Suggestions for Practical SWAG?

[+Flyingcompass]

I like to put SWAG and swaps into my larger caches that have a practical value, but im running out of ideas. I normally start a new cache off with a button compass (my sig item). Other practical items I put in are things like antenna lead adaptors, SD card cases, radiator keys, key chains, small gauges/tools, etc. Ive some 'housewives' (small emergency sewing kits, like you get in hotel rooms) to go in the next ones.

 

What other 'practical' but cheap items could I include?

[+Team Microdot]

I have a small carabiner that was a swag item in a cache I found.

 

I quite often night cache alone in upland areas and losing keys in such circumstances would be a nightmare - so I use the small carabiner to clip my keys to a belt loop - and I know they won't get lost :-)

 

Managed to pick up a bunch of them on Ebay for pennies each so I can put them out as swag for others.

[+cerberus1]

I like things I'd use and "housewives" or not, I have a mini sewing kit in all my larger bags.

We put mini Totes umbrellas in ammo cans when there's room, thinking some may actually use them when accessing hides in the rain. Two bucks (or less) when on sale at Target.

We pick up carabiner key straps at work and folks seem to grab them.

Heavy magnetic clips (like a wide clothespin)get grabbed.

Mini first aid kits (buck a piece at Target) are usually gone quick.

A cheapy pocho can save the day if the weather gets crappy.

When Home Depot has a sale on the multi LED AAA lights and they're a buck or less ea, we'll place 'em in caches that are a distance away. Someone may need 'em to get back.

[+NanCycle]

Lanyards

 

Bungee cords

[+Team Microdot]

I have a small carabiner that was a swag item in a cache I found.

 

I quite often night cache alone in upland areas and losing keys in such circumstances would be a nightmare - so I use the small carabiner to clip my keys to a belt loop - and I know they won't get lost :-)

 

Managed to pick up a bunch of them on Ebay for pennies each so I can put them out as swag for others.

[+ByronForestPreserve]

One of the better things I got from a cache was a reusable shopping bag that folded up into a small pocket. Our recycling center sells something similar for a dollar each. I also buy out the stock of those extending magnetic tools or mirrors when they're in the dollar bin at the hardware store. Depending on what you want to spend, you could look up a place that does personalized/logo promotional items. Some even have a closeout section. Doing a quick search and browsing the first result, I see pens, pencils, rulers, lanyards, totes, and notebooks from fifty cents to a buck each...plus they'll have your caching name on them.

[+Shanghai Joe]

In the right season I often leave packets of seeds, in dry caches only of course! I enjoy gardening and I like to think that these may give enjoyment to others.

[+The_Incredibles_]

This is a good thread. I'm totally guilty of filling my caches with toys simply because we have so many lying around the house.

 

Swag for adults: playing cards, flagging tape, carabiners, hand warmers, plastic shower caps, moleskin, sewing or 1st-aid kits, foreign coins.

 

In our very moist area, things like lanyards and pencils are no good as they tend to get mildewy. I've come across more than 1 pencil that was totally fuzzy with mold.

[+GraceThalia]

Swag for adults: playing cards

 

I have so many packs of playing cards around my house I've been wanting to get rid of. Don't know why I hadn't thought about putting them in caches before. Thanks for the idea!

[+NanCycle]

In the right season I often leave packets of seeds, in dry caches only of course! I enjoy gardening and I like to think that these may give enjoyment to others.

 

Not such a good idea, as small critters might consider the seeds to be food.

[+L0ne.R]

I have a small carabiner that was a swag item in a cache I found.

 

I quite often night cache alone in upland areas and losing keys in such circumstances would be a nightmare - so I use the small carabiner to clip my keys to a belt loop - and I know they won't get lost :-)

 

Managed to pick up a bunch of them on Ebay for pennies each so I can put them out as swag for others.

 

I agree that carabiners are useful swag items. I too use one to clip my keys to my belt. After a couple of scares -- dropped my keys while caching, clipping them to my belt loop with a carabiner has helped me spend more time caching, less time searching frantically for lost keys. I also have a carabiner on my gps to hook it to a belt loop. Carabiners are great swag.

[+msrubble]

• hunting vest
  
• tweezers
  
• nail clippers
  
• compact mirror
  
• pet travel bowl
  
• reusable water bottle
  
• pair fresh AA batteries (in package or plastic bag)
  
• calculator
  

[+niraD]

You can make a log roller (for nano-cache logs) fairly inexpensively.

 

The other ideas I had for practical trade items have already been mentioned by others.

[+Flyingcompass]

wow,some great ideas there!

 

I especially like the idea of a couple of fresh spare AA's! Just the thing to find as your GPSr's battery begins to fade!

[+Team Microdot]

wow,some great ideas there!

 

I especially like the idea of a couple of fresh spare AA's! Just the thing to find as your GPSr's battery begins to fade!

 

Until they corrode and cover the cache and contents in corrosive goo.

[+J Grouchy]

• 
   
  
• reusable water bottle
   
  

 

Might just be me, I don't think I would ever TAKE anything I'm supposed to put to or in my mouth...even if it's new.

