Slim-Bobs are Slim Pickings

[+infiniteMPG]

There are some tried and true micro containers out there and one we used a lot is Slim-Bobs, a heavy gauge plastic pouch wrapped in camo duct tape with a log sheet and placed somewhere with Velcro or magnets. Here in Florida the weather just seems to be eating these up lately. Fairly new hides turning into mush. Part of the problem is some cachers not sealing them good after finding, too.

 

So the question is, what is a more durable thing to use aside from this same old method? Don't mind being a CO but would like to spend a little less time replacing hides.

[+kunarion]

11 minutes ago, infiniteMPG said:

There are some tried and true micro containers out there and one we used a lot is Slim-Bobs, a heavy gauge plastic pouch wrapped in camo duct tape with a log sheet and placed somewhere with Velcro or magnets. Here in Florida the weather just seems to be eating these up lately. Fairly new hides turning into mush. Part of the problem is some cachers not sealing them good after finding, too.

 

So the question is, what is a more durable thing to use aside from this same old method? Don't mind being a CO but would like to spend a little less time replacing hides.

 

If I placed one of those, I think I'd just plan to replace it on a schedule.  The plastic material varies, so a thing that once worked great is not so great anymore.

 

But there are nicer zip-lock bags.  Look in office stores and discount stores that have a clearance section, for "waterproof phone covers".  There are thin, flat, zipper-sealed pouches, some pretty small, and you may get a great deal on them.  The phone is obsolete, but the pouch still works.

 

 

Edited February 21, 2021 by kunarion

[+JL_HSTRE]

Preforms are cheap, durable, and waterproof (if cachers aren't too hurried to replace a simple and easy screw cap lid). They wont wear out like ziplocks or camo tape.

[+cerberus1]

13 hours ago, infiniteMPG said:

There are some tried and true micro containers out there and one we used a lot is Slim-Bobs, a heavy gauge plastic pouch wrapped in camo duct tape with a log sheet and placed somewhere with Velcro or magnets. Here in Florida the weather just seems to be eating these up lately. Fairly new hides turning into mush. Part of the problem is some cachers not sealing them good after finding, too.

 

So the question is, what is a more durable thing to use aside from this same old method? Don't mind being a CO but would like to spend a little less time replacing hides.

 

Aren't we really talking about a freezer bag as a container here ?      Most we've found were a maintenance issue...  

Something like a waterproof beach pouch, like an aquapac would work,  but then folks are probably stealing it before any issues. 

There's a few types based on price, and you get what you pay for, but some people can't close an ammo can (forget a decon container...), and you're back to square one.

Like JL_HSTRE, we feel if you want to go cheap and make 'em last a while, a box of preforms is probably the ticket.

[+Mudfrog]

On 2/21/2021 at 8:52 AM, kunarion said:

 

If I placed one of those, I think I'd just plan to replace it on a schedule.  The plastic material varies, so a thing that once worked great is not so great anymore.

 

But there are nicer zip-lock bags.  Look in office stores and discount stores that have a clearance section, for "waterproof phone covers".  There are thin, flat, zipper-sealed pouches, some pretty small, and you may get a great deal on them.  The phone is obsolete, but the pouch still works.

 

 

 

While there are a few places where plastic bags/pouches might work, I don't think we should go out of our way to suggest their use. It's hard enough to make good cache containers idiot proof. A person has little chance with these, especially if they're placed where weather occurs. You yourself might perform the much more needed maintenance on them but most owners won't and they'd end up being trash later on.

 

Not sure what a slim bob is but it sounds like it might be classified as a micro. For that size, soda tube preforms are definitely the way to go. Genuine lock and lock containers work good for small containers. Harder to find these days, but metal ammocans are the way to go for regulars. While not 100% perfect, I've had really good luck using wally world mainstays 1/2 and 1 gallon plastic food containers with screw on lids.

[+infiniteMPG]

What we refer to as a slim-bob is a 1.5" X 2" zipper top baggie, the ones we purchase at 4 mil so they're very heavy.  Wrap the outside with a couple wraps of duct tape.  You leave the duct tape just a little bit away from the zipper end so folks can get hold of the edges and open the zipper.  Thing with things like preforms, match containers, phone pouches and things like that is that they are either not slim or quite large.  Slim-bobs are easy to tuck into small spots and hide very nicely hidden away.  Not sure if after repeated opening and closing the edges of the zipper break free and no longer seal tightly.  Then again I have seen some where the baggie is still decent but the duct tape is decaying away.

