I usually put little toys in caches as swag, but I was mentioning to a friend that I had started picking up mini first aid kits and wanted to get a couple of cheap orange vests (it is hunting season after all) to leave. He suggested getting the little handwarmers that hunters sometimes bring with them (the ones that you squeeze to activate). I had thought of it too, but I wasn't sure how they would hold up in extreme temperatures. I'm afraid they would either break or no longer activate. Does anyone know? If they would hold up, I would think that might be a nice thing to find if you are getting a bit chilly hunting. Thanks.

I'm not sure what does it, cold weather or just age, but they will fail after a while. I have seen them in caches that no longer function.

I usually put little toys in caches as swag, but I was mentioning to a friend that I had started picking up mini first aid kits and wanted to get a couple of cheap orange vests (it is hunting season after all) to leave. He suggested getting the little handwarmers that hunters sometimes bring with them (the ones that you squeeze to activate). I had thought of it too, but I wasn't sure how they would hold up in extreme temperatures. I'm afraid they would either break or no longer activate. Does anyone know? If they would hold up, I would think that might be a nice thing to find if you are getting a bit chilly hunting. Thanks.

First off welcome to geocachingmaine.org Fantasiynormrah (wow that's quite the mouthful . . . my fingers were falling all over each other attempting to spell out your name.) I immediately recognized you from some of my caches that you found recently.

In answer to your question, first aid kits and vests are great ideas . . . items that rely on chemicals to generate heat (such as hand warmers) or light (like glow sticks) for some reason tend to not work so well after being exposed to the cold for a few months and unfortunately become "geo junk" after a fashion even though they are great ideas for events (or so I'm told since I'm not much of a social geo event butterfly.;) :D )

Again, welcome.

Welcome fantasiynomrah! I agree with Jake - anything chemical or scented not a good idea. I have seen everything from scented candles to matches. Some folks may think that a knife or matches are a good survival tool but we need to think children safety. First Aid kits and vets are great. Have found a bug helmet too and it was greatly needed. The bug wipes in season good too.

Hey, thanks for the info. I had a feeling the handwarmers would be a no-go, but hey, worth a shot.

And for those who don't want to type out my whole geoname (I really don't want to either ;))...ynomrah works just fine.

I found this cache today at lunchtime. In it I pulled out a fresh can of Smoked Kippers. Hmmmm....Who did I think of? HIRAM!! :p

Great idea on the vests. Welcome ynomrah

I found this cache today at lunchtime. In it I pulled out a fresh can of Smoked Kippers. Hmmmm....Who did I think of? HIRAM!! :p

Great idea on the vests. Welcome ynomrah

Hmmm... Kipper swag... :rolleyes:

Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for caching... :D



(BTW Gary... Did you find the note that I left on your cachemobile up in bangor last week???)

And did you see what ynomrah is spelled backwards? HARMONY Sounds like a great name. and harmony is a tnaf ? Not sure about the rest of it though.:D Welcome aboard!!!

lol. Very observant. Ok, I'll explain a bit...Harmony is the only part that is backwards...that's actually my name. the other part, fantasi (change the i to a y...fantasy), was part of an online name that I created in high school (originally fantasifire). I like mystical and fantasy type stuff (dragons, fairies, and the like).

So, yeah...there's the origin of my name. :)

And did you see what ynomrah is spelled backwards? HARMONY Sounds like a great name. and harmony is a tnaf ? Not sure about the rest of it though.:D Welcome aboard!!!

What'a TNAF . . . or is that FANT? ;) :D

lol. Very observant. Ok, I'll explain a bit...Harmony is the only part that is backwards...that's actually my name. the other part, fantasi (change the i to a y...fantasy), was part of an online name that I created in high school (originally fantasifire). I like mystical and fantasy type stuff (dragons, fairies, and the like).

So, yeah...there's the origin of my name. :)

Well that explains the name . . . but I think my fingers are still going to get tripped up as I attempt to spell this . . . I suppose it could have been worse . . . you could have chose a name like, say . . . Medawisla or something crazy like that. ;) :D

Hmmm... Kipper swag... :rolleyes:

Smoke me a kipper, I'll be back for caching... :D



(BTW Gary... Did you find the note that I left on your cachemobile up in bangor last week???)

Sorry, I was too busy working! :rolleyes:

I'm not sure what does it, cold weather or just age, but they will fail after a while. I have seen them in caches that no longer function.

Do you know if the hand warmers failed or just activated because they were smooshed into a cache? They should not be affected by cold weather or age because the energy is chemically stored.

Do you know if the hand warmers failed or just activated because they were smooshed into a cache? They should not be affected by cold weather or age because the energy is chemically stored.

I remember finding some that were stored in my father's closet that had failed, but anything is possible. So, I did some extensive research (Ok, I just googled and read the summaries of the first page), and "Six year shelf life" was mentioned. So, they can apparently fail in time, and one could assume that extreme heat, cold, or other factors could affect that predicted shelf life.

Now, if you put two sets of hand warmers into an ammo box, and activate one of them, maybe the activated ones would keep the unactivated ones warm enough to maintain that shelf life during the Winter. :)

I remember finding some that were stored in my father's closet that had failed, but anything is possible. So, I did some extensive research (Ok, I just googled and read the summaries of the first page), and "Six year shelf life" was mentioned. So, they can apparently fail in time, and one could assume that extreme heat, cold, or other factors could affect that predicted shelf life.

Now, if you put two sets of hand warmers into an ammo box, and activate one of them, maybe the activated ones would keep the unactivated ones warm enough to maintain that shelf life during the Winter. :)

this could be a new geocaching quiz... what's the Half-Life of a pocket hand warmer, the winner gets a new garage door with a toyota celica! :D

and a rusty lug wrench!