Pencil Or Pen?

[+New England n00b]

When you hide a cache, what do you typically include for writing in the logbook - pencil or pen? What holds up better?

 

Thanks!

[+Divine]

Pencil. Usually with a sharpener. Pens aren't that weatherproof, they tend to freeze in the winter.

[uperdooper]

pencil with a sharpener attached with a string so no one will trade for it.

[+New England n00b]

Pencil 2:

Pen: 0

 

How about a mechanical pencil instead of a pencil/pencil sharpener combo?

[+fizzymagic]

For leaving in a cache, pencil, unless the log is National Geographic waterproof paper, which requires a pen.

 

For taking along with you, definitely a pen. A Sharpie, actually, which will write on wet paper.

[uperdooper]

Pencil 2:

Pen: 0

 

How about a mechanical pencil instead of a pencil/pencil sharpener combo?

the points on mine keep breaking and somone has to refill it. the only time i've had a problem at a cache, the pencil was broken and there was no sharpener. luckily i always have a swiss army knife with me so i sharpened the pencil with that.

[+briansnat]

I keep hearing about pens freezing but I never encountered that problem, even last winter when I was out in single digit temps.

 

If I have both available, I put in a pen and a pencil sharpened at both ends. But since a bag of 50 pencils is about 2 bucks, I have a lot more pencils laying around than pens so its often just a pencil.

Edited April 15, 2004 by briansnat

[gone cachin]

i'd go for the pencil - have you ever tried to sharpen a pen on the side of a rock?

[+av8tors32]

I use pencils and normally include a sharpener in the cache.

 

I also always carry a sharpener with me.

[+RainbowCache]

But since a bag of 50 pencils is about 2 bucks, I have a lot more pencils laying around than pens so its often just a pencil.

I have tons of pens that I have picked up at motels, gas stations, doctor's offices... My policy: If it has advertising of the establishment on the pen and I use it - it is MINE. I even have a cache that is a pen exchange (CGHV8E).

 

No problems with extreme cold/pen failures in South Georgia - only had temperature in the teens 6 or 7 time all winter.

[+Mastifflover]

I did have a couple of occasions where a pen froze up on me. I had to heat the end of it with my Zippo to get it to work. Now I carry a Uniball Powertank. It's a cheaper version of those space pens. Pressurized ink, I don't know how well it works on wet paper but it is supposed to. Two for 4 bucks at Wallyworld.

[+PeachyPA]

A couple of weeks ago, we came across an extremely wet cache. My 15 y.o. son told me to use his gel pen to sign the soggy log book, and it worked! But that was in 40 degree weather. When I recently placed my cache, I left two pens, a regular pencil, and a mechanical pencil for cachers to use to sign the log. We are Scouters, and we are prepared!

[CoyoteRed]

My 15 y.o. son told me to use his gel pen to sign the soggy log book, and it worked!

That was something I was going to suggest as well.

 

I use a Pilot G-2 0.5, they are retractable gel pens. I like nice writing pens, but I don't like to spend a whole lot for them. I also prefer a click pen for one-handed operation. For the longest time I was stuck because there didn't exist a cheap, nice-writing, click pen. Now there is. It's just about the perfect pen for me.

 

...and it writes on wet paper!

 

At ~$1 a piece it doesn't go in a cache though.

[+rusty_tlc]

I'm cheap. I put pencils in my caches. I usually put two or three and no sharpener. I figure by the time all the points break somebody will come by with a pocket knife.

[+Harrald]

I add pencils to each cache I find. I carry a pen to log with though.

[+carleenp]

I normally use mechanical pencils so that there is nothing to sharpen. I put in several and figure they will last for some time. I often throw in a regular pencil, sharpener and a pen too though. I tend to have a lot of those lying around. I also have a bunch of extra sharpeners that a local cacher gave me. So I tend to add those to caches when I come across a broken pencil and no sharpener.

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

I just placed a cache a few days ago with both a pen and pencil put in it. They've both been taken already. I am now going to place caches with just a logbook in it. Hopefully dingdongs won't think that's a trade item.

[+Criminal]

I just got one of these:

 

[+Renegade Knight]

Pencils.

 

They write when it's cold.

The 'ink' doesn't run when the log gets wet.

They can be sharpened.

 

Fizzy's Sharpy is probably the one thing tha can write on a damp log book. I'm not sure if Sharpies run but normal pen ink does. You end up with a blob that might of been someones signature when you dry out a damp log.

