Geocaching Containers
by Jeff on August 20, 2008
So you’ve been geocaching for a few months, found a few dozen caches and decided its time to place your first. Pawing through your kitchen cabinets you spy a spaghetti sauce stained Tupperware container. “Perfect!” you say, as you grab it and start to sneak away to the garage with it. Just as you reach the door you hear your wife’s slightly annoyed voice from behind asking “Just where do you think you’re going with my good Tupperware?” Busted! It’s back into the kitchen with the Tupperware and you’re again at square one - what to use for a container?
Well you might be surprised that the Tupperware container you chose would not make the best container and your wife was right to keep it in the kitchen after all. Any container that previously held food will hold on to the scent long after the food has been removed. Even repeated washings may never get the odor out and sharp nosed critters may sniff out the cache and make a mess of it before the FTF has a chance to sign the logbook. Additionally, Tupperware (I mean the brand name stuff) generally does not hold up particularly well in the outdoors.
So what do you use for a cache container? There are many very good containers available. Each has its positives and negatives but all will do a good job of protecting your logbook and cache contents. This article deals with regular sized containers. Here is a list of the best commonly available containers:
A camouflaged .30-cal ammo can (back) with a Rubbermaid Flex ‘n’ Seal container.Ammo boxes
Ammo boxes are the container of choice for many geocachers. Their durability and ability to shed water are legendary. They have survived forest fires (though the contents didn’t) and floods. In one instance a geocache in an ammo box was washed from its hiding place on an island off the Canadian coast and discovered several months later on a mainland beach. The contents were in perfect shape after a 15 mile trip across the sound.
Ammo boxes are animal resistant, so you have no worries about a mouse, squirrel, bear or raccoon chewing through the container. They are also easy to camouflage so they blend in with their surroundings. All that is needed are a few cans of spray paint in the colors that match your intended hiding spot. Best of all, ammo boxes are also inexpensive. A smart shopper can find them for under $5.
Sounds like the perfect container, right? Close. Ammo boxes do have their negatives.
They only come in a few sizes and one shape – rectangular. They are fairly large, so finding a suitable hiding spot can take some work. The military issue boxes can also be alarming to the uninitiated, so placing them in urban or high traffic areas is not a good idea, lest you wind up with the bomb squad being called out if they are accidentally discovered.. For this reason it’s always wise to remove the military markings and clearly label the container as a geocache, along with your contact information. Also, some local geocaching regulations require see through containers, so ammo boxes are not allowed everywhere.
Ammo boxes can also leak if a finder doesn’t close the lid properly, or if an object gets caught in the seal.
Pros: Watertight, durable, animal proof, inexpensive (usually under $5) and paint-able so they can be camouflaged to fit a variety of surroundings.
Cons: Size makes them unsuitable for hiding in some places. Some places do not allow them.
Available at: Online military surplus outlets, many Army/Navy stores, gun shows, flea markets, online auctions.
Lock ‘n Lock
Lock ‘n Lock containers are right behind ammo boxes in popularity. These plastic containers have 4 latches on the lid and a foam gasket that helps keep out water. Lock ‘n Locks come in a wide variety of sizes and shapes making them a great choice for many cache hides. They are also clear so will pass muster in parks that require clear containers.
Camoflaging a Lock ‘n Lock takes a little work, but using a roll of camouflage duct tape, a pair of scissors and a razor blade you can have a nicely camouflaged container with 10-15 minutes of work. Many geocachers have also had good results with a special paint for plastics manufactured by Krylon.
Lock ‘n Locks do have their disadvantages. The locking tabs can snap off after repeated uses. If all four locks are not intact the seal is compromised, exposing the contents to water damage. They aren’t animal proof and can easily be chewed through by a curious critter.
Pros: watertight, inexpensive (50 cents to $4 depending on size), come a variety of sizes and shapes.
Cons: Not animal proof. If tabs break off the seal is compromised.
Available at: Many grocery and “big box” stores, Target.com, Amazon.com
Nalgene Straight Jars
Nalgene Straight Jars are not as popular as they should be, but they make excellent cache containers. The screw on lid is watertight and they come in 4 sizes (2 oz., 4 oz, 8 oz., and 16 oz.), with the 2 oz. container making a nice micro cache and the 16 oz. jar making a great, smallish regular cache. Similar to Lock ‘n Locks, they can be camouflaged using duct tape or a special, plastics spray paint. Nalgene straight jars are clear and as such, are suitable for parks that require clear containers. They are inexpensive, with the 2 oz jar running under a dollar and the 16 oz costing less than $3.
