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Field Notes & Bonus Goodies

$9.95 for a 3 pack of 3 1/2 x 5 1/2 Field Notes, with 48 pages of white graph paper. Bonus goodies received included a Field Notes brand click pen and pencil, along with a cool sticker that missed it's opportunity to have it's photo taken.

Field Notes next to Moleskine Cahier

Similarities abound when sitting next to the Moleskine Pocket Cahier, but it ends once you get to the paper. Moleskines run about $6.99 for a 3 pack and have 64 pages. (plain ruled or graph.) the paper is ivory in color and is horrible to write on. (Like trying to write on dead leaves.) For a fountain pen enthusiast such as myself, the Moleskines are a waste of money.

Field Notes Behind

The rear of the packaging shows Field Notes company slogan, "I'm not writing it down to remember it later, I'm writing it down to remember it now." Good stuff. Completely applicable. I'm always carrying a small notebook (in addition to my regular journal) to jot down ideas and remember stuff that I need to do.

Field Notes

While I absolutely *love* the intentionally plain generic packaging. Some people may prefer the plain cover on the Cahier, which screams to be doodled upon. (I'll probably still doodle on the Field Notes.)

Inside Field Notes Back Cover

The inside back cover contains all kinds of useful information. No back pocket, but again - I'm always more concerned with paper quality that the *extras* that try to make a journal out to be better than it really is.

Field Notes : Made in America

Read closely and you will see: "PRINTED AND MANUFACTURED IN THE USA."; Yaaaaaaay!!!! Whooooo-hoooooooo! (Moleskines are manufactured in China)

Field Notes Pen Test

Inside shot of the front cover and my pen test. So let's jump to the quick - NO FOUNTAIN PEN INKS BLED OR FEATHERED ON THE FIELD NOTES PAPER. AT ALL. PERIOD. END OF DISCUSSION. )

Field Notes Fountain Pen Test

Sharpies & Lumocolor bled, but that's to be expected. I also decided to try my watercolors. On the upper right side of the page, I tried a few scribbles with my Neocolor II watersoluable crayons. I doodled a little, then ran over them with a Niji Waterbrush. They did just fine. Then I tried painting a bit with my watercolors. (All artist-grade tube paint.) The paper handled the paint pretty well - better than I expected. Colors remained pretty vibrant, and while I wouldn't necessarily specifically buy Field Notes for painting, I would say that they will definitely accept a light wash and so throw one in your portable paint box - why not?

Field Notes - in conclusion

An American company is making a fountain pen friendly notebook. No fountain pen inks bled here. Sharpie & Lumocolor bled as expected. Pilot Petit tried to push through ever so slightly. White paper with tan gridded ruling.

We have to convince Field Notes to make a 5 x 8 hard back book.

Paper similar to Rhodia Graph Pads, but ink seems to dry a little faster here.

I wish the covers were a little thicker, but I know for sure that I have no need to ever buy another pocket Moleskine Moleskine Cahier, EVER AGAIN.

Highly recommended.

Great review (on your blog).

I've been using these since I bought my first 3-pk at Pear Tree, then bought more, and also gifted these to my eco-biologist daughter for her rucksack. She loves them too, and was a Moleychick.

They're great. Mine are thoroughly destroyed only after three weeks, though.

Destroyed how?

Covers have fallen apart; some pages have ripped out of their own accord.

Love your work Biffy and always enjoy your reviews. But have to disagree with some of your review. I really like (and use) Field Notes but they do bleed with several of my pens. Fortunately though not too badly. I am probably fussier than most when it comes to bleed but I find these usable. The pens that I found that did bleed were a couple of my modern duofolds with Quink or Waterman ink, my Lamy Safaris, and a MB.
These books are great, quirky, but not perfect.

InkyPete - I say there's no such thing as being too fussy when it comes to bleeding paper. If I look at mine again, the only think that comes close to bleeding is the Midnight Blues, which "shows through" more than the others, but there is no bleeding through at all from that one or any of the other colors. It's fascinating that some things work for some people, and not for others. I'm beginning to wonder if there are other factors at play, like humidity...

