Nomad Waterproof Writing Journal
Initial Report
4 November 2009
 
Name: Dawn Larsen
Age: 48
Gender: female
Height: 5' 4" (163 cm)
Weight: 165 lb (75 kg)
Email address: vicioushillbilly AT gmail DOT com
Florence, South Carolina USA

Backpacking Background:
I used to backpack in college a zillion years ago and just in the last few years have backpacked some private trails in Tennessee, Missouri and most recently South Carolina. I have been an avid car-camper for eleven years and I have kayak/canoe camped for four years, both in South Carolina, Tennessee, Missouri and Arkansas. I use a lot of the same equipment for both. I hike hilly/rocky trails especially in Missouri (my home state) and Arkansas. I live in South Carolina and am busy checking out the terrain here with my sixteen year-old son.

Product Information
Manufacturer:  Nomad
Year of Manufacture:  2008
URL:  www.nomadjournals.com
Listed Dimensions of Journal:  4 x 5 (102 x 127 mm)
Actual Dimensions of Journal:  3.75 x 5 (95 x 127 mm)
Listed Weight:  n/a
Actual Weight:  2.2 oz (62 g)
Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price: $8.50 US
 

picture courtesy of Nomad website
 
Product Description
 
This small spiral-bound journal is waterproof and tearproof.  There are 82 pages that allow for 36 daily entries.  There are entry areas including:

• Trail location and type
• Trail conditions
• Distance traveled
• Destinations
• Pack contents and weight
• GPS coordinates
• Weather conditions
• Plenty of room for extra notes

 
picture courtesy of Nomad website

Initial Impressions
The Nomad hiking-trail journal seems just the right size to stuff into a backpack or daypack.  It does not have a closure, however, and I will test to see if the pages get routinely bent because there is not way to keep it shut.  The first thing I wanted to see was what kind of media would write on the waterproof pages as I was concerned that waterproof paper would not take pencil or ink well.  See the picture below. It not only accepts pencil and pen, but marker and colored pencil too!   Additionally, it would not tear, but did bend, although the crease mark was not very noticeable.  It tore away from the spiral. I also held the page under a running faucet.  It held everything but the marker.



The only drawback for me personally, is that I sort of like to keep all my camping/hiking information in one place at home.  Because this journal is so small, I would probably feel like transferring the information to a bigger journal, just because I'm afraid I might lose it.
 
Summary
I think this small journal really might be just the right thing for backpacking because it is so small and durable.  I look forward to trying it out soon on the trail as it seems to be a very wet fall here in South Carolina.
 
What I Like So Far
It is tearproof
It is small 
 
What I Don't Like So Far
I'm afraid that I might lose it after I get home because it is so small.
 
 
This concludes my initial report.  My field report will follow in about two months. Many thanks to Nomad and Backpackgeartest.org for allowing me to test the Nomad Adventure Hiking Trail Journal.