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Do raindrops keep falling on your head? Do you find it impossible to enjoy the outdoors and keep your thoughts and writing organized?

As this series (almost) draws to a close, we have one more category to cover: waterproof notebooks. That’s especially apt right now. As I’m writing this, it’s storming outside my window, my friend just texted me that the brand new front door she had installed last month is leaking from the door’s inset windows and through the weatherstripping, and just about everyone has seen this video of flooded New York City subways:

Some subway system ya got there. This is the 157th St. 1 line right now. @NYCMayor @BilldeBlasio pic.twitter.com/xyfTAUPPNu

— Paullee ? #TaxTheRich (@PaulleeWR) July 8, 2021

In last week’s installment, Noteworthy Notebooks: Stone Cold and Super-Strong, we looked specifically at notebooks made of stone paper, which falls along a continuum of water-resistant to waterproof. In 2014, in Surveying the Landscape: Around the World with Horizontal Office Supplies, I wrote about Rainwriter, an online store that sells waterproof clipboards, like the spring-loaded A3 landscape, waterproof clipboard, below. (They also have an A4-sized landscape and an A4-sized portrait orientation waterproof clipboard!)

And, all the way back in 2012, I wrote a post about waterproof notebooks, though much of the (water-logged) landscape has changed. I posited that if you’re dealing with rain, sleet, snow, or humidity, your paper was going to get soggy and your ink might bleed, while digital solutions were equally (if not more) fraught. Thus, I’d written the following (which I’ve updated a bit for today’s post):

WATERPROOF SOLUTIONS FOR WATERLOGGED WRITERS

Do you wonder who really needs such a thing? Waterproof notebooks are stellar options for:

• Private detectives – especially of the film noir variety, as it’s always drizzling in those stakeout scenes.
• Military personnel, police officers, and firefighters – you never know what clue Gibbs and his NCIS team might need to note for the case, or what Herrera, Miller and the rest of the Station 19 crew might want to capture in the dripping carcass of the structure fire they’ve just extinguished.
• Poolside novelists – when you get the burst of inspiration in the middle of doing the butterfly, can you really wait until you’ve completely dried off to write that critical scene?
• Sailors, boaters, fishermen, and lobstermen (and lobsterwomen, of course) – because you really don’t want to risk someone yelling, “iPad overboard!”
• Shower sages – so you don’t forget those notions that come to you mid-shampoo. Ever wonder why you get such great creative eurekas in the shower? Science knows!
• Coaches, scorekeepers, golfers, and other athletes – because keeping track of stats during outdoor sporting events often means keeping dry notes, even if you can’t keep a dry eye when your team is losing.
• Outdoorsy adventurers, campers, and divers – in other words, people who are the exact opposite of Paper Doll, Paper Mommy and our ilk. (Paper Doll‘s sister once went on a blind date with a guy who leaned across the table and enthused, apropos of nothing, “Don’t you just love camping?” Dear readers, trust me when I say, what we just love most is not camping. There was no second date.)
• Bird-watchers who don’t seem so bothered by morning mists or summer showers, but whose disposition sours at the thought of losing data on a Wilson’s Warbler to a wet Wednesday.
• Agricultural workers – because working in the field means you’re likely far from WiFi and the ability to note soil conditions or unrelated, genius notions.
• Geological surveyors – OK, I admit, don’t know what they’re writing down, but that math has to go somewhere!
• Veterinarians and vet students specializing in farm, zoo, and other large animals are likely getting wet, either from weather conditions or…um, other stuff. Yeah. Onward…
• Engineers and contractors working on outdoor projects
• Seattle residents and the characters in Grey’s Anatomy (and again, Station 19)
• All the rest of us who might need to keep track of survival information during hurricanes, floods, and other inclement weather!

So, let’s look at some of the best options for keeping your writing preserved when that drizzle becomes a downpour.

