Pill Bottles. Pro's and Con's?

[+Harry Dolphin]

I would call it recycling, not being cheap.

 

I call them throw-away caches. If you don't care that the cache will be mush in a few months, then why bother hiding it? And I've seen lots of throw-away caches. Film canisters are the worst. And take out food containers. Gladware. Altoids tins. Why bother??? Recycled garbage is still garbage! It belongs in the recyclcing bin. As mentioned, decent containers are not very expensive.

 

That being said, I do have one medicine bottle cache. Orange type, with screw on white lid. It has survived almost five years in the wild. But it is under a fence post cap, and keeps dry. Actually, I saw a fence post without a cap, and went out and bought one!

I also have a diabetic test strip container out there. It seems to be quite waterproof. Though it only has the laminated coords for the final cache. That's been out over five years.

Mostly, I hide Lock and Locks and ammo cans. I want my caches to be out there and dry for a long time!

[+Castle Mischief]

It's not like you're going to use a (queue dramatic organ music) GLASS JAR.

I wonder if the dramatic music would increase if one used a glass peanut butter jar?

 

Ooooooo. For that you get dramatic organ music, with a string section crescendo. Throw it under a lampskirt or a guard rail and I think you have rent out a tympani or two and a really big gong for the end. Hmmm... that might be worth an new thread. Or a new cache.

 

The Cache of Ultimate Disdain +2 (+3 vs Platinum Members)

[+joukkusisu]

I also have a diabetic test strip container out there. It seems to be quite waterproof. Though it only has the laminated coords for the final cache. That's been out over five years.

 

I like using test strip containers. The ones I use are black with snap on lids. They've proved to be pretty dry so far, way better than pill bottles and film canisters.

[+sbell111]

Pros: They suck so bad that the learning curve is pretty sharp. For those who actually care about their hides, the Needs Maintenance logs rolling in demonstrate soundly that the hider made a real crappy container choice. Hopefully, they won't make the same mistake twice.

 

Cons: They are free, so the deadbeat hiders will continue to use them regardless of their quality.

That was a pretty disrespectful thing to say. Calling cachers who use free containers "Deadbeat" isn't very friendly. Implying that cache owners, who use inexpensive containers, don't care about their hides is pretty offensive.

Perhaps I should elaborate?

It is my belief, that someone who intentionally chooses a crappy container, simply because it is free, as opposed to spending a whopping $0.88 for a container of roughly the same size, which has a proven track record, is a cheapskate. In my little world, (contrary to what may be found in a dictionary), cheapskate and deadbeat are fairly synonymous. If that upsets the cheapskates, then hopefully they'll feel so bad that they'll stop using crappy containers. ...

Wow. Perhaps you could make the smallest effort to be less rude.

 

Honestly, the tenor that these forums have taken lately is shocking at best and disgusting at worst. Do the forum guidelines no longer exist or are they just no longer enforced?

[Clan Riffster]

Perhaps you could make the smallest effort to be less rude.

Kettle? Is that you?

Perhaps the folks who intentionally, deliberately select containers that they know to be inferior, simply because they are not willing to part with a hard earned $0.88, could also show some hint of consideration for the others who play this game. But I'm not holding my breath.

[+Moose Mob]

Lets be just a little bit more cheery for the Holidays, OK?

[+GIDEON-X]

Lets be just a little bit more cheery for the Holidays, OK?

HO HO HO

[Clan Riffster]

HO

Ditto, Cubed.

[knowschad]

Lets be just a little bit more cheery for the Holidays, OK?

HO HO HO

The Question is: What do you call three power cachers? Edited December 18, 2009 by knowschad

[+UPSgirl]

Perhaps I should elaborate?

It is my belief, that someone who intentionally chooses a crappy container, simply because it is free, as opposed to spending a whopping $0.88 for a container of roughly the same size, which has a proven track record, is a cheapskate. In my little world, (contrary to what may be found in a dictionary), cheapskate and deadbeat are fairly synonymous. If that upsets the cheapskates, then hopefully they'll feel so bad that they'll stop using crappy containers. I also believe that someone who intentionally selects an inferior container does not care about their hide, nor do they care about the experience that those who follow will have. By knowingly and deliberately selecting an inferior container, they are giving the rest of the caching community the opportunity to experience wet logs and moldy swag. Someone who does so, then claims to care about their caches, seems kinda hypocritical. If my expressing my beliefs will cause even one person to stop selecting inferior containers, and start taking pride in their hides, then the caching world will be a better place, for me.

