Find TOTT

[+Cswageo]

Hey Geo-community,

 

I was wondering where the best places to find some TOTT to possibly rent when finding any caches? I already know that some caches require tweezers but I'm not worried about that. I just meant other kinds of tools any of you may use. One of the tools I might like to use one day could be a magnet on a thin pole not that I expect that to happen especially now. Just a possibility. I know this particular cache that required that tool was GCAHA1Y. I don't know if I'm gonna find it but I thought I'd ask what you know has those kinds of tools to fulfill the cache find. Basically say if any experiences cachers that have found that cache has been drawn from my own experience and where they found the tool to retrieve that cache. I still don't know if I'll find it somewhere in the future but I'm all ears to what you know.

[+icezebra11]

Go to an auto parts or hardware store or Harbor Freight and ask for a magnetic extendable retrieval tool.  They aren't very expensive, maybe $10 +/-   You can also order them from Amazon.

[+niraD]

9 hours ago, Cswageo said:

I was wondering where the best places to find some TOTT to possibly rent when finding any caches? I already know that some caches require tweezers but I'm not worried about that. I just meant other kinds of tools any of you may use. One of the tools I might like to use one day could be a magnet on a thin pole not that I expect that to happen especially now. Just a possibility. I know this particular cache that required that tool was GCAHA1Y. I don't know if I'm gonna find it but I thought I'd ask what you know has those kinds of tools to fulfill the cache find. Basically say if any experiences cachers that have found that cache has been drawn from my own experience and where they found the tool to retrieve that cache. I still don't know if I'll find it somewhere in the future but I'm all ears to what you know.

If it's really something that you don't want to buy and you're going to use it only a couple times, then you might be able to borrow it from another geocacher. I borrowed a UV light for a geocache that I did that required one.

 

Ask around at events, and someone might have one they could loan you for a weekend or two.

[+The Leprechauns]

There are two types of "magnet on a thin pole" TOTTs.  First, everyone should have a short, telescoping magnet to retrieve caches hidden in crevasses, posts, pipes, etc.  There's a decent version for sale in the Geocaching Store.  The second TOTT is a long, extendable pole for retrieving caches hidden far up in a tree or the side of a rock face.  We purchased this disk golf retriever pole off Amazon, and it works great because the local hiders are not using poles longer than this one.  I can easily retrieve caches hidden 20 feet up a tree.  If there's a metal container, it's quite easy to attach a magnet to the extension pole using duct tape.

[+barefootjeff]

10 minutes ago, The Leprechauns said:

There are two types of "magnet on a thin pole" TOTTs.  First, everyone should have a short, telescoping magnet to retrieve caches hidden in crevasses, posts, pipes, etc.  There's a decent version for sale in the Geocaching Store.  The second TOTT is a long, extendable pole for retrieving caches hidden far up in a tree or the side of a rock face.  We purchased this disk golf retriever pole off Amazon, and it works great because the local hiders are not using poles longer than this one.  I can easily retrieve caches hidden 20 feet up a tree.  If there's a metal container, it's quite easy to attach a magnet to the extension pole using duct tape.

 

A lot more than two, I think . Magnetic caches are fairly rare around here and each one tends to be different, so I've ended up making something from what I can easily get from the local hardware store. For this one, which was a small-sized container deep inside a horizontal tube, I used a round cupboard latch magnet screwed onto a short piece of wooden dowel, which I then attached to a flexible drain-cleaning auger. It worked a treat.

 

 

 

I used a similar construction, except with an eyelet in the dowel and fishing line attached, to do one that had to be fished out of a high vertical pipe.

 

 

The materials required only cost a few dollars and making them added to the enjoyment of the respective caches.

[+JL_HSTRE]

TOTT seem very unpredictable, unless you actively look for them.

 

I got a small UV flashlight, but I've rarely ever used it.

 

I think I've only done one tubular cache that needed a bottle of water. I've seen a few other listings. 

 

I've never encountered a cache that required a magnet or a battery.

 

None of the caches I've encountered in trees could have been retrieved with a telescopic device. A telescopic ladder would have been very useful on several occasions, but even the lightest ones are too heavy to be worth lugging around unless you know you'll need it.

 

But I expect some areas have a lot more tool or gadget cachers than others, usually due to one popular CO.

[+Smitherington]

2 hours ago, JL_HSTRE said:

TOTT seem very unpredictable, unless you actively look for them.

 

I got a small UV flashlight, but I've rarely ever used it.

 

I think I've only done one tubular cache that needed a bottle of water. I've seen a few other listings. 

 

I've never encountered a cache that required a magnet or a battery.

 

None of the caches I've encountered in trees could have been retrieved with a telescopic device. A telescopic ladder would have been very useful on several occasions, but even the lightest ones are too heavy to be worth lugging around unless you know you'll need it.

 

But I expect some areas have a lot more tool or gadget cachers than others, usually due to one popular CO.

I have used UV 3 or 4 times

I have needed a gallon of water 3 or 4 times

I have needed a 9 volt battery

 

I don’t do trees.

 

But those others have been fun. 
 

I do carry stuff I will seldom use but I like to be prepared. 

[+hzoi]

On 7/1/2025 at 6:26 PM, The Leprechauns said:

We purchased this disk golf retriever pole off Amazon, and it works great because the local hiders are not using poles longer than this one.

 

Thanks! I've been looking at painter poles, but most don't collapse enough to be useful. This seems like an even better solution, because while I've been lucky enough so far not to have any discs go swimming or get eaten by trees, it's only a matter of time.

Edited Monday at 03:07 PM by hzoi