Special Equipment

[+Team Whizzle]

Hello all,

I had a scan to see if this has been discussed previously so if I missed it please forgive me.

 

I have been caching since April 2011 and after reading many logs I have noticed people mentioning "special Equipment" Especially on the harder difficulty/terrain caches. I'm starting to look at these more "difficult" caches now and basically wanted to find out what people class as their "special equipment" or even items they generally take with them on their Geocaching adventures. I understand that some require kit like a canoe and you would arrange to have that on that particular day.

At the moment I carry a Gps unit, Notepad + pen for working out puzzles on the go, Swaps, Walking sticks, camera.

Then change of socks and waterproofs + food n drink

 

Would love to know what others take with them and also what they class as their special equipment.

 

Team Whizzle, London, UK

[+L0ne.R]

Hello all,

I had a scan to see if this has been discussed previously so if I missed it please forgive me.

 

I have been caching since April 2011 and after reading many logs I have noticed people mentioning "special Equipment" Especially on the harder difficulty/terrain caches. I'm starting to look at these more "difficult" caches now and basically wanted to find out what people class as their "special equipment" or even items they generally take with them on their Geocaching adventures. I understand that some require kit like a canoe and you would arrange to have that on that particular day.

At the moment I carry a Gps unit, Notepad + pen for working out puzzles on the go, Swaps, Walking sticks, camera.

Then change of socks and waterproofs + food n drink

 

Would love to know what others take with them and also what they class as their special equipment.

 

Team Whizzle, London, UK

 

I have a footstool in the car for drivebys that are placed out of reach.

Other special equipment that may be needed for extremer caches: a ladder, ropes, pulleys and caribiners - for climbing very tall trees or repelling/climbing cliffs

[+TerraViators]

Right now, a flashlight, a pair of ankle socks, binoculurs, pathtags, scissor, tweezer, zip ties, extra bags, educational material for muggles/LEO's, multi-purpose tool, D batteries, GPSr, cache ready to hide, exacto knife, sunglasses.

[+Chokecherry]

I have a flash light, extra bags, paper, pens, socks, paper towel, batteries, multipurpose tool (which came in really handy not too long ago to get a container open), tweezers, sometimes spare sunglasses.

 

I keep extra clothes and shoes in the car.

[+Catydid]

Good question and hope you get some interesting answers.

I am constantly adding little tools, some of mentioned above, and my cache bag is getting heavier and heavier.

Yesterday, we went to a cache that was rated 2 1/2 for terrain with a retrieval tool as noted to be necessary. The cache was 10 feet up a tree, with no lower branches and then only two climbable branches pretty far apart. Mr. Caty scurried up the slanted trunk and some how got to make the grab. He's much to old for this craziness, and I am glad no one was there to see his descent but me! Can someone please tell me what the retrieval tool could be for a cache like this--and could it really be "in your backpack"? Do lots of you folks really carry long poles and ladders around?

[+sword fern]

In my bag- a multitool, some anti-itch cream, a few pencils and my green sig pen, A homemade spray on Tick repellent, some swag (honestly I don't even take anything out of a cache), my GPS, and extra batteries for GPS backup.. Oh, and yes, a hand crank flashlight.

[+Chokecherry]

I forgot I bring a camera and some swag as well.

[+sword fern]

I forgot I bring a camera and some swag as well.

Most of the time I use my phone camera. Its dang clear.

[+GrateBear]

I'm looking to add a long handled "grabber", like those for reaching high shelves. Only problem is, the longest I can find is only 3'. Anyone know where I can get one about 6' long?

[+peshsr05]

To not repeat all of the obvious stuff.. but I also carry (space consuming) high leather out door boots. haha, this Summer I've had horrible encounters with burrs and I like caching in the woods best. Keeps them off my clothes and saves me from having to pick them all off of me!

 

Glad you asked this question, because I've been wondering what people use for some retrievals

[+The Jester]

Most of what I carry in my backpack while caching is just for weight - 60 pounds of sandbag, climbing rope, water bottles (filled, can be useful if my CamelBak runs dry) plus my cache kit, emergency kit (most of the 10 essentials and other survival items) and raincoat/gloves/food. Oh, and a couple of pre-made caches if I find that 'perfect' spot. It makes for great exercise.

[+lamoracke]

Lots of stuff, but stuff I wish I would remember more often are extra swag, a UV flashlight (ie need to buy one), and extra stuff to replace or hide caches.

