Not as tacticool or anything, but I keep a regular pruner in my fishing bag for when I need to clear shrubs or branches.
I carry some kind of pocket knife and a multitool every day. Most often it is a Stockman's pocket knife and a SOG pocket power plier. I never ran into a situation while geocaching that made me feel that I needed anything different. I generally push branches and bush out of the way with a hiking stick, either one I brought with me or a makeshift one that I picked up on the trail. Geocaching requires no special tools that I am aware of, other than a gps.
+1 to clueless (again no offense intended).... could just be the person is envisioning scenarios not entirely based on reality. :laugh: +1 to leaving things undisturbed. If your friend is absolutely adamant on his "brush clearing" stance, I would vote for something like: Gerber E.A.B. Folding Saw DTC Bamboo Knife Both are considerably less imposing than a machete, easier to pack, and more importantly, marginally easier to "explain" to a LEO. It is better to have someone shake their head and roll their eyes rather than take out the handcuffs and ask you to turn around. :tickedoff: ATB, Sam
Well, I have found a good multitool or SAK is useful when geocaching, but I've never seen the need for anything specialized. For instance one cache was supposed to dangle from a metal clip, but the cache had been damaged. I had to use my multitool to rebend the clip and reassemble the support it was dangling from to fix the cache. I don't clear brush though, I just bring a pair of gloves so I can it aside without scratches.
If you clear the brush around a geocache, in addition to violating geocaching ethics, you make the cache more visible to vandals, kids, or geocache-haters and make the game less fun for the geocacher who comes along.