[+tirediron]

Cut off finger tip, sign log in blood

[+garri]

I usually add 3 pencils (they are more waterproof), 3 pens (I prefer if loggers write in the logs with pen If these work well) and a sharpener.

 

It always works unless people think that are trade items

[+Stunod]

I just got one of these:

I've got one of those, too. They cost a little too much to leave in a cache, but I carry one along with my sharpies.

[+Lazyboy & Mitey Mite]

I usually add 3 pencils (they are more waterproof), 3 pens (I prefer if loggers write in the logs with pen If these work well) and a sharpener.

 

It always works unless people think that are trade items

Yep lost a pencil sharpener once. Even lost the disposable camera with a note attached to it. Oh well.

[+trippy1976]

You can get 1000 golf pencils with your own design printed on them for $80. We had a lot made for one event and they came out great even with a decent amount of detail. They would be ideal little "extras" for caches if you wanted to have some made. The lead is really hard and the point is nice because it's sharp but hard to break.

[uperdooper]

You can get 1000 golf pencils with your own design printed on them for $80. We had a lot made for one event and they came out great even with a decent amount of detail. They would be ideal little "extras" for caches if you wanted to have some made. The lead is really hard and the point is nice because it's sharp but hard to break.

do they make the leads harder to break for golfers who do lousy on a hole?

[+Melrose Plant]

I leave both pencils and pens in my caches. That way, everyone is happy.

[+Cache Viking]

My two have pencils with sharpeners. Got a card of 20 of them at our local $1 store.

[+robert]

I hate hate hate hate pencils, so I always carry a pen. I have one traditional cache hidden, and there are a couple pens in there just in case. The one micro (M&M tube) I have left only has a pencil but I've made some shorter pens to include in it.

[+Desert_Warrior]

It all depends on how long you want to keep the log.

 

Ask a historian or museum curator. They will tell you PENCIL will last for quite a long time. Pen OTOH, will deteriorate within a few years.

 

So how long do you want the log to last?

[+SBPhishy]

I always leave pens. So far, none have stopped working. The winters here don't really get that cold though. Sometimes I even leave 2 pens.

[+welch]

I put pencils in my caches. I also chop them down to 'golf' size. Normal pens clog up in the cold... Gel pens, and markers would work, but with as many pencils that disappear it could get costly doing that.

I used to just leave the pencil whole, but got tired of finding ziplocks with a half dozen pencil sized holes in it . Now whenever I find a long pencil in a cache I tend to take it out of the logbook bag and leave in the cache (outside the ziplock).

[CoyoteRed]

This is interesting. I did a test of some writing intruments I had around and the outcome surprised me.

 

See image here.

 

I used a no-name pen, a Papermate Eraser pen, a Grip Sharpie, a Ultra Fine Tip Sharpie, a No2 pencil, and a Pilot G-2 gel pen. I used a regular piece of notebook paper and wrote on it dry. I let the paper sit for a few minutes and then wetted it. I put another piece of wet paper on top of it to simulate being inside a notebook. After an hour I tried writing on the paper underneath where I had written before. I tried to get the instrument to mark without tearing the paper. I left the paper to soak for another hour or so.

 

As you can see only the gel pen made a decent mark, but it runs. The other intruments would barely mark the wet paper if at all.

 

I was surprised that Sharpie didn't do as well. I had played with a Sharpie marking wet paper before and it did okay, but wouldn't mark this time hardly at all.

 

As an aside, the Sharpies bled through the back of the page rendering it useless for using both sides of a page when dry. The gel bled through somewhat when the paper got wet, but still leaving the other side legible for use. The other pens/pencils didn't bleed through at all.

 

Only the gel pen transfered ink to the other peice of paper, but not enough to ruin any writing on it.

 

I let the paper dry out and all instrutments performed as before.

 

I'd have to conclude the gel pen is the least desirable unless the log is wet and then only if no other instrument will work. But it will sign a wet logbook.

 

Hope this helps!

[+fly46]

One thing noone's mentioned is that pencils smudge. Alot.

 

And whoever said ink doesn't stay long, tell that to any 20 something woman that still has a box of notes passed to her from a buddy in elementary school or junior high.. I have notes from 6th and 7th grade - I'm 21 now - and the ink is just fine.