[+cerberus1]

wow,some great ideas there!

 

I especially like the idea of a couple of fresh spare AA's! Just the thing to find as your GPSr's battery begins to fade!

 

Until they corrode and cover the cache and contents in corrosive goo.

Yeah, we've seen what they do to the bottoms of our ammo cans if not double bagged.

We separate AAAs from LED lights we leave (separate baggy inside another) as a just-in-case, but compared to the carp normally left, they go quick enough it hasn't been an issue.

[+frinklabs]

Insect repellent wipes, where geographically appropriate

 

Mini glow sticks. Kids of all ages love these and they're cheap. I have dropped more than a hundred of these in caches, trade or not.

[+Flyingcompass]

wow,some great ideas there!

 

I especially like the idea of a couple of fresh spare AA's! Just the thing to find as your GPSr's battery begins to fade!

 

Until they corrode and cover the cache and contents in corrosive goo.

 

If fresh, and sealed, they wont corrode. They will if part used or inside an electrical device, or if they are of cheap construction. Trust me, im an electronics engineer! A decent make alkaline such as Duracell procel should be used, stay away from cheapo chinese cells!

 

I suspect they would be traded out very fast anyway

[+Team Microdot]

wow,some great ideas there!

 

I especially like the idea of a couple of fresh spare AA's! Just the thing to find as your GPSr's battery begins to fade!

 

Until they corrode and cover the cache and contents in corrosive goo.

 

If fresh, and sealed, they wont corrode. They will if part used or inside an electrical device, or if they are of cheap construction. Trust me, im an electronics engineer! A decent make alkaline such as Duracell procel should be used, stay away from cheapo chinese cells!

 

I suspect they would be traded out very fast anyway

 

I was about to add that I had heard, somewhere, that alkaline cells didn't corrode and burst in the same way as other cell types, but I couldn't swear to how true that is.

 

As for putting them in a plastic bag, or even double-bagging them (mentioned earlier in thread) I can't see that helping - how is a plastic bag going to contain substances strong enough to corrode through a metal casing? Obviously there are plastics that can contain corrosive substances but I very much doubt the plastic used in the average bag is up to the job.

 

Nor would I put batteries I found in a cache in my comparatively expensive device - as I have no way of knowing how old they were when they were purchased or how long they've been in the cache.

 

I agree it's a nice to think that you'll be helping out a fellow cacher with just the thing they need just as they need it, I just wonder how many times it actually works out that way compared to how many times the batteries are left in the cache until they rot and mess things up.

[+L0ne.R]

Insect repellent wipes, where geographically appropriate

 

I just used an Off wipe yesterday. They are great swag during the spring/summer months, for those of us who thought we packed repellent in our backpack but it turns out we didn't.

[+The_Incredibles_]

wow,some great ideas there!

 

I especially like the idea of a couple of fresh spare AA's! Just the thing to find as your GPSr's battery begins to fade!

 

Until they corrode and cover the cache and contents in corrosive goo.

 

This is my experience. I've found batteries in caches and wouldn't recommend them as swag. Maybe good as a FTF prize, but I wouldn't put them in unless you know they're going to be taken soon.

Edited May 30, 2013 by The_Incredibles_

[+CominInHot]

<<-----what about mini fans?

[+frinklabs]

Insect repellent wipes, where geographically appropriate

 

I just used an Off wipe yesterday. They are great swag during the spring/summer months, for those of us who thought we packed repellent in our backpack but it turns out we didn't.

 

It was an excellent cache I did on the weekend that reminded me how useful they are:

 

[saiyuri]

Planning my first caching trip this weekend (so looking for ideas of swag to bring ) was wondering if wind up torches (in plastic bags!) would be a good / appreciated item

 

Also not sure where do people stand on badges was thinking ones with book qoutes that are relevent to exploring or finding things would be cool, but some people seem to dislike non geocaching badges, so not sure (the first qoute that springs to mind is 'Not all those who wander are lost') not really practicle though.

[+6NoisyHikers]

We like to place these dehydrated towelettes in caches. You can find them fairly cheap in dollar stores.

 

[+NYPaddleCacher]

When I do trade swag most often I drop in one or more foreign coins. I've got quite a collection from my travels and if I wanted more there are a bunch of web sites where one can buy them in bulk and they'll fit into pretty much any cache bigger than a bison tube.

[+NanCycle]

wow,some great ideas there!

 

I especially like the idea of a couple of fresh spare AA's! Just the thing to find as your GPSr's battery begins to fade!

 

Until they corrode and cover the cache and contents in corrosive goo.

 

If fresh, and sealed, they wont corrode. They will if part used or inside an electrical device, or if they are of cheap construction. Trust me, im an electronics engineer! A decent make alkaline such as Duracell procel should be used, stay away from cheapo chinese cells!

 

I suspect they would be traded out very fast anyway

 

I'm afraid, though, that the typical trade would be to take the new batteries and leave their old ones.

