Cheap Cache Containors

[M.A.D. Cows]

Hey Guys!

I love to hide caches, but I do not really like to pay the big prices. Lol.

So I had a thought, any people out there no how to make a creative cache that doesnt cost very much money.

Pictures would be pretty appreciated! Thanks Geocachers!

[+Chrysalides]

What size, and what's your definition of "inexpensive"?

 

Considering your avatar, I'd recommend a bison tube ($2.50 for original, $1 or so for alternatives) for micro hides

[M.A.D. Cows]

What size, and what's your definition of "inexpensive"?

 

Considering your avatar, I'd recommend a bison tube ($2.50 for original, $1 or so for alternatives) for micro hides

 

And wher exactly can I find one of these bison tubes? About $5 dollars is my idea of inexpensive. Any size would work but I would like to be creative and have people who find my cache go "awwww"

Edited June 21, 2010 by M.A.D. Cows

[+kywaterfowler]

Do a search on google for Bison tubes you will get tons of hits. There are a ton of sites that offer geocaching supplies.

[+dorqie]

costco is a great place for lock and locks, but you have to buy a whole set.

I have luck with government surplus stores, I find lots of neato things in there, but it's a crap shoot, don't know what you are going to get.

[+Isonzo Karst]

About $5 dollars is my idea of inexpensive

 

$5 will buy a lock and lock. An excellent container.

I've been able to buy ammo cans for $5, but that's getting rarer to find.

 

Penney's will sell you a set of 8 lock and locks for $20, both online and in the store.

[+Chrysalides]

And wher exactly can I find one of these bison tubes? About $5 dollars is my idea of inexpensive. Any size would work but I would like to be creative and have people who find my cache go "awwww"

The closest thing to a bison tube is a pill container - Walmart has them for a little more than $1. In itself it's not exactly creative, that'll have to depend on either the style of hide, or the camouflage.

 

Matchsafes (tubes to keep matches dry when you go camping) cost around $1 and is waterproof.

 

For a small container, beach safes cost around $2. Lock-n-lock cost less than $5 each and comes in a variety of sizes.

[+kywaterfowler]

I don't know if you have a TJMaxx around you but I have been finding 3 packs of lock-n-locks for $7.99 there.

[+AcousticNut]

I was able to snag 5 Bison Tubes for $5 from eBay. Also have been picking up Lock n Locks from Wal-Mart for around $5 / piece. Both seem to fit in your price-range.

 

You can also type GeoCaching Container into eBay and will see lots of great ideas at affordable prices.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I don't know if you have a TJMaxx around you but I have been finding 3 packs of lock-n-locks for $7.99 there.

 

Wel, they're not Lock and Locks. Similar. I've used them, and they seem to be holding up well. What's available in TJMaxx will vary considerably from store to store. I cannot find genuine Lock and Locks around here anymore. I think Glad locked them out. (Had a water problem with one of my Glad locking containers...) My local supermarket also carries ProFreshionals, which seem to be doing quite well as caches. ABout $3 each.

[M.A.D. Cows]

I was able to snag 5 Bison Tubes for $5 from eBay. Also have been picking up Lock n Locks from Wal-Mart for around $5 / piece. Both seem to fit in your price-range.

 

You can also type GeoCaching Container into eBay and will see lots of great ideas at affordable prices.

 

Ebay is a great place to get cool containors.

[ashnikes]

no comment

(cept this one of course!)

[+mchaos]

What ever container it is, make sure it has some sort of rubber seal. Such as a lock & lock type, ammo can or a water tight match stick holder, or bison tube.

 

Walmart sells an orange match stick holder good for micros. Its 1$ Lowe's has a fake sprinkler head key hider for about $5.

 

By far the best container to use for cheap swag size is a lock & lock. Walmart carries, well the same thing by rubber maid. (Did rubber made by Lock & lock?) They are cheap. Round $5 for a regular size. Get your self a roll of camo tape as well if you want to make it harder to find.

 

Unless you want cache soup, stay away from stander glad-ware type containers. They are not waterproof, and water will get in it.

