Obsessive duct taping

[4wheelin_fool]

I find a pill bottle in the woods and it is covered in silver duct tape. Why? I suppose it could be prepared as use as camouflage on a guard rail, but the ends are not covered, so that wouldn't work. Plus, its in the woods. Then I find a pill bottle covered in camouflage duct tape, hidden under a lamppost skirt. Hmm. Someone else sees the activity and goes over to see what is there, and notices what appears to be a homemade pipe bomb. Its a lousy idea in urban areas. I've found plenty of other caches that are covered in duct tape that which is not intended to provide any type of camouflage at all. Yes, duct tape is nice for a few months, but wouldn't it be best to simply go au naturale? Does everything have to be covered in duct tape?

[+pkohler01]

So I'm guessing you're not the type who would buy a jacket made out of duct tape?

[+J Grouchy]

I'm always on the lookout for the perfect place to hide a cache where the pink and green leopard print duct tape would be appropriate camouflage...

 

[+niraD]

In addition to their camouflaging abilities, paint, duct tape, and other coverings can protect plastic containers from exposure to UV rays, which can degrade the plastic.

 

And then there are people who prepare a bunch of containers with no idea where they're going to hide any of them. Some may be "camouflaged" one way, some another, and it's a crap shoot whether any of them are used in an environment that really matches their "camouflage".

[+Ambrosia]

I understand that there can be issues. I know that Groundspeak recommends clear containers. But (shhh), I camo tape everything to death. It actually lasts a long time, at least on caches that I have hidden. I get nice comments in cache logs all the time about my containers/camo.

 

But, I've never understood camo'ing a cache with colors that don't work for the environment, like silver tape in the woods. I get that it could protect the container, but there are tons of color choices out there now, why use silver?

[+chasclifton]

I was just checking one of my forest caches today, since the snow is melting, and I thought of this thread. It is a wide-mouth water bottle (Nalgene or similar), and it is covered with Woodland-camo duct tape. No, that does not make it invisible, but if someone glances at the particular shadowy rock crevice, it is visually less obtrusive than a red or blue or purple or yellow plastic bottle would be.

[4wheelin_fool]

So I'm guessing you're not the type who would buy a jacket made out of duct tape?

 

Actually there are a few holes in my rain jacket that I plan to duct tape from the inside and use exclusively for nasty thorn adventures after buying a new one.

[4wheelin_fool]

I'm always on the lookout for the perfect place to hide a cache where the pink and green leopard print duct tape would be appropriate camouflage...

 

 

That's good deep in the forest where you would want it to be noticed. Or fun if you just like to cover stuff in tape.

[4wheelin_fool]

In addition to their camouflaging abilities, paint, duct tape, and other coverings can protect plastic containers from exposure to UV rays, which can degrade the plastic.

 

And then there are people who prepare a bunch of containers with no idea where they're going to hide any of them. Some may be "camouflaged" one way, some another, and it's a crap shoot whether any of them are used in an environment that really matches their "camouflage".

 

I didn't think about the UV rays, and that makes sense, except of course for the duct taped LPCs.

[4wheelin_fool]

I understand that there can be issues. I know that Groundspeak recommends clear containers. But (shhh), I camo tape everything to death. It actually lasts a long time, at least on caches that I have hidden. I get nice comments in cache logs all the time about my containers/camo.

 

But, I've never understood camo'ing a cache with colors that don't work for the environment, like silver tape in the woods. I get that it could protect the container, but there are tons of color choices out there now, why use silver?

I think paint would be much better. Duct tape tends to fade and peel off. I can understand using fun colors to be unique, but then find a silver duct taped pill bottle in the woods. If it was planned for a guardrail, it still wouldn't work.

[4wheelin_fool]

I was just checking one of my forest caches today, since the snow is melting, and I thought of this thread. It is a wide-mouth water bottle (Nalgene or similar), and it is covered with Woodland-camo duct tape. No, that does not make it invisible, but if someone glances at the particular shadowy rock crevice, it is visually less obtrusive than a red or blue or purple or yellow plastic bottle would be.

 

I dunno, I think spray paint would be better and more fun.

[+Chief301]

You can get camouflage duct tape. I've used it on several of my caches and keep a roll in my caching bag for repairs. Most of my caches get some combination of camo duct tape and/or a coat of flat OD green spray paint (for woodsy locations) or a coat of flat black if it's going in a dark hole in a more urban spot.

Edited April 11, 2014 by Chief301

[+frinklabs]

My favorite is hockey tape. It is cloth-based and comes in flat black, as well as camouflage.

 

Camo duct tape still has a shiny component; when searching for containers in the dark, the flashlight picks them out very easily.

 

Another upside to the cloth tape is that will, over time, acquire elements of the area in which it is hidden and become even more stealthy.

 

[+Chief301]

Another upside to the cloth tape is that will, over time, acquire elements of the area in which it is hidden and become even more stealthy.

 

....and gross....😳

Edited April 11, 2014 by Chief301

[+Ambrosia]

I understand that there can be issues. I know that Groundspeak recommends clear containers. But (shhh), I camo tape everything to death. It actually lasts a long time, at least on caches that I have hidden. I get nice comments in cache logs all the time about my containers/camo.

 

But, I've never understood camo'ing a cache with colors that don't work for the environment, like silver tape in the woods. I get that it could protect the container, but there are tons of color choices out there now, why use silver?

I think paint would be much better. Duct tape tends to fade and peel off. I can understand using fun colors to be unique, but then find a silver duct taped pill bottle in the woods. If it was planned for a guardrail, it still wouldn't work.

