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View Full Version : Top 10 items to include in a bounce box?



mcskinney
01-28-2011, 01:00
suggestions please. Go.

Pony
01-28-2011, 01:10
Maps............

Pommes
01-28-2011, 01:48
Toilet Paper, Hand Sanitizer, Condoms.

maybe clem
01-28-2011, 02:10
Mine has my cell phone and camera chargers, extra memory chips, Aqua Mira and Esbit tabs (not always available to buy), spare parts for gear, an extra pair each of sock liners and hiking socks (I'm picky about hiking socks and they're also not always available to buy), a marker and labels for bouncing or mailing things home.

Croft
01-28-2011, 04:58
If you're doing mail drops, you might want to consider not doing a bounce box. I had my logistics person at home hold all my bounce box items and if I needed something I'd just have her send it to me inside my next food mail drop. It was more economical for me because every time you need something out of your bounce box, you have to pay postage on it again. Only thing I "bounced" was my sleeping bag. Sent it uptrail a few times from Harpers Ferry as I used just my silk liner for a summer bag. In Williamsburg, Massachusetts I decided it was starting to get cold at night again and retrieved it.

leaftye
01-28-2011, 06:11
Spare consumables, chargers and/or batteries, nail clipper, extra freezer bags. I might put some other stuff in there, but mostly to take advantage of the spare space, for example, a very favorable weather report might cause me to bounce some clothing ahead. I might also bounce some type of mini computer again.

takethisbread
01-28-2011, 07:23
Bounce Box.

what a monumental waste of time? no. are these items so crucial that you cant get them in towns? I am always puzzled by the amount of mail drops, and or bounce boxes on the appalchian trail. its only 3-4 days between towns, most towns have most essential items, maybe they downt have Mountian House meals, but they got stuff like food, batteries, ect.

Now if you are bouncing ahead warm weather clothing and then to ship out your cold gear that makes sense, otherwise its always baffled me, and the PO schedules always seems to be a major pain in the butt to hikers.

to each his or her own, i guess

Spokes
01-28-2011, 08:59
Travel-size toiletry items, extra platypus, extra bite valve, spare alcohol stove, astragalus, couple trash compactor bags......

fiddlehead
01-28-2011, 10:12
Coffee. Duct tape. Fingernail clippers. New zip lock bags

Grampie
01-28-2011, 10:34
What to put in a bounce box? Nothing. Don't tie yourself to a post office. The less ties, the more enjoyment. Happy trails.

Sickmont
01-28-2011, 10:52
Dont forget the piano. You dont want to have to lug that down the trail on your back, do you?

Rocket Jones
01-28-2011, 13:36
Dont forget the piano. You dont want to have to lug that down the trail on your back, do you?

That's exactly why I carry a trombone. I'm all about lightweight and compact. :D

sbhikes
01-28-2011, 13:44
- Heavy-duty toenail clippers. Only thing that works on my fingernails and toes.
- Battery chargers
- Extra food I didn't want to throw out that's hard to come by (Nido and fancy freeze-dried fruit mostly)
- Extra guidebook sections or maps
- use as a storage container for items not needed now but needed later

A bounce box is pain in the butt.

chiefduffy
01-28-2011, 14:06
Old pair of jeans and a soft long-sleeve cotton shirt for town. MMMMmmmm, comfort!

Jack Tarlin
01-28-2011, 14:11
TakeThisBread:

Of course a lot of the stuff you'd put in a bounce box can be obtained in town.....but at what cost?

You can go into a 7-11 anywhere on the Trail and pick up 4 triple-A bettaries for around $7.99.......or you buy a brick of them, like 24 of them, for the same ammount of money back home.

And specialty batteries, like those for cameras, phones, electronic devices, etc., cost even more when you buy them one at a time in some tiny store.

Or take Ibuprofen.....you can go into a convenience store and spend $6.59 on a 24 count bottle of Advil that will be gone in a few days, or you can buy those ridiculous packets of 2 tablets for around $1.49 (for two pills!).......or you can buy a 250-count bottle of generic IB at Walmart for around 4 bucks. Which makes more sense?


Plus, your bounce box can contain all sorts of useful stuff that you might not want to carry every day, but that comes in handy when in town......chargers, a set of nice clothes for towns, industrial sized toenail clippers, etc. Also, I'd throw in some extra Aquamira cuz sooner or later you're gonna get to a town where the one place that sells it is all out, or maybe a fuel cannister. Also, real soap and shampoo is nice, especially if you'd rather have your own at a hiker hostel (the soap bars in hostel showers goes places you'd rather not think about); razors, deodorant, conditioner etc., i.e all sorts of stuff it's nice to have in town but that you don't really need every day on the Trail.

Two last pieces of advice re. bounce boxes: They tend to become "junk boxes" and end up holding EVERYTHING you buy or collect en route, like books, town guides, mail from home, knicknacks, postcards, T-shirts, patches, souvenirs, etc. You have to get ruthless with stuff you acquire while on route.....send it HOME right away or get rid of it, but if you put it in your bounce box, you're gonna end up mailing yourself the same junk 9 times, which is crazy. Keep the size and weight of your box DOWN.....don't let it become a junkroom; periodically go thru it and give it a sweepout.

That being said, save postage by only sending your box to MAJOR town stops, i.e. places where you know you'll be taking extended time off. Otherwise, you'll be spending way too much postage bumping ahead a box you really don't need every 3 days. Also, when bumping your box, send it priority mail; that way, when you get to that next town, if you feel you don't need anything from the box at that point, you can forward it ahead for free, as long as you haven't opened the box.

One Half
01-29-2011, 23:38
That being said, save postage by only sending your box to MAJOR town stops, i.e. places where you know you'll be taking extended time off. Otherwise, you'll be spending way too much postage bumping ahead a box you really don't need every 3 days. Also, when bumping your box, send it priority mail; that way, when you get to that next town, if you feel you don't need anything from the box at that point, you can forward it ahead for free, as long as you haven't opened the box.

I didn't know this about forwarding for free. The small flat rate priority box is only $5.20 and it holds a lot. The Medium is 10.95. It could get expensive but with the forwarding option for free - not bad.