advice on opening returning logs small containers

[+UNCLEFRESHY]

hi all geocahes,just a bit of freindly advice or tips needed,ive got huge hands and im clumsy,the small nano caches with logs are hard to put back in for me.

am i better of just logging the find and saying didnt want to undo as clumsy or other.

[+L0ne.R]

hi all geocahes,just a bit of freindly advice or tips needed,ive got huge hands and im clumsy,the small nano caches with logs are hard to put back in for me.

am i better of just logging the find and saying didnt want to undo as clumsy or other.

 

Don't say you didn't sign the log.

No nano owner actually checks the unreadable squiggles on the tiny scroll.

If you honestly found the nano you found it.

If it's a high T rating, say up a tree and you climbed to get it, you found it.

Take a photo if you want to have some proof you found it.

[+cerberus1]

I wouldn't say no Owners read the abbreviated carp in nanos, but probably very few, depending on it's location (like high on a tree).

Realize if you get a "find" deleted, you now know of one.

[+niraD]

Based on conversations with cache owners, I'd say that the owners of high difficulty, low terrain nanos are more likely to check for signatures. Low terrain means that it's relatively easy for them to check for signatures, and high difficulty means that there's more temptation for some geocachers to post bogus logs. That goes double if the difficulty-terrain combo is a rare one that helps fill someone's Fizzy challenge grid.

 

But I've never had much difficulty removing and replacing the logs on blinkers and other nanos. And I've got pretty big hands.

[+L0ne.R]

Based on conversations with cache owners, I'd say that the owners of high difficulty, low terrain nanos are more likely to check for signatures. Low terrain means that it's relatively easy for them to check for signatures, and high difficulty means that there's more temptation for some geocachers to post bogus logs. That goes double if the difficulty-terrain combo is a rare one that helps fill someone's Fizzy challenge grid.

 

But I've never had much difficulty removing and replacing the logs on blinkers and other nanos. And I've got pretty big hands.

 

I have dropped them in the grass.

I have spent 5+ minutes out in subzero weather scrolling them up then having to re-scroll them because the first time wasn't tight enough. I don't carry a special nano tool because I don't generally go searching for them.

If it's a cemetery cache micro I'll stop. After a lot of frustration it occurred to me how futile the effort was. Most of those caches were abandoned listings anyway, no worry about having a find deleted, waste of time and frustration fiddling with the thing.

[+hzoi]

Get a sharp knife and a toothpick.

 

Make a cut at the tip of the toothpick to form a shallow notch.

 

Insert the end of the nano log into the notch. With the hand that isn't holding the toothpick, close your fingers loosely around the log and spin in the direction the log is rolled, while slowly closing your fingers in the hand holding the log.

 

Hey presto, log is rolled up.

 

Store toothpick in an old pen or something to protect it and keep it in your caching bag.

[Keystone]

Many geocachers carry a nano log extractor/ re-roller as part of their TOTT kit ("Tools of the Trade"). One example is sold at Shop Geocaching.

 

[+niraD]

Many geocachers carry a nano log extractor/ re-roller as part of their TOTT kit ("Tools of the Trade").

I was able to buy half a dozen small cotter pins for less than a dollar at the local hardware store. Those work too. Although I don't need one for most blinkers or other nanos.

[+NanCycle]

Many geocachers carry a nano log extractor/ re-roller as part of their TOTT kit ("Tools of the Trade"). One example is sold at Shop Geocaching.

 

 

It occurred to me how much the tip of that tool looks like the end of a bobby pin. If I could find an old bobby pin in a corner of a drawer somewhere, I bet I could use it the same way. OK, found one and attached a bright colored ribbon to the curved end so that when (not if) I drop it, I'll be able to find it.

[+Harry Dolphin]

I usually use my penknife to extract the log. (Warning: In New Jersey, a pen knife is considered a weapon.) If I cannot open the micro, then I log a DNF, or sometimes a an NM. My problem is rerolling the log to fit back in the micro, or worse, the nano. And I frequently mess it up, an ask why anyone should expect a dolphin to be able to reroll the log! But, no. If I cannot scribble HD on the log, it is not a find. Sign log, log find on line.

[+colleda]

Love the cotter pin idea (we call them split pins). I'll grab a few (cos I could drop one in the grass) from my garage stock to keep in my geo pack.

[+lee737]

I carry a small pocket knife, and use the little tweezers or the pliers to extract almost any log from its container. If you truly can't sign the log, take a photo of the container. I wouldn't delete your log.... This doesn't apply to puzzle caches mind you.... just jammed nanos.....