 

Name calling is name calling no matter what names you choose. Also shows a certain level of immaturity.

 

Let me guess, you buy a bunch of those crappy magnetic key holders for your micros? They cost more than 88 cents. The white pill containers do well in my area, and every single magnetic key holder has had a wet (or recently wet) log in it. Magnetic key holders should be banned. I'd rather a cache placer uses a container that is waterproof, paid for or no.

[Clan Riffster]

Name calling is name calling no matter what names you choose. Also shows a certain level of immaturity.

 

Let me guess, you buy a bunch of those crappy magnetic key holders for your micros?

"Crappy"? Would that be name calling?

Opting to make negative, wildly inaccurate guesses about my hides also shows a certain level of immaturity.

If you'll check my profile you'll see I don't really do micros.

I have one active one, and it serves to poke fun at micros. ALWAYS Lame

Ammo cans and Lock & Locks are my thing.

You should try them some time.

They're a hoot!

Edited December 18, 2009 by Clan Riffster

[+bittsen]

Name calling is name calling no matter what names you choose. Also shows a certain level of immaturity.

 

Let me guess, you buy a bunch of those crappy magnetic key holders for your micros?

"Crappy"? Would that be name calling?

Opting to make negative, wildly inaccurate guesses about my hides also shows a certain level of immaturity.

If you'll check my profile you'll see I don't really do micros.

I have one active one, and it serves to poke fun at micros. ALWAYS Lame

Ammo cans and Lock & Locks are my thing.

You should try them some time.

They're a hoot!

 

Cheapskate and Deadbeat are name calling.

[Clan Riffster]

Cheapskate and Deadbeat are name calling.

You may be right. By your broad definition, "Crappy" is also name calling.

 

Can we get back on topic?

 

Thanx!

[knowschad]

Actually, I tested out one of the white pill bottles that Bittsen is talking about. I left it in the freezer overnight, and stepped on it this morning. It crushed (with some difficulty) but it did not crack. It may not be totally waterproof, but all that tells me is that is would probably best be hidden somewhere where it won't be exposed to total rain. I once found an old-fashioned auto fuse container used as a micro cache... you know the type... it wa totally dry because it was hidden in a picnic shelter. Use your head, and almost anything will work.

[+drives]

I disagree.

[+bittsen]

Actually, I tested out one of the white pill bottles that Bittsen is talking about. I left it in the freezer overnight, and stepped on it this morning. It crushed (with some difficulty) but it did not crack. It may not be totally waterproof, but all that tells me is that is would probably best be hidden somewhere where it won't be exposed to total rain. I once found an old-fashioned auto fuse container used as a micro cache... you know the type... it wa totally dry because it was hidden in a picnic shelter. Use your head, and almost anything will work.

 

My results are similar. In my neck of the woods with light freezing they would hold up fine as long as people put the lid back on properly. They don't crack when stepped on even at 10 degrees F. They didn't leak at all, passing Starbrands's tissue paper test.

 

I give them, as tested, 4 out of 5 stars. I deducted a star because anyone who uses one isn't contributing to the economy of China by buying a match safe.

Edited December 18, 2009 by bittsen

[+power69]

I have seen far more wet pill bottles than I have seen wet film canisters.

I have to agree. If you need a container about that size, spring a buck for a match container.

 

Get the plastic match stick container

 

Not the metal ones.

 

Woowee, do those metal match containers cause a ruckus on the rare occasion someone places on in my area.

 

I'm going to buck the trend here though. I think screw top plastic containers are generally pretty good. You got a pic? I think most people are thinking along the lines of the amber pill bottles such as you would get from a pharmacy. I agree, they crack in the cold very easily, and aren't remotely close to being waterproof.

put the log in a small ziplock bag inside the pill bottle.

*ducks*

[+sbell111]

I give them, as tested, 4 out of 5 stars. I deducted a star because anyone who uses one isn't contributing to the economy of China by buying a match safe.

[+Too Tall John]

Regarding pill bottles, some are good and some are bad. All will fail eventually. Of course, that can be said about every single cache container.

All will fail eventually, but in practical terms, a good container can last for quite a while, and:

ya get what ya pay for.