[+aurght]

I carry a couple of things not mentioned. A hunter's orange vest and about 3 feet of #12 wire. The wire coils nicely for carry and has been handy a couple of times for retrieving and replacing the cache.

[+CapeDoc]

I carry

- waterproof jacket and pants (I live in an area where getting caught on the mountain in rain happens all the time)

- whistle

- an emergency pack containing

• multitool
  
• emergency blanket
  
• emergency pancho (for others acaght in the rain with me)
  
• matches
  
• alcohol hand rub (can be used to clean hands, disinfect wounds, fire starting fuel)
  
• compass
  

an "ICE" nano sized container - if I should not be able to speak for myself, containing medical insurance details

pepper spay (even in the wild we have problems with muggings)

hiking poles

sun screen

2l water camelpack

maps

energy bars

a cup to drink from steams

pens

compact towel(useful for swims in mountain steams, doubles as an emergency dressing, sling

headlamp

batteries

 

......all quite heavy actually!

[+L0ne.R]

3 feet of #12 wire. The wire coils nicely for carry and has been handy a couple of times for retrieving and replacing the cache.

 

Oooooo, that's a good idea. I carry long tongs but the wire idea would take up far less room in my backpack. Thanks.

 

BTW, in Oct/Nov I also carry an orange vest for myself, and one for my dog.

[+Cache Raiders]

We have the following:

 

Pens and pencils

Tweezers (for micro log extraction)

Extendable magnet

Extendable grabber tool

Scissors (for cutting thorny branches)

Extendable mirror

Multi tool

Bag o' swag

Cache containers (a small and a couple of micros)

Tick spray

Duct tape (good for getting small ticks off your clothes and repairing containers)

Extra batteries

Gloves

First aid kit

Ziploc bags

Water bottles

Trail mix

Wire

Cell phone

[TheCacheSeeker]

I usually carry:

some swag

cache printouts

gps

pen

Sometimes extra batteries.

 

That's all!

[+AmphibianTrackers]

I had been carrying a swiss army knife along with:

hand sanitizer

paper towels for cleaning out wet caches

our custom made stamp to stamp logs with

a pen

swag

band aids

Sun screen & bug spray all in one

Calamine lotion for all of the stings and poisonous plants we encounter

Benedryl because I am allergic to too many things

 

Today, we came across a LOT of cactus, thorny vines and sandspurs. We were caching along the coast and the tweezers out of our swiss army knife were invaluable!

[+L0ne.R]

Calamine lotion for all of the stings and poisonous plants we encounter

 

I carry Res-Q ointment and an Anti Bite pen in my pack. I was so glad I had them last week when I got stung twice in the right knee while finding a geocache.

[+luvvinbird]

I always have my camera and a piece of wire that I cut from a coat hanger, for fishing out nanos (1.5ml Eppendorf tube), very popular around here. Lately, bug spray would make sense to have on hand. I've seen a few geocachers with a walking stick that they use for pushing away underbrush, etc., while looking for a cache. Smart idea, I think I'll get one.

[+CanadaKate]

We don't take too much special equipment: a lobster pick and a bobby pin for fishing out those tiny logs in nanos, bandaids and polysporin for unfortunate accidents, and, my most useful special equipment ... a spouse who is taller than me who can reach those higher caches.

[+GrateBear]

I always have my camera and a piece of wire that I cut from a coat hanger, for fishing out nanos (1.5ml Eppendorf tube), very popular around here. Lately, bug spray would make sense to have on hand. I've seen a few geocachers with a walking stick that they use for pushing away underbrush, etc., while looking for a cache. Smart idea, I think I'll get one.

Hiking sticks is one of the best investments I've made. Good for poking in holes, moving brush, and climbing up and down steep hillsides. Also, hiking shoes/boots are a big plus.

[+theosus]

Benadryl.... For stings and allergic reactions.

 

ASP expandable baton. It's a great poking pole, and if someone starts messing with you a flick of the wrist and it makes a good deterrent.

 

 

 

------

Theosus1.Word press.com

Edited August 3, 2011 by theosus

[+mpilchfamily]

Have a look around the site. Do a search! This sort of thing comes up all the time from what kind of pack people use to what they carry in there packs.

 

Here is what i generally carry.

 

Leather gloves- Many caches are in or under hollow logs. You never know what might be in there with the cache.

 

Flashlight- to see into those dark holes

 

2 30 gal trash bags- For CITO opportunities, they also double as emergency rain cover

 

4 freezer bags- In case a cache is in need of a new bag

 

note pad- Helpful with doing Multis or if a cache log is full and there is room in the container for an added sheet to the log.

