Write as Rain

Here at TPMFG you never know where inspiration will come from. Recently we began addressing our admin capability in the field. We explored our load outs and looked for weaknesses and strengths. We talked of exploring the high tech – all in one – solution, the ever present cell phone. Ultimately, cell phones streamline many field tasks; comms, orienteering, record keeping. I, however, am an old soul. No mater how much I have come to rely on my phone for maps I always feel more secure with a simple atlas riding around in the trunk.

This discussion of the tangible hard copy was when we discovered another commonality in all of our gear. Somewhere, squirreled away, was a Rite in the Rain notebook and pen. Ultimately we all knew these would not fail us. We exchanged experiences with our notebooks, discussed their practical uses and the favorite pen or pencil used. What were the strengths? Well, Rite in the Rain makes a fine product that will hold almost any pen or pencil mark through all levels of precipitation. That we knew from experience. As tough as the inside of these pages are, we all realized some of these notebooks had been carried for years and were a little worse for wear. Why not give them a little extra protection? It wouldn't hurt to have a way to attach a pen either, those tend to migrate to the bottom of the pouch or pack to only be seen again on the semi-annual gear purge.

Large field notes cover in M81 Woodland

Thus, the Field Notes cover was born. A few measurements later, a bit of time in CAD, laser cutter go brrr, sewing machine go brrr, and a new product is born to our lineup. We decided to include a pen in our kit and we were initially drawn to the Space Pen. I recalled the story of the Russians just “using a pencil” and thought I'd like explore other options. I decided to do some testing.

Pens used for testing; Fisher Space pens (rocket pen), Skilcraft U.S. Government Pen, Dixon No. 2 Pencil, Bic, and Sharpie Marker.

I gathered a few pens. First and foremost, the Fisher Space pen, specifically the Rocket pen. At the time of this writing it carries an 8 dollar price tag, writes for about 2 miles, in the rain, underwater, upside down. In short, it's got it all. I ordered 3 colors of Rocket pen; black, blue, and silver. Second, I found the Skilcraft U.S. Government model pen. Simple, writes a mile, in harsh conditions, and costs about a buck-fifty. These come in a few colors but I only got the black. Then, to round out testing, I went to the junk drawer and found a Bic, a pencil, and a Sharpie. The Bic was blue, from Tractor Supply of all places. The pencil was a Dixon No. 2, standard gray color. Finally, the Sharpie was a fine point felt tip in black. I figured these last few are a ubiquitous enough to be a commonality among most readers.

Rite in the Rain materials; Gray copy paper, Tan, Green, and Black notepads. Shown are a few other varieties ordered for personal use.

I'd ordered a variety of Rite in the Rain notebooks and paper to try; A gray copy paper, green notebook, tan notebook, and black notebook. All that was left was to combine it all. Not wanting to use tap water, unsure if the chlorine and such would affect testing, I found a mud puddle not far from my front door and went to work.

For testing, I decided on three tests; Dry, how well does it look on the various colors of Rite in Rain paper? Dunked, how well does it hold up when written dry and then soaked. Finally, wet, how well does it write with a wet pen on wet paper.

Results of the Dry test all materials performed admirably.

Dry test; This test is pretty self-explanatory. I wrote with a dry pen on dry paper. All inks were immediately wiped with a finger and had no smudging. All performed well - the only notable exception here is the silver Fisher which is difficult to see.

Results of the dunk test; Fisher silver Space Pen the had the only failure.

Dunk test; For this test I wrote with dry pens on dry paper. I then removed the papers from their respective notebooks and soaked them while I performed the wet test. Once removed I tried to smudge the ink with my finger. No ink smudged. Again the silver Fisher stands out. It is the only color/pen that seems to have faded.

Results of the Wet Test; Failures noted from Fisher Silver and Sharpie.

Wet test; For this test I dunked all the pens in the puddle and left them there. I lined up all color paper being tested after dipping them in the puddle. I drew out a pen, clicked it open and wrote on all papers. The order was noted on the papers. No ink smeared when smudged. All were legible. The sharpie faded significantly.

Overall impression; The first thing I noticed was that the blue pens seemed to pop out on all color paper. Secondly, the silver fisher was nearly unreadable in low light, especially at an angle common for writing. Lastly, I noted that the Rite in the Rain paper really was a star, it soaked up anything written on it wet or dry and held it all well.

Which pen is right for our kits then? Fisher performed well, except for silver. Fisher's claims all seem to be true to our testing. Skilcraft was a close second. It showed minor skipping while wet but all ink that hit the paper remained. The No. 2 pencil was a surprising front runner but a broken pencil could too easily render it inoperable, at least for a short time - sorry Russia. In all honesty, the Bic and Skilcraft performed similarly, to our surprise. The sharpie faded too quickly when wet and we fear that if it were soaked any longer it would become useless.

Narrowing the field to Skilcraft, Fisher, and Bic, we thought the next thing to consider is ergonomics and build quality. The rocket pens are a plastic body with a metal pocket clip strangely placed in the middle of the body. We found the body to be a bit thin and the clip was awkward for those of us with large hands. the body was also a bit long with some moderate flex to it. The Skilcraft is a solid pen. The body is plastic as well but the overall weight makes it feel more dense with little to no flex. Lastly, the bic pen was – a bic pen. There's really not much to say there. I'm not sure about you but I've had more than one cheap pen break on me and that's not something I'd call field reliable.

Finally, we considered where these pens come from and their alternate models. Fisher is USA made. There are heavier models of Fisher Space Pen available, but typically, at at least twice the cost or more. Skilcraft is also made in the US. The brand is owned and licensed by the National Institute for the Blind (NIB). Lastly, Bic is made in the US, sometimes, depending on model, but maybe of foreign components. All in all, just built a little too light and of vague origin for our liking.

The finalist; Skilcraft U.S. Government pen. Made in the U.S.A.

Ultimately, we've chosen the Skilcraft as our standard pen. It's build quality is solid and performance great. It really does balance cost, performance and quality. It's slightly more compact size will also make it easier to fit into smaller Field Note covers we plan to launch soon. The Fisher pens will be available as an upgrade.

As always, we're interested in hearing from you; what's your favorite outdoor pen?