Pros: watertight, inexpensive, come in several sizes, clear for those areas that require clear containers.
Cons: Rim on lid holds water. Can leak if not firmly tightened.
Available at: Many outdoors outlets including Campmor.com
Nalgene Wide Mouth Bottles
Nearly every hiker has a few of these in his equipment box. They make decent watertight cache containers. Their long, narrow shape lends to certain kinds of hides where other containers are difficult fits, including inside hollow trees and among tree roots. The bottles are quite easy to camouflage using duct tape.
Their chief negative is that despite the name, the mouth isn’t very wide, making it difficult to extract trade items and the logbook.
Pros: Watertight, easy to camouflage. Shape makes them easy to hide.
Cons: Narrow mouth makes contents difficult to extract. At $6 - $8 they are on the expensive side.
Available at: Any outdoors store
Rubbermaid Flex ‘n Seal.
Formerly called Seal ‘n Savers, these are the Rubbermaid containers with the blue rubber rim on the lid. They are not to be confused with other Rubbermaid products such as Serve ‘n Savers and Stainshield, which do not perform as well. Seal ‘n Savers are probably the most commonly available cache container, as nearly every grocery store stocks them. They come in a variety of sizes and shapes. The rounded bottom of the containers makes using camouflage duct tape difficult, but being clear, they are great for parks that require clear containers.
The rubber rim eventually deteriorates outdoors, but will last between a year and two depending on its exposure to the elements.
Pros: Readily available. Come in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Cons: Difficult to camouflage. On the expensive side unless found on sale.
Available at: Most grocery stores.
These containers will do a great job of protecting your cache contents and allowing your fellow geocachers to find a dry logbook. There are many other popular containers that don’t work quite as well as the fore mentioned but can be useful in some situations. Here are some:
PVC pipe
Pros: Easy to hide, custom made and can be any size you want, easily camouflaged, paintable. Inexpensive if you already have the parts around.
Cons: Leak if not tightened firmly. Hard to open if tightened firmly. Similarity to pipe bombs and can cause public alarm if accidentally discovered. Can be very expensive if you have to buy all the parts.
Tupperware
Pros: Watertight at first.
Cons: Expensive and tends to warp and leak after a few months in the elements.
Rubbermaid Serve ‘n Savers and Rubbermaid Stainshield
Pros: Readily available.
Cons: Do not seal out water well.
Geocachers are famous for adapting all kinds of containers to hold their caches. Here are some containers that are popular but generally aren’t suitable as cache containers:
Gladware and similar disposable containers - These disposable food storage containers are popular because they are easily available and very inexpensive. They also leak, wear out quickly and the lid pops off easily.
Coffee cans (metal) and cookie tins - Also very popular because nearly every home has plenty of these laying around. They however rust, do not seal out water and the coffe can lids quickly split.
Coffee containers (plastic) - These are used by Folgers and some other brands. They seem attractive because they are plastic and free, but the lids split easily and do not seal out water well. The container is designed to degrade quickly when exposed to the elements.
Tackle and tool boxes - Despite the latching mechanism, most of these containers simply don’t seal out moisture well enough to use as a geocache.
Sterilite boxes - The latching mechanism might at first glance make these seem to be useful as geocaches. They do not however have a tight seal and allow moisture to easily enter the container.
Deli/Chinese food containers - These are attractive because they are free and seal out water well at first. But they degrade quickly and the lids split after a few openings. Because they previously contained food they may also be attractive to animals.
Dollar store plastic containers – Generic Tupperware is the best way to describe these inexpensive containers. Popular because they are so inexpensive, most of them do not seal well enough to keep out water. The ones that do tend to warp quickly when exposed to the elements and eventually leak.
While nearly any container will work well as long as it’s completely shielded from the elements, that is rarely possible. Exposure to weather is the norm for most geocaches. Choosing a quality cache container will reduce the need for maintenance, but not eliminate it. No matter what kind of container you choose it is no substitute for regular cache maintenance.
Part Two: micro and small containers.
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One Response to “Geocaching Containers”
Thanks for the write up. I’m a big fan of Ammo cans and the Lock N Lock containers.
By James McWhorter on Mar 5, 2009