I use paint on ammo cans and magnetic key holders. Not on lock-n-locks. Honestly, the duct tape lasts for years, and I like it better as camo.

[+TriciaG]

One cache I found, the camo tape had faded to a nice turquoise. It made it easier to spot the cache. I'm not sure if the camo tape quality, the angle of the sun, or the age of the cache was the biggest factor.

[4wheelin_fool]

Well, Gorilla camo duct tape sticks better and has a nice camo cloth look versus the shiny stuff that fades and peels off.

[+Isonzo Karst]

Agreeing with Ambrosia. I paint ammo cans, and tape lock and locks (often just the lid). I've had excellent life from camo tape.

 

I tape to protect the tabs from sun. Tabs will break off in a single season here if exposed. Paint just doesn't cut it. It'll flex right off that joint and do nothing for sun protection.

 

I don't care about "shiny". It's not gonna be shiny long, and it's not really about camo for most of what I'm hiding.

 

Local to me there's someone using electrical tape on mostly recycled food/drug containers. It gets nasty fast gummy, sticky, failing. They're hiding pleasant "walk in the woods" type hides, mostly smalls. I'd love to hand them a roll of camo tape...

[+kunarion]

One cache I found, the camo tape had faded to a nice turquoise.

I had a Micro like that. It had the "Real Tree" plastic camo tape, the "removable" kind for hunting equipment, not actually "duct tape". Tan/brown "mossy" tree camo. In 5 months, in a partially shaded area, the tape was a bright blue. Same thing with plastic leaves for floral arrangements (I once used this effect to find a difficult "ivy" cache). I've lately been painting my camo tape, once it changes to non-camo colors.

 

To the OP, sometimes I think there's a spontaneous "Me Make Geocache" mentality. A cacher grabs a few items within reach, such as a pill bottle, duct tape, and a strand of bare wire. One wrap of duct tape not really covering the bottle (yet a corner lapped over the bottle cap), twist the wire around the bottle, loop the wire around a tree trunk, done. On the plus side, they first rinsed the drug residue out of the bottle. I hope.

[+briansnat]

Another upside to the cloth tape is that will, over time, acquire elements of the area in which it is hidden and become even more stealthy.

 

....and gross....😳

 

I had a micro stage of a multi where I used cloth camp tape, then impregnated it with clear sealer. For 6 years it was directly exposed to the elements and looked almost a good when I pulled the cache out as it did the day I hid it.

[+briansnat]

Well, Gorilla camo duct tape sticks better and has a nice camo cloth look versus the shiny stuff that fades and peels off.

 

I just came back from Home Depot where I discovered the new matte finish camo duct tape by Gorilla. Bought two rolls. We'll see how it fares in the wild.

Edited April 13, 2014 by briansnat

[4wheelin_fool]

Yesterday we did maintenance on about a dozen few paddle tos. The creek runs along a park where the upstream part is a popular dog walking area. In the creek was plenty of tennis balls, red rubber balls, foam balls, along with a few plastic bottles and some fishing bobbers, all which congregate near a few logjams. Usually I pull the balls out and toss them back into the park so that they can be reused by other dog owners. While doing this we came across something odd. A floating eggplant was found wrapped up with electrical tape. It was fairly large and in good condition, with the center completely taped up. I can only assume that it was some makeshift dog toy, or perhaps used as a training tool so that dogs could harvest a field of eggplants? I dunno, but my first reaction was that a geocacher was behind it somehow. Cant really tell unless it was camo duct tape though..

[DannyCaffeine]

*wraps self in camo tape*

 

You can't see me!

[+Sol seaker]

It may be hard to believe but other people besides cachers use duct tape.

 

 

[+Sol seaker]

You are right though, all obsessive duct taping is certainly not healthy.

 

I mean, what if she has to "go"??

 

 

 

[+The_Incredibles_]

I've only duct-taped 1 cache, primarily because the stuff is so expensive where I live.

 

However, after spray-painting many containers and having the spray-paint chip off or wear off, I can see why people might want to use duct tape. No doubt it lasts alot longer.

 

Sometimes, I do come across a cache and I wonder why it's duct-taped. The LPC pill bottle is a good example.

[4wheelin_fool]

It may be hard to believe but other people besides cachers use duct tape.

 

I don't think so. They all are cachers.

 

 

 

 

Edited April 15, 2014 by 4wheelin_fool

[+briansnat]

I made this case for my old Garmin with duct tape.

 

Edited April 15, 2014 by briansnat

[+cheech gang]

Love the duct tape case. It is ingenious that you left the little opening so you can still read the battery level, the most important GPS feature when hunting a cache!

[4wheelin_fool]

Love the duct tape case. It is ingenious that you left the little opening so you can still read the battery level, the most important GPS feature when hunting a cache!

 

I think it's very nice, although at first glance I thought he had made an old GPS into a cache.

[+aurght]

I have just started making hides. Taping and painting are both fun. I agree that paint often fails, especially on plastic. It's only a matter of time til I tape and paint the same container just for the heck of it.

 

Disappointed to read about camo tape turning blue since I just bought a bunch. However, I do expect to revisit my hides and not just let them sit without 'tuning'.

[+Ambrosia]

I have just started making hides. Taping and painting are both fun. I agree that paint often fails, especially on plastic. It's only a matter of time til I tape and paint the same container just for the heck of it.

 

Disappointed to read about camo tape turning blue since I just bought a bunch. However, I do expect to revisit my hides and not just let them sit without 'tuning'.

It completely depends on the brand. I bought some, can't remember where, that turned blue fairly quickly. But the kind I'm using right now, from Wal-mart, has never given me any problems.