I was thinking, I have ran into letterboxers 3 times without being on the trails or at an event. A family who attends my parents church letterboxes, I went to a geocaching event in FL where one of the attendees was from the UK and grew up letterboxing even attending the first. Another family grabbed my attention as they read the back of one of my geocaching shirts while on a friendship boat to Disney's Hollywood Studios. Every time we always say "darn! I wish we had our stamps and logbooks!"

So, I was thinking, for when out in everyday life, I might keep a few stickers on me. Like the shipping label paper that I can prestamp and keep in a pocket of my wallet to give to a boxer I meet on the streets. They can then place it in their logbook when they get home. Maybe even have a personal traveler too that is specific for the non-trail/non-event instances.

What do you guys think?

I typically have my stamp, logbook, and inkpad with me all the time in my backpack ... but there are some days that I do go out without my pack, and I think stickers would be great for an unexpected encounter. I will have to try it!

Why not use thin card stock or index cards and make it more of a business card/calling card for yourself?

I once went to an event where a family of LBers each had their own individual stamps and then they had a group/family stamp. To save time Exchanging with people, the mother had pre-made index cards with all of the stamps on it. The stamps were pre-signed by each member. As we were exchanging, the mother would date the cards and add a few words about the exchange. She also provided tape and glue to secure the cards into your logbook. I thought it was a neat idea. I know some people were put off, but I truly understood why she did it. It was a calling card of convenience.

Great idea though!

Kham

What do you guys think?

Sounds like a great idea!

I keep an emergency boxing kit (old sig stamp, black ink, unruled index cards, and a compass) in my car. I can't remember if I've ever used it to do an exchange, though.

I keep an emergency boxing kit (old sig stamp, black ink, unruled index cards, and a compass) in my car.

Brilliant idea--I'm going to assemble my own!

Brilliant idea--I'm going to assemble my own!

I've used it on a number of occasions, especially when I decide to get a box after work. :^)

My LB kit looks too much like a purse to keep in my car. And when I did that years ago in my trunk, my pads dried out, my markers were weird, I worried about my sig stamp being hot, then cold, etc. And let's not even talk about little bottles of sanitizer and what can happen to them!

So I try to keep a mini kit in my car for those sudden boxes.

It's a small case that snaps that is made to keep index cards. I've seen them at Walgreens, Fred Meyer . . .

I put in a small ink pad, several index cards to take the box images, a pen and my sig stamp on several labels.

Here's an image of the index card case I use: Index Card Case

The little dividers come out!

I used this when I went to Tacoma for a handbell conference last summer. I was very busy at the conference but had a few boxes in walking distance and managed to get them. But I really had no room for my kit, even if I wanted to bring it. This mini-kit was perfect.

KuKu

I might keep a few stickers on me. Like the shipping label paper that I can prestamp and keep in a pocket of my wallet to give to a boxer

Personally I will not put stickers into my logbook. They are bulky, make the pages not lie flat, leave sticky residue on the page if they slide even the tiniest, make pages stick together, and are generally a nuisance. My feeling is that if you can't take the minute it takes to do a real, personal stamping, then it isn;t really much of an exchange, is it? This is a subject that seems to pop up every year or so... "Hey! I have an idea! Put sig stamps on stickers!" There always tends to be a mixed bag of responses between those that think it is a good idea and those that don't, because at first blush, it does seem like a logical thing to do. But mostly it ends up getting less than enthusiastic response. Who knows, though, maybe this time others will warm to the idea. It'll be a little uncomfortable for us both, though, if we ever meet and I have to politely decline your exchange sticker.

i have my siggy and a small ink pad in an altoids tin in my purse/bag at all times. any paper can be used for stamping in an emergency

I think most are misunderstanding what I am saying. The stickers are not for boxing, they are not for the usual exchange. They would be for when you have nothing with you. At all.

All 3 times I had met boxers none of us had anything on us. Even if we did, the first instance was at a funeral, so that would be inappropriate, the next one was on the lawn of a convention center when my car was a mile away in a parking garage and the other person's supplies were all the way back in the UK. The next on was on a boat headed to a theme park. Not really a "go to your car and grab an emergency kit" situation.

Even if you did have an emergency kit, you can't use it. The other person would need to have the other person fully equipped. Your logbook would be useless because they don't have their stamp on them, and your sig stamp is useless because they don't have their logbook for you to stamp in.

