Pocket notebooks are something that, it seems to me, are becoming more of a “thing” again. Whether or not it was just me being unable to find them early in the 2000s, or them not existing in large quantities at the time, I don’t know. Still, I seem to find newer, and possibly better, pocket notebooks all the time, like the Rhodia 3×5 48-page 80g notebook I stumbled across at my local bookstore.
The color of my notebook is black (it can be orange), with orange lettering printed on, making it look like the Rhodia premium pads, but it contains regular, stark white, 80g Rhodia paper. My particular book is a graph ruling in a light purple that is customary for the brand. I quite like it, but prefer a light blue for graphs. The 3×5″ size makes the book small and convenient to put in any pocket. Being a half-inch shorter on either side to a field notes book, I was surprised at the places this book could go that the latter couldn’t. The 48 pages are quite sufficient for making lists, a few sketches, or even a few stories, and about the right length to prevent the destruction of the book by the time it is completed.
The cover quality is nice. It is thicker than the paper without being cumbersome, and seems tear- and crease-resistant, though I wouldn’t push it. The ink used to print the logo and info on the back is much more heavy-duty than what is used on the pads and holds up without smearing, chipping, or fading for quite some time. The staple binding is a weakness in some cases, being a bending point, but overall causes little damage since the size is so small. And the paper is typical wonderful Rhodia. It is thick and smooth, taking everything from pencils to fountain pens with no problem. It is an absolute pleasure to write on, though with some liquid inks taking time to dry, one has to be careful. If they are looking for speed, a non-liquid pen should be looked into, but even ballpoints feel great on the paper. Bleed-through and feathering are minimal. Show-through is unfortunately common, and tearing is unlikely but possible if the book is going out on an adventure.
Overall, these little notebooks are a great addition to the pocket notebook collection. They are heavy lifters for their size, and the black ones are fairly covert and classic looking. And, of course, they all but disappear in a pocket. A great little book to look into especially if you think Field Notes are just slightly too large.
1. If you could go to the Olympics in one sport which would you choose?
2. Should kids be forced to try new foods?
ANSWERS By: Austin Smith
1. If I’m making one up… Pillow fighting. One that’s already there, probably distance running of some kind. Perhaps table tennis, yes that one.
2. No, they should certainly be encouraged to, they can be forced to smell it. The number of foods that I can’t eat because they will make me vomit is incredible, and I would hate to be forced to eat them. I can usually tell if I don’t like it by the smell usually. So encourage, but don’t force. I could live my whole life on hamburgers and not care, and I’m fine with that.
1. Which school subject will be the most important for your life?
2. If there were no kids your age to play with would you rather hang out with older or younger kids?
ANSWERS By: Austin Smith
1. If I have any say at all history will be. But math and biology were pretty cool too.
2. This question is not aimed at people my age obviously. And at my current age both younger (but not too much so) and older (preferably more so) people are fun to hang out with.
Sometimes, when going through life, you find some amazing idea that you can’t believe has been discontinued. I mean, how could they not be making money on that? Of course, there are many reasons for something to disappear, and in the case of what I’m reviewing today, the Scripto Oops, there are plenty of long erasers to take its place. But this one was the first I ran across, and I think it deserves at least a short review.
The Oops is a pen-like item, with an uncapped cylinder as a push button on the back, and a functional, but not very useful, clip. One the side of the eraser is printed the relevant information for the company and item being used. At the section, the eraser becomes more “triangular” and ridges are added for grip in the facets.
Pushing the button moves plastic claws at the front of the eraser that push forward and then lock in the main eraser part. This mechanism is fairly sturdy, but does break over time. The eraser itself is better than a standard pink eraser, but not as good as gum erasers. In general, it falls well into the white eraser category.
Overall, I love the thing, and use it when I remember it’s around (and not lost in my pen cup). For art, I do tend to use higher-quality erasers, but for everyday use this is a great one and it fills all the roles needed with minimal streaking and removes enough pencil. It’s just a shame they don’t make them anymore.
And now I’m up to either the 4th or 5th tier of my EDC (depending on how one looks at it). And that is my backpack. I do live in an urban environment, so none of these items are directed at a survival situation. It seems slightly less modern than it should, and that’s more because I don’t feel the need to carry as many of the more modern tools of the world with me. That’s just my problem.
Fully loaded with all of the items from the lower tiers (which unfortunately or fortunately often create redundancies) it’s about 10 pounds, which I would consider a good middle ground between what should be carried at maximum, and what must be carried at minimum. It is still heavy enough to get tiresome, but not too bad, in my opinion. I can carry on a lengthy conversation while wearing it before my shoulders get sore.
It is also a bit bulky when filled, though I don’t fill it all the way in case I need to get groceries or something. It adds about a “me” again in depth to my person, and when fully filled, it ends up being “me and a half again”, and is quite silly looking. I try and keep it at a reasonably fashionable size, though I don’t end up doing that all of the time.
While I have organized the lower tiers of my EDC for convenience of carry, it seems that I prefer having all of my tools at the same time. So instead of carrying the lower tiers, I am much more likely to just carry around my backpack, even in social settings. I just don’t like only having the satchel or the fanny pack and the fewer flexible options they provide. Of course, my pockets and belt pouch are with me at all times, so my tiers end up being that, and then adding the backpack. So it is definitely my most important tier in that regard.