RITE IN THE RAIN

Keen observers of the office supply realm will be most familiar with Rite In the Rain. For a company that’s been around since 1916, they’re not content to rest on their laurels, and definitely have the largest variety of waterproof notebooks, with an amazing combination of covers, dimensions, and page designs, including:

Top spiral notebooks with rust-resistant Wire-O binding (3″ x 5″, 4″x 6″, 6″ x 9″, and 8 1/2″ x 11″), with colored covers in yellow, blue, grey, brown, black, green, tan, red, and two American Flag-esque patterns in tan and green for the smaller two sizes. (Don’t ask me why their American Flag covers aren’t red, white, and blue.)

The 6″ x 9″ version only comes with a rain slicker-style yellow cover, and the flip-top 8 1/2″ x 11″ legal pad has a utilitarian, white and grey tagboard cover. 

The Polydura cover on most of their products is tough but flexible to protect pages from stains and scratches from bramble and whatnot (remember, Paper Doll doesn’t get outside much) and is marked with rulers on the outside, and has conversion charts and map scales to help accomplish those outdoorsy tasks. 

The first three sizes come with 50 sheets (100 pages) and the legal pad has 35 sheets (70 pages). Most of the pages and the ink are tinted to match the covers and use what they call
Universal” formatting, which is ruled/lined but with vertical dashes, suitable for writing as well as charting. 

The legal pad’s pages are tinted grey to reflect glare, perforated, and the back of each sheet is blank so it can be run through a laser printer.

These notebooks are priced in order, by size, as: $3.95, $4.95, $11.95, and $9.95 (yes, the legal pad is less than the 6″x 9″), with a slightly higher price for the American Flag covers in the two smaller sizes.

Left-side spiral notebooks with rust-resistant Wire-O binding (in 4.625″ x 7″ and 8 1/2″ x 11″) are similarly formatted to the top-spiral notebooks. The smallest notebook has similar cover color options, in yellow, blue, grey, brown, black, green, tan, and orange (but no flag themes), while the larger version is only available in yellow, black, green, and brown.

The default format is Universal, but you can also get it in formats labeled Universal Numbered, Transit, Level, Field, Metric Field, and Journal, where most of the preceding are grid-style patterns of various styles and thicknesses. (Click on the Patterns tab at the top of the website to see the many, many different format combination options.) They’re priced at $7.95 and $19.95 respectively.

There is also a 6.625″ x 8.5″ version with yellow, black, green, or brown covers, brown, green, or black tinted pages, and black or grey ink, and dot-grid formatting. It’s visible on the site, but appears not to be for sale currently.

Stapled Notebooks come in four formats: 

• On-The-Go Notebooks – These super-teeny, business card-sized notebooks are designed to be small enough to fit in your wallet. They’re 2″ x 3.375″, stapled at the top, blank, and perforated. The cover options are yellow, green, black, brown, or orange, or in one of two assorted color packs. Each has 12 sheets (24 pages). They come $12.95 for a 6-pack.
• The smallest of the side-stapled notebooks measure 3.25″ x 4.625″; held together with nickel-plated, rust-resistant staples, their “field-flex covers” are tough but can safely fit in your back pocket but bounce back to shape, and are numbered in the upper corners so you could make this the smallest-ever bullet journal! Each has 12 sheets (24 pages) in the Universal format and comes $9.95 for a 3-pack.
• The 4.625″ x 7″ version is the next size up, and has the same nickel-plated, rust-resistant staples and page numbering. The field-flex color covers are yellow, green, black, tan, and red, and the notebooks have 24 sheets (48 pages); the Universal format is default, but you can opt for Transit, Level, Field, Metric Field, or Journal format. They’re $15.95 for a 3-pack.
• The 6.625″ x 8.5″ notebooks have field-flex covers have the same page rust-proof, left-side staples, and the 24 sheets (48 pages) have page numbers and are available in dot-grid or universal. The cover options are  black, green, tan, or blaze orange for $10.95/each.

Soft Cover Top-Bound – These notebooks were originally designed for the military, with weatherproof, durable glues and strong materials so they would not fall apart out in the field. They use “perfect” binding, like a paperback book. The field-flex covers come in yellow, black, green, and tan, and as with the other notebooks, the interior pages and inks match the covers. It has 50 sheets (100 pages) of Universal format paper per notebook, at $5.95/each.

