This gear review originally appeared in Rapid Media’a monthly Paddling Magazine.
Working as a journalist in the outdoors, year-round presents no shortage of challenges. Batteries get cold and die, electronics can be ruined by humid conditions and when things fail, there’s rarely a back up option. All of this led to trying Rite in the Rain notebooks, made of “all-weather writing paper.”
Since trying my first notebook, they’ve become my go-to item for keeping track of anything outside—and by no means are they just for journalists. You’ll find them handy for keeping notes for a trip report, noting the wildlife seen from you canoe or keeping track of the fish you catch.
The first Rite in the Rain notebooks were developed for the Pacific Northwest logging industry in the 1920s. Produced out of Tacoma, WA, today they’re used all over the world by military operations, scientific researchers and everyday outdoorsy people.
The paper itself feels a little waxy, and, true to its claims, it has shed water, mud and snow with no trouble during my use. Rite in the Rain also sells all-weather pens for use on their pages, but I found pencil works fine—and pencils don’t freeze.
While I didn’t completely submerge my pages, Rite in the Rain’s website shows a video demonstration of writing underwater. Even while underwater, notes are taken on the page with pencil easily, while regular paper tears apart. It’s doubtful that the paper would stand up to long periods of submersion, but a quick dunk is no problem as the water beads on the page and shakes right off.
The notebooks aren’t cheap, costing 10 times what a comparable sized notebook costs at the dollar store, but these aren’t normal notebooks. Not only do they stand up to the outdoors, they also meet archival standards that should see your canoe routes, recipes or journaling last hundreds of years. While I haven’t been able to test that claim, it makes me more mindful of what I write, in the interest of looking good to future generations.
Rite in the Rain notebooks now have their own pocket in my camera bag so I always have one close by.
$6.95 and up | www.riteintherain.com
This article appeared in Paddling Magazine, April 2013.