 

Bottle of water- no explanation there

 

50+ft paracord- Never know when you may need a bit of rope

 

Pen- another no brainer

 

hand sanitizer pen- Works as a great disinfectant for any cuts and scrapes you may get

 

Swag items (small toys)- duh

 

4+ cereal bars- A good hike needs some good trail food

 

3 or 4 film cans- Replacement containers if a cache is in bad shape. Not the best but will work till a CO can get out and do some maintenance.

 

Folding saw- Been several occasions on the trail i find trees and limbs over the path. Just doing my part to help maintain the path. It also came in handy once retreving a cache that fell into an 8 foot tall hollow stump.

 

large camping knife- Never know when a good knife can come in handy

 

3 sets of spare batteries- Batteries are always going dead on a GPSr

 

Compass- My GPSr don't have electronic compass' so a magnetic compass comes in handy at times.

 

First Aid Kit- for obvious reasons.

 

This is evolving into my standard response for these threads.

[+Sky King 36]

A lot of this will depend on whether you are more of an urban cacher, or more of a wilderness camper. Walking 3 miles out to a cache in the mountains or a swamp requires some contengency planning that won't make as much sense for a park and grabber. What I carry in my car as backup (like some extra containers or spare shoes) will be different from what I carry on my person. But, here goes, by category:

 

Cache finding/retrieving:

 

• Thin leather "mechanic" work gloves
• A telescoping mirror
• The camera and video on my cell phone, for inspecting places just out of sight but within reach
• A very nice 200 lumen flashlight, a 180+ lumen headlamp, and a red LED headlamp
• At least 4x AA and 10x AAA NiMH batteries
• An 8-foot long piece of 8 guage copper wire, which can be bent into tools/rods/hooks
• A 3-foot long piece of 12 guage copper wire for quicker use than above
• A Leatherman multi-tool
• A pair of forceps
• About 6-8 feet of duct tape for repairs, and to make a sticky "ball" on the end of the 8 gauge wire to fetch caches
• 50 feet of 50# woven fishing line for retrievals, with a 1/2" wrench socket as a plumb weight and magnetic retrieval
• A little notebook for notes and multi-solving

Cache Repair:

 

• About 8 sizes of ziplocs from 2" x 2" up to gallon sized, about 6-8 of each
• The duct tape above
• 4-6 sheets of paper towels plus 3-4 cleaning wipes
• 6-8 sizes of common o-rings for nanos and bison
• 4-5 sizes of log sheets, already folded into little ziplocs for easy drops
• A replacement nano and camo'ed match tube

Safety:

 

• Pre-packaged first aid kit
• Pre-packaged survival kit
• 3 sources of fire (lighter, waterproof/windproof matches, and magnesium flint striker)
• 1 or sometimes 2 water purification methods (tablets always, filter for wilderness hiking)
• Moleskin in case of blisters (a thing of the past in my Keen boots)
• Signal mirror (a totally underestimated tool, try using one once with someone a mile away, it is like a laser)
• Little scotch-lite reflective twist ties for trail marking, tho I have never used them

Protection as needed:

 

• A nice orange hunting vest for hunting season, and I love all the pockets for caching
• An ASP collabsible baton, although I bent mine and need to replace it
• Kimber Pepper Blaster non-aerosol chemical weapon
• At night, even without a strobe mode, my 200-lumen flashlight is a very effective defensive tool

Now, this all sounds like a lot, but, before water, my pack and all its contents weighs 12 pounds without the vest or ASP baton. I try to stick around 12-14 pounds, because that is a weight for me that is effortless. That is, I can walk all day with it and never feel any discomfort or fatigue of any kind. Once you get up to about 20 pounds, then you begin to feel the "weight burden" on your body, but 12 pounds, I never even notice. A half gallon of water would add 4 pounds to my load if needed.