Biffy, its not major but it is there. But this is one notebook where I can accept the slight bleebthrough but it is not perfect. My advice for new players with any new notebook is to buy the minimum and try it - if it works for you and your pen/ink combos then stock up. My books do bleed a little rather than just show through. But I stress it is minimal.
By the way Biffy what is your notebook of choice at the moment?

I carried a Field Notes around for five months and it held up like a champ. In front shirt pockets, cargo pockets, back pockets. Neither sweat nor the occasional light rain seemed to daunt them. They would dry out and be ready for more. Even ripping a page or two out now and then did nothing to compromise their basic integrity. The paper is first rate.

I like the grid, but would love a lined version as well. Great review, Biffybeans.

Oh Pete..... Not sure I can answer that since I have a pile of books though tested, haven't yet been reviewed, but I will be honest and say a few things.

Since I started with the large Moleskine's and have become accustomed to their design, (size, hard back, lie flat) it's really difficult for me to go "Eureka!" even if the paper is 100 times better because all of the original attributes aren't there. (And trust me - I have found some paper that is much better than the Moleskine paper.)

Right now, I'm sitting on large & small Habanas, an ePure, two different kinds of Kunst & Papier, a Cartesio, a Mood, 3 different Ciaks, the Stifflexible, the Derwent, the Field Notes and I have others (yet to be named) on their way.

The Stifflexible (already reviewed) is the only one so far that I really didn't care for. The ePure has great paper, but it's kind of a bulky beast. I can't wait to try the new Webnotebooks. The Habanas are great, but the large sized one doesn't suit my needs, and I'm not super crazy about the thinner paper in the small one. (But it's still better than Moleskine paper.) The Derwent is a great book for non-fountain pen applications. (or you could just use Noodler's black) The Ciak's, Mood, Cartesio and Kunst & Papier books have not yet been reviewed (blogged) so I don't want to talk about them yet - but I will say that each of them seem to have some positive attributes that I look forward to writing about. And out of that last batch, there is one that I keep picking up - so it's safe to say it's one that I might lovingly buy in the future.

I must say I am very anti Moleskin. Can't believe that they could drop their guard so much re the paper - its dreadful but priced top of the range. I will never buy one again until I am convinced the paper problem is fixed.
I love Clairefontaine and Rhodia for different uses but the Webnote from Rhodia have poor paper - they fell for the Moleskin mistake. I think overall I like Apica the best. Would love a hard cover version but over all their paper is just superb for fountain pens. Hard to get here although a Japanese bookshop chain now stocks a small range but in another state so I have to wait until I visit Sydney to collect a few. The ebay store is very efficient and priced OK but they haven't added to the range despite saying they would quite a few months ago.
Apica wins for me.
I have just received a few Habanas from Pendemonium (I love their service) but haven't tested them yet.
Always a problem how to test a new notebook without wrecking it!

Ever since the Field Notes people sent me a sample pack, I've carried a Field Notes book as "religiously" as I carry my pens. I've never used a better pocketable notebook -- in addition to all the other good things about them, Field Notes aren't so thick that they get in the way or weigh your pocket down. (Those of you with purses, messenger bags, or other pouch-type thingies don't have to worry about this feature, but some of us do. )

Very good recommendations. I have bought a few notebooks that have been subpar- lucky my daughter likes to write & draw as she gets the rejects. I really do wish I could find a pocket sized hardback notebook that has FP friendly paper. Moleskine is a partial OK but I mostly use BP and pencil while the Apica are ones that I keep trying to figure out how to make them thicker and with a hard back.

Oh well must keep trying- I am playing with some Levenger circa pocket size- a little too large but the paper is holding up.

Kurt

Kurt - I know that the small Habana doesn't really have a hard cover, (it's not hard but it is stiff) but have you given it a shot? I really like the size better than the small Moles.

I've carried 3.5 x 5.5 Moleskine Cahiers in my back pocket for several years and they have held up very well - I fill them up long before wearing them out. I've started using Field Notes recently and, I agree, these seem to be put together at least as well as the Moleskines and the paper is far superior.