You have arrived at the Question.
The question that’s been plaguing the pocket notebook world for the last several years.
Rite in the Rain or Field Notes? (Or something else, but I, like many, have settled on these two front runners).
To aid in your decision-making process, we will lay the operative question out in a clear and straightforward manner.
Let’s begin with branding and approach.
Field Notes is a designer pocket notebook company with a wide variety of designs, colorways, and styles for the pocket notebook user - and collector. Their target audience includes creatives, stationary enthusiasts, and everyday people who like to carry pocket notebooks with cool designs. Their sizable core of notebook collectors spend significant time and money gathering various limited editions from Field Notes.
Rite in the Rain is a weatherproof notebook company with a wide variety of products, all geared primarily toward professionals and everyday people who desire notetaking that can withstand the elements. These are notebooks built to be used first, and admired second.
So consider: which camp do you more squarely fall into? It will likely be a good reflection of which brand you will enjoy more. Do you yearn for the latest visual design, keep your notebooks out of harm’s way, and feel little need to deviate from a pocket-sized saddle-stitched 48-page notebook? Then it’s really hard to beat the products offered by Field Notes.
On the other hand, do you wish your notebooks and stationary products were more durable? Do you need or enjoy using a wider variety of sizes and bindings styles? Do your notebooks get damp, wet, or dirty on a regular basis? Then it’s really hard to beat the products offered by Rite in the Rain.
Ultimately, this is a question of personal preference. Many pocket notebook users may also enjoy using some mixture of the two types of products.
My verdict? First, I should say that I have used many more Field Notes products than Rite in the Rain. I believe that Field Notes' very best products (like the sold-out Shenandoah edition) hold the edge over Rite in the Rain's best pocket notebook products. However, those products are not readily available anymore - I was lucky to find a single 3-pack of Shenandoah for a reasonable price on Ebay. On the other hand, while perhaps not reaching the same design pinnacles as Field Notes, Rite in the Rain has the more consistently reliable group of core products that I've grown to trust a little more.
There's also the sad decision by Field Notes to proclaim their (monetary?) support for the murder of preborn children, a move that has cut off my involvement with them altogether.
But in terms of "the best pocket notebook company" - ignoring the question of wokeness - my vote goes to Rite in the Rain. Their products like this one lack the flash and elegance of Field Notes, but more than make up for it in durability, quality, and usefulness.
The Rite in the Rain Universal grid is absolutely outstanding, their covers don't fall apart, and they can handle getting wet. None of these things can be said about most Field Notes offerings.
My most memorable notebook moment was writing in my Rite in the Rain notebook and pen not in the rain, but submerged in a stream. That settles it. Give the babies a chance!
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