Soft Cover Side-Bound – Almost identical to the top-bound, this comes in four sizes: 3.5″ x 5″ (in yellow, black, green, brown, and blaze orange), 3.5″x 6″ (in brown and green), 4.25″ x7.25″ (in yellow, black, green, and tan), with left-side perfect binding and Universal formatting. It’s priced, by size, at $5.95, $7.95, and $14.95 respectively.

There’s also a left-side perfect bound soft cover version measuring 4.625″ x 7.25″. This yellow-only cover uses a “Field Worksite Pattern” that’s got a grid with space to note the worksite location and a date log. They’re $6.50/each. 

Finally, for those who prefer their rough-and-tumble, waterproof notebooks to have a hard cover, Rite In the Rain has their Hard Cover Fabrikoid notebooks. They have super-tough covers and sewn-in pages to allow a lay-flat display. The pages are numbered, and at the end of the notebook, there are rulers, conversion charts, and map scales. Each has 80 sheets (160 pages) and comes in four sizes:

• 4.25″ x 6.75″ (in yellow, black, green, and tan), Universal format only. $19.95/each
• 4.75″ x 7.5″ (in yellow, black, green, and tan), with blank, Universal, transit, level, field, metric field, and journal formatting. $19.95/each
• 6.75″ x 8.75″ (in yellow, blue, brown, black, grey, green, and tan), Universal format only. $24.95/each 
• 8.75″ x 11.25″ (in yellow, black, green, tan), Universal format only. $29.95/each

Rite in the Rain makes its own pens, but ballpoints, pencils, crayons, and felt-tips all work, too, depending on what the weather is doing at the moment. However, gel pen users like Paper Doll get no love.

FIELD NOTES

Like Moleskin, Field Notes is one of the best-known notebook companies, one familiar to worker-bee and hipster alike. Whether a person chooses the down-and-dirty Original Kraft Memo Book or supports his Dungeons & Dragons game master skills with the 5E Gaming Journals or gathers all the news that’s fit to print in the Front Page Reporter’s Notebook, Field Notes has always had just the thing.

Well, now, if your thing involves you being out in the rain and the muck, the Field Notes Expedition Edition Waterproof Notebook has you covered. These nifty pocket-sized notebooks have a two-tone cover: the front cover is spot-from-a-rescue-helicopter Antarctic Survey Orange, while the back is “Polar Night Black”, and a topographic map of Antarctica appears, subtly, if you tilt the notebook away from you. (Because what says “surviving the elements” like Antarctica?) Each notebook has 48 pages of dot-grid paper, printed in light grey, and measures 3.5″ x 5.5″. 

Oh, that paper? It’s not just dead-tree paper. It’s Yupo Synthetic paper, a recyclable, waterproof, and tear-proof paper made from polypropylene pellets. (Say THAT three times quickly!)

While, by my usual language, you wouldn’t call this super-tough notebook fancy-schmancy, but wow, it sure can resist the elements! On the Expedition’s page, you can see the twelve different product testing measures used to evaluate the notebook: waterproofing, visibility, wind resistance, ballistics (What, were they shooting at the notebook? Good gracious, they were!),

vacuum (able to withstand super-sucking!), tensile strength, compression, acid resistance, flame resistance (uh, not so much), extreme temperatures, electromagnetic waves, and electrical resistance!

Because the Expedition Edition Waterproof Notebook’s Yupo synthetic paper is non-porous, it won’t absorb ink like the conventional paper in most notebooks (including those made by Field Notes). So, no fountain pens or gel ink pens. Instead, use a ballpoint pen, a Sharpie, or a pencil.

Not that you’d be using a fountain pen while camping or hiking up a mountain, but, y’know, be aware.

The Field Notes Expedition Edition Waterproof Notebooks are $9.95 for a pack of three, direct from Field Notes or via Amazon.

JASS ALL WEATHER NOTEBOOKS

Are you frugal? I mean, if you were spending all your money to hike up mountains and kayak and whatever, you’d want to find bargains somewhere, right? Well, the Jass All Weather Lined Notebooks will come in handy for you.