 

And also ammo cans don't last that long either.  Tupperware is usually a joke.  Then again when we have caches that are over 15 years old it's hard to find anything to last.  

[+barefootjeff]

35 minutes ago, infiniteMPG said:

And also ammo cans don't last that long either.  Tupperware is usually a joke.  Then again when we have caches that are over 15 years old it's hard to find anything to last.

 

This ammo can is one that I adopted which was hidden in 2005, so it seems to be lasting fairly well in spite of being close to salt water. It still has its original logbook too.

 

 

The Sistema Klip-It range of plastic boxes also last pretty well if kept out of direct sun. This is one I found that was placed in 2004:

 

 

And here's one of mine that I placed in 2015 (photo taken when I visited it in December 2020):

 

Edited February 22, 2021 by barefootjeff

[+infiniteMPG]

I have a few that have lasted.  Have an ammo can in NC that was hidden in 2008 and still in perfect shape, have never even had to check on it.  Have about two dozen caches in a 5,700 preserve here that have been out there around 15 years and most of them I have never even had to check on, and they're straight out in the weather in the middle of nowhere (in fact that's what we call them, the "nowhere series").  Sometimes I think it's more operator error.  Most of my caches that are high maintenance around in urban areas so maybe it's the type of person finding them.  Someone that has a good Garmin and hikes 10 miles to make a find are probably more considerate of a cache than someone who is using their cell phone and finds one between Facebook updates while on their way to the grocery store.  

[+NYPaddleCacher]

2 hours ago, barefootjeff said:

 

This ammo can is one that I adopted which was hidden in 2005, so it seems to be lasting fairly well in spite of being close to salt water. It still has its original logbook too.

 

 

 

 

I just found out that "The Spot" (GC39), a cache with a placed date only 15 days after Mingo, went missing in October.  It was originally a 5 gallon bucket but was replaced with an ammo can two years later after the original started leaking.  All the contents, however, including the original logbook were transferred to the ammo can, which remained there until last October.  Earlier in the year the CO (gpsfool) replaced the original ammo can with a newer one and then when it went missing someone replaced with a cheap plastic container (really?).  Gpsfool recently posted that he's fixing the original ammo can and will be replacing that throwdown soon.  

[+hzoi]

I've picked up more ammo cans since then, but I started out with just a couple ammo cans and Lock and Lock containers in 2007. I'm still using the same ammo cans 14 years later. A lock and lock I hid in 2007 and then adopted out was still in great shape when I found it again in 2019, despite losing one of its four locks due to wear.

 

I also recovered a PET preform that had gotten lost for about a decade - the log was still nice and dry.

 

I will agree that tupperware is usually a joke, but even then we've found some caches out there in surprisingly good shape for the container used.

 

Some containers are not going to stand the test of time. But for others, it seems that maintenance issues are driven more by how often a cache is found - and opened, and exposed to the elements. A "slim bob" (that's a new one for me) that is covered up and hidden so that it isn't exposed to sunlight and UV degradation, and that only gets found a couple times a year, might last for a good while. Whereas one that gets found every other day is going to get shredded pretty quick, because plastic bags just aren't designed to put up with that kind of repetitive use or abuse.

[+Lostboy1966]

Lock & Lock (a brand name, accept no substitutes) boxes have always held up well for me in New England weather. As in for years. Most other cheap plastic Tupperware-type containers are prone to cracking under the strain of outdoor exposure over time, and the seals can not be trusted. Of course, any container's integrity depends on where it is placed and how well the last finder re-sealed the lid!

[+kunarion]

There are thin “beach boxes”, that might be the size to hold a pack of cigarettes.  They are maybe a step up from a ziplock bag.  But not by much.  They aren’t designed to hold up for extended time outdoors.

Edited March 3, 2021 by kunarion

[+colleda]

1 hour ago, kunarion said:

There are thin “beach boxes”, that might be the size to hold a pack of cigarettes.  They are maybe a step up from a ziplock bag.  But not by much.  They aren’t designed to hold up for extended time outdoors.

