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Water bottles for cache containers


piper2323

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I think water bottles would make good containers for caches. They are waterproof come in different shapes and colours. Of course not metal ones(they would rust). Before I go crazy and hide them any where, has anyone found or hidden one, if so, did it work?

thanks

 

Yes, I found one. It was muggled in less than a month. I assume that someone wanted a neat water bottle for their future adventure trips. Since the cache container was replaced by a plane jane pill bottle, it has not been bothered for about eleven months. Your mileage may vary.

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Like plastic water bottles? I would think they would be CITO'd pretty quickly, and that the log would be difficult to remove. Are you thinking of a different water bottle?

 

I was assuming the OP was talking about the reusable water bottles like bicyclist/joggers carry. That is what I have seen used and muggled. Ha!

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There are ton of gallon jug in our hills. Some been there for years and never been muggled. One serious step back, they build up moisture inside due to the weather we get here. If you are talking about those personal water bottles, they are fine, but hard to get stuffs in and out. There are a number of Gatorade 5 gallon coolers in our hills. They are HUGE and never get muggled because of where its. I know one that stumped me for 30 mins and no, it wasnt buried :blink:

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I've found a few. It can be hard getting stuff in and out and the logbook can get damaged, depending on the size of the bottle. But otherwise, fine, as long as it's camo'd and waterproof. I found one bottle where the CO added some extra waterproof to the inside of the spout, some sort of goop, I don't know what he used. Usually I use lock n locks for my caches, but I think if you've got water bottles that aren't being used, turning them into caches is a great idea.

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I've found a few. It can be hard getting stuff in and out and the logbook can get damaged, depending on the size of the bottle. But otherwise, fine, as long as it's camo'd and waterproof. I found one bottle where the CO added some extra waterproof to the inside of the spout, some sort of goop, I don't know what he used. Usually I use lock n locks for my caches, but I think if you've got water bottles that aren't being used, turning them into caches is a great idea.

 

+1.

 

If you're buying new I would say spend your money on authentic lock and locks (not the knock-offs, they don't seal and last like real LnLs). Sears and Walmart sell them. Things tend to get crammed into water bottles - the logbook gets crammed, the baggie gets worn out faster, the geoswag gets crammed.

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I've been using wide mouth Nalgene or Nalgene knockoffs for years. They make outstanding cache containers.

 

I make sure that the log is small enough to easily remove. That is key because I've encountered Nalgene containers with a log book that was so big that the greatest challenge was getting it out of the bottle.

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I've been using wide mouth Nalgene or Nalgene knockoffs for years. They make outstanding cache containers.

 

I make sure that the log is small enough to easily remove. That is key because I've encountered Nalgene containers with a log book that was so big that the greatest challenge was getting it out of the bottle.

 

I've seen water bottles with the log inside a film cannister. That works well for getting the log out.

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I've been using wide mouth Nalgene or Nalgene knockoffs for years. They make outstanding cache containers.

 

I make sure that the log is small enough to easily remove. That is key because I've encountered Nalgene containers with a log book that was so big that the greatest challenge was getting it out of the bottle.

 

I use them as well (especially the old non-BPA free ones). I cut a standard 3x5" notepad down to a 1-2" strip. I use a bit of copper wire wrapped around the neck to make a hook when I need to hang it somewhere. A bit of camo paint (Krylon is my choice) completes the project.

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I've been using wide mouth Nalgene or Nalgene knockoffs for years. They make outstanding cache containers.

 

I make sure that the log is small enough to easily remove. That is key because I've encountered Nalgene containers with a log book that was so big that the greatest challenge was getting it out of the bottle.

 

I've seen water bottles with the log inside a film cannister. That works well for getting the log out.

 

No matter what the container, I often like to put the log in a film cannister. It works well, the only thing is make sure you say on the cache page where the logbook is and also label the outside of the film cannister. I've had a number of cachers state there was no logbook and then threw in a scrap of paper to sign and then everybody after them did the same thing.

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I've been using wide mouth Nalgene or Nalgene knockoffs for years. They make outstanding cache containers.

 

I make sure that the log is small enough to easily remove. That is key because I've encountered Nalgene containers with a log book that was so big that the greatest challenge was getting it out of the bottle.