[+RoandJoe]

Wow! Some people are a lot more prepared than us!! We don't use a backpack, we really just store our caching stuff in Joe's car and take what we need. Plenty of flashlights, batteries, pens, hand sanitizer (liquid and wipes), bug spray, gloves, a tupperware shoebox filled with bison tubes, nanos, pads for caches, lock and locks, geocaching logs for caches we place, among some "specialty" caches we're going to place in the near future, and last but not least an air horn because for some reason Joe finds it completely necessary (we've never even come close to having to use it)

[+barryadams307]

What head lamp do you have that 180+ lumes I want that

 

 

 

A lot of this will depend on whether you are more of an urban cacher, or more of a wilderness camper. Walking 3 miles out to a cache in the mountains or a swamp requires some contengency planning that won't make as much sense for a park and grabber. What I carry in my car as backup (like some extra containers or spare shoes) will be different from what I carry on my person. But, here goes, by category:

 

Cache finding/retrieving:

 

• Thin leather "mechanic" work gloves
• A telescoping mirror
• The camera and video on my cell phone, for inspecting places just out of sight but within reach
• A very nice 200 lumen flashlight, a 180+ lumen headlamp, and a red LED headlamp
• At least 4x AA and 10x AAA NiMH batteries
• An 8-foot long piece of 8 guage copper wire, which can be bent into tools/rods/hooks
• A 3-foot long piece of 12 guage copper wire for quicker use than above
• A Leatherman multi-tool
• A pair of forceps
• About 6-8 feet of duct tape for repairs, and to make a sticky "ball" on the end of the 8 gauge wire to fetch caches
• 50 feet of 50# woven fishing line for retrievals, with a 1/2" wrench socket as a plumb weight and magnetic retrieval
• A little notebook for notes and multi-solving

Cache Repair:

 

• About 8 sizes of ziplocs from 2" x 2" up to gallon sized, about 6-8 of each
• The duct tape above
• 4-6 sheets of paper towels plus 3-4 cleaning wipes
• 6-8 sizes of common o-rings for nanos and bison
• 4-5 sizes of log sheets, already folded into little ziplocs for easy drops
• A replacement nano and camo'ed match tube

Safety:

 

• Pre-packaged first aid kit
• Pre-packaged survival kit
• 3 sources of fire (lighter, waterproof/windproof matches, and magnesium flint striker)
• 1 or sometimes 2 water purification methods (tablets always, filter for wilderness hiking)
• Moleskin in case of blisters (a thing of the past in my Keen boots)
• Signal mirror (a totally underestimated tool, try using one once with someone a mile away, it is like a laser)
• Little scotch-lite reflective twist ties for trail marking, tho I have never used them

Protection as needed:

 

• A nice orange hunting vest for hunting season, and I love all the pockets for caching
• An ASP collabsible baton, although I bent mine and need to replace it
• Kimber Pepper Blaster non-aerosol chemical weapon
• At night, even without a strobe mode, my 200-lumen flashlight is a very effective defensive tool

Now, this all sounds like a lot, but, before water, my pack and all its contents weighs 12 pounds without the vest or ASP baton. I try to stick around 12-14 pounds, because that is a weight for me that is effortless. That is, I can walk all day with it and never feel any discomfort or fatigue of any kind. Once you get up to about 20 pounds, then you begin to feel the "weight burden" on your body, but 12 pounds, I never even notice. A half gallon of water would add 4 pounds to my load if needed.

[+CrackerFL]

Lots of stuff, but stuff I wish I would remember more often are extra swag, a UV flashlight (ie need to buy one), and extra stuff to replace or hide caches.

 

I have to ask, what do you need the UV flashlight for? I've only ever heard of them for use in tracking things like blood. I'm just curious how it would help when caching. Does it work sort of like a blacklight, where certain things you can't otherwise see just light up like crazy?

[+dfx]

I have to ask, what do you need the UV flashlight for? I've only ever heard of them for use in tracking things like blood. I'm just curious how it would help when caching. Does it work sort of like a blacklight, where certain things you can't otherwise see just light up like crazy?

 

Blacklight is UV light!

[+kunarion]

Lots of stuff, but stuff I wish I would remember more often are extra swag, a UV flashlight (ie need to buy one), and extra stuff to replace or hide caches.

 

I have to ask, what do you need the UV flashlight for? I've only ever heard of them for use in tracking things like blood. I'm just curious how it would help when caching. Does it work sort of like a blacklight, where certain things you can't otherwise see just light up like crazy?

That would be handy for clues written in UV ink (some of my sig cards have that, but don't tell anyone ).

 

UV light may make a container stand out, in the dark, particularly certain plastics. Cloth leaves used for stages in a Multi also may be easy to spot.

 

I have a UV penlight, and have seen similar ones on a popular Internet auction site for under $2 with free shipping.

[+TofuKat]

I have an old bookbag that is working for me for now. Nothing too fancy at the moment since most of my caches are just suburban. Even the ones in the "woods" are not terribly far from homes or shops.

