What Containers make the Best Geocache?

[+DARKSIDEDAN]

Question - What containers make the Best Geocache?

 

Ammo cans, old food jars (clean of course), Preform Test Tubes, Tupperware, something from a Geocaching store, Bison Tubes, Film Canisters???

 

What type of containers do you use?

 

 

 

 

[+CCFwasG]

I'm randomly answering due to some finds today. I'm in the Northeastern US and there are loads of different containers. I don't have a preference, I like variety HOWEVER I will say that two containers found lately were "better" than others. In the winter here caches get snow covered and freeze and then thaw. Even the best bison tube with a good o-ring seems to get wet inside, and even a log in baggie can be soaked for no "apparent" reason. But this winter amongst all the damp logs I found two that hold up REALLY well, and it's either the material or the thickness or ?? mystery. One is a 3D printed bison tube. I found several that were totally dry inside the same day the good bisons were wet. And today I found some homemade PVC (pipe) containers, and some had no baggie inside but the logs were bone dry! Yet same day I found preforms and a bison and all were damp in varying degrees. 

So that's my 2 cents (or 2 pence). :-) 

Edited February 13 by CCFwasG
typo. add photos.

[+barefootjeff]

8 hours ago, DARKSIDEDAN said:

Question - What containers make the Best Geocache?

 

Ammo cans, old food jars (clean of course), Preform Test Tubes, Tupperware, something from a Geocaching store, Bison Tubes, Film Canisters???

 

What type of containers do you use?

 

 

It's horses for courses. Plastics don't like direct sun, steel (e.g. ammo cans) doesn't like sea spray. Eclipse mint tins and film canisters are the absolute worst, closely followed by plastic food containers with press-fit lids that don't keep any moisture out.

 

A lot of my hides are placed in dry dark places like sandstone caves or deep under rock ledges, which gives me a lot more latitude than for something exposed to the weather, although a few times I've been caught out by such a hiding place turning into a subterranean watercourse during heavy rain and have had to switch to a more waterproof container. About eight months ago, after all the torrential rain last autumn, I started trialling the Duratech ABS instrument boxes sold by Jaycar, like this one:

 

 

So far, with the four I've put out, I haven't had so much as a drop of water get inside in spite of all the torrential rain in September and October.

 

The Sistema Klip-It range is generally a pretty good long-life option as long as they're kept out of the sun and don't get fully submerged. This is one I placed in 2014, just tucked in under a rock ledge at ground level on top of a hill:

 

 

I've used steel cash boxes on caches with a monetary theme, although I'm finding rust can be a problem after a few years even when they're in a dry place, probably due to the slightly salty air here when the wind is on-shore. Even one that's in the roof of a dry cave is starting to show a bit of superficial rust after four years.

Edited February 13 by barefootjeff

[Hopetimist]

I've been experimenting with threaded pipe fittings, looks promising.

[+kunarion]

46 minutes ago, Hopetimist said:

I've been experimenting with threaded pipe fittings, looks promising.

 

Whether metal or plastic, pipe thread caches I've found are always soaking wet inside.  As if the threads pull water in.  I think that's because these things are not made to be opened and closed every day.  They're designed to have a few wraps of pipe tape on the threads, or other sealing method, and then get torqued on, to stay put and stay sealed.  They evidently are a challenge to use as cache containers.

If you fully secure and seal one end, and have an O-ring on the loose end, maybe that would help.  Good luck! 

 

Edited February 27 by kunarion

[+kunarion]

On 2/12/2023 at 7:44 PM, DARKSIDEDAN said:

Question - What containers make the Best Geocache?

 

Ammo cans, old food jars (clean of course), Preform Test Tubes, Tupperware, something from a Geocaching store, Bison Tubes, Film Canisters???

 

What type of containers do you use?

 

 

 

 

 

For Regular size, I use Ammo cans.  They hold up very well, they're durable. 

For Small, I use a few sizes of Lock-N-Lock (name brand and knock-off), and replace them as they get broken or leaky, maybe every couple of years for the ones in sunlight. 

And for Micros, I greatly prefer my 50ml centrifuge vials, from a box of 1000 that I got a great deal on, years ago.  These have a plastic ridge inside the cap that seals like some plastic jars do, and therefore stay pretty dry.  And since I have so many, I can swap out the vial with a fresh one whenever I like.  The only added expense is the themed sticker or tape placed over the gradations so it doesn't look so much like a urine sample tube.

 

 

But I also keep on hand a few $1.00 orange match tubes from Walmart.  Those have O-rings, and are pretty sturdy.  I've thought the cap may be too easy to cross-thread, but so far, they're not bad.  I just swap out a soaking wet log sheet when it's needed, and of course when one of those fails, it's done.  Match tubes, bison tubes, and other tubes with O-rings tend to develop wet logs, likely because if each Find adds even one or two drops of water, that's a lot in such a tiny space.  Plus, people seem to not be able to close them.  I only have one bison tube cache now, and it's placed where it can remain dry.

 

Edited February 27 by kunarion