What Makes Good Normal Or Large Cache Containers?

January 17, 2004

I :wub: was wondering what makes good cache containers. Mostly normal and large sized but you can always give more then enough info :lol:

Edited January 17, 2004 by metaliklabs

1.7k · January 17, 2004

Ammo cans

1.4k · January 17, 2004

AMMO CANS!

1. They come in various sizes.

2. They are sturdy.

3. They are waterproof.

4. They are already painted, but you can repaint them to better hide them.

5. They are ususlly available at very reasonable prices.

6. They survive where plastic-"WARE" etc will fail. (storms-floods etc).

Any questions? :lol:

January 17, 2004

do you mean ammo boxes? I have called every army surplus store around and none have them! I asked when they would be getting them at one of the larger stores and they said they have been trying for 6 months :lol: :wub: :wub:

January 17, 2004

What exactly do they do with the ammo boxes and ammo? Is the reason there isnt any around because of teh war in Irak?

1.7k · January 17, 2004

Find ammo cans at cheaperthandirt.com or go caching and find a few. Then make up your mind which containers work better.

January 17, 2004

Do you mean go caching and steal one?

1.7k · January 17, 2004

No.

BUY some at cheaperthandirt.com

But, if you want to know what makes a good container (the subject of this thread) find some caches. Then you can determine which containers work well.

January 17, 2004

Cheaper then dirt s only in the states i live in canada! :lol:

January 17, 2004

We have Army Navy surplus stores here (Michigan) that have used or surplus military equipment. Ammo cans can be purchased for 4 to 6 USD. Larger ammo cans are more expensive. Ammo cans were designed to hold ammunition. I assume that when the ammo is used the cans become surplus. They are always available so a lot of them must come from practice firing ranges.

Ammo cans are great containers but I paint them camo colors to hide the ammo information. Looks less suspicious in the woods if found by a non-geocacher.

24.7k · January 17, 2004

Cheaper then dirt s only in the states i live in canada!

They should ship to Canada and their prices are good. Especially if you get a group order together.

January 17, 2004

Inasmuch as, according to your stats, you've hidden one and found none, you might find it advantageous to hunt for a couple of dozen caches and see how it's done. You'll find a wide range of good and bad examples of what to use as a cache container when you've found that amount. :lol:

1.7k · January 17, 2004

Cheaper then dirt s only in the states i live in canada!

They should ship to Canada and their prices are good. Especially if you get a group order together.

Cheaperthandirt.com states shipping to USA only.

January 17, 2004

I have to agree. You should definitely go find a dozen or more before going on a big hiding spree, since that sounds like what you are thinking of. (Simply based on the topic of the thread and your found to hide ratio)

But to answer the question, ammo cans are definitely the prime cache container. I haven't been able to get my hands on any yet, but I've found enough in various locations to know that they do a great job of keeping the contents safe and dry.

For the sake of giving you added suggestions, I've used a tupperware container for a normal size cache. Honestly I think the only reason the cache is in such great shape right now is because of the hiding spot more than the container.

For a large cache (you'll have to check Faile's account to find the cache) we used a 10 gallon bucket. This particular one came from the Tillamook cheese factory and used to contain some rather yummy ice cream. Unfortunately with this one, the lid doesn't seem to always want to stay on and I've had to a good amount of cache maintenance on it. I found it with a lot of water in the bottom after the lid hadn't been secured properly.

You take your chances when you get creative :lol:

9.2k · January 17, 2004

do you mean ammo boxes? I have called every army surplus store around and none have them! I asked when they would be getting them at one of the larger stores and they said they have been trying for 6 months

That's probably because the US Army is phasing them out (going to lighter plastics). Canada will still be using the metal ones, but I wouldn't be surprised if most of the surplus Canadan cans get sent to the US for sale.

January 17, 2004

:lol: In Canada, a good, cheap cache container is the "Lock& Lock" container. It is a platic locking container with a seal on the lid. Supposed to be microwave, dishasher & freezer safe, so that covers most weather conditions. I have had one as a container for over a year now & it is still in excellent condition. You can buy them at Zellers, Walmart, Home Hardware, etc. That said, go and find a few to see which containers dont work too well & which ones are still dry inside.

Happy caching,

Donna G

2.4k · January 18, 2004

The Sportsman's Guide sells ammo cans in 4 packs, but they're currently out of stock. Expected back in stock in February. They also list some other suff, like mortar cans, which look like big ammo cans, but they're more like $15 each.....

January 18, 2004

I find alot of rubbermaid here in CA, but my area never gets below freezing. [ :lol: ] It seems to work well enough. Gladware is a no-no though. One thing to consider is the accessibility of your cache. If it's going into an urban park than an ammo can is probably overkill - it'll be muggled before it falls apart. If it's going out in the woods in a good hard-to-reach hiding place, then go for the ammo can.

Echo: If you've only found one or two caches you just don't have the experience to hide one yet. I have met people who think that hiding them is more fun than finding them, so I understand how you might be feeling, but take that very good advice. Go caching some more. Hide later.

