About Swag

[Dale_Lynn]

Hi...Been away from GC for quit awhile and did a few caches, a few days ago and found them either quite pathetic or plain missing swag. Has something changed over the years I have been gone? Is it no longer important to have a good quality cache with fine swag, or did I just do a series of pathetic caches

 

Dale

[+L0ne.R]

Here some photos of content from recent cache finds. Is this what you're seeing in your area?

 

 

 

 

 

The content is similar to stuff people were leaving years ago - lanyards, toys, golf balls. If only the owner's had used water tight quality cache containers instead of leaky dollar store containers, the contents wouldn't look like junk. Plus all of these containers had absentee cache owners. These days I'm seeing a lot of absentee cache owners that don't go back to check on and clean out their swag size caches.

[+wimseyguy]

I've been caching about as long as the OP. Except for the first year or two, I have always thought the swag degraded pretty quickly after a new cache was placed. I did find a few ammo cans out in the woods that hadn't been visited in 16 months that had better looking contents.

[+The_Incredibles_]

More people are playing the game nowadays. Unless a cache requires a long hike, no matter how good the swag is at the beginning, its going to degrade. When I put a cache out its full of cheap stuff that kids would like. On the rare occasion I put better stuff in it, within a week all the good stuffs gone anyway.I figure if adults need something they can buy it themselves.

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

We've had good success with the swag in our first multi. Pretty sure the numbers crowds have it on their ignore lists. I'm thinking the numbers crowd didn't exist in '03. It would be interesting to hide 2 similar caches with good swag except make one a two stage multi and see how they evolve.

[+briansnat]

I've been caching about as long as the OP. Except for the first year or two, I have always thought the swag degraded pretty quickly after a new cache was placed. I did find a few ammo cans out in the woods that hadn't been visited in 16 months that had better looking contents.

 

The quality of the swag has been a topic of discussion since I started caching.

 

With the preponderance of micros I'd think the swag discussion would be moot these days. One thing I'm seeing more of these days are regular sized containers, even ammo boxes, with no swag at all. More spillover from the micro mania.

 

Is it no longer important to have a good quality cache with fine swag, or did I just do a series of pathetic caches

 

That was never important to me. What was important was that I had fun and that the cache brought me someplace pleasant or interesting. If the cache had nice swag all the better, but those were rare even back in the early days.

Edited January 8, 2014 by briansnat

[+briansnat]

We've had good success with the swag in our first multi. Pretty sure the numbers crowds have it on their ignore lists. I'm thinking the numbers crowd didn't exist in '03. It would be interesting to hide 2 similar caches with good swag except make one a two stage multi and see how they evolve.

 

I think some cachers these days would have no idea what to do if they found swag. I'm sure there are people who have cached for some time who have never found a regular sized cache.

[+Titus1919]

Swag has been an important part of getting my kids involved in geocaching. They each have their own packs that they load with stuff from home.( no broken or McSwag stuff aloud) and they are responsible to make good decisions on what they trade for. Now they care more about finding the cache than the swag. Which I think was a good benefit of them starting by finding quality swag. Just my .02

[+NJSquirrel]

We've had good success with the swag in our first multi. Pretty sure the numbers crowds have it on their ignore lists. I'm thinking the numbers crowd didn't exist in '03. It would be interesting to hide 2 similar caches with good swag except make one a two stage multi and see how they evolve.

 

The numbers crows just care about finding pill bottles stuffed until lamp posts. No need for swag.

 

I would agree that multis are likely ignored by this crowd, especially if it involves hiking of any sort.

 

I own a cache stuffed with goodies that only has 4 finds, but it's a 300 ft hike along a well maintained/traveled trail. But a short distance away a LPC published around the same time has 3 times the finds. It's kinda sad

[+Yuma4]

I am the same as a previous poster, I fill my (Only 1 so far) cache with kid focused SWAG. My boys love finding "Treasure" and trading for an item. I have watched them take their own toys, some pretty decent ones, to trade for SWAG. We work a lot on honesty and equality. A great family adventure.

