Geocaching gear

[+JDSEMW]

Suggestions for gear, like hiking pants, shoes… a knife? Etc…

[+CAVinoGal]

11 hours ago, JDSEMW said:

Suggestions for gear, like hiking pants, shoes… a knife? Etc…

 

It all depends on where you are planning to go find caches...

 

Minimum gear is a GPS and a pen.  Helpful tools are a hiking stick, tweezers, a trash grabber, flashlight, gloves ... footwear again is optional and depends on where you are going....though barefootjeff never needs footwear, and my daughter in law likes to cache in flip-flops in any season.  Urban caches, nothing too special as far as clothing.  Hiking in a grassy field, long pants, tick spray, Technu for poison ivy/poison oak exposure ... the list of potential gear is long.

 

I have a backpack for hiking that has many TotT's (tools of the trade) listed above, and then some extra logsheets, containers, lots of pens, a couple of stamps for Letterboxes and my geoname stamp, hand sanitizer and wipes.  As you cache more you find out what things you wish you had brought, and add those things to your geobag for the next trip!

 

Happy caching!

 

ETA: Water, especially when hiking, and maybe some trail mix to munch on,

Edited April 4, 2023 by CAVinoGal

[+cerberus1]

14 hours ago, JDSEMW said:

Suggestions for gear, like hiking pants, shoes… a knife? Etc…

 

Guess much would depend on whether it's a true hike. Most we see wear what they normally would any other day.  

I consider a "hike" as anything 5 miles one way n up, so I like nylon full-length cargo pants year-round. 

Too many ticks here. They and all our other "gear" (shirts, hats, backpacks, etc..." are sprayed with permethrin.

I like polyester for tees and sleeved shirts, some odd reason I sweat too much with nylon shirts n tees but prefer summer weight wool socks...

Boots for me must have Gore-Tex, and living in rockslvania prefer all leather.

With cargo pants, on many outings we might just have two pens, extra batteries for a GPSr and flashlight and a large water bottle on a shoulder strap.

High D/T, I might be lugging an anything's possible bag with rope, ascenders, and/or whatever else I can glean from a cache page.

I have a sized for the walk first aid kit in every bag or pack we own, along with a ferrous rod and sewing kit too.

I've found a good 4-5" bushcraft fixed-blade knife has served me best in the woods.  Lately I prefer Tops knives.

[+Arrowhead73]

Which GPS?

There are so many to chose from

[+MNTA]

On 4/7/2023 at 1:02 PM, Arrowhead73 said:

Which GPS?

There are so many to chose from

Your cell phone will do just nicely but you can always buy a dedicated device. There was a time these devices were far superior, but I've used my various iphones for the past 10 years no problems. I'm sure others may disagree so it probably is a personal preference thing.  

 

Today decided not to go caching. Weather outside is hard cold rain after a warm sunny day yesterday. So warm clothes and a rain jacket we do not use umbrellas in the PNW. Sorry to plug a local brand but drove by Columbia's main campus this morning. They make great waterproof/resistant jackets though they can be spendy, It helps this year my son participated in a marching band competition at the high school adjacent to their campus and our admission included  a visitors ticket to the employee store. Score!

 

Some finds may require a it of bush wacking. So finding in the summer wearing shorts might not be the best idea.

[+CurioVee]

On 4/4/2023 at 9:01 AM, CAVinoGal said:

 

It all depends on where you are planning to go find caches...

 

Minimum gear is a GPS and a pen.  Helpful tools are a hiking stick, tweezers, a trash grabber, flashlight, gloves ... footwear again is optional and depends on where you are going....though barefootjeff never needs footwear, and my daughter in law likes to cache in flip-flops in any season.  Urban caches, nothing too special as far as clothing.  Hiking in a grassy field, long pants, tick spray, Technu for poison ivy/poison oak exposure ... the list of potential gear is long.

 

I have a backpack for hiking that has many TotT's (tools of the trade) listed above, and then some extra logsheets, containers, lots of pens, a couple of stamps for Letterboxes and my geoname stamp, hand sanitizer and wipes.  As you cache more you find out what things you wish you had brought, and add those things to your geobag for the next trip!

 

Happy caching!

 

ETA: Water, especially when hiking, and maybe some trail mix to munch on,

This is a really useful list! What kinds of stamps do you use for Letterboxes? And I'm super interested in the idea of a geoname stamp, what is that exactly?

[+CAVinoGal]

6 hours ago, CurioVee said:

This is a really useful list! What kinds of stamps do you use for Letterboxes? And I'm super interested in the idea of a geoname stamp, what is that exactly?

 

Geoname stamp - a recent thread was asking about where to get customized stamps... And our letterbox stamp (when we find a letterbox and if the logsheet/book is big enough) is one we had made with our initials intertwined.  We don't do a lot of letterboxes though.

  

[+JL_HSTRE]

GPS: Garmin. I think a waterproof model is a must.

 

Hiking pole. Some folks like sticks, but I prefer telescopic. Cork grip is a must (not plastic). One pole is usually sufficient, especially for poking around. You only really need a pair for long distance backpacking, mountains, or to compensate for physical problems.

 

Pocket-size spiral notepad. Great for tracking finds, maintenance issues, and other notes for writing a proper online log later. A pen can often be tucked in the spiral.

 

Pants or shorts depending on climate and tick prevalence. Wicking and lots of pockets. 

[+Clancy's Crew]

Great suggestions, all.  Regarding gear, my mind always goes to safety initially.  In our area of the US, (Pennsylvania), we have a hunting heritage and several million acres of public lands, much of it open to hunting... So along with the other safety basics (water, communications device, proper footwear and clothing, etc), during open hunting seasons (much of the year, at different times), 250 square inches of blaze orange clothing, visible from 360 degrees, including on the head (blaze orange hat works).  Mistaken for game injuries to humans is rare because these rules are law in our area.  We were checked for orange two weeks ago by a Game Warden while caching.

 

For our Geohound, we put a blaze orange t-shirt on her; dog vests that are orange are also available...  She looked too much like a coyote, which has open season all year.