Reviews > Books > Blank Journals and Writing Implements > RITR - Extreme Journal > Todd Martin > Long Term Report

Long Term Report - Rite in the Rain Extreme Journal

Description of Experience and Comments on Product Performance:
The Extreme Journal was taken on several trips in the last few months. Hikes ranged from day hikes in the desert to technical canyoning trips involving climbing and swimming.

Trips include the following:
Technical canyoning trip - Coronado National Forest, AZ
Technical canyoning trip - North Wash area of the Glen Canyon National Recreation Area, UT
Day Hike - Martinez Canyon, AZ
Day Hike - Seven Springs Recreation Area, AZ
Day Hike - Eagletail Mountains Wilderness, AZ
Day Hike - Christopher Creek Gorge, AZ
Technical canyoning trip - Devils Canyon, AZ
In all cases the notebook was kept within easy reach (in the hat of my pack or in my shorts pocket) while hiking. Notes taken in the Extreme Journal were used to create trip descriptions for each of these hikes which were subsequently posted on my web site at: http://www.toddshikingguide.com/

Despite all this use, the Extreme Journal is holding up well. Other than a bit of fading of the text on the cover and some dirt on the corners of the pages, the journal appears to be as good as new. One thing that I did notice is that, with repeated soakings, the ink from the ball point pen I had used to write most of my journal entries began to transfer to the page which is in contact with the ink when the journal is closed (an example is provided in the photo at left). While the original text is still legible (taking into account my less than stellar penmanship), it is now somewhat more difficult to read. This bleeding seems to be limited to the the ball point pen ink and was not observed in cases where a permanent marker was used.

Writing Implements:
Since most of my note taking had been performed with a ball point pen. I decided to determine how other writing implements compared with the pen for writing on the synthetic paper of the Extreme Journal. For this test I evaluated a standard ball point pen, a roller ball pen, a pencil, a crayon and a permanent marker. In each case the writing implement functioned smoothly to create a mark on the paper, with the exception of the crayon. The slick plastic of the paper did not seem to take the waxy mark of the crayon very easily. It required more force than would be required with normal paper and the resulting line was somewhat faint with several small crumbs of crayon stuck to the page. Despite this difficulty, in each case the resulting text was legible (as can be seen in the image, below left).

Journal after initial marking with various writing implements.	The journal after wetting the page.

The page was then placed under running water to determine the effect of moisture on the text. The ball point pen, pencil, crayon and permanent marker did not appear to be significantly effected by the water. The ink from the roller ball pen, however, immediately lifted off of the page (see photo, above right). A little bit of rinsing, quickly removed any evidence that the roller ball pen had ever been used on the paper (see photo, below left).

With the paper was wet, I then tested which implement would write best on a damp page. Interestingly, the ball point pen and pencil wrote very well on the wet synthetic paper. The crayon only created a faint and barely readable line while the permanent marker simply didn't write at all. Not surprisingly, the ink from the roller ball pen smeared immediately upon contact with the water. My conclusion is that a pen or a pencil are best suited for writing in the Extreme Journal.

Rollerball completely rinsed.	Pencil erased.

I then set out to determine if the pencil line could easily be erased from the page. Using a normal eraser, I found the pencil mark erased similarly to what you would expect with a normal piece of paper (see photos above). The end result left a faint impression of the original pencil text, but it was sufficiently removed that text applied over this spot would prove to be legible.

Does it float?
Though the manufacturer does not advertise the claim, I have found that the Extreme Journal does indeed float when submerged in water. This could prove to be a very useful feature in the event the notebook were accidentally dropped in deep or murky water. Boaters and rafters in particular, might find this to be a significant benefit, not to mention those who venture into wet canyons.

Conclusion:
Overall, I am pleased with the performance of the Extreme Journal. Because of its durability it is suited to go many places that would not be possible with ordinary paper. Since it is completely waterproof, the notebook can be kept in a convenient location while hiking or canyoning, without having to worry about it being subjected to rain or water found in canyons. While I have experienced some smearing and bleeding when the journal became wet (particularly with the ink from a ball point pen), all the writing I have done in the journal to date has remained legible.

Reviews > Books > Blank Journals and Writing Implements > RITR - Extreme Journal > Todd Martin > Long Term Report