[Dale_Lynn]

Well it sort of looks like swag has its place.... Was never excited about micro-caches, to me it was not just the "find" but the "exchange" and I have a couple of really nice things I have exchanged for hanging on Christmas tree each year to remind me what a great adventure I had finding stuff....

 

Will continue to exchange swag if there is something in container...

 

New policy may be if cupboard is bare, leave something, take nothing...

 

Cheers!

 

Dale

Edited January 9, 2014 by Dale_Lynn

[+DonB]

Hi...Been away from GC for quit awhile and did a few caches, a few days ago and found them either quite pathetic or plain missing swag. Has something changed over the years I have been gone? Is it no longer important to have a good quality cache with fine swag, or did I just do a series of pathetic caches

 

Dale

Nowadays it's all about the numbers, 100 bison tubes a tenth of a mile apart, it's pretty hard to stuff swag into one of those. Once in awhile you do run across a rubbermaid container but most of them look like the ones you have pictured. I have a pretty good swag bag but don't even bother taking it with me when I do my occasional cache anymore.

[+Team Microdot]

I own a cache stuffed with goodies that only has 4 finds, but it's a 300 ft hike along a well maintained/traveled trail. But a short distance away a LPC published around the same time has 3 times the finds. It's kinda sad

 

Did you mean 300 feet? That's a tiny distance - I'm stunned if people aren't prepared to walk that far to find a cache

[Rat_Tails]

I usually leave something handmade, like a clay charm for a necklace or bracelet, but I dont take anything. Nothing has caught my eye as of yet, it's all been small-dollar store kinda stuff.

[+DragonsWest]

While it does at times seem to be all about the numbers I have placed two LARGE caches with a bunch of stuff from around the house I just didn't need our would never use. A real eye-popping selection for those who find these caches, most state since they didn't come prepared to trade they didn't (Despite the description warning they should be prepared to trade for some really posh stuff.)

 

Logo pint glasses, t-shirts (new, in bag), toys, toys, toys and some cool Guy Stuff.

 

Logs on these caches are usually a step above the crappy 'tftc' logging.

 

The two caches:

 

Big Dam Cache of Sheer Stashliness

 

Big Bad Stash of Sheer Cacheliness

Edited January 9, 2014 by DragonsWest

[+L0ne.R]

I usually leave something handmade, like a clay charm for a necklace or bracelet, but I dont take anything. Nothing has caught my eye as of yet, it's all been small-dollar store kinda stuff.

 

I love the handmade stuff, especially the swag that the geocacher labels nicely. Some examples:

 

Edited January 9, 2014 by L0ne.R

[+NJSquirrel]

I own a cache stuffed with goodies that only has 4 finds, but it's a 300 ft hike along a well maintained/traveled trail. But a short distance away a LPC published around the same time has 3 times the finds. It's kinda sad

 

Did you mean 300 feet? That's a tiny distance - I'm stunned if people aren't prepared to walk that far to find a cache

Yep 300 ft. To some, if they can't drive right up to it, they don't bother.

[+Team Microdot]

I own a cache stuffed with goodies that only has 4 finds, but it's a 300 ft hike along a well maintained/traveled trail. But a short distance away a LPC published around the same time has 3 times the finds. It's kinda sad

 

Did you mean 300 feet? That's a tiny distance - I'm stunned if people aren't prepared to walk that far to find a cache

Yep 300 ft. To some, if they can't drive right up to it, they don't bother.

 

Park-and-grabs have their uses but there's nothing to beat a good walk

 

Did a series of 50 caches recently that involved walking around 25 miles in total - I wonder how that would go down in your part of the world?

 

Back on topic - I've made quite a few of those paracord dragonflies myself - and they have been very popular. They each take around 10 minutes to make and I've not made any for a while as they can be hard on the fingers. And there are so few cachers in my area bothering to put out any SWAG at all that I get to thinking is it really worth the effort when a) there's nothing to swap for and b)my own caches which go out filled with SWAG end up empty in no time at all

[+NeverSummer]

Since the beginning swag has been a nice idea, but hard to maintain.

 

The can of beans was the last thing left in the original, right?