BACKPACK
• First Aid Kit (most of this is fairly ordinary, but important stuff, so I won’t go into too much depth. A lot of this is from an off-the-shelf first aid kit, so I’ll mostly talk about what I added.)
◦ Over 100 Various Adhesive Bandages(Plastic and Woven)
◦ Butterfly Closures
◦ Gauze Pads of Various Sizes (nonwoven and/or nonstick)
◦ Eye Pads
◦ Bandage roll
◦ Medical Gloves
◦ Moleskin (for blisters)
◦ Burn Cream Single-use pouches
◦ Insect Bite relief cloths
◦ Tweezers
◦ Cotton Swabs (applicators)
◦ Finger Splints
◦ Triangular bandage
◦ Safety Pins
◦ Paper Medical Tape
◦ Instant Cold Pack
◦ CPR barrier (surprisingly, this is from an off-the-shelf kit. I keep it right by the zipper so it can be accessed quickly. It’s one of those items that only matters if you can get it out quickly.)
◦ American Red Cross First Aid Guide
◦ Space Blanket
◦ Emergency Scissors (the crooked kind)
◦ Antiseptic Towelettes
◦ Antibiotic Ointment (Single Packs)
◦ Alcohol Pads
◦ Thermometer
◦ Aspirin
◦ Ibuprofen
◦ Non-aspirin pain killer
◦ Neosporin (tube) (Lots of that can be needed, and it’ll last for a long time)
◦ Electrolyte Tablets
◦ Pill Fob
▪ Migraine Medication (more of those)
▪ Pain Killers
◦ Bandanna (always handy)
◦ Israeli Bandage (for something slightly more serious than the rest of the kit will handle. I’m not thinking I’ll be good enough with any of the tools to be the greatest help ever, but I do want something for the “oh my God, the blood” situations. I’d really hate to have absolutely nothing in that situation. It still wouldn’t help with the “Oh God, there are parts of you everywhere!” situations…)
◦ Tampons (for nosebleeds, something I have far too often)
◦ Snake Bite Kit (This one’s a bit controversial. I really have it to keep someone uneducated in the workings of snakebites calm. Having someone say “this will help you” is quite a calming thing. And the non-suction cup parts of the kit could be useful in other things. I’d never consider incisions or restricting blood flow to be an option)
▪ Suction Cups
▪ Scalpel
▪ Constriction Band
▪ Antiseptic
• Camera Bag Strap (For my belt pouch, and for the camera bag with a camera in here. In case I want to carry either on my shoulder for a time)
• Cord (Some inexpensive stuff, just in case)
• Poncho (This is a much heavier poncho than the other small ones I have. As you can tell, I hate to be stranded in the rain)
• Gloves (It’s cold out now, but even in the summer I carry some work gloves most of the time. I can never tell when I’m going to be called off to work on something. And in the winter I’ve taken to carrying both work and warm gloves. Some hand warmers are good things to carry too, but I’m not entirely convinced of their effectiveness.)
• Heavy-duty grocery store Bag (My city has outlawed disposable grocery bags. So I’m forced to carry a reusable plastic one. It’s not like I never re-used the disposable ones, so I guess it isn’t much of a hassle)
• GermX (The world is covered in Germs, especially cities. I always want to sanitize my hands before a snack or an appetizer, hopefully when I’m eating a meal I can wash them)
• Leatherman Pouch (It was what I could affix to the pack strap)
◦ Sabre Red Pepper Spray (Just in case I’m in a scenario where escape is difficult. Dissuading pursuit is at least an option. And with my pack on, using a knife for defense would be difficult. And since I can’t carry a firearm at the moment, something in between the two seemed necessary)
• Glasses Case (Self explanatory)
◦ Glasses
◦ Cleaning Cloth
• Cash Wallet (sometimes a Flex by Filofax) (My phone wallet doesn’t have much room. if I know I’m going to be spending money, I bring along some cash in another wallet, so that I won’t lose my phone and ID card if my wallet gets lost or taken. I’ve also experimented with using it to carry cards and notebooks, which is fun)
• Change Purse (I don’t like clanky, scratchy change)
• Fixed Blade Knife (Mossy Oak) (cheap, but better than a folder in some situations)
• Map of the local area (Austin TX) (my phone works as a map, but a backup is nice)
• Bandanas (can never have to many)
• Monocular (Golf Rangefinder) (just for some fun, bird-watching etc. Easier to carry than binoculars, and if someone’s golfing I’m the guy to talk to)
• Camera Pouch (Extra camera just in case something goes wrong with my phone {storage used up} and I want to take a picture, or someone else does)
◦ Sony Cyber-shot DSC-W1
◦ AA Batteries
• Game Pouch (I like games, and I feel weird in some situations where people are looking for something to do without them. I vary the card games sometimes)
◦ Deck of Cards
◦ Love Letter (Card Game)
• Multi-tool (Leatherman Juice CS4) (I keep the heavier corkscrew and saw model in an easy-to-access compartment at all times. It’s so handy I almost wouldn’t believe, except for those added tools, that a Juice S2 would work just as well here)
So that’s (almost) the end of my EDC. My backpack contains quite a few items, and many of them have been used (thankfully, not the first aid kit). Many of them are more emergency items, though, and could be pared down considering how infrequently they are accessed. Still, I don’t want to be unprepared. I do enjoy having all of the tiers will me at all times, and tend to not find them too cumbersome, though there are times when they definitely need to be pared down to a level below. I’m still quite happy with the setup of my pack at the moment, though it is always in flux.
