Great Idea For Keeping Your Cache Dry

[+big blue room]

The problem we've seen visiting different caches is that the zip-n-seal type bags used to keep things clean and dry quickly wear out. After being opened and sealed a lot, it can be really difficult to get them to seal properly.

 

These look like a great alternative: Clip-n-Seal. Apparently they can be cut down to size, so they'd be easy to fit into a cache. Plus I can't see how they'd ever really wear out. Looks like they're designed primarily for sealing food, but no reason why they wouldn't work for any number of other uses.

 

I think we'll give them a shot in the next cache we hide and see how it goes.

 

Just thought I'd share!

 

drew.

[+briansnat]

Or use a quality container and you don't have to worry about bags inside.

[+Oakley1975]

I have started doubling up containers, One of my caches I have a larger ice cream pail with a lid and then inside it is a plastic container with a screw on lid. The cache keeps super dry this way. I can buy cheap "tupperware" containers at the dollar store, big and small. I buy the smaller ones for the log books and the bigger ones for the actual cache. It may cost a few $ but you can be sure that the cache will be in good shape for a long time. It is discouraging to find a cache that is cracked open and the contents are nearly ruined. This is the result of one of my cheap-o containers....

 

[2oldfarts (the rockhounders)]

We always have "Freezer" ziplock bags with us to replace any regular bags which have fallen apart in other caches than ours. The freezer bags are just heavy enough to withstand a lot more handling.

 

If 'all' of the cachers would help out with the caches that they find, the experience will be better for 'all'. There seem to be a lot of 'helper' cachers in our vast area.

 

Shirley~

[+Jamie Z]

I'm with Brian on this one. Plastic ziplocks and the like make for very good organization inside a container, but rarely do they keep out the water for long.

 

Check it out:

 

See the ammo box in the tree?

 

The cache remarkably still in its place, floating upside down in over a foot of swamp water.

 

The cache container after 3 months under water.

 

But inside..... its basically like the day it was last seen.

 

The contents inside were dry and in Excellent shape.

 

Ammo boxes. They aren't just doubled-up tupperware.

 

My thanks to Buck8Point for the pics. Check out the log here.

 

Jamie

[+Oakley1975]

Ammo boxes. They aren't just doubled-up tupperware.

 

Jamie

"Just doubled-up tupperware" works well when there arent a great abundance of ammo boxes around.

[+Birdsong-n-Bud]

I love ammo cans, but have to admit that we've been to caches where even those got wet inside. Not sure whether it was a result of a defunct can or someone not properly sealing it closed at one time or another.

 

I love the pictures of the submerged ammo can surviving the water. There is hope for dry caches!

[+Renegade Knight]

If you hide them in a spot that doesn't normally get wet that helps any container out.

[+Lemon Fresh Dog]

Wow....I sure wish I could get some ammo cans! (here in Canada I haven't seen too many). Are these normally a surplus item or are they an item unto themselves? Should I be looking at a military surplus store or at a hunting goods store?

[+j9cache & Mike(j9+M)]

I got mine at a surplus.

[+Joe Smith]

You can get them online at www.cheaperthandirt.com

 

My next hide is an ammo box with about 20 baggies inside it. I'm just using them to keep everything in place because I know the box will hold up just fine. I'm more worried about the stamp pad leaking. (Leterbox hybrid)

 

Joe SMith

[+Birdsong-n-Bud]

You can get them online at www.cheaperthandirt.com

 

That is an excellent place to get them. Also check out Ebay. I got some there and they were at a terrific price. On Ebay, though, it's the shipping that can kill ya.

[+Yin Yang Pony]

The cheapest place that I have found ammo cans is at gun and knife shows. Usually they are about $5 or less each. And they have some pretty cools other stuff to check out. I'm lucky because I live a mile from a fairgrounds where they have them quite frequently.

[+Birdsong-n-Bud]

The cheapest place that I have found ammo cans is at gun and knife shows. Usually they are about $5 or less each.

 

Oh, wow! What a great idea! That takes care of the postage issue. What are the entrance fees like?

[Spamiam]

The problem we've seen visiting different caches is that the zip-n-seal type bags used to keep things clean and dry quickly wear out. After being opened and sealed a lot, it can be really difficult to get them to seal properly.

 

These look like a great alternative: Clip-n-Seal. Apparently they can be cut down to size, so they'd be easy to fit into a cache. Plus I can't see how they'd ever really wear out. Looks like they're designed primarily for sealing food, but no reason why they wouldn't work for any number of other uses.

 

I think we'll give them a shot in the next cache we hide and see how it goes.

 

Just thought I'd share!

 

drew.

Have you tried them? That's really the only way to know.

 

Everything looks good on paper. It's the practical reviews that make the difference.

[Spamiam]

The cheapest place that I have found ammo cans is at gun and knife shows. Usually they are about $5 or less each.