 

Unless an owner wants to keep adding "good" swag and removing the "bad", there is little we can do other than try to keep people honest with the trade up, trade even, or don't trade at all™ mantra.

 

I started out trying to only have caches that I could maintain the absolute highest possible standard. This meant close to home, on my normal routes, and in places that I could access at any time. I would check regularly (sometimes every day), fix the ziplocks, replace wet logbooks, place back in the precise manner I placed it the first time, and took out "bad" swag to replace with "good" swag. As time went on, that meant that I didn't place caches in spots that I really wanted to place them. As the urge to place more caches grew, the priority of checking on caches once a week was left in the dust. Now I don't spend as much of my time and money replacing swag. I'll still perform other maintenance, but so long as others aren't following the "trade up, trade even, or don't trade at all™" mantra, I'm not as willing to spend more money on "freebies" for folks who don't want to trade evenly.

 

Most of the time the "good" swag is just taken with no swap. When things do get left, you see the McToys and erasers instead of new, in box die-cast cars or decks of playing cards, etc.

 

From time to time I'll fill my caching bag with some new and nice swag to just drop in caches. I rarely trade anything anymore, as the images above demonstrate what I'm likely to find inside.

[+dprovan]

Hi...Been away from GC for quit awhile and did a few caches, a few days ago and found them either quite pathetic or plain missing swag. Has something changed over the years I have been gone? Is it no longer important to have a good quality cache with fine swag, or did I just do a series of pathetic caches

Yes, something changed. For most cachers, finding the cache is what's important. Very few cachers care about what's in the cache. I suppose you could call that "a numbers game", as others have, but it's really caching just becoming more focused. As a simile, in televised football games, many people used to watch the marching bands at halftime, but these days people are only interested in who's beating who. That doesn't make marching bands bad, or make people that march or watch marching bands stupid, it just means that most football fans no longer care about marching bands, so most broadcasts of football games don't show them.

 

Quality caches are still in vogue, however, although with swag marginalized, they can be much smaller than they were before. Generally, the poorest quality caches I run into today were the ones that were hidden "back in the day": they were high quality caches at the time, but they degraded over time and the owners have moved on just as you did.

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

New policy may be if cupboard is bare, leave something, take nothing...

Cheers!

Dale

I like that. I think I'm going to start rewarding excellent containers this way. Thanks!

[+GopherGreg]

Whenever I placed a larger sized cache I used to stock it full of swag. It seems though that with all the new cachers, they don't seem to consider fair trades as much any more. Usually I'll check on my cache a month or so after it's been published, and most often the swag in the cache is almost completely gone.

 

What I mean by that is there's a few items left. The items that were traded for the original swag are items that no one will use, like soggy business cards, beer bottle caps, and sticks, twigs or leaf bits from the ground which just stink up the cache and get it wet. I've found "protection", if you will, in my caches once, but at least it's more useful than twigs and moldy beer bottle caps...

 

I'll usually then remove all inappropriate or useless items from the cache and put a few more items in. If it's all disappeared within the next few months, I'll wait a couple more months to replace it. I love to place larger caches that people can make trades in and enjoy more than a micro in a shrub, but it's getting to the point where I'm putting more effort into digging up swag items in my basement than into maintain my caches and placing them.

 

I'm so out of swag items that my newer caches are very scarcely stocked. I'm not getting any complains about that though, so that's good.

 

It seems like for the new users you often have to spell out "PLEASE MAKE FAIR TRADES" on the cache page - I'd think it's the obvious thing to do. I know that everyone's definition of fair is different, but I think most will agree that a "action figurine for a twig and a wet leaf you found next to the cache" isn't a fair trade. Especially when other cachers would've liked to take that figurine, and would've made a decent trade for it too.

 

It seems like cachers who want something from the cache will throw anything in the cache that they can find in their pockets, like dental floss or folded up business cards, without considering whether it's fair or not. Then they write on the cache page something like: "Traded action figure for the bouncy ball". When I check on my cache later that day, the bouncy ball is gone, but it appears that they left a wet post-it-note instead of the figurine the y claimed to have left. Unfortunately there's not much we can do about it - I can give them the rules for my cache, but it's up to them to follow them.

