Multis scary?

[frosty68]

We don't have a lot of caches out, but, far and away the least visited is our short (2 locations including the cache only a hundred m or so apart) multi.
On the bright side it's got a great favorite point: find ratio, but I guess we all hide caches hoping people will go looking for them.

So, why don't people do them? Is it "all that work for 1 smiley"? Or maybe fear that part is missing or tricky to find, making a long walk for no smiley? Perhaps it's lack of technical ability, people not knowing how to set their GPS device to the next waypoint? Maybe it's something I've not thought of?

[DrDick&Vick]

Have to admit I enjoy the type of multi where i go somewhere and read some history, get some numbers and go find the final location.
Have done a few multi's where you find 4 or 5 micro containers to accumulate the final co-ords, maybe a lot of people are put of because of the risk of there being a part missing due to a lack of maintainance.
The greatest aid I have found for any multi is GeocachingBuddy for the Android (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.gcbuddy.view&hl=en) and iPhone (https://itunes.apple.com/gb/app/geocaching-buddy/id298774229?mt=8) users

[frosty68]

That looked really good until I saw the price tag, maybe Santa will have some sympathy.... :)
We've not done many ourselves, and the one that required projecting a waypoint took 3 winter visits, 2 phone apps, home computer with mappoint, base camp and Google earth, and, eventually, got found using our etrex once we'd bought it.

[DrDick&Vick]

I presume you have an iPhone as the Android version is not that expensive.

[bobo frett]

Yup, couldn't agree more. I thoroughly enjoy an educational/interesting multi.

I am going to invest in that app, knew nothing of it. Could have done with it on Friday as my piece of paper was mush by the time I had finished.

I've just gathered a team to do this multi...

GCRBP2 (http://coord.info/GCRBP2)

which is fandabbydozy.

[bobo frett]

Apologies Tony, my mac is having issues tonight. I only saw Dr Dick's post!

We will quite happily do multi's and really enjoy them. It's good for the juniors too as we can send them off info gathering.

We had a puzzle cache which we archived after a year as it had only been found in the month it had been published and then ignored :(

But we now have a series and within that we have eight or nine pretty simple multi's but lots of people really enjoy them :)

[DrDick&Vick]

I find it handy as we sometimes do a series that involves collecting numbers but we do it in sections and have lost a bit of paper in the past. Now with GCBuddy it stays there until I delete it.

[Team Microdot]

I like multi's and yes - I might say they can be a little bit scary :ohmy:

I think they are a bit of a double-edged sword - at least as far as planning / scheduling / cost effectiveness is concerned.

Say you were planning a caching trip outside your usual radius - in a location you were unfamiliar with. With a bunch of trads it's much easier to plan the route, the length of walk, timings etc. and 'survival' needs i.e. somewhere to stop and eat, and even the luxury of toilets if at all possible.

Throw multi's into the mix and things become rather foggier.

Factor in the price of petrol - especially if a return trip has to be made to complete the process and it's easy to see why multi's get fewer finds - ironically the feature which can make for a more interesting and rewarding experience also works against them :(

Loads of my caches get very few finds - because they are puzzles and multi's - but I'm fine with that and, as has already been mentioned - the FTFP (Finds To Favourite Points Ratio) does seem to be higher on those caches than on our trads :)

[martybartfast]

Frosty, I haven't looked at your multi but one thing that puts me off a multi is if there's no indication on the page of how long the walk is going to be and where it will end up.

[Palujia]

I'm with Dr Dick on this one - A couple of years ago we met him and his good lady at a mega and he introduced me to the wonders of android apps for phones - multi puzzle solvers, different cache listing sites, maps and Blue tooth GPS etc.,. A lot of these apps are free and the most I have had to pay is about £5.00 (for the GS app !!!) I can usually find an appropriate app when I come across a multi to solve. Albeit, if you can, team work it better than on your own (I have a tendancy to give up if I don't get it fairly quickly)
happy caching

[border caz]

I love a good multi, feels more like a "proper treasure hunt" :) My favourites are ones that take me round towns, showing me all the interesting places.
Which is fine if it's just me and/or my son or the decoy dog.

But I find if I am with other cachers they are mainly going for numbers - trails in the country or lots of drive bys, depending on who it is.

I think the two main reasons for people not doing them are as you said - too much work for only one smiley, and not knowing how far it is going to be/how long it will take/where you will end up.

I've got 5 multis, one is a bit longer (takes about 45 mins to an hour) but none of the others is more than about a quarter of a mile and two of them are actually en route if following a trail of trads - and yet folk don't bother with them.

I agree though that they do get more favourites from the cachers who make the effort.

