John was recently interviewed on the GeoGearHeads podcast. He discuss the pros and cons of various geocaching flashlights and batteries. You watch the entire podcast here:
Apr 122013
admin
Feb 282013
We are very pleased to announce that we have purchased cachingtreasures.com. This follows our purchase last year of www.niagaracachingsupply.ca. We know all too well how hard it is to keep a geocaching store viable. Thank you to everyone that supports us, we appreciate your business.
Feb 042013
SnapLit, Ideal for runners.
We made it! We are half way through winter. The days are certainly getting longer but there is still plenty of darkness out there. Whether you are caching, walking the dog or doing some other type of activity you should be visible to those around you. The easiest thing you can do is where lighter clothes. Black jackets over blue jeans with dark boots is that the best way to make yourself visible to motorists and those around you. To help you be seen at night there are two types of products you can use: passive and active. If you think of a car the active protection are the headlights and tail lights. The passive protection are the reflectors on all four sides and in some doors.
Reflectors and reflective products do a good job of making you more visible for vehicles come at you. They are not as effect when the vehicle is approaching you from an angle. That’s because most reflectors are retro reflective and will only shine back at the light source when it is close to straight on. This reduces the the amount of time that a driver can see you. In order to increase the time you need to use something that is more active, you need some the emits it’s own light.
We carry a wide selection of active safety gear that can make your night caching experience safer. We have products that clip on, products that snap on and even some that attach to the equipment loop on your gear. We even have an illuminated collar that will help make your dog visible on the trails and on the streets. Many of our active safety lights include passive reflective markings as well.
Be safe, be seen.
Dec 212012
Once again Cache At Night is pleased to announce that we are adding an innovative product to our catalogue. Now available in our store is The Tick Key, the easiest way to safely remove ticks from people and pets. There are a variety of ticks that pose a risk to humans and pets but the black legged tick is the most common culprit. The body fluids of the tick can carry pathogens such as Lyme disease which is harmful to humans and pets. While the black legged tick has a far reaching range there are certain hotspots of activity where cachers should pay special attention to the steps necessary to prevent bites. Long sleeves and long pants are recommended in tick hot zones as is Deet.
The Tick Key offers a simple way to remove ticks before they can do any lasting damage. Ticks need to feed for about 24-36 hours for the Lyme disease bacterium to be transferred to a new host. Removing ticks as soon as possible is recommend but using your fingers is discouraged. Narrow tweezers are a better 
option but they can be problematic. The Tick Key is simple and effective for humans and pets, especially geo-dogs. Keep on on your key chain for easy access. Be sure and disinfect your hands and The Tick Key after use.
All cachers should perform tick checks when returning from any potentially tick active area. Light clothing makes it easier to spot ticks before they can attach to you, your family or your pets.
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Nov 302012
Nov 282012
The best way to free up your hands when caching at night is to use a head lamp. I can’t imagine night caching without one. Over the years I’ve tried a variety of head lamps. I don’t know that there is one perfect head lamp for all tasks so at some point you will most likely make some kind of a compromise when selecting a head lamp.
Here are what I consider the most important criteria for a head lamp:
- Output
- Beam type
- Battery type
- Comfort
- Price
Most flashlights you buy today will give you the lumen output on the package. When it comes to head lamps they range anywhere from about 12lumen on the low end to over 100lumen on the high end. For geocaching I prefer something more in the middle. Output is just one criterion to evaluate when you are picking a head lamp for your needs. For instance the Irix has a maximum of 35 lumen output compared to the 50 lumen output of the Irix II but the Irix is my preferred head lamp. The beam type is the deciding factor for me.
What is beam type? The head unit of a flash light, head lamps include, contain three basic elements that affect the beam type. These are: light source, reflector and lens. The characteristics of those elements determine the type and quality of the light emitted by the head lamp. A spot beam tends to be narrower but will throw the light to objects further away. A wide spread beam has a smaller or non-existent hot spot in the centre. The lights are ideal for working up close like reading or working around a campsite. The broader the spread the higher lumen output you will need in order to achieve the same apparent brightness on distant objects like fire tacks or when searching for a cache.
Just about all head lamps you can buy today use LED as the light source. Fire tacks are much easier to spot when using and LED light. The colour quality is also much better from and LED.
