Most hated swag

[+Anno Lynke]

After reading golfballs

I realized there are alot of thread talking about the best swag you have found.

I have seen any talking about the worst or most hated swag.

So give it up what swag do you hate to see in caches

 

Personally I hate seeing stickers.

They are always peeling from the moisture in the cach and dont look usable

I dont think kids would take them in that condition

 

next

[+Trav'lin Two]

Golf balls, stickers, business cards, expired coupons,,rocks, broken stuff, just to name a few.

[+briansnat]

Anything that is garbage does not belong in a cache.

 

Some things that I've found in caches include a dirty diaper cover, filthy work gloves with holes in the fingers, Metro cards with no money left on them (I tried a few), random pieces of plastic that look like they came from some sort of toy set, plastic figures that were apparently chewed by the family dog, Hot Wheels cars sans wheels.

 

Some will say that one person's trash is someone else's treasure, but sometimes trash is simply trash.

 

I never had a in issue with stickers. I leave them sometimes. They usually stay good as long as they are in their original package.

Edited February 3, 2010 by briansnat

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Used dirtbike sparkplugs and broken masterlinks! GMAB.

[+StarBrand]

Random Rocks with no explanation.

 

Misc small Barbie Doll stuff.

 

Plastic Army guys (usually just 1).

 

Business Cards (not geo cards - real business cards).

 

Broken matchbox cars.

[+Chrysalides]

Dead AA battery. While not "most hated", you got to wonder why.

[+larryc43230]

Dead AA battery. While not "most hated", you got to wonder why.

Perfume or cologne samplers. They always wind up leaking, and the cache winds up smelling like a hazmat scene.

 

--Larry

[+Gitchee-Gummee]

Dead AA battery. While not "most hated", you got to wonder why.

 

LEAKING dead batteries. Ruining everything in the cache, including precious and otherwise beautiful geocoins!

[+StarBrand]

.....I forgot candles - somebody left some little votive candles in one of my caches and I spent over an hour scraping the residue off the inside of the ammocan - nice vanilla smell though!!!

[GermanSailor]

So give it up what swag do you hate to see in caches

I hate reading stuff like:"Took xyz, left nothing, but the kids wanted xyz so much!"

Always nice to read how parents fail to teach an important lesson, maybe the juvenile court has to sort that out later. Not funny!

 

Downtrading is bad, but not trading at all and just taking stuff is outrageous. Documenting this in an online log, as if it was the most normal thing in the world is [censored].

 

GermanSailor

[+uxorious]

The worst thing I've seen was racist stickers and pamphlets. I would rather see any of the other trash over that. (The person leaving that stuff in this area was banned, and I hope we don't get a repeat of it. )

[+ngrrfan]

Dead AA battery. While not "most hated", you got to wonder why.

Perfume or cologne samplers. They always wind up leaking, and the cache winds up smelling like a hazmat scene.

Soap bubbles...... why soap bubbles??

[ThomasFamily102]

The small crystal rocks.

[+GeoRVers]

I don't much care for any of the swag that we find in caches. We are in to geocaching for the hunt... and getting us to outdoor places that we would not usually have visited.

 

However, I've seen kids dig through caches like they had found a treasure chest. That golf ball that I care nothing for entertains a kid for hours. I've also read cache logs where a kid found "neat rocks."

 

We read through hundreds of logs before we went out to shop for some swag, and bought items that seemed to be kids favorites. If we can make a kids happy with an item that cost a dollar or two, I feel we have succeeded.

 

There is one exception to our finding swag that we found useful - we were hiking a nature trail with the dogs. After about three dumps, apiece, we were out of our Bags-on-Board. The next cache we found had a roll of the Bags-on-Board in it as swag. Halaluya... or course the dogs didn't find the need to make us us any of them, finishing out the nature trail. Needless to say, we left the best swag in our day pack, to replace the bags. We also now carry a couple rolls of the Bags-on-Board in the day pack, in case of emergencies and as swag.

 

Point is, one mans junk is another mans treasure...

[knowschad]

Somebody once left a tube of superglue in one of my caches. It leaked.

[+maggi101]

 

However, I've seen kids dig through caches like they had found a treasure chest. That golf ball that I care nothing for entertains a kid for hours. I've also read cache logs where a kid found "neat rocks."

 

We read through hundreds of logs before we went out to shop for some swag, and bought items that seemed to be kids favorites. If we can make a kids happy with an item that cost a dollar or two, I feel we have succeeded.

 

 

This. 100%.

 

My kids love finding the "neat rocks" and super bounce balls and all of that stuff. Really, thats all that matters to me.

[+GeoRVers]

This. 100%.

 

My kids love finding the "neat rocks" and super bounce balls and all of that stuff. Really, thats all that matters to me.