 

Oh, wow! What a great idea! That takes care of the postage issue. What are the entrance fees like?

Woodstock, Connecticut has no Army/Navy surplus store? For real? Surely they do. Don't they? If not, why?

[+XRN95]

Hey Lemon Fresh,

There are a couple army surplus stores here in Calgary that carry ammo cans. I clean them up a bit with a demmel ang give them a new coat of paint, they work well.

[+ibycus]

Hey XRN95, maybe a post to cac would be good on this. I've wondered where you get them from too, but I've been too lazy to do the research

[Phoenix2001]

I love ammo cans, but have to admit that we've been to caches where even those got wet inside. Not sure whether it was a result of a defunct can or someone not properly sealing it closed at one time or another.

 

I love the pictures of the submerged ammo can surviving the water. There is hope for dry caches!

I found one ammo can that was wet inside. The lid had been closed on the plastic blister pack a toy was in so the ammo can wasn't sealed correctly.

[+Birdsong-n-Bud]

Woodstock, Connecticut has no Army/Navy surplus store? For real? Surely they do. Don't they? If not, why?

 

LOL

 

Because all we have is cows out here. Woods, cows and pastures. We don't even have a McDonald's. Imagine!

[+briansnat]

You can get them online at www.cheaperthandirt.com

 

My next hide is an ammo box with about 20 baggies inside it. I'm just using them to keep everything in place because I know the box will hold up just fine. I'm more worried about the stamp pad leaking. (Leterbox hybrid)

 

Joe SMith

Plastic pags inside ammo boxes (and certain other containers) might actually contribute to water leakage. The one ammo box I had that leaked, I attributed it to someone closing it with a plastic bag stuck in the seal. That's the only thing I can think of, because when I took it home and tested it it was watertight and has been bone dry since I used it for another cache.

 

I now use one small plastic bag for the log book just to separate it fromt the rest of the contents and don't bother with plastic bags for everything else.

[benishs]

Disclaimer: I am affiliated with Clip-n-Seal.

 

Sorry I'm late to this thread...

 

Clip-n-Seals should work wonderfully - they have been used for a huge range of things, including a chemical weapons disposal system and by scuba divers. As long as the bag is sturdy, the seal will be air- and watertight.

 

For cutting them down to fit the size of a cache we recommend pruning shears. Ideally, the rod is kept 1.5 inches longer than the clamp (the extra length is for your thumbs when pulling it apart).

 

One other thought: Clip-n-Seals are very simple to use, but can be a bit non-obvious at first glance. If this is a concern you could print out page 2 of our product handbook (PDF) and tape it inside the bag you are sealing.

 

Thanks,

 

scott

Edited February 4, 2005 by benishs

[+sept1c_tank]

I like ammo boxes too, but my Canadian friends swear by Lock 'n Locks. I've never used them myself, but I've seen a lot of them (but not around here). They're reasonably priced and they seem very durable.

 

Still, I would use some sort of baggies for organizing and extra protection.

[+VegasCacheHounds]

Wow, that's kinda cool, getting a response from the manufacturer. If he had started the post, I'd say it was spam, but responding to a existing thread to add some helpful info is a-okay in my book. If only we got feedback from other manufacturers like this!

Still, it would be nice to see someone try these to see how they work. I'd try them, but haven't come across the need to in any of my caches yet. They're all in the middle of the desert, and two out of three are ammo boxes

 

Shannon

VegasCacheHounds

[+Markwell]

Woodstock, Connecticut has no Army/Navy surplus store? For real? Surely they do. Don't they? If not, why?

 

LOL

 

Because all we have is cows out here. Woods, cows and pastures. We don't even have a McDonald's. Imagine!

Well, there may not be anything in Connecticut near you, but from Woodstock, CT there are a couple of Surplus stores within 30 miles of you...

 

A A Armory Fiskeville, RI

 

Army & Navy Thayer Street

279 Thayer St, Providence, RI

[+briansnat]

I like ammo boxes too, but my Canadian friends swear by Lock 'n Locks. I've never used them myself, but I've seen a lot of them (but not around here). They're reasonably priced and they seem very durable.

 

Still, I would use some sort of baggies for organizing and extra protection.

I've had mixed results with Lock 'n Locks. One leaked. I replaced it and the replacement leaked. That one was where it would be directly exposed to rain. Several that I've hidden that were sheltered from the weather have stayed dry.

[4x4van]

I've run across 2 different Lock n Locks lately that one side of the "lock" was broken. Just a thought; they may not be as good long-term as some think.

[Team Northern Nerds]

Wow....I sure wish I could get some ammo cans! (here in Canada I haven't seen too many). Are these normally a surplus item or are they an item unto themselves? Should I be looking at a military surplus store or at a hunting goods store?

Theres one on the main road thruogh kingston if you live around there.