I've found a few of those. All of them had broken latches making it impossible to keep out moisture.

[+niraD]

14 minutes ago, colleda said:

I've found a few of those. All of them had broken latches making it impossible to keep out moisture.

I wonder what has failed in those beach safes. I had a camouflaged beach safe like that in place for years, and it was fine. I swapped containers only because construction changed the cache location and the old camouflage no longer worked.

[+JL_HSTRE]

11 hours ago, kunarion said:

There are thin “beach boxes”, that might be the size to hold a pack of cigarettes.  They are maybe a step up from a ziplock bag.  But not by much.  They aren’t designed to hold up for extended time outdoors.

 

In my experience the seal on these isn't watertight enough for high humidity environments, like South Florida.

[+Mudfrog]

6 hours ago, JL_HSTRE said:

 

In my experience the seal on these isn't watertight enough for high humidity environments, like South Florida.

 

Same experience I've had. Except for maybe a new hide, I can't remember ever finding one that wasn't wet inside. Seems kinda weird since they do pretty well when swimming with them.  

[+kunarion]

14 minutes ago, Mudfrog said:

 

Same experience I've had. Except for maybe a new hide, I can't remember ever finding one that wasn't wet inside. Seems kinda weird since they do pretty well when swimming with them.  

 

The owner of most any water-tight box probably takes at least some care to open and close it without destroying it, and checks that it's clean and dry before closing it.  

[+niraD]

4 hours ago, kunarion said:

The owner of most any water-tight box probably takes at least some care to open and close it without destroying it, and checks that it's clean and dry before closing it.  

Sometimes, it seems like the caches that do the best are the ones that are hidden in a sheltered location, with a container that isn't hermetically sealed. That way, they have a chance to dry out between finds.

 

But I'm sure that depends a lot on the local climate. Most of my experience has been in coastal California. I don't have much experience with geocaches here in East Tennessee yet.

[+barefootjeff]

7 minutes ago, niraD said:

Sometimes, it seems like the caches that do the best are the ones that are hidden in a sheltered location, with a container that isn't hermetically sealed. That way, they have a chance to dry out between finds.

 

But I'm sure that depends a lot on the local climate. Most of my experience has been in coastal California. I don't have much experience with geocaches here in East Tennessee yet.

 

I was about to say much the same thing. Most of my caches are hidden under rock ledges or inside caves, often in an elevated location, and I've had good success with unsealed containers like my cooking pot in GC752YF, steel cash boxes and, probably the least moisture-proof, this spider one that has a zipper in its belly to provide access to the unbagged logbook and pencil.

 

 

It was placed in 2014 and the only time it's had any moisture in it was last year post-lockdown when an obliging PM muggle-with-app used it as a urinal after signing the log (fortunately they left the logbook outside the container so all it needed was a cycle through the washing machine).

[+JL_HSTRE]

9 hours ago, Mudfrog said:

Same experience I've had. Except for maybe a new hide, I can't remember ever finding one that wasn't wet inside. Seems kinda weird since they do pretty well when swimming with them.  

 

9 hours ago, kunarion said:

The owner of most any water-tight box probably takes at least some care to open and close it without destroying it, and checks that it's clean and dry before closing it.  

 

Some of it is surely cacher carelessness. A watertight container isn't watertight if not closed properly.

 

But I also think prolonged high humidity has a way of getting into containers that an hour of submersion does not.

[+kunarion]

I'm putting the finishing touches on my weather-tight NiteIze Hideout key holder.  It's more compact than the usual beach box, has a cord loop and a very strong magnet (and even an adhesive-backed steel plate for spots that aren't magnetic!).  This has a lot of the drawbacks of those beach boxes, but placed in a spot that doesn't directly get rained on, away from dirt and leaves, it's a little better than a standard key holder.  It can hold a tiny log sheet and a somewhat cut down golf pencil.  You may add paint or camo, and have a micro cache box that's more durable than a ziplock bag.

 

Edited March 26, 2021 by kunarion

[+Isonzo Karst]

So I've ordered more titanium pill fobs, they came in a very heavy duty small baggie, would be the best start for a SimBob I've encountered.  The pill fobs (titanium, captured silicone o rings) make darn good cache containers as well ;-)