 

I've seen water bottles with the log inside a film cannister. That works well for getting the log out.

 

I just cut down a notepad small enough so it passes easily through the mouth.

 

9b859348-3a20-4350-9a51-80676fe55f48.jpg?rnd=0.6342061

Edited by briansnat
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Some examples of water bottles that would be difficult to get swag and logbooks out of:

 

21FuelBelt22ozBottle-fb.jpgsigg2.jpg

 

I've found that one in the middle a couple of times and it was full of swag and a few bugs too.

 

Was it easy to get the stuff out? Most importantly, could you get the logbook out without cramming it?

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Some examples of water bottles that would be difficult to get swag and logbooks out of:

 

21FuelBelt22ozBottle-fb.jpgsigg2.jpg

 

I've found that one in the middle a couple of times and it was full of swag and a few bugs too.

 

Was it easy to get the stuff out? Most importantly, could you get the logbook out without cramming it?

 

You can indeed use bottles like the two on the left successfully with a little creativity. I have a cache in a bottle like that and no one has any trouble getting items in or out, same with the log. I have received a number of comments about how well it works. Just have to think outside the box, er, bottle so to speak.

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Some examples of water bottles that would be difficult to get swag and logbooks out of:

 

21FuelBelt22ozBottle-fb.jpgsigg2.jpg

 

I've found that one in the middle a couple of times and it was full of swag and a few bugs too.

 

Was it easy to get the stuff out? Most importantly, could you get the logbook out without cramming it?

 

I have a set of hook removers/long nosed needle nosed pliers that'll get anything out of anything so, I had no trouble but yes, the log book was rolled up and some of the swag needed a tool to retrieve it.

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I've been using wide mouth Nalgene or Nalgene knockoffs for years. They make outstanding cache containers.

 

I make sure that the log is small enough to easily remove. That is key because I've encountered Nalgene containers with a log book that was so big that the greatest challenge was getting it out of the bottle.

 

I've seen water bottles with the log inside a film cannister. That works well for getting the log out.

 

I just cut down a notepad small enough so it passes easily through the mouth.

 

9b859348-3a20-4350-9a51-80676fe55f48.jpg?rnd=0.6342061

 

that is great camo

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Nalgene bottles are polycarbonate (PC), which will hold up in sunlight. Some others, like the Fuel Belt pictured in one of the posts, are low density polyethylene (LDPE) and will deteriorate in sunlight. The caps on Nalgene bottles are PE but seem to be very high density PE and appear to hold up.

 

Only use bottles with a screw top AND a flexible gasket. (OK, a wire bail and a gasket, like ammo cans have, is OK too but I've never seen a water bottle with that feature. Good old Triomphe jar! Too bad no one makes Triomphe-style jars in PC ... they would be great containers.) Without pressure on the gasket, changing air pressure and temperature forces air in and out, and enough moisture gets in that the cache ends up wet inside.

 

I think that all metal water bottles are rust-proof -- either stainless steel or aluminum.

 

Edward

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Here's how I was able to make my narrow mouth aluminum water bottle work.

 

One of my caching pet peeves is the acronym BYOP (bring your own pen). I've come to expect that when I see BYOP on a cache listing, 9 times out of 10 it's a boring, log only micro or nano, so I decided to do a cache to poke fun at that overused acronym.

 

I called my cache "Bring Your Own Pen" and I did not designate a size in the listing. The listing itself pretty much just says don't forget to BYOP. My thought was that people would go out expecting to find a log only nano and then be surprised to find a quart sized bottle packed full of nothing but pens. It was intended to be a joke cache and people have certainly gotten a laugh out of it.

 

What I didn't expect is that people would start trading the pens as swag. It works well because everyone who goes to find it is armed with a pen or pencil. Since all of the swag trading is pen for pen, nobody is cramming things in that don't really fit and have to be fished out.

 

The screw off top is hollow inside and the log sheets are rolled up like a scroll and slipped inside. It stays in nicely and doesn't get trapped down inside the bottle. The top also has a key ring attached to it and a few travel bugs have been dropped by attaching them to the key ring. In fact, the first traveler that got dropped was a micro geocoin shaped like a pencil that was most appropriately named Bring Your Own Pencil. I got a kick out of that one.

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