Newest Bomb Scare -

[bluelamb03]

It's happened again: http://www.notaboutthenumbers.com/2013/03/01/police-may-charge-geocachers-over-bomb-scare/ At a guardrail cache in Mansfield, Ohio.

The kicker is that the cacheowners had explicit permission to place the cache from the Park, but the 'good citizen' who spotted a finder at the GZ called in a bombscare.

What's surprising is that the possibility that this was a geocache didn't occur to the local constabulary; it seems they've had some previous experience with geocaches....

On the other hand this would not have happened at all if the container had been clear, see-through, instead of covered in black tape. What good does the black tape do in concealing a guard rail cache?
Just put the lock'n lock in the guard rail without any 'cammo', and the problem is solved!

Blue -

[GopherGreg]

An American couple may face felony charges for inducing public panic after their new geocache sparked a three-hour bomb alert.

Pressing charges? If they had permission (from the land owner), they can't press chagres! They probably shouldn't have taped it black, sure, but I think pressing charges is a bit much. Is it not?

[BlackRose67]

Although most of my hides are micro, it makes me wonder if I should take a different approach when I camo my Lock n lock based hides and use the same idea that junglehair did with MM#4 and MM#5 (camo the sides and leave the lid and base un-camoed) or put the Geocache sticker on the outside.

Like many of the other containers I come across (in and out of the woods) I currently camo them completely in an effort to make them blend in with their surroundings.

[bluelamb03]

But I often find clear containers, everything from PB Jars to lock'n locks, that are completely covered in 'cammo' tape, but then tucked out of sight in a place where no one would ever see it by accident. The cammo'd 35mm film can under the lamp post skirt is the classic example of a waste of cammo tape.

There are hides that require cammo, the 35mm can in a pine tree, and hides that don't, the same 35 mm can under a lamp post skirt. If your lock'n lock is tucked out of sight in a guardrail, what purpose does the 5 meters of tape serve? On the other hand the concerned citizen/police officer peeking in at the clear container can quickly ascertain that teh contents are harmless.

Blue -

[kahja]

IMHO plastic will crack and leak after a couple of sub zero F winters, whether it is cammo'ed or not. Especially if it is pried open in the cold temps during the rigid time of say, -15F (guilty). I think metal is hardier, even though it may rust and be hard to open eventually. Snap lids will leak after a few finds in regular temps due to wear on the hinges. If found in winter, they snap right off. Any container save an ammo box will need replacing eventually, and (SOAPBOX CAVEAT): how can someone who has placed zillions of plastic micros possibly maintain them?

[bluelamb03]

I prefer ammo cans too, but they are expensive, big and difficult to hide in urban areas, and they get stolen - a lot. I've lost a couple myself....
The Ottawa Bomb Squad has also mentioned that they are difficult to assess with their fluoroscopes so they're likely to get 'disrupted' if deemed a 'suspicious container'....

The brand name Lock'n Lock containers are fairly durable, (the knockoffs have all the faults that kahja noted), come in a variety of sizes and, because they are clear and the contents visible, rarely cause bomb scares. In urban area's they remain the container of choice, but in the deep woods an ammo can is indestructible! It's very disappointing to hike through the woodlands of Deep River last weekend and find a great little trail littered with micro-caches! There was only one small cache on the trail - "Where are the Cranberries" http://coord.info/GC235PW , but that's a different rant altogether! 

Any container will suffer with the weather and the clumsy cachers who force them open or dig them out of the snow, the cache owner must maintain them as required. But no geocache needs to be mistaken as a bomb by the general public, or destroyed by the Police, if the container is chosen wisely for the location it's in.

Blue -