Breath Strip Micros

[+sTeamTraen]

Last week in London I found my first couple of breath strip (Wrigley's Extra, etc) micros.

 

These containers seem to suffer from a couple of defects:

- They aren't very waterproof

- Any slight imperfection in the fold of the log, and it will tear when you take it out or wedge up and fail to let you shut the box when you put it back.

 

Are these caches appearing simply because digital camera are killing 35mm ?

 

Nick

[+Team Perks]

Breath strips? Gosh, I've found caches so small you could fit three or four of 'em inside a breath strip container!

 

Some will argue that people only do that because they're so much cheaper than making a regular container. However, sometimes a truly tiny cache is the only way you can hide a cache in a busy area such that it will be 1) out of sight when it's hidden and 2) easy to retrieve without having people actually see the container.

 

And if you're talking about the Perthos caches in London...well, I have to take the blame for showing him that technique.

[+sTeamTraen]

And if you're talking about the Perthos caches in London...well, I have to take the blame for showing him that technique.

Yes, in Hyde Park. I did #1, #2, #4, and #5. #4 is cute, but #2 and #5 (breath strips on benches with a magnet) could equally well have been like #1 (35mm tub), and would probably have stayed dryer.

[+Team Tecmage]

And if you're talking about the Perthos caches in London...well, I have to take the blame for showing him that technique.

Yes, in Hyde Park. I did #1, #2, #4, and #5. #4 is cute, but #2 and #5 (breath strips on benches with a magnet) could equally well have been like #1 (35mm tub), and would probably have stayed dryer.

I was out caching with KiloTwo back in May. You are so right about those caches! Hyde, Green, and St. James Parks were full of people and micros! Without saying much more, some of them were sort of obvious and others were difficult because of thenumber of locations they could have been hidden. Great urban caches!

[+Strohem]

I have one cache that is a breath strip container for several reasons.

# 1 - the color blends in perfectly with it's natural environment

# 2 - anything larger could easily be muggled

# 3 - the location is great place of beauty and history

 

I have tackled the issue of it constantly getting wet by using write-in-the-rain paper and checking it often to keep it dry.

[+Renegade Knight]

Too small is a function of where you are hiding the cache. Generally you should use the largest container the area will suport.

[cacheaholik]

So Size Does Matter??

[+Wacka]

In the SF Bay area, there has been a recent spate of "blinky" micros. Small magnetic things the size and shape of pencil erasers. They are made for blinking earring, I think. When painted to match the thing they are on, they can be almost invisible.

[+reveritt]

In the SF Bay area, there has been a recent spate of "blinky" micros. Small magnetic things the size and shape of pencil erasers. They are made for blinking earring, I think. When painted to match the thing they are on, they can be almost invisible.

What is the point? That is just absurd.

[+sbell111]

The point is that they are tiny, magnetic, and can be painted to match anything. They are also pretty waterproof when properly prepped.

[+RuffRidr]

In the SF Bay area, there has been a recent spate of "blinky" micros. Small magnetic things the size and shape of pencil erasers. They are made for blinking earring, I think. When painted to match the thing they are on, they can be almost invisible.

What is the point? That is just absurd.

No doubt. What's next? A piece of rice that you are expected to sign your name to?

 

--RuffRidr

[+sbell111]

After reading this thread, it's clear that my wife and I need to consider another trip to London.

[+Nurse Dave]

Hey, film can aren't waterproof either, but that doesn't seem to phase the people that use them.

[+Prairie Dog]

Too small in my opinon are those tiny magnetic buttons about the size of a pinky fingernail. They have a top and bottom that screw together.

The log is difficult to remove, even harder to sign because it's so tiny, and almost impossible to put back.

I've seen these stuck to the back of stop signs in plain view of anyone walking by. Unless you're a geocacher you wouldn't notice.

[+clearpath]

I stopped using the metal breath strip containers. Those containers seemed to fill up with water too easily after a good rain. I replaced it with a 'hide a key' container and it has been dry as a bone.

 

edit - also there is more room for a log book in the hide a key container (less maintenance).

Edited March 9, 2005 by clearpath

[jdoe]

Cache containers do matter. When a container is selected where it doesn't hold up to the elements, the finder is the victim a junk cache. Caches like this are pretty much throw-away caches. The hider doesn't invest the resources to make a decent cache, it really shows. Gladware hidden outside deteriotates from the elements. Don't get me wrong Gladware can be used as a cache, as long as it isn't the primary container (the Gladware could be surrounded by some other container.

 

Cache size?

IMO when cache sizes start getting down to anything smaller than an waterproof match container, its quickly approaching to the realm of the absurd. If cachers need to resort to making booger sized caches, it is time to examine if a cache really should be placed at that location or look into if a virtual.

[jdoe]

Hey, film can aren't waterproof either, but that doesn't seem to phase the people that use them.

People aren't phased at stealing software, that still doesn't justify it.

 

There is just no excuse for using a bad container, especially if you already know it.

[+AuntieWeasel]

You are so right about those caches!  Hyde, Green, and St. James Parks were full of people and micros!  Without saying much more, some of them were sort of obvious and others were difficult because of thenumber of locations they could have been hidden.  Great urban caches!

I couldn't believe it when we drove through downtown with Fugawi running on my laptop! Hyde Park was one giant pile of cache icons (.1 mile my foot!). We didn't do any of them, though

[+Team Tecmage]

You are so right about those caches!  Hyde, Green, and St. James Parks were full of people and micros!  Without saying much more, some of them were sort of obvious and others were difficult because of thenumber of locations they could have been hidden.  Great urban caches!

I couldn't believe it when we drove through downtown with Fugawi running on my laptop! Hyde Park was one giant pile of cache icons (.1 mile my foot!). We didn't do any of them, though

Sounds like grounds for another trip to London!

 

As a side note, I know people complain about urban micros, but visit a European city, and you get a sense for how COMPACT living can be! The parks there in London, Hyde, Green St. James, and Kensington form a spectular greenbelt. It's all open space, with ponds some trees and wide paved paths. People were out enjoying the open spaces.

 

Without giving away much about those caches, the cachers that placed them worked with what they had. There are some places for regular sized caches, but not many. The caches were well hidden, and the difficulty varies with muggle traffic. These are truly stealth caches.

[+Team Tecmage]

Cache size?

IMO when cache sizes start getting down to anything smaller than an waterproof match container, its quickly approaching to the realm of the absurd.

We were using waterproof match containers until we got some of these:

 

 

Imagine what you can do with that and some fishing line? hehehehehehehehehehe