Long Term Report
RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal
Date: February 2nd, 2004
Reviewer Information
Name: Jim Sabiston
Age: 49
Gender: Male
Height: 6' 3" (1.91 m)
Weight: 207 lbs. (94 kg)
Email address: JimSabis(at)aol(dot)com
City: Bay Shore (Long Island)
State: New York
Country: USA
Backpacking Background:
I've been camping for several decades. I joined the Adirondack Mountain
Club three 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 back country 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 ultra light. 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
Overview:
Need a rugged notebook for keeping gear testing notes? Want to record the
name and location of that neat little pub that served the best sheppard’s pie
you’ve ever had, located well off the main road near Loch Fyne? Just want to
record a few notes about your experiences summiting that long desired mountain
while tucked comfortably in your tent? Want that notebook to last? This is
where the RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal comes in. Conveniently
sized and made with the apparent quality of a proper hard cover book, the
Travel Journal has made a good, durable traveling companion and appears as
though it should last for many years.
Long Term Experience:
The RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal has handily survived several
seasons worth of family trips and several backpacks. These trips included
several days of camping at Raquette Lake in the Adirondacks with my family,
several backpacks and climbs in the Catskills and a very cold winter summit
attempt of Mt. Marcy in the Adirondacks.
Journal Entry: “Here is a new experience. I woke up this morning and
peeked out of my bivy shelter to see stars in the early morning sky. This would
be an excellent day for a summit attempt on Mt. Marcy. I climbed out of my bag
and bivy to be met by -15 F (-26 C) temps. While getting my gear ready, I
realized that I had left my contact lenses in the top of my pack. I took them
out and, sure enough, they were frozen! What to do? Can desperation be the
mother of invention? I had a brainstorm and placed a couple of the lenses in
the top of my pot and carefully fried them over my alcohol stove until they
thawed out! It worked! The climb was still on!”
The journal has spent much of this time tucked into the inner top pocket of a
Deuter Futura 32 Daypack. This is a very handy and well protected storage spot,
ideal for the journal. I pull it out when something of note occurs, but more
often it stays put until sometime in the evening. This is when I take a few
quiet moments to consider the events of the day and jot down a few notes. With
the exception of the Adirondacks climbing trip, where the bulk of the gear is
carried in a gear sled, I switch to my Osprey Ceres 38 backpack for cooler
weather trips, due to its greater carrying capacity. The Ceres 38 does not have
a secondary inner pocket like the Deuter Futura 32, which makes such an ideal
protected storage spot. I have tried carrying the journal in the top pocket of
the pack, which is handy and convenient, but provides only minimal protection
when the weather goes bad. This became clear during an early morning descent of
Mt. Hunter in the Catskills during a surprise early season snowstorm. As we
lost altitude, the snow gradually changed over to wet snow and, eventually,
rain. When we reached my Jeep, I discovered that the contents of the top pocket
were thoroughly soaked, including the All Weather Adventure Travel Journal.
Fortunately, the journal is designed to handle just this sort of eventuality. I
just laid it out to dry, which it did after a couple of hours. The only
noticeable effect was that the pages retained a minor bit of deformation from
the water exposure. All the writing remained perfectly intact. The journal is
better protected in the body of the pack where it is better protected from
thumps, bumps and the elements.
The All Weather Adventure Travel Journal has been subject to a wide variety of
weather conditions, from pleasant northeast fall days to -17 F (-27 C) at the
foot of Mt. Marcy. I think the extreme cold temperature experienced on Mt.
Marcy may have exceeded the functional limits of the journals binding. When I
tried to open the book to make a testing entry, it made such a collection of
protesting groans and straining noises that I was afraid of overstressing the
binding and causing it to fail. I put it safely in the pack for the remainder
of that trip, as I like the journal too much to take a needless chance with it.
Fortunately, these conditions are not experienced very often.
Aside from arctic type exposures, the RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal
has taken everything else I’ve tossed at it in stride. It seems to be
impervious to the indignities thrust upon it during the less than ideal conditions
experienced while traveling and/or backpacking. It has held up exceedingly well
so far. This is no doubt largely due to the well made hard cover. Ensconced
safely within my pack, the journal has been stuffed into the back of my Jeep
along with the rest of the family gear, crammed into the cargo hatch of my sea
kayak and generally banged around rocks, trees, tents and lean-tos. The RITR
All Weather Adventure Travel Journal shows no signs of wear at all!
My writing instrument of choice to date has been my Fisher Space Pen. I have
found that the oil-based ink of the Space Pen is a very happy match with the
treated paper of the journal. Pencil also works very well. Liquid ink pens,
such as the popular roller ball type, do not seem to work as well. The ink of
these pens seems to bead up and sit on the surface of the paper.
Summary:
The RITR All Weather Adventure Travel Journal has become an inseparable
traveling companion. Its combination of convenient size and durable
construction will serve to ensure it always has a home in my backpack or
duffle. The weather resistant features add a great deal of security, knowing
that this journal should survive to the end of the journey and beyond,
regardless of what the weather or I throw at it. Even when exposed directly to
inclement weather, the journal recovers nicely, ready for the next entry!
As with anything else, it will last longer when properly cared for and I take
some pains to keep it in a protected part of my pack. I expect this journal
will be traveling with me for quite a few years!
