Field Notes Notebooks

I have been using Field Notes notebooks for years now. I purchased my first set in 2010. It was the Balsam Fir set and the State Fair Edition (Michigan). These are the perfect notebook. Small, tough, classic. I have not used a paper product from anyone else since that first purchase and I don't know that I ever will. They are that good.

I know you're thinking: But John, you are the gadget guy. You do everything electronically why would you use pen (or pencil) and paper for notes? Well OK, maybe your not thinking that, but since I'm writing this and you're not I can have you think whatever suits my post best. I agree with you though, it is strange to be hopelessly devoted to digital and still use paper and pen for notes. The thing is though I have not found a way to satisfactorily take hand written notes digitally. If you read my post about the Note II or my post about the Bamboo tablet then you know I have been trying to get digital with it.

Occasionally though there are times when only paper and pen will do. When I am working on my car for example and my hands are dirty or covered in grease but I need to write down a part I need or a reading from the multi-meter I won't want to reach for my phone so I grab a notebook and write it in there. Same when I am going through one of the school buildings in August making notes on what I have to get done still, carrying a Surface tablet around just to make the odd note is a pain. Notebooks are just easier sometimes.

Field Notes brand makes larger steno books that I use at my desk to make notes when I am on the phone. I could I suppose make digital notes in that case or at the very least open Notepad or Evernote and type into that. Really though, I just like writing those notes. There are a few oddities that I cling to despite being gadget prone for everything else.

Note taking is one of those things. I like to write on paper with a pencil or a pen. (don't get me started about pens, that could be a whole post all on it's own.)  It's like reading a book, yes I have a lot of e-readers heck every "device" I have will read some kind of e-Book, but I still buy and read paper-bound books. There is something tactile about it. The feel of the page, the smell of the paper and ink. It's like that with notes. When I write something physically on paper with pen I remember it more clearly, longer, (at all) which isn't the case with typewritten notes. This could simply be because I write so much slower than I type, but I don't think so.

Getting back to the Field Notes brand for a few minutes so I can wrap this up before  I put even myself to sleep. There is no way I can properly convey the quality of Field Notes. In all the years I have been using them (abusing them), carrying them in a back pocket, using them in the garage, or any of the hundred other uses, I have never had a cover come off, a page fall out or had one fail in any way. Sure some look much better than others but the dirtier they are the more memories they keep. If you like taking notes or are just looking for the best notebook available take a look at Field Notes. You will not be disappointed.

http://www.fieldnotebrand.com