Shipping label stickers are permanent. They don't come off even if you wanted them to! I can not say that about other stickers because all stickers have different purposes, but shipping labels are definitely meant to be permanent.

I am not a fan of the index cards, way too bulky and stiff to paste into a page and glue doesn't hold well overtime.

I wouldn't be offended if a boxer didn't want a sticker, but that would just mean they wouldn't get any image at all and that is up to them, not me.

Again, this would be for emergencies only. Kept in your wallet would mean that you always have it on you no matter what.

I created some themed LTC cards with my stamp on it. I don't force them on anyone, but for those who collect "cards" this might be an option. I don't have to have my exchanges in my logbook, because I do not carry the original logbook with me.

For those interested, I still have a few that require solving a puzzle.

I still have a few that require solving a puzzle

Yes! I know!! And I haven't given up I'm simply going blind!

~tigs( I will solve it, you know. I will)

Ive never met another boxer. Well once, it was her first time. She doesnt have an account. So.. But I have few on my facebook. My logbook had all kinds of things taped in it, and stories, and every date, AQ#, & so much love.
I kept it in my car. One day I was looking for the culprit of a weird mold smell on my car. My trunk had a leak that I didnt know about. It rained hard for a few days, there was a pool of rain water, and of course that is where my beloved Letterbox Journal was. :,-( I have disasembled, dried, & reasembled waterlogged logbooks. But this book was finished.

So I guess be careful where ya leave it.

Same, with my store bought sig stamp when we first started.

I wouldn't mind a sticker, index card etc. My logbooks are more like scrapbooks anyway. I add photos, interesting clues, information about the places the boxes take me so they become bulky by default.

My entire logbook for the past twelve years of letterboxing is index cards that I place in an actual journal at home. Same with my niece and nephew. I'm not risking losing my (or their) full journal to an accident of some sort on the trail. I'm surprised more letterboxers don't take this approach.

If I'm compelled to put a sticker in my log book, I'll probably come back later and apply a layer of clear packing tape over it. The stickers only too often come off and migrate, and often the ink on them will wear away. The clear packing tape prevents both issues, although it does add to the thickness.

I left my backpack on the trail the other day (and went back and it's gone...) I lost my GPS, All my letterboxing stuff, hitchhikers, travel bugs, geocaching swag.... But I'm most upset about my log book. :(

Maybe I'll start doing this with the index cards....

Aww. I am so sorry to hear that. :(

Maybe someone put it elsewhere? Is there an office or anything? (If it's a park area...)

I'd be upset about the logbook, too.. but cheer up. Maybe it will turn up.

One other note about stickers: Everyone seems to get it about the need for acid-free/lignin-free/low cholesterol, etc paper, but the most problematic part of scrapbooking and preserving photos and paper, and what causes the most damage, is the adhesive. Very few are archival (and those cost a bit). Eventually, they yellow and discolor the page next to them, stop sticking and fall off altogether, etc. Even aside from the preservation issue, isn't it ok once in awhile just to say, "Ya know, that's just not how it's done."

There's about a 95% chance it was picked up by somebody honest who is looking to return it to you. Was your name in it anywhere? Is there a local office or some such logical place where they might have dropped it off?

low cholesterol paper? i must get me some of this. it will keep Mr Umbrella around for years.

~tigs (that and ketchup, with natural mellowing agents. . .)

I don't know - it's one of those postage size parks at the end of a street in a nice neighborhood... we were geocaching and we got lots of looks while we were there (and not the good kinds of looks)...

I unfortunately don't think my name was in it at all - just my trail name (which is my last name - Mass - but I'm not sure that's readily apparent)

I unfortunately don't think my name was in it at all -

C'mon, people! You've got to give honest people a chance! If it's not screwed onto your body, put your name and address on it so when it gets lost people can get it back to you.

Back in my college days, somebody gave me an ID bracelet for my birthday. Back in the 70's, ID bracelets were popular for some reason. I kinda liked the thing and wore it all the time. One day I was at Daytona Beach and swimming in the surf about 30 yards offshore when I felt the thing come off. Apparently the clasp came loose what with the splashing and all. Anyhow, I felt around the bottom with my toes for a few minutes with no luck. It was gone.

A couple of years later I'm checking my mailbox and there's a package in it. I open it up and there's my ID bracelet. No note, no return address, nothing.

Oh, I almost forgot: I didn't live in Daytona Beach, I lived in Orlando, about an hour's drive away. And this was pre-internet. Somebody had to do some research to find my address.