 

And there's the occasional cachers who will re-stock the cache, for the CO. I've only had that happen once, but I've seen it on other cachers. Those are some of the people who help keep the game fun.

[cezanne]

New policy may be if cupboard is bare, leave something, take nothing...

 

But that's not necessarily what the cache owner prefers.

I prefer to have no swag in my caches and I'm certainly not willing to visit one of

my caches just to clean up the swag. I could hide micros, but I do not like them as they are

harder to find and do not leave space for trackables.

 

I also need to admit that it happened more than once to me that the log book and sensitive trading items

got dirty due to my fault when I had to grab the log book without being able to clean my fingers that got dirty

while I approached the cache. At quite a number of caches I have to log when I'm lacking a good stand and need one hand for

not sliding down a steep slope. Handling cache containers with a lot of swag in such a situation is a real pain.

 

Cezanne

[+Packin4andACache]

Hi...Been away from GC for quit awhile and did a few caches, a few days ago and found them either quite pathetic or plain missing swag. Has something changed over the years I have been gone? Is it no longer important to have a good quality cache with fine swag, or did I just do a series of pathetic caches

 

Dale

 

Dale, we totally agree! We've been finding very trashy cache's. I think it's horrible that Cacher's are okay with leaving behind "junk." When we go Geocaching we take some pretty good swag/trinkets! It's disappointing to our family to open up cache to find business cards, condiment packets, pennies... It takes the fun out of geocaching.

 

Packin4AndACache

[+Packin4andACache]

I usually leave something handmade, like a clay charm for a necklace or bracelet, but I dont take anything. Nothing has caught my eye as of yet, it's all been small-dollar store kinda stuff.

 

I love the handmade stuff, especially the swag that the geocacher labels nicely. Some examples:

 

 

Love it!! That's such a great idea! Going to allow my creative juices to flow and see what WE can come up with. =)

[+Sharks-N-Beans]

New policy may be if cupboard is bare, leave something, take nothing...

 

But that's not necessarily what the cache owner prefers.

I prefer to have no swag in my caches and I'm certainly not willing to visit one of

my caches just to clean up the swag. I could hide micros, but I do not like them as they are

harder to find and do not leave space for trackables.

 

I also need to admit that it happened more than once to me that the log book and sensitive trading items

got dirty due to my fault when I had to grab the log book without being able to clean my fingers that got dirty

while I approached the cache. At quite a number of caches I have to log when I'm lacking a good stand and need one hand for

not sliding down a steep slope. Handling cache containers with a lot of swag in such a situation is a real pain.

 

Cezanne

 

If you put a note on the lid, I won't leave nutin'.

[Dale_Lynn]

New policy may be if cupboard is bare, leave something, take nothing...

 

But that's not necessarily what the cache owner prefers.

I prefer to have no swag in my caches and I'm certainly not willing to visit one of

my caches just to clean up the swag. I could hide micros, but I do not like them as they are

harder to find and do not leave space for trackables.

 

I also need to admit that it happened more than once to me that the log book and sensitive trading items

got dirty due to my fault when I had to grab the log book without being able to clean my fingers that got dirty

while I approached the cache. At quite a number of caches I have to log when I'm lacking a good stand and need one hand for

not sliding down a steep slope. Handling cache containers with a lot of swag in such a situation is a real pain.

 

Cezanne

 

Got to wonder why you are involved in geocaching... All you negatives are what make this a adventure and enjoyable...

 

Dale

[+justintim1999]

Like everything in caching it comes down to education. Most new cachers just don't know any better. Not their fault, they've just never had anyone showing them the right way to do it.

 

At a recent geocaching 101 event we touched on swag and the importance of good swag. The event was designed to offer geocaching as a cost effective activity the whole family could enjoy. Good "new" swag can cost money but there are other alternatives to golf balls and McDonald toys.

 

We have a community service thrift shop in our town. They often have tons of buttons and pins and magnets, all sorts of really cool stuff thats inexpensive. The best part is all of the proceeds go to helping people in our community. Some local caches make things out of wood and metal and use them as swag.