I'd expect to have to replace a quality container that I bought far less often than something I got for free that wasn't really designed for what I'm using it for.

[+sbell111]

Regarding pill bottles, some are good and some are bad. All will fail eventually. Of course, that can be said about every single cache container.

All will fail eventually, but in practical terms, a good container can last for quite a while, and:

ya get what ya pay for.

I'd expect to have to replace a quality container that I bought far less often than something I got for free that wasn't really designed for what I'm using it for.

I've yet to see containers that were actually designed for what we use them for. (That includes the GC.com branded LnLs.)

 

Whether a container lasts a long time or not largely depends on location and how it is treated by finders, not cost.

[+Too Tall John]

Regarding pill bottles, some are good and some are bad. All will fail eventually. Of course, that can be said about every single cache container.

All will fail eventually, but in practical terms, a good container can last for quite a while, and:

ya get what ya pay for.

I'd expect to have to replace a quality container that I bought far less often than something I got for free that wasn't really designed for what I'm using it for.

I've yet to see containers that were actually designed for what we use them for. (That includes the GC.com branded LnLs.)

What??? Lock 'n' Lock wasn't started for geocachers?

 

Point taken.

Whether a container lasts a long time or not largely depends on location and how it is treated by finders, not cost.

Nevertheless, a L'n'L will handle a wider range of locations and abuse than a pill bottle will.

[+sbell111]

Regarding pill bottles, some are good and some are bad. All will fail eventually. Of course, that can be said about every single cache container.

All will fail eventually, but in practical terms, a good container can last for quite a while, and:

ya get what ya pay for.

I'd expect to have to replace a quality container that I bought far less often than something I got for free that wasn't really designed for what I'm using it for.

I've yet to see containers that were actually designed for what we use them for. (That includes the GC.com branded LnLs.)

What??? Lock 'n' Lock wasn't started for geocachers?

 

Point taken.

Whether a container lasts a long time or not largely depends on location and how it is treated by finders, not cost.

Nevertheless, a L'n'L will handle a wider range of locations and abuse than a pill bottle will.

Of course you are correct. No one is suggesting that a pill bottle or a film can is appropriate for every location. However, they are perfectly adequate for many cache locations.

[+bittsen]

Nevertheless, a L'n'L will handle a wider range of locations and abuse than a pill bottle will.

 

Fact.

 

I have seen more wet logs in L&Ls than I have in screw on lid pill bottles.

[Clan Riffster]

Fact.

 

I have seen more wet logs in screw on lid pill bottles than I have in L&Ls.

[+Moose Mob]

Nevertheless, a L'n'L will handle a wider range of locations and abuse than a pill bottle will.

 

Fact.

 

I have seen more wet logs in L&Ls than I have in screw on lid pill bottles.

 

Fact.

 

I have seen more wet logs in screw on lid pill bottles than I have in L&Ls.

 

Shall we attribute this top warm rain vs cold rain and move on?*

 

 

 

*this is as warning

[+bittsen]

Edit due to the moderator warning

 

Nothing to see here

Edited December 18, 2009 by bittsen

[+flask]

i have a tissue paper test?

[+UPSgirl]

Name calling is name calling no matter what names you choose. Also shows a certain level of immaturity.

 

Let me guess, you buy a bunch of those crappy magnetic key holders for your micros?

"Crappy"? Would that be name calling?

Opting to make negative, wildly inaccurate guesses about my hides also shows a certain level of immaturity.

If you'll check my profile you'll see I don't really do micros.

I have one active one, and it serves to poke fun at micros. ALWAYS Lame

Ammo cans and Lock & Locks are my thing.

You should try them some time.

They're a hoot!

 

Clearly, "crappy" was not aimed at you. Crappy is a type of cache container. Hence, I didn't stoop to your level of immature name calling of my fellow cachers.

 

If YOU'll check my profile, you will see I don't have a single micro -- I prefer 5-gallon buckets. YOU should try them some time. They're a hoot.

[Clan Riffster]

Thank you for sharing that. I will certainly experiment with 5 gallon buckets.

Perhaps with some cleverly applied paint, I could dress one up to look like a pill bottle?

[+bittsen]

i have a tissue paper test?

 

OOPS, it was Starbrands tissue test. Your post was below the tissue paper test post. Darned photographic memory needs a better shutter.