 

Water in Nalgenes (one for me, one for the dog)

repellent spray

repellant clip on fan thing for when I'm stationary

purple pen

old notebook with routes + print outs for some of the caches

small box of trade items, mostly for just adding some swag to empty caches

wet wipes

usually a food bar of some sort

hand held fan and flashlight combo

grocery bag for CITO

pencil

itty bitty swiss army knife (pink, so it's less likely to get "borrowed" at work)

glucose tablets

 

 

Soon I will also have a safety vest & cap, a whistle, and the dog will have a safety vest as well. Also when my concealed carry permit goes through I may pack when I go out by myself.

[Narcosynthesis]

For almost all of the caches I have seen I have carried nothing particularly special - clothing suitable for going offroad, lights for when it is dark, a pen of my own for signing nano's, etc...

 

having said that there is one local cache that has been completed by people unprepared, yet myself and a fellow cacher felt it safest to do it with climbing harnesses and someone belaying you...

 

ou can also count a range of the more extreme caches out there - the ones requiring full climbing equipment (and skill) to reach safely, those requiring a boat, kayak or even diving equipment, and those that require you to own a pair of solid brass balls to pluck up the courage to go for it...

[+Manville Possum]

Tac light, multi tool, mirror, extra batterys, compass, extra logs, Swiss Army knife and a large handgun.

[+AmphibianTrackers]

Today, we carried a rake because we are tired of searching through leaves with our hands. I guess its good cover...we're just groundskeepers.

[+Coyote's Girl]

I tend to shy away from high terrain caches that require special equipment like boats, climbing equipment, hang-gliders or things of that nature. I have, however, used my 6'3" husband to reach things that I could have only gotten by climbing, or tweezers to get caches that are just out of reach, I've considered buying a "Quilling" pen so I can wind up those logs for nano caches. Flashlight, extra snacks, water. Stuff like that.

[+Coyote's Girl]

Lots of stuff, but stuff I wish I would remember more often are extra swag, a UV flashlight (ie need to buy one), and extra stuff to replace or hide caches.

 

I have to ask, what do you need the UV flashlight for? I've only ever heard of them for use in tracking things like blood. I'm just curious how it would help when caching. Does it work sort of like a blacklight, where certain things you can't otherwise see just light up like crazy?

Scorpions. They're UV reactive and something I'm terrified of. don't even like em when they're encased in acrylic.

[+CrackerFL]

Lots of stuff, but stuff I wish I would remember more often are extra swag, a UV flashlight (ie need to buy one), and extra stuff to replace or hide caches.

 

I have to ask, what do you need the UV flashlight for? I've only ever heard of them for use in tracking things like blood. I'm just curious how it would help when caching. Does it work sort of like a blacklight, where certain things you can't otherwise see just light up like crazy?

Scorpions. They're UV reactive and something I'm terrified of. don't even like em when they're encased in acrylic.

Seriously? Scorpions are UV Reactive? That's awesome!

 

In hindsight, now that someone said it, I guess I did know that blacklights are UV. Makes sense that some fake stuff would light up under that exposure. That'd be a really sneaky, very handy way to beat some clever geo-flage! Does it work ok in the daytime, or is it more of a night thing? I'd imagine you'd need a pretty high-lumen rated light to use in daylight, yes?

[+A & J Tooling]

UV light and some LED lights will make most man made items appear slick or shiney. Natural stuff will be flat or dull. So any metals or plastics will stick out like crazy in a pine tree hide or in some leaves. Passive night vision goggles will show shadows as darker then their surrondings. So looking into a tree or brush pile, the manmade object will appear green and the rest darker. Thermal imaging devices will give different layers or shades to different temputures. So manmade objects actual shape and size will be a totally different color then everything around it since it absorbs heat differently then the stuff it's hidden in.

 

Hey, before you freak out on the tools used, if it's avaliable for use, why waste a good resource?

[+AmphibianTrackers]

Seriously? Scorpions are UV Reactive? That's awesome!

 

In hindsight, now that someone said it, I guess I did know that blacklights are UV. Makes sense that some fake stuff would light up under that exposure. That'd be a really sneaky, very handy way to beat some clever geo-flage! Does it work ok in the daytime, or is it more of a night thing? I'd imagine you'd need a pretty high-lumen rated light to use in daylight, yes?

I want to know the same thing. What power of UV light do you need in order for it to be effective in day light and where do you get such a thing?