Andyw91 Posted February 18, 2015 Share Posted February 18, 2015 My gf and I have recently started geocaching and we are planning our first full day geocaching excursion. We were wondering other than the obvious food, water, pen, gps and swag. What else to put in our bag that other more seasoned cacher's put in theirs? Quote Link to comment
+sa55ieca55ie Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Today, gloves would have been nice, I had to remove some rocks and the box was DIRTY, a pair of gloves would have been nice. Hand sanitizer also would have been nice. Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 Today, gloves would have been nice, I had to remove some rocks and the box was DIRTY, a pair of gloves would have been nice. Hand sanitizer also would have been nice. I prefer wet wipes myself. Hand sanitizers may disinfect your hands, but wet wipes will remove the dirt. There are many threads discussing what to bring. Among the top of the list is extra batteries (or if you're a cellphone cacher, an external USB power pack). There's usually someone suggesting "a sense of adventure" as well as "common sense" Quote Link to comment
+dprovan Posted February 23, 2015 Share Posted February 23, 2015 This comes up a lot, so you can search the forum to get way more information that you really want on the topic. But because of the precise way you asked the question, I'm going to answer that you shouldn't worry about what anyone else brings: when you're just starting out, you should just focus on enjoying geocaching. Food and water are good, although they aren't really related to geocaching. A pen and GPSr are required, but you know that. Feel free to play with swag, but also feel free not to worry about it if it gets in your way. Beyond that, the only thing I'd suggest is for both of you to bring a pen, mainly in case the other one forgets, or brings a pen that doesn't work, or you lose one. Once you get the swing of things, the other discussions about what to bring will make more sense. In addition, if you read those discussions first, you might find yourself weighted down with lots of stuff you'll never actually use. I admit I have a few things in my pockets all the time to help with geocaching, but I don't really use them that often, so it's unlikely you'll need any of them the first few times you go out. Quote Link to comment
+K13 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 "What do you take when geocaching?" When I have a driver, I take at least a six-pack. Quote Link to comment
+WarNinjas Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 Yea you shouldn't need to take a lot with you unless you are going for a high terrain cache. If it is a long hard hike you might have to bring some extra stuff but for most average caches what you have already listed is good. I don't bring food or water with me unless it is going to be a long hike. As far as for your hands I like to keep this in my car with some paper towels. Works great! Quote Link to comment
+Chief301 Posted February 24, 2015 Share Posted February 24, 2015 (edited) I don't worry about food and water....most of my caching is in civilization, driving from cache to cache, so when the urge strikes I just whip in to a handy convenience store or Mickey D's, which are also good for bathroom breaks. Every cacher has different preferences for their kit, tailored to their individual caching style based on their experience. Some common items that most everyone could use: Gloves Flashlight Pointy tweezers (for extracting tiny little nano logs) Pens, of course Spare batteries for GPS, if you use one, or backup juice pack or charging cable for smartphone, if that's your thing. Beyond that, once you've been caching awhile you'll develop a feel for what other gear would be useful, based on the type of caching you do and the types of caches that are prevalent in your area. Edited February 25, 2015 by Chief301 Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 OK, I will bite My geocaching backpack currently has: machanic glove ziplock bag of swag (i.e. traid items, including 10ish ring bottle openers) ziplock bag of batteries (AA and spare cell phone batteries) home made first aid kit in a ziplock bag toilet paper in a ziplock bag Hunting knife magnet on a stick travel bugs granola bars water Pencil/sharpener notebook waterproof notebook 3 late modle GPS (eTrex Legend H and 2x eTrex Venture HC) several biners(i.e. low grade carabiners, not for climbing) Giant flat blade screw driver (for finding benchmarks) headlamp/flashlight Quote Link to comment
+Chrysalides Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Giant flat blade screw driver (for finding benchmarks) Curious - how is that used? Quote Link to comment
+K13 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Today, I took my GPSr, my phone, my pen, a couple of travel bugs, and my Leatherman Micra. I only used the GPSr and the pen. Quote Link to comment