 

Just remember you don't have to trade swag (even cheaper alternative). better to leave no swag than bad swag.

[+L0ne.R]

Just remember you don't have to trade swag (even cheaper alternative). better to leave no swag than bad swag.

 

That's a good point.

[+NeverSummer]

Just remember you don't have to trade swag (even cheaper alternative). better to leave no swag than bad swag.

 

That's a good point.

Good point, indeed.

 

Sadly, people will continue to just take the "good" swag and not leave anything at all.

 

I watched one of my caches' (it was a handful of feet from my house/property) contents go from quality items like unopened DVDs, new books, etc turn into nearly empty. "Up or even" trading wasn't happening, and it seemed that the stuff inside was being treated like "SWAG"--"Stuff We All Get"--not "trade items".

[cezanne]

Got to wonder why you are involved in geocaching... All you negatives are what make this a adventure and enjoyable...

 

Actually, I do not know a single adult cacher in my area who is into geocaching because of swag.

 

I like to go for nice hikes and bicycle tours and to visit new places. Geocaching makes me physically more active than I would be without it.

 

Do you really think that a single of the so far 15 finders of this cache

http://www.geocaching.com/geocache/GC3EFT1_vulkanland?guid=bc6fc608-511d-4790-91a6-63898366b82c

which leads 180km around a very beautiful region in Styria, a province of Austria

walked along this route to find swag in the final container? The cache above has been an overwhelming

experience for me (I walked a considerable part twice because I accompanied a friend). I could not imagine

an object that I could find in a cache that would leave me with an equal feeling. If I want to get a particular

object, I go to a shop and buy it.

 

As the troubles are regarded I mentioned that I encounter often with swag in high terrain caches this is probably something

you might not be able to understand as you have not visited many caches of high terrain difficulty which are located in very rough terrain (the hideout itself, not the way to the cache) and moreover

you probably have less troubles in such terrain than I do have. It simply feels bad if some trading items get dirty because

I have to touch them to get to the logbook and dropping swag and having to slide down a steep slope to rescue it is also

not very amusing.

 

I do not feel that boxes in the wood are a good place to leave valuable items - either someone takes them out and puts cheaper items as a replacement or the valuable items will stay forever and their condition degrades over the years. I do understand that children like to find some stuff. My own caches are not targeted towards families with smaller children anyway - they would bore them regardless of whether swag is there or not.

 

Cezanne

[+L0ne.R]

Got to wonder why you are involved in geocaching... All you negatives are what make this a adventure and enjoyable...

 

Actually, I do not know a single adult cacher in my area who is into geocaching because of swag.

 

I like to go for nice hikes and bicycle tours and to visit new places. Geocaching makes me physically more active than I would be without it.

 

Do you really think that a single of the so far 15 finders of this cache

http://www.geocachin...a6-63898366b82c

which leads 180km around a very beautiful region in Styria, a province of Austria

walked along this route to find swag in the final container? The cache above has been an overwhelming

experience for me (I walked a considerable part twice because I accompanied a friend). I could not imagine

an object that I could find in a cache that would leave me with an equal feeling. If I want to get a particular

object, I go to a shop and buy it.

 

It's a regular size cache with a large logbook. Very nice. Were you disappointed that it was not a micro? Did the swag in the cache diminish your caching experience? Do you think that some of the finders enjoyed the larger container? When there's a swag size cache at the end, those who don't like swag or travelbugs don't have to participate. Those who like swag, signature items, travelbugs get to enjoy that part of the experience too. It's a win-win for everyone involved.

[Dale_Lynn]

New policy may be if cupboard is bare, leave something, take nothing...

 

But that's not necessarily what the cache owner prefers.

I prefer to have no swag in my caches and I'm certainly not willing to visit one of my caches just to clean up the swag. I could hide micros, but I do not like them as they are harder to find and do not leave space for trackables.

 

I also need to admit that it happened more than once to me that the log book and sensitive trading items

got dirty due to my fault when I had to grab the log book without being able to clean my fingers that got dirty

while I approached the cache. At quite a number of caches I have to log when I'm lacking a good stand and need one hand for

not sliding down a steep slope. Handling cache containers with a lot of swag in such a situation is a real pain.

