Carting Trade Items

[+Team Benhamtroll]

I still haven't begun my caching adventures yet, but I've been thinking deeply about them.

 

I was thinking I may buy myself a backpack or fannypack to keep a variety of trade items in so that I have a number of appropriate items, depending on the cache I go looking for. That way I can just grab my 'booty bag' (as it were) when I head out for a cache trip, and be guaranteed of having trade items, maybe a pencil/pen and extra batteries, etc.

 

What do other people do? Does this seem like a reasonable idea?

[+mihiker]

I have a small fannypack that I use.

I keep it stocked with compass, trade goods, ziplock bags, pencil & pen, grocery sack (CITO), digital camera and small first aid kit.

It was a real pain my first couple of time out to dig everything out of my pockets.

The fanny pack allows a lot of freedom of movement that my back pack doesn't allow.

[+beejay&esskay]

I'm not that organized.

 

I have a plastic bag with "current" items. If it springs a leak, I get a new one.

 

I tend to leave it in my car so I have it whenever needed.

[+Halden]

I have mine in a ziplock which I carry in a backpack for long trips or my acket pocket for shorter urban hunts.

[+The Weasel]

I use a regular ole backpack filled to the brim with everything I might need. I keep spare cache containers, log books, plasic bags, etc in there along with all my trade goodies.

[+CYBret]

I have a trunk in my closet that holds all my geocaching stuff (ammo boxes, decons, micro containers, plus a lot of trade materials).

 

I have a backpack I carry with me that holds the stuff I'm currently trading as well as other things I might need on a trail (first aid kit, Clif bars, cache repair stuff, tools).

 

Then I have a small GPS case that attaches to my belt. I keep some of my sig items and small cache trades in it (as well as a small digital camera and my compass). If I'm doing some small urban micros I'll just carry this one with me.

 

Bret

[+rover-r-us]

i use a fannypack filled with trade good.

[+The Cheeseheads]

I keep a bag in my car so I always have something with me if the need to geocache suddenly comes up.

 

This time of year, my jacket has all the carrying capacity I need. During the summer I may carry a backpack.

[+2qwerqE]

I've been using a small fanny pack, with a separate water bottle on a shoulder strap, but it's clumsy, always sliding off. So I'm thinking about getting one of these camelback type fannies. Anyone use them? Convenietn? Lightweight, even loaded? Or are they bulky and cumbersome?

 

http://www.overstock.com/cgi-bin/d2.cgi?PA...&cid=19493&fp=F

[Bobthearch]

Small designated daypack that holds water, camea, GPS, swap items, etc.

 

Often Sierra Trading Post has great prices on discontinued or overstocked packs. It'll leave you with more $$ for gas and trade items.

 

Best Wishes,

-Bob

[Bobthearch]

RE: 2qwerqE

 

Most people at work use Camel-Bak packs or some sort of bag hydration system. Quite a few just toss the bladder in a regular pack. I'm thinking about it too, but it always grosses me out when someone's bladder is full of mold from not being cleaned and drained regularly.

 

-Bob

[+Geo Ho]

I pack my Geo-bag up with trade items based on the caches I plan to hit that day before I head out the door. I'll usually keep some extra stuff in the car just in case I have a Geocaching emergency.

 

Happy caching and stuff!

[+TeamK-9]

When I buy trade items they go immediately to my magical, bright orange ammo can in my room. After that, when I'm ready to cache, I'll load everything into my backpack and head out... I usually set it up in separate care package type things like my backpack would have 4 separate bags each with an assortment of goodies...

 

When I'm going to a park where I may look goofy with a back pack, I just grap a trade goodie bag and maybe my camera...

[+briansnat]

I have a large plastic basket in my basement full of trade items. I also have an 8" x 10" "stuff sack" (for you non backpackers, it's a nylon bag with a draw string) filled with items. I can just take the sack with me on drive and dumps and other short hikes, or I toss it in my daypack, or fanny pack, depending on how far the hikes is.

[+flask]

summer, or long hike: camelbak hawg, complete with spare ziplocs and pencil sharpener

 

winter, or short hike: pockets of either cargo pants or caching jacket.

 

the map bag is kept in the car, as are (depending on season) broom, ice chopper, snowshoes, poles, paddles, PFD ,hiking boots (2 pair), bike shoes (3 pair), running shoes, sip-on clogs, raingear, biking gear and on the roof, depending on day and weather, boat, road and/or mountain bike.

 

trade goods are kept in a small stuff sack. auxilliary cache gear (spare gloves, dry clothes, extra hats, binoculars, crampons, blah, blah) are kept in the "go-bag" that is either left in the car or by the door.

 

emergency cache supplies are ALWAYS carried with me: GPS, PDA, compass, spare batteries.

[shooter206]

I use a camelback type backpack, it has straps on the sholderstraps where I can attach my GPS & cellphone.holds water, spare logbooks,cache containers,batteries, ect. It also has a removable camera case on the bottom that converts to a fanny pack. I use this part to hold trade goods. Got it at WallMart for $20

[Ferreter5]

I have a small box at home for holding all of my extra geocaching goodies.

 

For day trips (even before ever getting into geocaching) I carry a lumbar pack.

 

For shorter trips to local parks and such I use a haversack (aka messenger bag or sling bag). An American Civil War re-enacting buddy of mine calls his haversack a Have-A-Snack since they were used by soldiers to carry their rations.

[+tanstaafl]

Currently I am using a slightly larger than normal backpack but thinking about switching to a fanny pack for most hunts. The backpack is a bit cumbersome at times.

[+Imajika]

I carry a small backpack. It has my digital camera, a bag of trade items, any TB's that I run across, two plastic grocery bags (CITO), extra batteries, a tiny flashlight, a few pens, extra log books (in case one in a cache is full, I can add a new book for the owner), a small roll of duct tape and rubber bands (for cache repair, if needed). I clip my GPS onto my backpack strap and carry my PDA in one of the backpack pockets. Works for me.

 

The pack is surprisingly light too...even with all that stuff inside it.

[+NightPilot]

I have one of the fanny packs with a hydration bladder, but I don't use it. I don't find the need for having a water tube that close. I normally use a backpack I found on clearance at Target for $5, and it works fine. I throw a water bottle in, and don't need to worry about cleaning a complete hydration system. The backpack holds everything I need, and isn't half full. One feature I like is a small pocket at the top that I can stick my reradiating antenna battery box into, with the antenna on top of my head, and my GPS anywhere I like. I keep a plastic box in my truck with spare trade items & cache repair stuff, just in case, and I take stuff out of it as necessary.

 

Backpacks are cheap, and although I've tried lots of things (including a wade-fishing belt, which works better than a fanny pack), I keep going back to the basic backpack.

[+Team BlackZ]

I use a small pack called a Thermite by Maxpedition. You wear it around your waist on the side and it comes with a leg strap. I can put my trade items, flashlight, pocket pc, signature cards and a few more things in it. I could put a water bottle in it to, but that does take up some space. I think it's a little more of a "man's " pack than a fanny pack LOL. Check it out here Thermite

[+Prime Suspect]

Sometimes, a wheelbarrow would be a good idea.

[+Gizmo & Brazin]

We switched to a shoulder sling pack this weekend and so far, like it. It's comfortable for both the males and female in our group. Holds quite a bit, not as comfortable as a full backpack but on the shorter day trips it seems to be working nicely. It also saved us on Sunday, we took Gizmo (all 4.5 pounds of him) out for his first time on the trail. It turned out to be too much walking for him, so I unzipped the top of the bag and stuck him in. His upper body was out to enjoy the view, but he didn't have to deal with crossing creeks, dodging puddles, etc.