months around here and it would be a rusty bucket of water. Just what I meant when I said it was about the right container in the right place. If I could I'd use only ammo cans, but the size and shape variations of the LnLs are hard to beat.

 

I found one yesterday that was a small covered tin bucket, same kind of thing as a cookie tin, inside a cammo taped Ziplock. It was in better shape than I expected but still wet and rusty. Ever find one of those Ziplock containers? I bet they don't hold up any better in the dessert, do they?

 

How about a lock n lock INSIDE a cookie tin.

 

Now we're talkin!

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Yeah, hot & dry might be ok for hiding a cookie tin but I guaranty six months around here and it would be a rusty bucket of water. Just what I meant when I said it was about the right container in the right place. If I could I'd use only ammo cans, but the size and shape variations of the LnLs are hard to beat.

 

I found one yesterday that was a small covered tin bucket, same kind of thing as a cookie tin, inside a cammo taped Ziplock. It was in better shape than I expected but still wet and rusty. Ever find one of those Ziplock containers? I bet they don't hold up any better in the dessert, do they?

 

How about a lock n lock INSIDE a cookie tin.

 

Now we're talkin!

 

We have a desert variation where someone uses a plastic container for the cache, with a metal coffee can over the top of the plastic container.

 

Thankfully, in almost 1500 finds, i've never once found a ziplock bag cache.

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Market economics, when a great product comes out, all the knock-offs kill their sales.

 

Only when a patent or copyright is not there to protect the product/idea..........

If you compare the old L&L with the newer sterlite clones, the old ones have a sort of slot in the tab so it can pass over a sort of stud and still have the end of the tab grab the container rim. The clones have no stud, they just simply snap down and grip the rim.

perhaps this is different enough to avoid any patents?

 

I take that back.

I noticed some clones at the Dollar General that are branded 'farberware' that seemed to be made exactly like L&L. Hollow square gasket, that seals on top of the rim. And slotted tabs that lock on/over tabs made into the side of the base. Too bad they seem to be made more rigid plastic (or maybe they just have horrible quality control). Of the ones on the shelf I seen, about half had visibly warp tabs. so much so that they either wouldn't lock down, or would quickly unsnap on their own :(

 

Also found a grocery store that has a few sets of L&L :lol: . oddly this store is part of a chain and others in the chain don't have L&L anymore.... Maybe its old stock???

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Yesterday I drove about 45 miles across the desert to replace three "L&Ls" due to UV damage and broken lid tabs. Even when camouflaged, and covered with rocks, "L&Ls" due poorly in hot and arid environments. I'm not said that they are disappearing, only peeved that I wasted money on flimsy containers. Your results may very.

 

You can't really blame the quality of the container. You're forcing it to operate outside of it's normal environment and beyond its spec.

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