Rite in the Rain notepads and pens are the perfect answer for keeping notes in wet, muddy conditions.
By Marcus Woolf
When I wrote my first hiking guidebook many years ago, I quickly learned was that I couldn’t wait for good weather if I was going to meet my deadline. To finish the book in a timely manner, I had to map trails in all conditions, including pouring rain. When I document trails, I keep notes on a small notepad, but I rain and sweat destroyed the standard notepads I purchased from Staples. Once the paper was soaked, it would tear, and pens and pencils didn’t work on soggy pages. So, I was stoked to learn about Rite in the Rain all-weather notepads and pens.
A Real Difference
Rite in the Rain produces a wide range of products with wood-based, recyclable paper that’s practically waterproof. Even if you soak the paper, you can still write on it with a pencil, ballpoint pen, or permanent ink pen. Plus, pencil marks and permanent ink won’t smear much on the wet paper.
While I use Rite in the Rain notepads for trail mapping, there are tons of other uses for people who love the outdoors. Maybe you’d like to keep a journal during a trek. Or maybe you’d like to create a weatherproof logbook for a geocache. Some folks use notebooks for land navigation, or for keeping notes while birding. People from all walks of life use Rite in the Rain gear, from conservation field workers to construction workers to military personnel.
Durable, Smart Design
If I’m mapping trails on a rainy day, I typically use a Rite in the Rain 4-inch by 6-inch top spiral notebook ($5.95). It’s not the smallest notepad available, but I prefer a slightly larger writing surface when I’m working in the pouring rain because it’s more difficult to see what I’m scribbling
This pad is also still small enough to tuck into a pants pocket or a modest-sized pocket on a backpack. To protect the pages of the notepad, there are plastic covers at the front and back. While the covers are super durable, they’re still flexible, so you can bend the pad to fit into overstuffed pockets on a pack.
The notebook paper itself is also very durable. If you’re working in steady rain, the pages might get a little soggy, but they won’t tear easily. Once you’re out of the rain, the pages will dry relatively quickly.
I especially like the fact that the paper doesn’t tear at the holes for the spiral binding. Plus, the spiral binding is made of an impact-resistant material, so it won’t get bent or crushed easily, as often happens with standard notepads.
While pencils and standard ballpoint pens will work with this notepad (don’t use gel pens or highlighters), I recommend using a Rite in the Rain All-Weather Durable Pen ($14.95). It uses permanent ink that will write through water, sweat and dirt. Plus, the ink works in temperatures down to 30 degrees—a plus if you like winter hiking. I also appreciate that the pen has a rubberized barrel for better grip when it’s raining or if I’m sweating.
And speaking of sweating, I once ruined a standard notepad when I left it in my pants pocket during a humid summer hike. Hours of sweating reduced my important notes to purple blots of ink. Before you have to learn the hard way, get yourself a notepad and pen that are built to handle the rigors of the trail.
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