As I mentioned in my post about choosing flashlights I prefer a light that uses AA batteries. These batteries are easier to come buy than CR123 batteries which are the kind used in higher end flashlights. Low end flashlights tend to use AAA batteries. This is primarily done to conserve weight. I also like AA batteries because that is what my GPSr uses. I have standardized on one battery type for my main geocaching tools. Higher output head lamps consume power faster then low output types. This can be mitigated by having a head lamp that has variable output. The Irix head lamp I use has variable output. It will last for 3 hours at high on one fully charged AA battery. I usually get about 6 hours of caching on one battery. My 100 lumen head lamp uses batteries about twice as fast. In that case I need 2 AA batteries for 6 hours of geocaching. I use rechargeable batteries and I always carry a Powerpax Slimline with extra batteries.
If you are like me you’ll be walking around with your head lamp on for a few hours at a time. It’s important the light is comfortable on your head. This includes if you are wearing a hat (baseball hats tend to cause a shadow at your feet which is not ideal). If you’ll be wearing a bicycle helping or other kind of hard hat you will want a head lamp that has some kind of slip resistance. The larger the headlamp the less comfortable it will be on your head. The lighter your head lamp is the happier you will be.
By Gregory Pleau
The first thing most cachers do when thinking about a head lamp is to consider price. I think price is important but it should come lower in the priority list. When I started night caching I bought a small head lamp that was within my “budget”. After about six months of night caching I bought a larger, AA, head lamp that was in my “budget”. This was a budget based head lamp and it just didn’t have the performance or quality I wanted so I went in search of a head lamp that met my needs first and my budget second. The price of my poor choices was more than had I just bought a quality head lamp in the first place. Learn from my mistakes and buy the best head lamp you can afford based on your needs.
Nov 202012
Geocaching Logbooks
Part of the fun of geocaching is sharing our experiences with other geocachers. We traditionally have two ways to do that: hand written logs in the log book we find in the cache or with an online log. You can help geocachers provide hand written logs for your cache by providing an easy to use geocaching logbook.
When it comes to nanos you have almost no choice but to use a log sheet. For most other caches there are pre-made logbooks available. Even preform cache containers have a special logbook just for them.
I personally prefer logbooks that are spiral bound. I find these the easiest to use. I can flip to a page and then write my log without trying to keep the book open. At a certain size the spiral bound books are too big and the stapled variety are the only way to go.
If you want to really make an impression with your geocache you can use Rite in the Rain logbooks. These logbooks use a special paper the doesn’t get soggy. This can be very helpful even if it’s not raining. If your hands are wet from rain or snow and you handle a regular paper logbook you might get it wet. If you are using less than idea container you can at least use a RitR logbook to make it so future cachers can log their find.
Using quality materials not only shows your fellow cachers that you care about their experience it also means fewer maintenance runs for you. The cost of better materials can many times be made up for in the reduced amount of gas consumed performing maintenance runs.
Aug 112012
I was out doing some cache maintenance the other night and discovered that one of the reflectors was missing. I had used FireTape as the reflector. I wasn’t able to find the reflector but I wanted to maintain the cache. Luckily I keep a few feet of reflective cord wrapped around my flashlight for just such an event. I recorded some video of what I did that you might find helpful.
Reflective cord has many uses, including:
- Alternative to FireTacks (good for younger trees)
- Zipper pull tabs, add reflectivity to anything with a zipper
- Tent ropes
- Around camp
- Make reflective outlines on equipment or in the field
Aug 052012
We are pleased to announce that we have acquired NiagaraCachingSupply.ca. We strive to make it easier for cachers to find the geocaching supplies they need. Cache At Night has the the geocaching you need including: containters, log books and trackables.
May 012012
One of our favourite aspects of running Cache At Night is attending events. It gives us an opportunity to meet many of our existing customers and to make some new friends. Not everyone enjoys the online buying experience and events are a great opportunity for those folks to make a purchase in person. In the past there was a trade off in that we couldn’t accept credit cards at events. That will not be the case this year.
We have just signed up for a new service that will allow us to process credit card transactions anywhere that we have cell coverage. If you see us at upcoming event you’ll be able to make purchases using your credit card. We hope this will make it easier for you to get the supplies you need.