Recommended notebooks for backpacking / wild camping?

[steerpike]

Living in Scotland, it would be foolish to waste this season indoors. I'll soon be making some backpacking trips to the highlands and along the coast. I prefer to go solo (which works out because my wife doesn't hike) and I find the solitude and the surroundings are perfect for journaling. 

 

I have a nice Galen Leather refillable notebook with the 400pg blank TR insert as my regular journal. It's one thing to travel around with it in a backpack from hotel to hotel, but quite another to drop it in my hiking pack with all my gear and the inevitable exposure to filthy hands and Scottish weather. To be honest, I just think it's too nice to risk messing it up. It might also be a pain faffing with a line guide while out there.

 

Anyone have any experience in similar situations? Do you think it would be fine and I should just use what I have? Or do you have any recommendations for hardier, FP-friendly, notebooks? Thanks!

Edited July 16, 2022 by steerpike

[BigJess]

One thought might be a Muruman Mnemosyne spiral notebook with a plastic cover. 

 

When I camp I’m usually writing on my lap and I find a spiral notebook easier to write in than one with a spread.

 

The Mnemosyne notebooks have plastic covers, double rings and come in a variety of sizes. And the paper is very fountain pen friendly. This probably isn’t your only option for this kind of notebook, it’s just the one I happen to know.

 

Hope you find something that works for you.

 

And happy trails!

[steerpike]

Thanks, @BigJess! The Mnemosyne looks like a winner. And it's only £6! Just ordered one from CultPens.

[BigJess]

You’re welcome. This notebook is a favorite of mine — in case you couldn’t tell 😁 — hope it works well for you.

[El Gordo]

While in Scotland, why not consider Alwych Notebooks?

[steerpike]

12 hours ago, El Gordo said:

While in Scotland, why not consider Alwych Notebooks?

 

Oooh, I had no idea.. Thanks for that.

[txomsy]

You already made you decision, so this may not add much. But it may help others seeking alternatives.

 

Being budget constrained as well, I look for pleasant tactile sensations yet low prices. I recently found on Amazon a Leabags buffalo leather notebook cover for ~10 EUR that may accommodate 9x14cm notebooks. Coupled with Clairefontaine 96 pages, 90gsm paper, plastic cover, 9x14cm notebooks (at 1.8 UKP each) it provides for cheap pocket notebooks while keeping the leather cover touch, durability and feeling.

 

Another possibility to consider are cheap, real leather, travel notebooks such as these or these --13UKP (which might be got cheaper in other amazon shops --10EUR).

 

Haven't had a similar issue with a Clairefontaine notebook yet, but I did have one Liderpapel A7 notebook (squared with plastic cover and elastic band) forgotten in a jeans pocket that underwent machine washing with the rest of the laundry and survived rather well. Notes in non-permanent ink were lost, and pages got torn, but otherwise it was still usable. If traveling in the UK, and specially in Scotland, I would seriously consider using waterproof permanent inks, just in case.

[entropydave]

I've spent a fair bit of time hillwalking in the Highlands.  I've given up using fountain pens in that setting, even a tough one like a metal Kaweco Sport.  The pressure changes are a problem and so is condensation.  I'd recommend using a pressurised ballpoint like the Tombow Airpress (I got mine at Cult) or the Fisher of course.  I have a friend who uses the Field Notes with waterproof pages but I find small notebooks hard to use without a surface to write on.  I just use children's school notebooks (c. 32 pages, sub-B5 format) which I find very flexible in the pack and put them in a zip lock bag. The very wide lines make writing in half-light very forgiving.

 

The Alwych notebooks I've used have been very good but heavy and thick for hillwalking.

[txomsy]

Those Alwych notebooks look rather interesting as well. I'll have to have a grab at them next time I go buying.

[oliviaf]

Check out waterproof notebooks. I have the Field Notes - they work great. Just don't try to soak them overnight, they aren't that waterproof, but I've used them in the rain plenty and had no issue.

[OregonJim]

On 8/12/2022 at 8:02 AM, oliviaf said:

Check out waterproof notebooks. I have the Field Notes - they work great. Just don't try to soak them overnight, they aren't that waterproof, but I've used them in the rain plenty and had no issue.

 

I have a small stack of Rite in the Rain notebooks for just this purpose.  FPs are out, though - pencil or Fisher Space Pen.  Usually pencil.

[webgeckos]

Rite in the Rain, I think it is called, makes waterproof and bombproof notebooks. When I deployed to Africa I brought a stash with me, mainly to do SitRep notes and manage land nav notations. But I had to use a Fisher pen with them.