20.7k · January 18, 2004

... a good, cheap cache container is the "Lock& Lock" container. ... I have had one as a container for over a year now & it is still in excellent condition. ...

Thanks, I only recently became aware of this type of container and was meaning to inquire as to whether anyone had any long-term experience with them in the field. I was afraid that the tabs may break off.

Edited January 18, 2004 by sbell111

3.1k · January 18, 2004

An ammo can out in the country is a great plan. Stick one in town and you just might have the bomb squad out there blowing it up. There are a lot of quality tuperware containers but I've seen large plastic peanut butter jars survive two winters under a snow pack. So there are lots of choices.

20.7k · January 18, 2004

I recently found a cache that the container was an old, dead SUV. It was a very good large container.

3.8k · January 18, 2004

I got a 20 piece (basically 10 containers with lids) box of various size containers of the Rubbermaid "tupperware" style containers at Target for $10. They're super sturdy and the lids snap on tight. The lid is blue with a tab on the side to help seal it up.

4.1k · January 18, 2004

Just imagine...a trash can (rubber maid 30 gal. with handles that lock the lid down)....No one would ever think it was a cache. No one would mess with it...except maybe a 'Garbologist'. :huh:

Also, when people traded your nice stuff for nothing but trash...you would be all set.

~Shirley~

January 18, 2004

I find alot of rubbermaid here in CA, but my area never gets below freezing. [] It seems to work well enough. Gladware is a no-no though. One thing to consider is the accessibility of your cache. If it's going into an urban park than an ammo can is probably overkill - it'll be muggled before it falls apart. If it's going out in the woods in a good hard-to-reach hiding place, then go for the ammo can.

Echo: If you've only found one or two caches you just don't have the experience to hide one yet. I have met people who think that hiding them is more fun than finding them, so I understand how you might be feeling, but take that very good advice. Go caching some more. Hide later.

I haven't found any caches yet. I got my GPS 3 days ago. There are only 3 caches within a 4 hour drive from my home. Luckily, the 3 caches are within 1 hour drive. There are only 10 caches in all the province of Quebec. So, I guess I will add a few in my area. I participate in a similar forum where fishing is the main interest. Knowing that many fishermen are outdoorsy types, I hope to attract more interest in "geo-caching" here in Quebec where a large portion of the population is french speaking only and therefore do not even know that geo-caching exists. Is planting a geo-cache on an island allowed or acceptable? I do some wilderness canoeing and camping and from the number of "geo-cachers" in Quebec, I am pretty sure that some of the places that I could plant a geo-cache would never get visited. How long does a geo-cache exist? Are there any geo-caches that were planted long ago and have never been visited?

3.8k · January 19, 2004

I haven't found any caches yet. I got my GPS 3 days ago. There are only 3 caches within a 4 hour drive from my home. Luckily, the 3 caches are within 1 hour drive.

Only 3 within a 4 hour drive or within a 1 hour drive? Quite a difference!!

There are only 10 caches in all the province of Quebec. So, I guess I will add a few in my area.

Good idea, that's how it needs to happen. You'll be the geocaching god of Quebec!

I participate in a similar forum where fishing is the main interest. Knowing that many fishermen are outdoorsy types, I hope to attract more interest in "geo-caching" here in Quebec

See above!

Is planting a geo-cache on an island allowed or acceptable? I do some wilderness canoeing and camping and from the number of "geo-cachers" in Quebec, I am pretty sure that some of the places that I could plant a geo-cache would never get visited. How long does a geo-cache exist? Are there any geo-caches that were planted long ago and have never been visited?

1. Planting a cache on an island is fine, just make sure the terrain rating is correct (use the link in my sig to rate the cache). If you only plant one cache, and that's where it is, you may likely not get as many visitors as one placed in a more easily accessible spot, so maybe do both.

2. A cache can exist as long as it is kept up, whether that be by the owner or the finders. I repaired one yesterday that was in bad shape. It's now ready for another season. :huh:

Good luck, and welcome to geocaching!!

January 21, 2004

I haven't found any caches yet. I got my GPS 3 days ago. There are only 3 caches within a 4 hour drive from my home. Luckily, the 3 caches are within 1 hour drive. There are only 10 caches in all the province of Quebec. So, I guess I will add a few in my area. I participate in a similar forum where fishing is the main interest. Knowing that many fishermen are outdoorsy types, I hope to attract more interest in "geo-caching" here in Quebec where a large portion of the population is french speaking only and therefore do not even know that geo-caching exists. Is planting a geo-cache on an island allowed or acceptable? I do some wilderness canoeing and camping and from the number of "geo-cachers" in Quebec, I am pretty sure that some of the places that I could plant a geo-cache would never get visited. How long does a geo-cache exist? Are there any geo-caches that were planted long ago and have never been visited?