[StickBouncer]

With most of the multis that I set I try and give an indication of the total distance that will be travelled and an approximate length of time it will take in the description.

That said my traditional caches are far more popular and get found a lot more often than multis or puzzles. However I find in general that the log entries for the multis and puzzles are more in depth and make better reading. This improves the pleasure I get from setting caches.

I now try to make and set caches that are unusual and give the hunter a worthwhile experience. I have a series out called Bouncers Birthday Brain Bash Cache which has eluded many a cacher and the most popular one has only been found 7 times since it was hidden 11/7/2012 but I take great satisfaction in knowing that people are still trying to solve them. Even if I hide a traditional caches in a boring container I fill the description with information.

After all the description is the shop window of the cache and if it is not appealing who would want to try it on.

[stainless-steel-rat]

All the above posts cover the problem (if you want to call it that) with Multi's and the low level of finds.

I can understand cachers not going for multi's that are out of their area since time and distance can be a problem if the listing fails to make it clear etc.

In the past i have done just that, looked at the map of an area i am going to be visiting for a short time or passing while travelling and you just rule them out due to the time needed, if i'm on holiday in an area and have the time i call at the multi's in an area before i start the days caching just in case the its waypoints go past the other trad caches i have planned on finding.

Having just looked it turns out my longest log is for a multi with over 700 words as you can guess it was a fun cache, my logs for puzzle cache are long as well but due to not wanting to give anything away to other cachers that have yet to solve it the logs are shorter, trad caches have what i would say are normal logs for me i try and write about what i spotted on the way etc. looking over my past finds the ones i remember the most are not trads but multi's and puzzles that have been around for years.

By the nature of none trad caches you are going to see so much more and thus have something to write about whether it be the puzzle, walk, views or just the fun time you had.

On the other side of the coin there are far less multi's than trads so this plays a big part in the find rate, whatever the type i want to find the caches in my area and hope as we all do to do just that.


So multi's not scary just different.

[Happy Humphrey]

Multis are always less popular. There is the fact that if you're out of your home area you won't attempt one without checking it carefully first.

But the main reason is simply that it looks like more effort than a traditional, so many people can't be bothered. They'd rather find two traditional caches.

[team mx]

I download a PQ of trads only and I tend to stick to them but if a multi/offset/puzzle looks interesting ill make the effort. I guess I'm lazy at heart.

[northking]

My nearest unfound caches now are two multis, then two extreme caches so guess the multi's are next on the to do list. After enjoying the British Library multi, they are no longer a must avoid!

[eusty]

For me it depends on the multi. If it's just a multi-stage walk finding the co-ord to the next I'm not that bothered about doing them.

If it's a multi where you have to find clues to get the final co-ords they can be fun :)

[agentmancuso]

... There is the fact that if you're out of your home area you won't attempt one without checking it carefully first....

That's my excuse. I generally select caches to look for on the spur of the moment, depending where I'm walking, so haven't usually done the local research required for multis.

[The Amasons]

There are a couple of multi's nearby which haven't had visits for a very long time. I was surprised to find that we've never done any so I'm going to put that right soon.
However, the chance that there's a stage missing is high so I'm not going to embark on them with that much confidence.

[civilised]

However, the chance that there's a stage missing is high so I'm not going to embark on them with that much confidence.



I’ve been away for a while so not entirely up to date on current practice. When I used to do multis (and the one I did today) the stages were based on semi-permanent objects in the landscape (memorials, official signs etc.).

From your comment it seems that now many multis are based on intermediate caches, which can obviously go missing.

Is that correct ?

[Bear and Ragged]

I’ve been away for a while so not entirely up to date on current practice. When I used to do multis (and the one I did today) the stages were based on semi-permanent objects in the landscape (memorials, official signs etc.).

From your comment it seems that now many multis are based on intermediate caches, which can obviously go missing.

Is that correct ?

Multi's can be either... Or a mixture of both methods!

I prefer the Question To Answer kind, getting information from signs/counting things at a location.

Having to find 'several' micro containers, to find a final 'micro' container seems a waste of :) chances!

At least finding information from signs means learning something about the area. :lol:

[border caz]

There's a multi at a National Trust place near here which has two containers to locate as the stages, they even have a log book in to sign. I think they are too close to each other to be changed to distinct caches.

I'm not a fan of this sort of multi, one stage goes missing and it snookers the whole thing. Much prefer interesting ones with questions.

[amberel]

I realise the wording of the OP was tongue in cheek, but I'm really surprised that so many people haven't done any or many. I've done over 750 (the reason for the ambiguity is that NaviCache don't show the type in PQs. If it's a cache I want to do it makes no difference if it's a trad or a multi.

Rgds, Andy