Amen! We keep the kids in... we keep the parents in... we insure a future crop of geocachers

[+Triskeles]

This. 100%.

 

My kids love finding the "neat rocks" and super bounce balls and all of that stuff. Really, thats all that matters to me.

Amen! We keep the kids in... we keep the parents in... we insure a future crop of geocachers

 

What drives us crazy are the religious tracts that people put in caches!! To me, that is just the opposite of what geocaching is supposed to be. When we see 'em my son throws them away. We've found some strange things in caches...last weekend we found a cache in which someone had left a brand new tube of mascara...still sealed on the blister card.

 

My son has a small but growing collection of neon golf balls, "really cool" rocks, guitar picks, foreign coins, flying disks, etc. that he's found in geocaches. But his absolute treasure is a four-leaf clover that's encased in a pendant. He put it on his dog tags and never takes it off. He's been finding lots of caches since then, and attributes it to the clover.

[+Printess Caroline]

Candy and other edibles. While those are forbidden swag in the guidelines, it surprises me that we've found those items several times. I can personally attest that wrapped peppermints make a sticky, icky mess in a cache! Those items are really lousy swag for a number of good reasons.

[+FatCat2]

Drat. I missed my chance to say dirty, damaged golfballs!

[+GeoRVers]

This. 100%.

 

My kids love finding the "neat rocks" and super bounce balls and all of that stuff. Really, thats all that matters to me.

Amen! We keep the kids in... we keep the parents in... we insure a future crop of geocachers

 

What drives us crazy are the religious tracts that people put in caches!! To me, that is just the opposite of what geocaching is supposed to be. When we see 'em my son throws them away. We've found some strange things in caches...last weekend we found a cache in which someone had left a brand new tube of mascara...still sealed on the blister card.

 

My son has a small but growing collection of neon golf balls, "really cool" rocks, guitar picks, foreign coins, flying disks, etc. that he's found in geocaches. But his absolute treasure is a four-leaf clover that's encased in a pendant. He put it on his dog tags and never takes it off. He's been finding lots of caches since then, and attributes it to the clover.

What are "religious tracts"? I've dropped erasers into caches that say "Smile, God loves you", or something to that effect. I don't mean to harm anyone... figure if they don't like them, they can leave them. And if they are going to cause someone to burst into flames, I want to be there to see it happen.

[+Chrysalides]

I can personally attest that wrapped peppermints make a sticky, icky mess in a cache!

I just disposed of one in a cache with over 800 finds today. Fortunately, before it had a chance to melt. No, I didn't trade for it, since to me it is worth less than nothing. Hmm, maybe I did trade up for it after all.

[+Chrysalides]

What are "religious tracts"? I've dropped erasers into caches that say "Smile, God loves you", or something to that effect. I don't mean to harm anyone... figure if they don't like them, they can leave them. And if they are going to cause someone to burst into flames, I want to be there to see it happen.

There was a thread a couple of months ago. They're pamphlets telling you about religion. There's a subset that promises you Hell and Damnation if you're of a different sexual orientation, different religious belief, or something else - I call them hate pamphlets. The former I ignore. The latter I haven't actually seen, but I'd toss them away so fast they might catch fire from atmospheric friction. I don't see anything wrong with what you leave - and I'm a steadfast agnostic.

[+maggi101]

What are "religious tracts"? I've dropped erasers into caches that say "Smile, God loves you", or something to that effect. I don't mean to harm anyone... figure if they don't like them, they can leave them. And if they are going to cause someone to burst into flames, I want to be there to see it happen.

 

Erasers like that seems fine and fairly inoffensive. A Chick Tract would likely be viewed differently by some, however.

[GOF and Bacall]

Lottery scratch offs. They are often left as FTF prizes. People, if you are FTF and find a scratch off, good for you. TAKE IT WITH YOU! Once you scratch it it is trash. Unless of course it was a winner. In that case please, feel free to leave it.

[+modnar24]

We found a crack pipe within our first week of caching. Weren't really sure what to do at the time. Luckily the next cachers to find the cache were a little more established and removed it from the cache. I have found several loose business cards that were not too much fun but I don't really consider swag. A couple times we've found loose decks of playing cards. I would have traded for them or enjoyed a game of cards at the cache site, but they were loose and I didn't feel like sorting through all the business cards to see if it was a full deck.

[+Skylighter]

In our area, I have encountered a lot of plastic religious coins and fish. Of course, there are usually more than a few of the hate pamphlets mentioned above as well. I don't think this stuff belongs in geocaching and therefore, I consider this the worst.

 

One of my favorites is a bar of soap in a nice travel container.

[+BlueDeuce]

Under-cooked bacon.

 

Don't believe me? You try and eat it.

[+cerberus1]

McToys, which always seem to be broken by the time a kid finds it (and usually opened.)