 

Cezanne

 

If you put a note on the lid, I won't leave nutin'.

 

Would seem to me a cache with no swag is just a micro.... Exactly what you seem to voice a distaste for.....

 

Dale

Edited January 13, 2014 by Dale_Lynn

[+niraD]

It's a regular size cache with a large logbook. Very nice. Were you disappointed that it was not a micro? Did the swag in the cache diminish your caching experience?

A few weeks ago, a friend and I hiked a couple miles (one way) to search for a cache. It was a regular size container, and we saw it immediately as we approached GZ. Even if we hadn't spotted the ammo can, the UPS would have given it away.

 

And yes, we were a little disappointed. We've come to look forward to the search once we reach GZ. Given the size of the container, there was no search.

 

And FWIW, there have been times when the trade items in a regular or large cache actually did diminish my caching experience. Sometimes, they were merely inappropriate (food, personal hygiene products, scented products, graphically offensive materials, liquids, etc.). Sometimes, they were much more unpleasant (mildewed, moldy, rotting, or otherwise disgusting). This happens much less frequently with smaller containers, even though smaller containers are much more common.

[cezanne]

Do you really think that a single of the so far 15 finders of this cache

http://www.geocachin...a6-63898366b82c

which leads 180km around a very beautiful region in Styria, a province of Austria

walked along this route to find swag in the final container? The cache above has been an overwhelming

experience for me (I walked a considerable part twice because I accompanied a friend). I could not imagine

an object that I could find in a cache that would leave me with an equal feeling. If I want to get a particular

object, I go to a shop and buy it.

 

It's a regular size cache with a large logbook. Very nice. Were you disappointed that it was not a micro? Did the swag in the cache diminish your caching experience?

 

Actually I cannot remember any swag being there and I do not think that anyone exchanged something except trackables which are no swag. There was definitely space for trackables something which I appreciated which is not the case for micros. I also like to know already from some distance where the cache is hidden something which is rarely the case for a micro. I also like to sign in normal size letters.

I said before that I'm not a fan of micros, but the reason is not swag.

 

When there's a swag size cache at the end, those who don't like swag or travelbugs don't have to participate. Those who like swag, signature items, travelbugs get to enjoy that part of the experience too. It's a win-win for everyone involved.

 

Did you read what I wrote above? In the case of the Vulkanland cache swag would not have bothered me (perhaps some swag was there anyway and I did not notice it) as the cache itself is hidden in easy terrain and the logbook was in a separate container. It leaves me with a bad feeling if unprotected swag gets dirty when I have to touch it and handling swag in difficult terrain can be a real pain for me.

So it definitely causes inconveniences for me. I do not have an issue with those trackables that are outdoor-compatible and not too large (like metal objects). If they get dirty, I can clean them. Plush toys are a real nightmare.

 

I did not write anything about the size of the container. It was about the contents. If there are separate containers that can be opened and closed separately so that I do not need to touch the swag when getting to the logbook, it is fine too if there are no muggle issues (at muggled locations I prefer no swag in any case as it speeds up the logging process).

 

Cezanne

Edited January 13, 2014 by cezanne

[cezanne]

Would seem to me a cache with no swag is just a micro.... Exactly what you seem to voice a distaste for.....

 

No, a larger container is usually much easier to find (I do not like searching for a cache once I'm at GZ), has room for trackables and in most cases contains a log book which I can sign in normal sized letters. These are aspects that play a role for me. Swag is an aspect that never played a role for me. If I want something, I go and visit a shop and get exactly what I want.

 

Cezanne

[+JL_HSTRE]

I like finding non-micros, but I usually don't care about swag. So even when I hide an ammo can it often has little more in than the logbook.

[+justintim1999]

I think swag is geared more for the younger cachers. Kids love swag. Adults seem to be more into travel bugs and geo-coins and caching in general. Cheep swag doesn't bother me all that much. Wet, broken or inappropriate swag dose. Kids just love to find "treasure". I always try to leave a cache with as much swag as I can hoping that a young caches will be the next to find it.

