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Guide · Stashes
Stashes: hiding loot without a base
A base says where you live. A stash says nothing. This guide covers every container you can leave on a server, how to bury one, how long each lasts, where to put it so it is still there next week, and the habits that get stashes found.
Why stash
Spread the risk
Everything you carry dies with you. Everything in one base goes with one raid. A stash is the third option: a container, often buried, that holds the gear you do not need right now, somewhere only you know. Players who survive for weeks rarely do it with a fortress; they do it with three or four stashes spread across the map, each holding a rifle, ammunition, medicine and a change of clothes, so that any one death is a twenty-minute walk rather than a fresh start.
Every container
What holds loot, and how much
| Container | Capacity | Can be buried | Where found |
|---|---|---|---|
| Drybag backpack | Medium | Yes | Boat houses, coast, fishing villages |
| Protective case | Small; keeps contents dry and safe from damage | Yes | Military and medical loot |
| Ammo box | Small, ammunition only | Yes | Military |
| Wooden crate | Medium | Yes | Crafted from planks and nails |
| Sea chest | Large | Yes | Boats, piers, boat houses |
| Oil barrel and fire barrel | Very large | No; placed in the open | Industrial, farms |
| Improvised, medium, large and car tents | Large to huge | No; pitched | Camping, military, hunting; the improvised one is crafted |
| Any backpack | Its own size | Yes | Everywhere |
Barrels and tents hold the most but stand in the open and are visible from a distance. Buried containers hold less and are invisible. Most long-term players use both: a barrel at a base or deep in a forest for bulk, and buried cases for the things that matter.
Burying
How to bury a stash
- Hold a shovel, field shovel, pickaxe or hoe. Fill the container first; you cannot open it once buried.
- Drop the container on soft ground: forest floor, grass, soil. Roads, concrete and building floors do not work.
- Look at it and use the bury action. The container disappears and a small patch of disturbed earth remains, hard to see in grass and almost invisible in pine needles.
- To dig it up, stand on the patch with the tool and use the dig action. Anyone with a tool can do this if they find the patch.
Count paces from a landmark you can find in the dark: a specific tree, a rock, a fence corner. Do not bury in a spot that looks like a good spot, because it looks that way to everyone. The disturbed-earth patch is small, but it exists.
Where to put it
Picking the spot
- Away from everything. Not near a town, a road, a military site, a landmark or a base. Deep forest between two places nobody goes.
- Not on the way to anything. Players walk in straight lines between points of interest; the space between those lines is empty.
- Not where you would look. Behind the lone shed, under the big tree, in the corner of the fence: these are the first places a searcher checks.
- Spread them. One stash per region, so a death on the coast has a stash on the coast.
- Mind the map. On Sakhal the ground is frozen in the highlands, so bury low; on Nasdara the sand holds a stash but the open desert shows the patch from further away. Livonia's forests are the easiest place in the game to hide one.
How stashes get found
What a raider looks for
Stashes are found by three things. Being followed: someone watches you walk into a forest with a full pack and out with an empty one. Patterns: a tent or barrel that is visible from a ridge, a path worn to the same tree, a plot of pumpkins twenty metres from the stash. And luck: a player with a shovel crosses the patch. You control the first two. Approach a stash from a different direction each time, never at the same time of day, with no light at night, and leave nothing visible within a hundred metres of it. Treat a found stash as gone: move the rest the same session.
Persistence
How long a stash lasts
Buried containers and placed barrels, tents and crates are persistent items with long lifetimes, and every time you interact with one its timer resets. On official servers a buried stash left untouched lasts about two weeks; tents and barrels last longer. Items inside do not rot faster than in a backpack. A wipe removes everything, stashes included, and some community servers set shorter timers, so check the server's rules. The loot economy page explains lifetimes and why stashed items count against the server's spawn totals; the base guide has the timers for fences and flags.
Quick answers
Questions people ask
How do you bury a stash in DayZ?
Fill a container such as a drybag, protective case, crate or sea chest, drop it on soft ground, and use the bury action while holding a shovel, field shovel, pickaxe or hoe. Dig it up by standing on the patch with the tool.
What can you bury in DayZ?
Drybag backpacks, protective cases, ammo boxes, wooden crates, sea chests and ordinary backpacks. Barrels and tents cannot be buried; they are placed.
How long does a buried stash last in DayZ?
About two weeks untouched on official servers; the timer resets whenever you dig it up. Tents and barrels last longer. A server wipe removes all of them.
Can other players find a buried stash in DayZ?
Yes, if they find the small patch of disturbed earth and have a digging tool. Bury away from towns, roads, landmarks and your own base, and vary your route to it.
Does a stash count as loot on the server?
Yes. Items in stashes, tents and barrels count toward each item's total, so hoarded rifles stop new ones spawning for everyone.
Keep going
More guides and tools
Checked 1 November 2026 against DayZ 1.30 (PC 1.30.164200, console 1.87). Container list from our item pages; lifetimes are official-server defaults.