So, the kids break their meal freebie and you dump it in a cache ?

With all the mega-meals folks are wolfing these days, guess nothing's left to hit the dollar store.

 

Anything with smells... perfume/lotion samples, candles, bars of soap (?) and am amazed at the numbers of foodstuffs in caches (c'mon, you know better) - most not only leak from time-to-time, or spoil/rot, making one heck of a mess, but make's some folks with allergies really sick when opening.

Many caches that were mauled by critters are usually a result of people not thinking and putting smelly stuff in 'em.

 

Still haven't found a chick tract, darn it.

[+niraD]

So give it up what swag do you hate to see in caches

I've only found graphically offensive material in a cache once. I traded for it, and then once it was mine, I disposed of it as I saw fit. And as someone who trades for sig items that others consider worthless, I don't get worked up about trade items that I consider worthless.

 

What I hate to see in a cache are items that will ruin the cache or the rest of its contents: food, food-scented products (e.g., soap, candles), liquids (e.g., bubble solution, glue), things that melt (e.g., candles, some plastic items), loose batteries (packaged batteries are great), items too big for the cache to close securely, etc.

[+cycler48]

I'm not too thrilled with much of the swag that I find. Most of it is pretty useless. The ones I dislike the most though are those little gummy type of toys. They're gooey and I've actually seen one completely melted inside a cache. It ruined almost all the other swag within the cache. I should add one more item and that is unprotected fishing lures. I've only found one but I had imagined how much it would have hurt if I got stuck by it.

[+Printess Caroline]

The ones I dislike the most though are those little gummy type of toys. They're gooey and I've actually seen one completely melted inside a cache. It ruined almost all the other swag within the cache.

 

Yeah. Those aren't good. I can understand that someone added them because kids generally like them; however, the person failed to think through what that gummy, sticky toy would be like after spending some time in a cache. NO ONE would want it! I haven't seen them melted (extra icky!); but after just a minute in a cache, they are covered with any dirt that was at the bottom of the cache. Not appealing!

[+Chrysalides]

Yeah. Those aren't good. I can understand that someone added them because kids generally like them; however, the person failed to think through what that gummy, sticky toy would be like after spending some time in a cache. NO ONE would want it! I haven't seen them melted (extra icky!); but after just a minute in a cache, they are covered with any dirt that was at the bottom of the cache. Not appealing!

That's why we have baggies : to isolate your item from others, to offer some protection to your item, and to protect other items from yours in case of catastrophic failure.

[+Yurt]

Found a cigarette lighter in a cache in the middle of a tinder dry forest. Took that to prevent the next geocaching firebug from thinking "I wonder how this place would burn?"

 

Yes I know it wouldn't be a geocacher but if someone found it by accident then you join the dots.

[+BCSasquatch]

I haven't had enough finds to be jaded about which swag I like or don't like. Unless there is something I really like and want to trade for I don't really bother too much. I look at swag as mainly for the kids to keep them interested in the trudging around with Mom and Dad looking for treasure.

 

My first few caches I traded toys for toys, but seems kinda pointless for me at 46 years old. I like to leave items behind that some kid might get a kick out of, or if I do trade, I prefer the more practical style caches intended for older cachers. I also like to leave useful items in barren caches.

 

That being said, I removed an empty pop bottle from a cache this past weekend. One of those mini Coke bottles. I have to assume some kid left it there, having nothing else to trade, but I simply trashed it out. I would hate to think some lazy cacher couldn't be bothered packing out a pop bottle.

 

But I guess broken items in the cache would be the closest thing to 'hated swag' that I can think of. I have removed a few broken, sharp plastic toys form a cache or 2.

[+clumzyfly]

Tho worst thing we found was a condom(still in package). We generally have our kids with us(5yr old, 3yr old & 6month old). That is not a kid-friendly item to leave.

 

My 5 year old daughter collects the golf balls.

 

My 3 year old daughter collects the army men.

 

They both like fake money/coins, stickers, bouncy balls and necklaces.

 

My 6 month old son doesn't collect anything yet. He would just chew on it and anything from a cache is not good for that use.

[+Printess Caroline]

 

condom

 

That is not a kid-friendly item

 

 

So true!

 

 

 

edited out "(still in package)" because that would make it not so true.

Edited February 9, 2010 by Printess Caroline

[+GeoRVers]

Tho worst thing we found was a condom(still in package). We generally have our kids with us(5yr old, 3yr old & 6month old). That is not a kid-friendly item to leave.

 

My 5 year old daughter collects the golf balls.

 

My 3 year old daughter collects the army men.

 

They both like fake money/coins, stickers, bouncy balls and necklaces.

 

My 6 month old son doesn't collect anything yet. He would just chew on it and anything from a cache is not good for that use.