[+kunarion]

I carry a small pocket knife, and use the little tweezers or the pliers to extract almost any log from its container. If you truly can't sign the log, take a photo of the container. I wouldn't delete your log.... This doesn't apply to puzzle caches mind you.... just jammed nanos.....

I used several tools on a recent Nano I found. The log roll was a solid mass, petrified inside its tube. I managed to extract it and peel a layer out, and I signed my initials and put it back. One Nano required two wrenches to twist it open, and it's hard to avoid damaging it (and very hard to not intend to damage it ). It's so much extra time and work, I may opt to log a Note or DNF instead, no picture proof, I simply turn my back on it and your other Nanos when you require me to figure out how to "fix it" so I can sign it. So to all COs who place these things, that's cool, but it requires a whole lot more maintenance than an ammo box might. Go check it constantly and be ready to fix or replace it, keep it in great shape at all times. Or else don't place that. And in case you don't know, the O-ring is lost after every couple of finds.

Edited May 3, 2017 by kunarion

[+fuzziebear3]

Another hint in case you dont know it ... when putting the rolled log in the container, put it in the threaded 'top' of the container, and then slide the 'bottom' over it. This way the log doesnt get crunched up by the lid. This applies to nanos and bison tubes as well.

[+hzoi]

Another hint in case you dont know it ... when putting the rolled log in the container, put it in the threaded 'top' of the container, and then slide the 'bottom' over it. This way the log doesnt get crunched up by the lid. This applies to nanos and bison tubes as well.

+1,000,000

[Pup Patrol]

Another hint in case you dont know it ... when putting the rolled log in the container, put it in the threaded 'top' of the container, and then slide the 'bottom' over it. This way the log doesnt get crunched up by the lid. This applies to nanos and bison tubes as well.

 

This one took a bit of time to learn.

 

If the log is nice and dry, that works.

 

If the log is a mushy piece of pulp...."found it", "needs maintenance".

 

why do people insist on trying to jam log scrolls into tiny zip locks? argh

 

B.

[+colleda]

When using a tool to extract it do it gently, first, by turning the roll one way then the other. You will find that it will, in most cases, turn easier in one direction than the other. Once you find the easy direction then turn it a little more in that direction. This has the effect of tightening the roll which in turn reduces its diameter and makes it easier to slip out. And, as above, replace it in the cap.

[+-CJ-]

Many good advices. The only thing I could add is that (in my view) one shouldn't log a cache found once its logbook isn't signed. Once started this will not ever end. Clumsy, logbook full, logbook wet, couldn't extract it, had no pen, pen broken, it refused to write on that particular paper, I felt it with my fingers but it was too deep, I forgot that a special tool was needed but I actually saw it = I found it, etc. No log, no find. In 9/10 of situations such a problem is solvable. The rest part doesn't matter: there are so many caches in the world waiting for me

[+BAMBOOZLE]

hi all geocahes,just a bit of freindly advice or tips needed,ive got huge hands and im clumsy,the small nano caches with logs are hard to put back in for me.

am i better of just logging the find and saying didnt want to undo as clumsy or other.

 

Don't say you didn't sign the log.

No nano owner actually checks the unreadable squiggles on the tiny scroll.

If you honestly found the nano you found it.

If it's a high T rating, say up a tree and you climbed to get it, you found it.

Take a photo if you want to have some proof you found it.

 

+1....its not only big hands but arthritic hands and I have both....I make a note of where it was found or take a picture but if someone wants to delete my find thats O.K. , its part of the game.

[+RufusClupea]

One of the few caches I sought said right in the description to "bring a tweezers".  I've carried one since. <shrug>

[+TeamRabbitRun]

Just remember that if you're replacing a log into a bison tube, insert it into THE CAP, not into the body.

What I'm calling the cap is the end with the hanger, not the big dome-end. If you look at the picture of the tool (made out of a bison tube) that Keystone posted above, it's the end with the tool sticking out.

If you fit the log into the smaller cap, it'll neatly slide into the dome.

If you jam it into the dome first, most likely it'll get crushed by the cap. The end will get shredded, and it'll be harder for the next person.

------------------

The same holds true for the tiny magnetic nanos, or what I guess our partners across the pond call 'Blinkies'. Put the log roll into the smaller of the two parts.

Edited July 21, 2017 by TeamRabbitRun

[+WarNinjas]

What everyone is saying about putting the log in the cap is the key for most.  I did just order some bigger bison tubes that are threaded the other way just for this reason.  I only got 3 of them so on 99% of them do it that way!