What's In Your Geotools Kit

[+MMmm!!]

I was just wondering what tools you have found useful to put in geotools kit or backpack?

 

Obviously GPS, Flashlight but just wondering what else.

 

I was thinking of making a trip to Harbor freight for some misc items. Any input would be appreciated.

 

Thanks

[+Darick]

You might try this thread.

Edited October 21, 2011 by Darick

[+CatchyCacherton]

Generally I always have my cellphone and Leatherman in my pocket so if I'm going caching, all I take is my TomTom, Rite-in-the-Rain Notebook, Zebra Telescoping Pen. Wow that reads like an advert, doesn't it? I don't do swag unless its somewhere I'm specifically setting out to find or an FTF, then I'll leave a hollow bolt, less to carry with me. Finally a drink of some kind, usually coffee in the AM and water in the afternoon

[Narcosynthesis]

What I tend to carry:

GPS - obvious really

notepad and pen - copying down co-ordinates and notes at home, and making notes along the way. The pen also comes in handy signing logbooks.

Torch - handy for poking about dark holes looking for caches

Tweezers - can be useful for extracting some nano logbooks

Travelbugs and swag for the obvious reasons

 

It is also worth mentioning appropriate clothing, personal and safety items that will very hugely depending on where and when you are going - so appropriate clothing for the conditions, sunscreen or bug spray if needed, and suitable 'safety' kit for your location - for urban caches you are going to be safe enough in everyday clothes, but if you are heading out further you will want to think more about footwear, proper waterproofs and layers to keep you comfortable, a map and compass to get you home if the GPS dies (and the knowledge to use them), food and drink to keep you going and so on...

 

Typically I keep everything geocaching specific (ie the first list) in a wee bag, which can then be stuffed into a rucksack with any other day-to-day items I want to carry with me (jackets, etc...).

[+Chrysalides]

I was thinking of making a trip to Harbor freight for some misc items. Any input would be appreciated.

Specifically from Harbor Freight : tweezers, inspection mirror, a magnetic telescopic pick-up tool, a 36" grabber, disposable gloves, and if you want to get fancy, a cheap metal detector (meant for finding nails in lumber) and if you want to go all out, a digital inspection camera .

[+edscott]

Map, compass, pen, bug spray in summer, walking stick if going in rough terrain or snow.

Edited October 21, 2011 by edscott

[knowschad]

I was thinking of making a trip to Harbor freight for some misc items. Any input would be appreciated.

Specifically from Harbor Freight : tweezers, inspection mirror, a magnetic telescopic pick-up tool, a 36" grabber, disposable gloves, and if you want to get fancy, a cheap metal detector (meant for finding nails in lumber) and if you want to go all out, a digital inspection camera .

 

My Harbor Freight nail detector came in handy again recently. I can't say any more than that because 'certain people' might be reading this.

 

[AZcachemeister]

I was thinking of making a trip to Harbor freight for some misc items. Any input would be appreciated.

Specifically from Harbor Freight : tweezers, inspection mirror, a magnetic telescopic pick-up tool, a 36" grabber, disposable gloves, and if you want to get fancy, a cheap metal detector (meant for finding nails in lumber) and if you want to go all out, a digital inspection camera .

 

Yeah, that's about it for the Harbor Freight list.

Certainly there are a few things I would take that they don't carry in stock...but only a few.

[+mullyman]

I have a small bag with micro containers, pen, notepad, leatherman......and I think that's it. I also carry a camera bag with a hi-def video camera, a Canon DSLR, and 2 lenses. Sounds bulky, but my camera bag for hiking is like a messenger bag so it doesn't get in the way.

MULLY

[+Sky King 36]

Here's my reply from this same question about 5-10 askings ago, LOL:

 

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, when I am away from the car for more than an hour or two:

 

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
• Extra pens and pencils

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 less than 10 pounds without the vest or ASP baton. I try to stick around that weight, 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 15+ pounds, then you begin to feel the "weight burden" on your body, but 10 pounds, I never even notice. A half gallon of water would add 4 pounds to my load if needed and I want caching gear + water to stay under my "effort weight".

Edited October 22, 2011 by Sky King 36

[+power69]

I was thinking of making a trip to Harbor freight for some misc items. Any input would be appreciated.

Specifically from Harbor Freight : tweezers, inspection mirror, a magnetic telescopic pick-up tool, a 36" grabber, disposable gloves, and if you want to get fancy, a cheap metal detector (meant for finding nails in lumber) and if you want to go all out, a digital inspection camera .

 

My Harbor Freight nail detector came in handy again recently. I can't say any more than that because 'certain people' might be reading this.

 

they're great for finding nanos among 99999999999999999999999999 rocks!