[knowschad]

If YOU'll check my profile, you will see I don't have a single micro -- I prefer 5-gallon buckets. YOU should try them some time. They're a hoot.

Wow! They must have some HUGE lamp posts out your way!

[knowschad]

i have a tissue paper test?

If the cache is so bad that it makes you cry, it's no good. Remember?

[+flask]

i have a tissue paper test?

If the cache is so bad that it makes you cry, it's no good. Remember?

 

oh. THAT tissue paper test.

 

i was afraid i'd lost yet another thing to brain damage.

[+Packanack]

http://www.teachersource.com/Chemistry/Pre...dCaps_30pk.aspx

 

Good for micro log onlys

 

Forget the pill bottles.

Edited December 18, 2009 by Packanack

[+Unkle Fester]

Thank you for sharing that. I will certainly experiment with 5 gallon buckets.

Perhaps with some cleverly applied paint, I could dress one up to look like a pill bottle?

ROFL!

 

i have a tissue paper test?

 

OOPS, it was Starbrands tissue test. Your post was below the tissue paper test post. Darned photographic memory needs a better shutter.

Did your film expire?

[Clan Riffster]

http://www.teachersource.com/Chemistry/Pre...dCaps_30pk.aspx

 

Good for micro log onlys

Love them preforms. The one I tested survived the "Drive Over It With A 'Yota Pickup On Concrete" test.

Now if we could only get them for free...

[+jaroot]

Here is the micro that I'm getting ready to put out!

 

[knowschad]

Here is the micro that I'm getting ready to put out!

Nice paint job, but not a pill bottle. There are several threads that you should be posting that picture to.

[+jaroot]

Here is the micro that I'm getting ready to put out!

Nice paint job, but not a pill bottle. There are several threads that you should be posting that picture to.

 

I know but I couldn't stop myself.

[knowschad]

Here is the micro that I'm getting ready to put out!

Nice paint job, but not a pill bottle. There are several threads that you should be posting that picture to.

 

I know but I couldn't stop myself.

Here you go... they'll appreciate it more, anyway: http://forums.Groundspeak.com/GC/index.php?showtopic=237228

[+Castle Mischief]

Here's a pill bottle that looks closer to the one that bittsen posted that I found this weekend: GC1ZHKH

 

Bittsen, it might be worth your time to put a watch on this one and keep an eye out for any mention of a soggy log. For the record, when I found it the inside was nice a dry- in place since this October.

[colelock]

As the rules state. Almost anything can be used to hide a cache. I don't know that it matters about the container, as much as where and how it is hidden. As long as your willing to maintain the cache use whatever your heart desires.

[knowschad]

As the rules state. Almost anything can be used to hide a cache. I don't know that it matters about the container, as much as where and how it is hidden. As long as your willing to maintain the cache use whatever your heart desires.

A question was asked about the suitability of a certain type of container. Opinions regarding the suitablility of that type of container have been offered. A responsible cache owner cares about the quality of their containers.

[Clan Riffster]

A responsible cache owner cares about the quality of their containers.

Exactly. By intentionally selecting a container that is not up to the task of protecting its contents in a chosen environment, you, (collective), subject those who seek your cache to an increased potential ickiness. Any container can fail, given the right circumstances, however crappy containers only require being left alone to reach their fail point. The amber medicine bottles fall firmly into the crappy category.

 

Take pride in your hide.

[+gramacindy]

Well, I remember one where I had to climb about 30 feet up a pine tree, hanging on by wrapping my elbow around a branch as I fumbled with the childproof opener. The cache owner frequents these forums and probably knows who he is

I would hope that every one of us knows who he or she is.

 

I don't know of any fella that'd do something so cruel.

Yeah Bflentje....you would! BUT...as I recall, it was a rather large OAK tree!

[knowschad]

Well, I remember one where I had to climb about 30 feet up a pine tree, hanging on by wrapping my elbow around a branch as I fumbled with the childproof opener. The cache owner frequents these forums and probably knows who he is

I would hope that every one of us knows who he or she is.

I don't know of any fella that'd do something so cruel.

Yeah Bflentje....you would! BUT...as I recall, it was a rather large OAK tree!

Heheh! That's right... but that one wasn't a pillbottle, nor did it have a childproof lid (at least, from what I could tell while standing on solid ground looking up at it)