Marc Kitteringham
I’ve been a purveyor of Field Notes memo books since I discovered them a few years ago. Granted I was kind of late to the party as far as people-getting-into-Field-Notes is concerned, but since my discovery I've had one of the little notebooks in my pocket every day.
I am a bit particular when it comes to my pocket notebooks. They have to be a certain size, can’t have too many pages, need to have either dot-grid or graph paper, and the paper has to be a certain quality. I think I’ve become a bit of a notebook snob. The expedition notebook fills most of these qualifications.
I love the size of the notebook. It fits well into a back pocket or a saddle bag without taking up too much room. The amount of pages allows me to write my heart out and take notes of inane things like the smell in the air, the temperature, elevations and the like, and to have a bit more to spare for the next trip. It also folds nicely, which allows it to conform to my leg as I’m riding and not feel like I’m lugging around a notebook.
The only issue I had with the notebook was the waterproofing itself. While i appreciate the idea of having a waterproof notebook, at the end of the day, the waterproof pages cause the ink to wash out, leaving both pages stained in ink. I do like the fact that it is nearly indestructible, since I beat the hell out of my notebooks, but the waterproofing makes the pages turn illegible when water is applied. For this I was using a Fisher Space Pen (pressurized with permanent ink to stick to the pages).
I am a huge fan of Field Notes, the idea of writing things down in ink, doodling, note taking, and the idea of keeping a physical record of the day to day things I do. For me it is cathartic, satisfying and generally a good habit to keep up. Field Notes is the best way I’ve found to do that. The Expedition Edition is nearly perfect, except for the waterproofing layer making the ink bleed.