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Initial Report - RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal
Reviewer Information
Name: Jim Sabiston
Age: 49
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (1.9 meters)
Weight: 207 lbs. (94 kilos)
Shoe size: 12
Email address: JimSabis@aol.com
City: Bay Shore (Long Island)
State: New York
Country: USA
Date: August 8, 2003
Backpacking Background:
I've been camping for several decades. I joined the Adirondack Mountain Club four years ago, the Appalachian Mountain Club a year later and am active in both. I have also expanded my backpacking to include more winter trips, mountaineering and backcountry cross-country skiing, and participated in the AMC's Winter Mountaineering training program with Chauvin International Climbing Guides. More recently, I have actively studied ways to backpack lighter and more efficiently. During the summer months, my style tends toward very light, but not quite ultralight. I use a hammock or tarp for warm weather, and a small four season tent for winter trips. Most of my other gear is very changeable, as I am constantly experimenting with gear and techniques.
Product Information:
Manufacturer: J. L. Darling Corp.
Year of Manufacture: 2003
URL: www.riteintherain.com
Listed weight: N/A
Weight as delivered: 8.0 oz. (227 gm)
MSRP: $15.95 US
First Impression:
The RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal arrived on Saturday, August 2nd, in a Priority Mail envelope, courtesy of the United States Postal Service. Inside was another large envelope from the J.L. Darling Corporation. Inside this envelope was the RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal, along with a host of other goodies. An enclosed cover letter from Bradley Jensen, Marketing and Graphics Assistant, thanked us for taking the time to test their products. Generously included were the following items of interest:
- A single page promotional flyer for the RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal.
- An RITR All-Weather Pen, fine point, black.
- A #2 pencil
- A Rite in the Rain product catalog.
- A 25 sheet pack of All-Weather copier paper.
The RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal itself was enclosed in a brown cardboard open-ended wrap, apparently designed to hang from a store display hook. The wrap identifies the journal as the All Weather Adventure Travel Journal and gives a bit of information about the product.
Construction Details:
The journal itself is a nicely made hardbound book, sized 4 in X 6.5 in (102 mm X 165 mm). Binding is a very high quality glue and stitch type, with no staples to rust and disintegrate! The color of the cover is a kind of light mustard yellow. A small Rite in the Rain graphic is lightly embossed in gold leaf ink on the cover. The words ‘All Weather Adventure Travel Journal’ are embossed just below the graphic, also in gold leaf ink.
The paper itself is heavier (thicker) than would be expected of a more pedestrian journal. The paper has what might be described as a smooth waxy feel, which is not at all unpleasant. The pages have a light brown, slightly mottled color which is quite easy on the eyes. The writing pages have a ‘DATE’ entry header, followed by the word ‘LOCATION:’, followed by the lined body of the page. There are seventy (70) two-sided lined sheets, giving a total of one hundred forty one writing pages, including the lined back of the opening information pages. In addition to the writing pages, there are eight double-sided information pages, two just inside the cover for the cover page and owner provided reference data, and six double-sided pages at the rear of the book which contain the information Index.
The overall look, feel and construction appear to be of very high quality.
Journal Features:
Opening the All Weather Adventure Travel Journal reveals an extensive list of potentially useful features. Immediately inside the front cover is a cover page, identifying the book as the All Weather Adventure Travel Journal. Pages two and three provide spaces for a comprehensive outline of owner specific reference information. This includes sections for: Important Numbers, Medical Info, Vehicle Info, Personal Information and a place to record information for an Emergency Contact. The balance of the journal after this point is occupied by the writing pages.
The Index of the journal gets more interesting. This is where it becomes clear that this is intended as a travel journal. Why else would I need such reference information as Tourist Commissions, with the relevant contact phone number, for one hundred and two different countries! Included in the list are countries like Tahiti, Macau, Curacao and, of course, Scotland! I wanted to start packing after just reading this list. This information comprises the first two pages of the Index. The next two pages are filled with a list of countries and the phone number for the US Embassies there in. The entries are ordered alphabetically within major continental regions, such as Africa, Europe/Eurasia and South Asia. A web link address for embassy information is listed at the bottom of the page. I can’t get packed fast enough!
Next, the Index provides some basic travel information, such as the Ten Essentials (familiar to any experienced backpacker) and some trip Planning considerations. This is followed by a page that describes the Beaufort Wind Scale, a system for determining wind speed by observing sea conditions. Following the wind scale is an interesting page which displays the climate zones throughout the world. Antarctica is the only continent not shown, but I guess if you have to ask…
Next is a very useful Time Zone Map. This is followed by two pages that I found very interesting, one with a Wind Chill chart, the other with a Heat Factor chart. A quick jump over to the NOAA web site verified that the journal contains the newly updated 2001 version of the Wind Chill calculations. And last but not least, is a page of Measurement Conversions, including rulers in both inch and centimeter increments, located on the page edge. The rulers are 6 inches and 15 centimeters in length, respectively.
Likes:
1 - Quality materials and construction.
2 - Lots of cool and potentially useful information.
3 - Handy, packable size. Not too big, not too small.
Dislikes:
1 - Mustard yellow? Well, at least I should be able to find it in my pack!
Initial Conclusions:
I like this journal a lot. It appears to have really solid construction and some useful information references. It is big enough to be considered more of a book, rather than a mere note pad, which is fitting for a journal, but not so big that it cannot be packed conveniently.
I tried fitting the Journal in the most likely carrying places with mixed success. It does not quite fit into the thigh pocket of my Ex-Officio Travel Pants. This was a bit of a disappointment, as it seemed a natural match - my Travel Journal in my Travel Pants! It does fit perfectly into the thigh pockets of my Ex-Officio Roughian Convertible Pants, however. It also fits nicely into the top lid pockets of the Deuter Futura 32 pack I am testing. This is where it will most likely be carried the majority of the time, so this was important.
Writing in the journal is very pleasant. It is a comfortable size for cradling in my hand. The hard cover eliminates any need for finding a convenient hard writing surface and the paper permits a crisp, fine line to be drawn from the pen. The surface texture is not at all slippery and the ink takes to it without fuss.
Continued Testing:
So far, I have used the RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal around the house a bit, trying different writing positions and so forth. It has not seen any rain yet, but it has lived in pretty constant near 100% humidity for the last week. The paper has shown no signs of going soft like my note pads do, but even the pads hold up better in the house than a pack. The journal is about to be subject to its first real test.
Next week, the family and I are headed up to the Adirondacks for a week of camping, hiking, canoeing, kayaking, fishing and go-kart racing. Hey, it can’t always be wilderness! The Adventure Journal will be spending a lot of time getting banged and bounced around in my pack, tent and Jeep.
After that, the Journal will be carried on numerous day hikes and backpacking trips in Harriman State Park, the Catskill Mountains and, if I‘m lucky, a bit more time in the Adirondacks. All the while, the journal will be subjected to much pack abuse and outside exposure as is likely to occur during my travels.
We’ll see how the RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal holds up!
My thanks to J. L. Darling Corp. for the opportunity to test this very classy product.
Jim Sabiston
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