 

A little science: A container that does not have a tight rubber seal will allow pressure to push through the seal. During the day the container warms up with the temperature. The air inside the container expands a bit. The pressure pushing outward will let a bit slip by. Not much. Very very small amount. At night as the container cools there will now be a slight vacuum. Again, nothing tremendous. Would be hard to even measure. Just enough to pull a little air back in. Tiny amount. With this air will come moisture. Over time the moisture will build up in side. If its hot out, And it rains, the cool water will cook the container fast, and pull in some water. This will build it up faster, unless the container is sheltered well. Even a container with a rubber seal may get some moisture in it, but much much less likely.

[+ChaseOnTheGo]

Check out my website, the link is on my geocaching profile, or below.

Edited June 22, 2010 by ChaseOnTheGo

[+ecanderson]

RubberMaid is making a decent looking version of a Lock-n-Lock and is selling sets of them at Sam's for a very good price. Worth a look.

[+mchaos]

Check out my website, the link is on my geocaching profile, or below.

 

@ shameless plug

[+briansnat]

Hey Guys!

I love to hide caches, but I do not really like to pay the big prices. Lol.

So I had a thought, any people out there no how to make a creative cache that doesnt cost very much money.

Pictures would be pretty appreciated! Thanks Geocachers!

 

Take a look at the multi piece sets of Lock n Locks. Comes to a bit over $2 a container and you get a variety of sizes.

[+Jake340]

Hey Guys!

I love to hide caches, but I do not really like to pay the big prices. Lol.

So I had a thought, any people out there no how to make a creative cache that doesnt cost very much money.

Pictures would be pretty appreciated! Thanks Geocachers!

 

I found some great micro to small size caches at EMS. They are small clear/frosted bottles with a screw on lid. Only cost 2.00 a piece. Very helpful.

[greenworldfeather]

I have been using pill bottles and just about everything I can from around the house and yard to make them. I have probably hidden about 25 containers and spent about $60 or less on containers. One of the containers, a big metal 5-gallon dairy container, cost me about $25, but the rest I have gotten for about $35 and the only reason why they cost that much was because I ordered them online and they are really sneaky containers. I have used two or three of those, and the rest I have made myself from what I could find. Some of them are really hard too. And the stories are really great too. Go to my profile and you will see a few examples, among the couple hundred pictures I have taken of the mountains and stuff while caching. I set my caching expertise for hiding caches on doing them creatively. And believe me, that is not to be taken lightly on some of my caches. I know how to hide a small, regular, or large, and completely throw you off the mark with a hint and combine it with a creative container.

[+Harry Dolphin]

RubberMaid is making a decent looking version of a Lock-n-Lock and is selling sets of them at Sam's for a very good price. Worth a look.

 

Not impressed with them. I've got a few out there. One was reported as very wet, after four months and four finds. Yup. It was very wet inside. Might have been an abberation. But I'll avoid using them in the future.

[+briansnat]

Another option is Nalgene Straight Jars. I've had very good luck with them. They come in several sizes that range from a smallish regular container to a largish micro.

[+roziecakes]

Another option is Nalgene Straight Jars. I've had very good luck with them. They come in several sizes that range from a smallish regular container to a largish micro.

 

Ive seen caches hidden in Nalgene bottles, every one of them has been dry inside.

[+SwineFlew]

Garage sales. Those water jugs are water proof and cheap and ugly.

[+briansnat]

Another option is Nalgene Straight Jars. I've had very good luck with them. They come in several sizes that range from a smallish regular container to a largish micro.

 

Ive seen caches hidden in Nalgene bottles, every one of them has been dry inside.

 

Also a good choice but at 8 or 9 buck each they are kind of expensive. You also need a small log book. I've found Nalgene bottles with 3 x5 logbooks stuffed inside and getting them out was a chore. Invariably they were torn and tattered from people trying to extract them.

