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Looking for a Geocaching tool....

Insp Gadget
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knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

Looking for some ideas of a tool to bring Geocaching with me. Is there something small, that contains a decent flashlight, pen, etc?

 

Any suggestions?

 

Kit Fox will be along shortly to post a list of links to previous threads on the subject. Meanwhile... :drama:

 

I keep a small Swiss Army style knife on my key chain. Generally I just use the tweezers to extract logs, but the toothpick, knife blade, and scissors have all come in handy on one cache or anothers.

 

Your flashlight really should be a high quality stand-alone light. Most are using LEDs today. Thee beam doesn't seem to travel as far, but it sure is bright. The more LEDs in the array, the better, in my experience.

 

A leatherman all-purpose tool can come in handy. You'll add to your arsinal as time goes by.

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bittsen

+bittsen

Posted
Posted

Looking for some ideas of a tool to bring Geocaching with me. Is there something small, that contains a decent flashlight, pen, etc?

 

Any suggestions?

 

Kit Fox will be along shortly to post a list of links to previous threads on the subject. Meanwhile... :drama:

(snip)

You'll add to your arsinal as time goes by.

 

arsEnal

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bittsen

+bittsen

Posted
Posted (edited)

The k is lowercase as well.

Maybe chad isn't a name but a hangy thing on a flawed ballot

 

If it was supposed to be a capital, it would have been knowsChad.

 

:P

 

May I butt in?

 

You often do...

On logs, I capitalize it in various ways. Even in forum posts sometimes.

Sometimes?

Edited by bittsen
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Chrysalides

+Chrysalides

Posted
Posted (edited)

May I butt in?

You often do...

Look, guys. The last time you people had a flame war, you started a fire that put Groundspeak offline for 28 hours. Please have more consideration for the rest of us.

 

Yet another thread totally derailed.

Edited by Chrysalides
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knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted

I was just about to say the same thing. Not one person gave me a decent reply. Oh well....

 

Actually, I did. Post #3. But yes... this needs to get back on topic. Sorry for the part that I played in derailing it.

 

To get it back on topic, I will add to my original post. I have since added a 12 foot painter's extension pole to my (in-car) arsenal. I don't use it very often, but when I do, there is no replacement.

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Chrysalides

+Chrysalides

Posted
Posted (edited)
I was just about to say the same thing. Not one person gave me a decent reply. Oh well....

You can get one of the Swiss Army Knifes with a flashlight built in, but as far as I know there is no one tool that does it all very well.

 

For searching inside dark holes in bright daylight, I find that I need a lot of light. For that, I got a Fenix LD20 - 2xAA batteries, 180 lumens when I need it. I got a Leatherman Skeletool CX, used occasionally for extracting logs, and once used the knife to extract a splinter (it's not as heroic as it sounds, just needed it to break the skin). A pen or two, to sign the logs. I bring a mirror, but it has not been very useful so far. A camera for interesting things you see along the way, and possibly to take a photo of things from awkward angles so that you can inspect in the LCD. A stick for prodding, though I usually just pick up small branches for that. I even have a cheap metal detector that helped me find a cache once.

 

At the very least, I'd go with a nice pen, a good light and a good multi-tool.

 

Edit : actually, I'm curious why someone who's geocached for as long as you and found a fair number would be asking such a question. Maybe you can tell me what you use so that I can learn from you :P

Edited by Chrysalides
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Insp Gadget

+Insp Gadget

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  • Author
Posted
I was just about to say the same thing. Not one person gave me a decent reply. Oh well....

You can get one of the Swiss Army Knifes with a flashlight built in, but as far as I know there is no one tool that does it all very well.

 

For searching inside dark holes in bright daylight, I find that I need a lot of light. For that, I got a Fenix LD20 - 2xAA batteries, 180 lumens when I need it. I got a Leatherman Skeletool CX, used occasionally for extracting logs, and once used the knife to extract a splinter (it's not as heroic as it sounds, just needed it to break the skin). A pen or two, to sign the logs. I bring a mirror, but it has not been very useful so far. A camera for interesting things you see along the way, and possibly to take a photo of things from awkward angles so that you can inspect in the LCD. A stick for prodding, though I usually just pick up small branches for that. I even have a cheap metal detector that helped me find a cache once.

 

At the very least, I'd go with a nice pen, a good light and a good multi-tool.

 

Edit : actually, I'm curious why someone who's geocached for as long as you and found a fair number would be asking such a question. Maybe you can tell me what you use so that I can learn from you :P

 

Well I tend to go out with a backpack full of stuff. Bear spray, first aid kit, etc, but every now and then a cache pops up not far from home and I want to go find it without all my junk, as the wife calls it. I tend to always get there and regret not bringing a pen, flashlight or some such tool. The wife found a small pen that clips onto my GPS lanyard but it worked twice and died. LOL A few weeks ago I went to find a quick cache, which turned into a long hunt cause the coordinates were more than 50M off. LOL By that time it was getting dark and I wished I had a strong flashlight, so it got me to thinking that there must be some kind of a tool that would give me a decent pen and a strong flashlight in one small unit that I could quickly grab. Hence my request. LOL

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Chrysalides

+Chrysalides

Posted
Posted
so it got me to thinking that there must be some kind of a tool that would give me a decent pen and a strong flashlight in one small unit that I could quickly grab. Hence my request. LOL

There you go, a great product idea. Combination pen / flashlight / needlenose plier for the casual urban cache. Make a good one and I'll be one of your first customers :P

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popokiiti

+popokiiti

Posted
Posted

Quick cache and dash? Fanny pack/bum bag (see, I'm bi-lingual!) with swag, gloves, mini flashlight, change purse, cell phone, pens. Walking sticks are always in the car. Reading glasses on "idiot string." Most importantly CAR KEYS...they are on a separate keyring from the work ones now.

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knowschad

knowschad

Posted
Posted
so it got me to thinking that there must be some kind of a tool that would give me a decent pen and a strong flashlight in one small unit that I could quickly grab. Hence my request. LOL

There you go, a great product idea. Combination pen / flashlight / needlenose plier for the casual urban cache. Make a good one and I'll be one of your first customers :)

 

The batteries go out, you have a pen and a pair of pliers. The pen cartridge runs dry... you have a pair of pliers. I am no fan of combo tools. Even my Leatherman clone... I rarely use anything but the pliers. Most combo tools are a compromise in one or more ways. The Leatherman and Swiss Army Knife do a pretty good job of combo-ing, which is why they've been around for so long, but they're still a compromise.

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