 

Personally, I say leave both. Let cachers decide.

[+Night Stalker]

I place a mechanical pencil in all the caches that I place that are large enough to hold them, but with all the new virtuals out there I think the best logging tool is the one that the finder brings with him. I hate trying to hold onto a 1/2" long pencil.

[+Will+Bill]

If there is a micro cache, it is a a good idea to leave either a very small pen or no writing utencil. Pencils seem to just break in the cache and cause trouble.

[+RJFerret]

After seeing a wet logbook where all the pen ink had run away and was illegible, I converted to gel pens.

 

Don't freeze, write on damp pages, don't run, never need sharpening.

 

Not only do I stock my caches w/'em but carry a tiny one which I sign with everywhere.

 

My micro's have a pencil sharpened on both ends.

 

Randy

 

Gel pens rule!

 

<joke>Didn't you know pencils are considered sharp/dangerous objects that should never be left in a cache?</joke>

[+CYBret]

I always leave a mechanical pencil or two in my caches, but I also always carry a pen with me.

 

One of the locals who likes to hide Decons started leaving These Gel Pens in his caches. They're the perfect size for a decon and write really well! I tried a few over the winter and they seemed to hold up ok.

 

 

Bret

[+Team GPSaxophone]

Pens are much better. I bought a couple hundred personalized pens to leave in caches. Who wouldn't want a pen with my name on it?

[+TEAM 360]

Pens are much better. I bought a couple hundred personalized pens to leave in caches. Who wouldn't want a pen with my name on it?

I had one of those cool Sax pens, but gave it away to a local cacher who lost his.

 

I liked it better when Sax used to leave pencils in the caches, along with a huge Bowie knife for sharpening them.....

[+Team GPSaxophone]

I liked it better when Sax used to leave pencils in the caches, along with a huge Bowie knife for sharpening them.....

Boy, those were the days, eh?

[+Torry]

NASA spent thousands of dollars developing a pen that could write in zero gravity. The russians gave their cosmonauts pencils.

 

But a sharpie is the greatest and you can use it to brag in the truck stop bathrooms... or cause problems for an ex-girlfriend

[groovy chick]

well in my experiance(witch is not overly much) a pen is fine until it runs out of ink, so i'd always place a spare. but overall i agree that a pencil is best as long as you leave a sharpener with it!

[+Team GPSaxophone]

well in my experiance(witch is not overly much) a pen is fine until it runs out of ink, so i'd always place a spare. but overall i agree that a pencil is best as long as you leave a sharpener with it!

So what happens when the pencil runs out of ink? Isn't that just as bad as a pen running out?

[AZcachemeister]

But you can SEE the pencil running out, and do something about it. I've had more than a few pens crap out in mid log, but then that does open up the opportunity for a rainbow-colored log entry...! I usually have about 5 or 6 spare pens and about as many spare pencils on hand in my cache bag just in case I get the chance to be the hero with the replacement talking stick.

[+Team GPSaxophone]

But you can SEE the pencil running out, and do something about it. I've had more than a few pens crap out in mid log, but then that does open up the opportunity for a rainbow-colored log entry...! I usually have about 5 or 6 spare pens and about as many spare pencils on hand in my cache bag just in case I get the chance to be the hero with the replacement talking stick.

But with a pen, you can still write with it when it's almost out of ink. It's hard to write with a 1-inch pencil.

[+Renegade Knight]

Summarizing this thread.

 

Pencils don't run no matter how long you soak the log, but you can't sign a wet log.

 

If you need to sign a wet log use a Gel Pen or Sharpie, but don't expect it to last very long as wet logs tend to remain wet.

 

I've accidently tested this theory by washing an address book. When I dried it out the pencil was fine and the ink was nowhere to be found.

 

Now we just need to find the geocachers writing utinsil. The one that can write on wet paper, but doesn't run at all ever.

Edited April 19, 2004 by Renegade Knight

[+robert]

I always leave a mechanical pencil or two in my caches, but I also always carry a pen with me.

 

One of the locals who likes to hide Decons started leaving These Gel Pens in his caches. They're the perfect size for a decon and write really well! I tried a few over the winter and they seemed to hold up ok.

 

 

Bret

Looks like a cheaper version of the Cross Ion pen I referenced above.

[+New England n00b]

Thanks for the summary RK. I would have made one too I had thought of it. I didn't. :I

 

Thanks for your input everyone!