[+Charlie Fingers]

Do you know any persons that are diabetics? I have been for several years and for some reason I kept the containers that the test strips came in. I was thinking of using them for small screws or other tiny bits I use from time to time. I have only been caching for just over a year and have started using them as micros. For some of the harder to find caches or difficult puzzle caches I use solid silver 1961 dimes as FTF prize and they fit in these containers nicely with a little wiggle room.

 

[chai_latte]

Hey Guys!

I love to hide caches, but I do not really like to pay the big prices. Lol.

So I had a thought, any people out there no how to make a creative cache that doesnt cost very much money.

Pictures would be pretty appreciated! Thanks Geocachers!

look at any store with summer swimming gear - those little tubes that kids can hang round their necks.. also fro around 3 dollars go to any drug store and get those small capsules that hold 1 or 2 pills for travel.. ill post links to pics

http://www.imprintitems.com/custom/spl/8056600

and

http://www.alibaba.com/product-gs/29441889..._container.html

[chai_latte]

Do you know any persons that are diabetics? I have been for several years and for some reason I kept the containers that the test strips came in. I was thinking of using them for small screws or other tiny bits I use from time to time. I have only been caching for just over a year and have started using them as micros. For some of the harder to find caches or difficult puzzle caches I use solid silver 1961 dimes as FTF prize and they fit in these containers nicely with a little wiggle room.

 

ever thought of putting some sort of glue inside on the bottom and dropping one of those round magnets in there??? good idea huh

[Chumpo]

Do you know any persons that are diabetics? I have been for several years and for some reason I kept the containers that the test strips came in. I was thinking of using them for small screws or other tiny bits I use from time to time. I have only been caching for just over a year and have started using them as micros. For some of the harder to find caches or difficult puzzle caches I use solid silver 1961 dimes as FTF prize and they fit in these containers nicely with a little wiggle room.

 

 

 

I have found many test strip cache containers. If you have to hide a micro, those are the way to go.

[+LEGO]

Here is a link to an information page that I created on how to make a cache container from a plastic pop bottle:

Bottle-cap micro container

[+The Ravens]

Here is a link to an information page that I created on how to make a cache container from a plastic pop bottle:

Bottle-cap micro container

 

I've made many of there but a little different. To make sure mine were water tight I bought rubber "O" rings that fit around the mouth and then screwed the lid on.

[+Corfman Clan]

Go to Goodwill or similar and you can buy cookie tins for 50 cents or so. Give em a quick, thin coat of flat brown spray paint and you're good to go. I buy ammo cans, four for $13 and give them the same quick, thin coat of spray paint.

[knowschad]

Go to Goodwill or similar and you can buy cookie tins for 50 cents or so. Give em a quick, thin coat of flat brown spray paint and you're good to go. I buy ammo cans, four for $13 and give them the same quick, thin coat of spray paint.

For those that aren't from a climate such as Arizona (where Corfman Clan is from), I should point out that cookie tins generally make lousy cache containers. They rust and get clammy and damp and nasty inside after a time unless they are very well sheltered from the weather. Edited June 25, 2010 by knowschad

[+L0ne.R]

Go to Goodwill or similar and you can buy cookie tins for 50 cents or so. Give em a quick, thin coat of flat brown spray paint and you're good to go. I buy ammo cans, four for $13 and give them the same quick, thin coat of spray paint.

For those that aren't from a climate such as Arizona (where Corfman Clan is from), I should point out that cookie tins generally make lousy cache containers. They rust and get clammy and damp and nasty inside after a time unless they are very well sheltered from the weather.

 

I agree.

 

Some of them rust up so bad you can't get the lid pried off. Paint bucket-type cans are really bad for that - they're tough to open even when there isn't any rust. Even in the desert there's a rainy season, although things dry up pretty fast after the monsoon rains.

 

Some tin cans can stay relatively rust-free if placed in a protected hiding spot. Rustoleum spray paint will slow down the rusting process but it's a good idea to spray paint the outside AND the inside of the the tin AND place it where it won't get rained on. Be prepared to replace the painted tin every 3 months if it's exposed to rain.

 

For some photos of rusty, soaked tin containers see: Photos/Images of bad cache containers