[+L0ne.R]

And FWIW, there have been times when the trade items in a regular or large cache actually did diminish my caching experience. Sometimes, they were merely inappropriate (food, personal hygiene products, scented products, graphically offensive materials, liquids, etc.). Sometimes, they were much more unpleasant (mildewed, moldy, rotting, or otherwise disgusting). This happens much less frequently with smaller containers, even though smaller containers are much more common.

 

True. An unmaintained poor quality cache is bad no matter what size. Probably worse when it's full of swag and ignored by the owner for months, even years. I've found a lot of moldy logsheets in micros and a lot of moldy contents in swag size containers. Liberal use of the NA log is in order for most of them.

 

If asked what would you rather find a moldy swag size container or a dry not-moldy micro where a swag-size container could fit, I would choose neither.

 

If asked, all things being equal, what would you rather find a quality swag-size container or a quality micro container, (where a swag-size could fit), I would choose a swag size container everytime. Why not? Everyone wins, those who enjoy swag/travelbugs/signature items and those that ignore everything but the logsheet.

 

 

[+niraD]

If asked, all things being equal, what would you rather find a quality swag-size container or a quality micro container, (where a swag-size could fit), I would choose a swag size container everytime. Why not? Everyone wins, those who enjoy swag/travelbugs/signature items and those that ignore everything but the logsheet.

The problem is that all things aren't equal.

 

For example, larger swag-size containers are harder to hide in a challenging manner. Those of us who enjoy challenging hides generally get more enjoyment from smaller containers. It isn't as simple as saying that "everyone wins" when cache owners hide the larger containers that you prefer.

[Dale_Lynn]

Guess my question is answered..... Also its my assumption any cache is fine, what we chase can be our own preferred cache models..... Real negative is cache owner who does not take this seriously and maintain a quality cache, no matter what size or form..... Thanks...

 

Dale

Edited January 17, 2014 by Dale_Lynn

[+L0ne.R]

If asked, all things being equal, what would you rather find a quality swag-size container or a quality micro container, (where a swag-size could fit), I would choose a swag size container everytime. Why not? Everyone wins, those who enjoy swag/travelbugs/signature items and those that ignore everything but the logsheet.

The problem is that all things aren't equal.

 

For example, larger swag-size containers are harder to hide in a challenging manner. Those of us who enjoy challenging hides generally get more enjoyment from smaller containers. It isn't as simple as saying that "everyone wins" when cache owners hide the larger containers that you prefer.

 

It doesn't have to be large. This very small 3.5"x2" (authentic) Lock & Lock can accommodate a logbook,a couple of travelbugs and some small swag. It could still prove to be a challenging find and be appealing to a wider audience.

 

 

Here is one of the 3" Lock n Lock's with a logbook, pencil and swag:

 

 

[+GopherGreg]

If asked, all things being equal, what would you rather find a quality swag-size container or a quality micro container, (where a swag-size could fit), I would choose a swag size container everytime. Why not? Everyone wins, those who enjoy swag/travelbugs/signature items and those that ignore everything but the logsheet.

The problem is that all things aren't equal.

 

For example, larger swag-size containers are harder to hide in a challenging manner. Those of us who enjoy challenging hides generally get more enjoyment from smaller containers. It isn't as simple as saying that "everyone wins" when cache owners hide the larger containers that you prefer.

 

It doesn't have to be large. This very small 3.5"x2" (authentic) Lock & Lock can accommodate a logbook,a couple of travelbugs and some small swag. It could still prove to be a challenging find and be appealing to a wider audience.

 

 

Here is one of the 3" Lock n Lock's with a logbook, pencil and swag:

 

 

I have run into a few tough hides that are decent sized containers.

 

GC2EM5W was a cache (small lock'n'lock) spray painted black hidden on an nonactive train, outside a museum. (With permission of course).

 

Though it's rated a three-star it could be put up a bit, to a three and a half, or maybe even a four. The container was still good sized for swag, TBs, and anything else you wanted to fit in.