Distributed by Moamun, these Jass 3.2″ x 5.5″ tactical notebooks promise to be “360° Waterproof: Repelling water, sweat, grease and mud, and even a small accident that was put into the washing machine for cleaning.” They claim that a lotus-like waterproof effect means that raindrops or dew that falls on the paper will roll off without leaving water stains.

Made of coated, recycled pulp paper with a waterproof polyethylene cover, top-bound with a Wire-O spiral binding, the notebook has 48 green pages with green, gridded formatting. (The name says they are lined, but all descriptions and blurry photos show a grid. The horizontal lines are darker than the vertical ones, making it suitable to use for regular writing, but the light vertical lines make it possible to draw/graph, if necessary.)

The Jass notebooks, available at Amazon, come 10 to package for $17.99/pack. That’s $1.79/notebook. Bargain!

HUCKLEBERRY WATERPROOF SKETCHBOOK

Not everyone is fishing, sailing, hunting, or outdoors-ing in a rough-and-tumble way. Artists find themselves in the not-so-great outdoors, too, and need a sketchbook that will survive water and schmutz. That said, it was surprisingly difficult to find waterproof sketchbooks, and I’d noticed that Rite in the Rain no longer carries their old spiral-bound version…or any sketchbook.

I was able to find one small sketchbook. The Huckleberry Waterproof Sketchbook by Kikkerland is made of waterproof stone paper (like we saw last week). It has a hard cover and a ribbon bookmark. It’s advised that soft and colored pencils, ink pens (but not gel or fountain pens), and markers work best on these smooth pages. 

The notebook has 80 waterproof 140 gsm sheets of stone paper, but I wasn’t able to find dimensions anywhere, or photos giving a sense of scale. Finally, I located a promotional video with a child using it, and it appears to be not much bigger than an old-school autograph book. That said, for small-scale sketching, it might appeal.

While Kikkerland is sold out, you can find the Huckleberry online at Flying Pig Toys, the Acorn Toy Shop, and other small toy stores for $10 plus shipping.

A NOTE ABOUT DIVING NOTEBOOKS

In general, when we’re talking about waterproof or weatherproof notebooks, we’re talking about being outdoors, but not necessarily underwater. For scuba divers and others who spend a lot of time under the water’s surface, there are speciality diving notebooks. While I lack the expertise to evaluate scuba and related diving notebooks, you may find it helpful to look into the following:

Dive Gear Express Underwater Notepads – These 28-page, 5″ x 7″ notebooks are designed for both underwater and top-side use. There are three cover color options (yellow, blue, and orange) and a carbon pencil is attached to each via a small bungee cord.

Inside the cover, the pages are spiral-bound with a plastic coil. Slate-like, the pages can be cleaned and erased for re-use. The notebook is $6.95.

A number of articles on diving paraphernalia referenced the Hollis Waterproof Underwater Notebook, which seems very similar to the Dive Gear Express version above, but with a tougher cordura cover that makes it more of a combination notebook and wallet.

While available in a wide variety of ever-increasing prices at various scubra-related sites, Hollis itself does not seem to carry it. If you’re a scuba/underwater person, check your favorite supply store, or look at Amazon, which has the notebooks as well as the refills. Meanwhile, Simply Scuba has an explanatory video.

Next week is our final Noteworthy Notebooks installment. We’ve got some updates and wrap-ups to finalize our look at the world of notebooks. If you’ve missed anything along the way (perhaps you extended last week’s holiday a bit?), you can catch up:

Noteworthy Notebooks (Part 1): Re-Surveying the Landscape
Noteworthy Notebooks (Part 2): The Big Names in Erasable Notebooks
Noteworthy Notebooks (Part 3): More Erasable & Reusable Notebooks
Noteworthy Notebooks (Part 4): Modular, Customizable, Disc-Based Notebooks
Noteworthy Notebooks (Part 5): Customize with Magnets, Hooks, and Apps
Noteworthy Notebooks (Part 6): Get Smart (Notebooks)
Noteworthy Notebooks (Part 7): Stone Cold and Super-Strong