what type of container is suggested best for the “bounce box”?
I note that at least one person has used a 5 gal. plastic paint bucket; some use a cardboard box that needs to be replaced on a regular basis. What is best? Thanks
jdcool
Type of bounce box
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#1
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#2
I wondered this as well, and I also wonder where do you send your first bounce box to, and do you send it from home before you leave, or from Amicalola?
Michele
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#3
That’s a tough question. Bounce boxes are as varied as there are hikers. I don’t believe I ever saw two the same. We just used one of our mail drop boxes when we needed to bounce. I don’t think we bounced but a couple of time. Some hikers kept their winter gear bounced forward with other items like repair kits, books, maps, boot dressing, etc. One hiker we knew had a Rubber Maid container sent forward to each town we went near. It seemed like he was checking it every week or so. A lot of hikers didn’t use one.
Several hikers we knew forgot where they bounced their boxes! We were in NY at a post office and just happened to see one of our hiker buddies bounce boxes and told him about it a couple of days later when we saw him and he said, “I guess they will send it home when they get tired of it.”
Papa Smurf
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#4
We used a free priority mail box from the PO. You don’t have to paypostage again if you do not open a priority mail bounce box at a PO before you forward it so you pay a little extra at the beginning but may save in the long run.
Bounce boxes can get “too huge and heavy” with extra-extra back-up gear that could be sent home once to save postage costs.
GottaRide tomorrow!
GottaWalk
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#5
I used a heavy duty cardboard box. By Fontana Dam is was pretty much destroyed. At one point a bag of gatorade broke open in it and got all over everything. On the trip from NH to Georgia I think they dragged it behind the truck. A rugged plastic bucket would have been a better idea. I got sick of having to stop at certain towns just to deal with the box so I stopped doing it.
Big B
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#6
There is another type of bounce I call the cluster box, after the wonderful civilian killing bombs of dicky, rummy & georgy! If you are having your special diet or homemade food sent to trail, you can have it predivided with a smaller box or 2 inside that you can immediately forward 10 days ahead etc… & thereby only have to mail a few boxes from home that you can shop locally & thereby save on shipping (as others have said, priority is a good idea & very cheap when you are sending only a hundred miles or so using your cluster (multiple resupply) box from home!!@!
gingerbreadman
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#8
I used a bounce box toward the middle of my hike to lighten the load a little. I used a Priority Mail flat rate box. It is true that the post office will forward a Priority Mail box if you do not take possession of it at the post office. I saw a postal employee tempt a hiker as to whether she wanted to take possession or not. I forwarded the same box with no additional charge three times I believe. But I do not know how many times you can forward the same box. I just picked a post office a couple of weeks ahead of me. I used the box to send ahead some cool weather stuff during the middle of the summer. While I’m talking about post offices, some may not realize that you can obtain up to and sometimes over $50 in cash using a debit card at a post office. It is completely dependant on the cash they have on hand so early to mid afternoon is the best time to pursue that option. Well that was an option during my hike and I used it several times.
Two Scoops