Gets my vote as most disgusting...

[+Printess Caroline]

Tho worst thing we found was a condom(still in package). We generally have our kids with us(5yr old, 3yr old & 6month old). That is not a kid-friendly item to leave.

 

My 5 year old daughter collects the golf balls.

 

My 3 year old daughter collects the army men.

 

They both like fake money/coins, stickers, bouncy balls and necklaces.

 

My 6 month old son doesn't collect anything yet. He would just chew on it and anything from a cache is not good for that use.

Gets my vote as most disgusting...

 

Yeah. It would be pretty disgusting to put anything in your mouth after it has been in a cache! That gets my vote, too.

[+Sierra Rat]

The worst I've found are: 1) a book of matches in a cache in the forest, 2) a 3 pack of condoms and 3) a live 30-06 round. I removed all of these and trashed them.

[GOF and Bacall]

While I would not trust a condom from a cache, not sure how the changes in temp. and humidity and the general lack of sanitary conditions would effect them, I would not find them offensive. If the kiddies ask you can always say they are hygiene items for grown-ups. I don't think the whole truth would hurt them but that is a decision for mom and dad.

[+Firefly911]

We've found a condom (in the package) also. GROSS. We also found some hard candy. (geez)

[+NYPaddleCacher]

Dead AA battery. While not "most hated", you got to wonder why.

Perfume or cologne samplers. They always wind up leaking, and the cache winds up smelling like a hazmat scene.

Soap bubbles...... why soap bubbles??

 

Soap bubble and a leaky container isn't a good combination.

 

Similarly, there was a series of caches placed along a major eastern river. There was something like 20 caches, each with a stamp in it. One could get a stamp card from a couple of places, find a dozen of the 20 caches, then turn in the stamped card for a nice collectors geocoin. I found one of those caches that was a bit too close to the high water line. Ever seen what happens which an ink pad is combined with an inch of water?

[+gatoller]

I had one day where I removed matches from one cache, and a pack of cigarettes from another. I still wonder if I shouldn't go back to the cache I found some time ago that contains a fairly high-end pocketknife (still in the plastic packaging). I've thought several times that I should have removed the knife, and every so often think about going back to get rid of it. The cache is a very rarely visited cache, a long walk through tough terrain, so I'm pretty sure it's not going to be visited by kids as a general rule.

[+Printess Caroline]

We've found a condom (in the package) also. GROSS. We also found some hard candy. (geez)

 

I don't agree with your adjective describing the wrapped condom you found. While I do agree that it does not make a good swag item, I am not disgusted by the sight of a packaged condom. Now, if it were a used one... well, GROSS! Thankfully, I have not seem one of those in a cache. However, I have seen them on the way to a cache.

[+Chrysalides]

I had one day where I removed matches from one cache, and a pack of cigarettes from another.

Once I found one cigarette, unprotected, in a cache. It was starting to get soggy, picking up moisture from the surrounding too. Yeah, that went into the trash pretty quickly. At least the person who left it didn't smoke it first. Unlike another cache where I found, erm, post-digested food. Don't think it was a cacher, though - probably some idiot who stumbled across it. Now that was gross.

Edited February 10, 2010 by Chrysalides

[GOF and Bacall]

Dead AA battery. While not "most hated", you got to wonder why.

Perfume or cologne samplers. They always wind up leaking, and the cache winds up smelling like a hazmat scene.

Soap bubbles...... why soap bubbles??

 

Soap bubble and a leaky container isn't a good combination.

 

Similarly, there was a series of caches placed along a major eastern river. There was something like 20 caches, each with a stamp in it. One could get a stamp card from a couple of places, find a dozen of the 20 caches, then turn in the stamped card for a nice collectors geocoin. I found one of those caches that was a bit too close to the high water line. Ever seen what happens which an ink pad is combined with an inch of water?

 

No. But I have seen what happens when you combine several colors of crepe paper streamers with an inch of beer. Ain't college grand?

[+Borborigmi]

Today I came across a pair of spent shotgun shells, three wet firecrackers, and a broken cable adjuster from a bicycle. I trashed them all.

[+DragonsWest]

I grow tired of opening a cache to find plastic bottle caps, which may or may not have some code for some promotion. To me they are trash and taking up space.

 

Agree also on the old lottery scratch-offs, these are littery and nothing more.

 

Any kind of food, candy, make-up or substance that may leak and ruin the cache.

 

I'm ambivalent regarding soap bubbles. If its a new, good container which doesn't leak, they are OK.

[TurekBoy]

I hate it when I find candy wrappers and trash, but what I thought was the worst was when someone put jolly ranchers in one of my caches in a wooded area. It got all over everything and was apparently ransacked by some kind of animal because the cache was broken open.