Plastic Bags

[+Cam, Beck, Mum & Dad]

I live in Norway and most of the caches seem to have bags around them. As far as I can see they collect the wter to make sure the cache gets soaked.

 

Is it common elsewhere? We've done some caches in France which also had bags round. I just dont see the point - all the containers I've ever found look plenty waterproof on their own.

 

Graham

[+Beta Test]

Maybe the cache was wet when found, and a bag was placed to prevent more water from entering.

[+Chillibusher]

I live and cache on the west coast of Canada and several caches in this area are also wrapped in plastic bags. I agree that they only collect water. I wouldn't use one on my own caches. If the container is letting water in, get a better container.

 

I don't like finding plastic bags either. I hate putting my hand into a dark, wet plastic garbage bag. You never know, it could be full of garbage or something else unpleasant.

Edited July 8, 2004 by Chillibusher

[+tirediron]

I've only found a couple wrapped in bags, and it seems more like a way to camaflauge the clear/white 'cache container than to keep water out, but I agree, they are annoying, and generally only serve to collect moisture!

[+Nappy10]

Never seen that before.

[+Gizmo & Brazin]

The black bags are common here. I don't like them; I would prefer people work a bit more on the camo of the container than to have to use a bag to help hide it. If the purpose is to help keep the cache dry, it doesn't work. We get so much rain up here one of the first things you see is the water getting trapped inside the bag, which then stays wet when everything else dries out. If also seems to attract slugs, which is truly gross when unwrapping.

[+flask]

seen it. don't like it.

 

put bags INSIDE for best results. ziplocs. use the good stuff. company's coming.

[+Alan2]

I've used black plastic bags over waterprooof containers in urban parks where there is often other garbage that people have thrown out. So if a muggle catches a glimpse, they might think it's just another piece of trash. The black plastic is just another form of camo, but I don't use it to keep the cache itself dry. That's what the waterproof container is for.

[+The Jester]

For it to help keep the water out the bag needs to wrapped around the cache with the mouth down.

 

The only time I wrapped one of my caches is for a night cache - it makes the cache harder to see!

[Pto]

I've seen alot of plastic walmart bags (snyders, tom thumb, etc) wrapped around metal cookie tin hides her in MN...... in the winter.

I agree, not the best idea for water proofing, and when white, like all the ones I mention- they appear more as trash. In some areas, this is camo, but . . . .

[+briansnat]

It seems to be a regional thing. The practice is popular in some areas and nearly unheard of in others. I don't think I've ever found one in a plastic bag in NJ (thankfully), but when I was hunting caches in the Sacramento CA area, a large percentage were in bags. The odd thing is that in NJ we get lots of rain and snow, but Sacramento can go months without a drop of rain.

 

I dislike the practice. The bags collect water and get slimy and nasty. It's pretty gross sticking your hand in there to pull out the cache. Besides, they are full of holes after a few finds and are useless as waterproofing. I wish people would just spend a little more on a quality container and ditch the bags.

Edited July 9, 2004 by briansnat

[+FrkBrum]

I prefer to take off the (preferably transparent) platic bag with two fingers an then open the dry and clean container.

 

[+flask]

i'm thinking that there are so many other non-icky ways to camouflage a cache as trash.

 

i still stand by my origina; statement.

 

seen it. don't like it.

[+welch]

Is it common elsewhere? We've done some caches in France which also had bags round.

Thank all that isn't wet and slimy, NO. Its apperently specific to certain places.

[+JMBella]

I hate to admit it but I used to do the plastic bag thing even though I always use air tight containers. I haven't in a while but I might still have one or two out there. Now on the very rare occasion that I find a plastic bag around a cache, I trash it out. If the container is good enough to hold out water on it's own, get a better container.

[thorin]

Personally I've never seen a cache in a bag.

 

I'd understand if it was a ZipLock kinda bag but putting it in a back that's tied or twist tied just seems bass ackwards

 

Thorin

Edited July 9, 2004 by thorin

[+Sagefox]

We cache where it is wet (Washington & Oregon) and we cache where it is dry (California & Nevada). We have seen lots of caches in bags in W&O and they ALWAYS prevent the cache from drying out after rains and NEVER keep water out as may be intended.

 

The bags are never waterproof and usually help insure that more moisture gets into the container because they get your hands and the container wet as you unwrap it.

 

Black bags are often used to help camo the container and that works when the finder replaces the container so it doesn't look like trash. But I have seen too many that are not rehidden well and simply look like trash that needs to be picked up. I prefer to paint the container rather than wrap it.

[Toron]

I've never come across one wrapped in a bag. I agree, it sounds like a lousy solution for waterproofing OR camo. Too many great ideas have been mentioned on other threads for waterproof containers bagging a cache to be justified. My .02.

 

EDIT: ...for bagging a cache to be justified.

Edited July 9, 2004 by Toron

[+briansnat]

I hate to admit it but I used to do the plastic bag thing even though I always use air tight containers. I haven't in a while but I might still have one or two out there.

 

You're the one!!!!

 

Actually, the first winter I was geocaching, I went to all my caches and wrapped them in plastic bags before the snow fell. I thought I was doing a good thing. When I went back in the spring the bags were gone. Thankfully, someone thought it was a bad idea removed them all for me.

[+JohnnyVegas]

It seems to be a regional thing. The practice is popular in some areas and nearly unheard of in others. I don't think I've ever found one in a plastic bag in NJ (thankfully), but when I was hunting caches in the Sacramento CA area, a large percentage were in bags. The odd thing is that in NJ we get lots of rain and snow, but Sacramento can go months without a drop of rain.

 

I dislike the practice. The bags collect water and get slimy and nasty. It's pretty gross sticking your hand in there to pull out the cache. Besides, they are full of holes after a few finds and are useless as waterproofing. I wish people would just spend a little more on a quality container and ditch the bags.

I cache in the Sacramento area two or three days a month and have also seen caches wraped in bags, It does not make any sense. were I live 90 miles from sacramento I never see caches wraped in trash bags.

 

I do not like it, if it is meant to be camouflage, it is not very good camouflage.

 

I have seen some caches that should be in trash bags though

[+briansnat]

It seems to be a regional thing. The practice is popular in some areas and nearly unheard of in others. I don't think I've ever found one in a plastic bag in NJ (thankfully), but when I was hunting caches in the Sacramento CA area,  a large percentage were in bags.  The odd thing is that in NJ we get lots of rain and snow, but  Sacramento can go months without a drop of rain.

 

I dislike the practice. The bags collect water and get slimy and nasty. It's pretty gross sticking your hand in there to pull out the cache.  Besides, they are full of holes after a few finds and are useless as waterproofing.  I wish people would just spend a little more on a quality container and ditch the bags.

I cache in the Sacramento area two or three days a month and have also seen caches wraped in bags, It does not make any sense. were I live 90 miles from sacramento I never see caches wraped in trash bags.

 

I do not like it, if it is meant to be camouflage, it is not very good camouflage.

 

I have seen some caches that should be in trash bags though

What probably happens is that one of the seminal hiders in a region started the practice and others copied it. People tend to copy what they find, at least in the beginning.

[+garri]

Here we don't usually wrap caches in plastic bags, the weather condition in Spain is very dry altought we have some rainfalls.

 

These bags are also very annoying for me, the water can stagnate inside the bags and then can decay and stink.

 

There are lots of nice waterproof tupperwares. I buy 6 $ big tuppers instead of the 0.7$ ones, and there are very pretty sight.

Edited July 13, 2004 by garri