+blackdog7 Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Giant flat blade screw driver (for finding benchmarks) Curious - how is that used? I would assume (hope) to unearth a buried or covered benchmark. Quote Link to comment
+ayrbrain Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 the usual items are in my cache bag but I also take my hubby caching, he doesn't fit into my geocoding bag but he sure comes in handy when I cannot reach a cache! although he isn't a real cacher but just tags along…….he does come in handy at times Quote Link to comment
Andronicus Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 Giant flat blade screw driver (for finding benchmarks) Curious - how is that used? I would assume (hope) to unearth a buried or covered benchmark. Indeed. It can be used as a probe to find a burried benchmark, to unearth a burried benchmark, or as a prybar to lift a benchmark's manhole cover. Quote Link to comment
+niraD Posted February 25, 2015 Share Posted February 25, 2015 When I'm geocaching, I almost always have: 3 pens (Sharpie, Fisher Space Pen, gel pen) personal signature tokens cache repair kit (duct tape, O-rings, log sheets) hand sanitizer small LED flashlight Leatherman Micra Android phone with a geocaching app and/or my eXplorist 310 Everything else depends on where I'm going. Quote Link to comment
+floridapenguin Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 I bring way too much stuff when I geocache. So far my kit includes: Cellphone - always with me never left in car no matter how close the cache is to my parked car. Back Pack Swiss army knife with tweezers and small pliers Larger lock blade knife Boonie hat Old fashion paper street map of my area (N.E. Florida was very hard to find) Magellan Explorist GC GPS Brunton compass Note pad Flashlight Spare batteries (lots for GPS and Maglite AA size) Camera Lanyard with 2 pens, photon light, 2 log rollers (different sizes split pins from the hardware store) Extra pens and short pencils & a pencil sharpener in my backpack Mechanics gloves keep hands from being nicked up by thorns, burrs & sharp pointy things. My preference is the type without the finger tips A magnetic pen – purchased at auto parts store A retractable mirror – also purchased at an auto parts store Replacement logs of various sizes and small Ziploc bags of various sizes and an assortment of geo containers as replacements. I frequently come across containers that are in poor shape or broken Garbage bags First aid kit I made up in a zip lock bag Hand sanitizer Rubber bands (cache container repair I have also used the sports tape in the first aid kit for the same thing Water & snacks (usually cookies or granola bars, hard candy) Bic lighter Walking staff Gallon Ziploc with swag. I place all my swag in their own Ziplocs along with a calling card I made up. And since I am a penguin (a short bird without much reach) a folding helping hand long-reach pick-up gripper, only had to use once or twice. I will usually just put the bag of extra logs and Ziplocs and some swag in my jacket pockets for quick park & grab caches. Now the weather is getting warmer I’ll make a quick grab bag from an extra shoulder bag I have for the P&G’s with the swag, extra containers, logs and Ziplocs and take the camera off the lanyard. Quote Link to comment
+PlantAKiss Posted March 17, 2015 Share Posted March 17, 2015 I don't have all the tools I might like to have with me but a lot depends on how far you go and how much stuff you want to deal with. I try to have a pen/pencil, water, tweezers, knife, gloves, SWAG, mini-grabber (used sometimes in jewelry making to pick up beads), small Swiss Army knife that has a few tools, paper towels, camping TP, hikey-pokey pole, a loupe (cuz I like to look at stuff up close), mini flashlight, bandaids. If I remember I take a trash bag to pick up trash. I also have a mirror on an extender (for looking underneath things). You can get those at car parts stores. I try to have extra paper, log books, etc. just in case something is dire and needs help. Mosquito wipes or spray a must for the woods. OH and ALWAYS CELLPHONE. :-) Quote Link to comment
+GlobeTrotters7701 Posted April 3, 2015 Share Posted April 3, 2015 Looking at everyone's posts above I was suprised when I didn't see sunscreen and bug spray as two of the essentials of caching. Today my dear daughter I carried in my backpack, water, pen and notes (taken from people's logs), mobile phone, suncreen, hat, mozzie spray (we are in Nth Queensland Australia ), torch, bag of trade bits and pieces, some money and my sunnies. Also those wet wipes/towelettes you get from fast food stores are pretty handy too! Quote Link to comment
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