Where in Quebec are you? At this time there are 211 active caches in the province of Quebec, but I will admit, they do get sparce East of Montreal and few North of Highway 40. The majority of our finds are in Quebec, 71 of 163 finds and 3 of our hides. If you are in the Montreal region, feel free to contact me or join the Quebec and Eastern Ontario mailing list, geoqueont@malak.ca by dropping a line to the email address no matter where you live. Most of the participants of the list are from the Montreal and Ottawa regions, but there more are always welcome. You must have done a search from your home coords and live in an area with few caches, try this link for the caches in Canada and select Quebec from the dropdown menu.

Canada Caches

and this link will give you a map of Canada and you can zoom in to see where the caches are in the province.

Cache Map of Canada

Good luck and I hope you get Geocaching going in your area, we may try to find a few on our way to NB sometime if possible. Welcome to Geocaching!

As far as what caches are allowed, start with reading the Guidelines or contact the cache reviewer for your area if you need more answers. I have done 1 island cache, waited for winter so I could cross over on the ice, quite an adventure, so they are allowed.

edit:sentence structure and to fix cache list link

Edited January 21, 2004 by Car37&Shnde

January 22, 2004

I did some additional searches of Quebec and found more caches. 210 is still not many. I hope that in a short while, geocaching will catch on here in Quebec. I'm doing a lot of reading about "geocaching" and I'm learning new stuff everyday.

January 23, 2004

After reading these posts I went to Cheaper Than Dirt.com and ordered a Six Pack of ammo cans for $19.99. Such a deal! Even with the $8 shipping it's cheaper than the $6 a piece I can get locally. We will be hiding our first cache this weekend. It will be an ammo can stocked with good stuff. We just got a new, huge 99 cents and less store down the street and they have all kinds of great stuff for a buck.

Edited January 23, 2004 by Andy and Robin

March 3, 2004

:lol: A note of caution, here is what has been happening in France with the blackmail bombing threat... The police found one under a RR track....

*****Interior Ministry officials disclosed today that 11 days ago the police discovered and detonated one bomb, a relatively sophisticated 4.4-pound device made with ammonium nitrate. A detonator and timing system were set in a round white Tupperware-like container. ********* source NY Times dated 3/3/2004

Please take care of where you leave caches and to label them!!! I can see this coming back to hurt the GC community, if for no other reason then our use of tuppoerware!!!

NH_Moose

4.7k · March 3, 2004

There are only 10 caches in all the province of Quebec.

WHAT?!?! there are more than twenty in montreal alone. unless you don't consider that PQ.

4.7k · March 3, 2004

but really...

ammo cans

moratar tubes

5 gallon buckets

i even have one in a 1954 cadillac fleetwood. that's a LARGE container.

March 3, 2004

There is another thread about painting, And marking an ammo box. So it wont be mistaken for a bomb. I cant find the thread, But someone out there shoud know where to find it.

March 3, 2004

I have only hidden 4 caches- 2 of which were micros- 2 regulars - so I havent got a ton of experience with containers- But from finding caches, and planning new containers for future hides- I have come up with some pretty good containers, outside of the ammo can, or tupperware-

"Quickcrete" sells a 6lb bucket - the quickcrete comes in a plastic bag, so the bucket is new & clean. The lid has perforations about every 3 inches - so when snapping it back on, each 3' peice (when properly snapped shut) has its own seal. And, it won't come open until most every one has been loosened. I have tested them underwater- they hold out the water, unless crunched. They also have a handle on them- which helps with hanging hides.... As for cold- they held up OK - and dont crack unless really bent in, crushed, etc

Sheetrock Compound - Sheetrock compound is sold in a variety of sizes- My favorite being the 1 gallon bucket. They also come with a handle (metal) and resemble the typical handle on a 5 gallon bucket- So they are basically Junior 5 gallons/

You need to use all the compound, then clean the container - but since its water soluable- its not to hard to clean it out. The lids snap air tight, since the product inside will dry out if exposed to air - so they too are waterproof. In cold weather they are durable, and are less likely to crack then the quickcrete containers.

"Spackle" containers- the small 1/2 gallon size, and 1 gallon size- (The 2 painted ones in the pic) Great for a small regular size container. Lid snaps tight - air & waterproof - again because the product itself will dry out unless sealed airtight. As for cold weather - OK in most cold, but below zero can cause problems. The least durable of these 3, but still FAR more sturdy than any tupper/gladware.

They all 3 paint up easily, and also fit a fair amount of goodies inside-

Links to pics Here

Edited March 3, 2004 by Pto

March 3, 2004

The Sportsman's Guide sells ammo cans in 4 packs, but they're currently out of stock. Expected back in stock in February. They also list some other suff, like mortar cans, which look like big ammo cans, but they're more like $15 each.....

I have bought ammo cans from The Sportsman's Guide a couple of times, apparently, their idea of very good condition is completely rusted and very dirty, I wont buy anything from them again.

March 3, 2004

There is another thread about painting, And marking an ammo box. So it wont be mistaken for a bomb. I cant find the thread, But someone out there shoud know where to find it.

Criminal has a guide to camo painting on his web site.

What Makes Good Normal Or Large Cache Containers?

Recommended Posts

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Link to comment

Join the conversation