[+L0ne.R]

Planning my first caching trip this weekend (so looking for ideas of swag to bring ) was wondering if wind up torches (in plastic bags!) would be a good / appreciated item

 

Also not sure where do people stand on badges was thinking ones with book qoutes that are relevent to exploring or finding things would be cool, but some people seem to dislike non geocaching badges, so not sure (the first qoute that springs to mind is 'Not all those who wander are lost') not really practicle though.

 

Little flashlights (torches) are good swag. So are badges - I assume you mean pin back buttons? I use to leave geocaching related buttons in caches and got some good feedback from finders who took them. One problem with buttons is they can get rusty if the cache is leaky, even if placed in a little baggie. If you mean cloth embroidered badges/patches, those would be nice too.

[+4heberts]

We have often left packaged insect wipes and handi-wipes; both are items that we have used ourselves when out in the field. We also keep a quantity of high-quality American flag decals for dropping in caches, which appeal to most everyone.

[+etphoneme2plz]

Thanks for the ideas!!!!

[Hosscatt]

Ive been going to the Dollar Tree here and finding some pretty nice stuff to leave. Bandanas, those plastic cool wraps you stick in the freezer, mosquito repelling bracelets, even had some small solar powered garden rocks.

[+ras_oscar]

When I cache I carry a small cache repair kit. I sewed a small pouch with a velcor top out of a peice of denim. Inside are a few prerolled blinkey logs, some slips of note paper for larger logs, and some small zlock bags. I've often thought of making up a few more to trade, just never got around to it. Next time you're on the trail and wish you had somehting, write it down and swag it.

[+edscott]

In the right season I often leave packets of seeds, in dry caches only of course! I enjoy gardening and I like to think that these may give enjoyment to others.

 

Not such a good idea, as small critters might consider the seeds to be food.

 

Good containers are critter proof.

[+J Grouchy]

In the right season I often leave packets of seeds, in dry caches only of course! I enjoy gardening and I like to think that these may give enjoyment to others.

 

Not such a good idea, as small critters might consider the seeds to be food.

 

Good containers are critter proof.

 

It doesn't matter how "critter proof" a container is if the critter can just carry the container off and away from the hiding spot. Best not to even tempt a critter at all.

[+L0ne.R]

In the right season I often leave packets of seeds, in dry caches only of course! I enjoy gardening and I like to think that these may give enjoyment to others.

 

Not such a good idea, as small critters might consider the seeds to be food.

 

Good containers are critter proof.

 

I agree. Leave the seeds in ammo cans and authentic Lock & Locks. I once found these seeds and thought they were a cool item:

 

[Hosscatt]

Found some canning labels for jars in Wal-Mart for really cheap. I thought they were cute, so someone who cans fruit might enjoy them

[MRC1925T]

Great thread and lots of good ideas.

 

I've left mini flash lights, volt meters, screw driver sets, small & medium sized tape measures, scissors, stress balls, mini picture frames, pens, sticky notes, small rulers, small pencil boxes, key chains, ready-to-be-placed micro caches, magnetic refrigerator clips, mini bottle of hand sanitizer, reusable bags, and maps.

 

Some practical items I traded for include plastic battery case/holder, repellent wipes, clip on battery powered reflector (can be used on a bike or can be worn), mini survival kit, mini bicycle tire patch kit, mini pouches, pocket calculator, & SD card.

 

Other useful items that I have seen in caches or heard about through fellow cachers include lanyards, carabiners, band-aid kit, whistles, lip balm, sun screen packet, eye glass cloth, snake bite kit, and bottle opener.

 

As others have mentioned, the Dollar Store is a good place to look for swag. There's also Target's One Spot aisle too. I sometimes get promo items through work which I don't have a use for so I put them in caches.

Edited June 8, 2013 by MRC1925T

[+Geo_Ducks]

Very good trend... I thought about adult swags, I have tons of kids swags till I found this trend. Thanks, I get pretty good ideas.

[DiscipleofChrist-Doc]

Planning my first caching trip this weekend (so looking for ideas of swag to bring ) was wondering if wind up torches (in plastic bags!) would be a good / appreciated item

 

Also not sure where do people stand on badges was thinking ones with book qoutes that are relevent to exploring or finding things would be cool, but some people seem to dislike non geocaching badges, so not sure (the first qoute that springs to mind is 'Not all those who wander are lost') not really practicle though.

 

Lol that's toatlly the quote I would use to.

[+Cliff's Notes]

Insect repellent wipes, where geographically appropriate

 

I just used an Off wipe yesterday. They are great swag during the spring/summer months, for those of us who thought we packed repellent in our backpack but it turns out we didn't.

 

One cache that got a favorite vote from me was an ammo can near the entrance to a park with lots of caches and trails. The cool thing was there was a bottle of Skintastic OFF! inside. I had not even thought about repellant for the day but there it was. Just in time as well as the Florida mosquitos were zeroing in on my delicious blood. It was not so much swag as a cool feature to the cache appropriately placed. That was there for all cachers passing by.