Rite in the Rain

Soggy and illegible paperwork has plagued outdoor professionals for decades. Including me. Last fall, on a trip to the Yucatan Peninsula, I prodigiously took notes for two days, only to have my pages soaked on a kayak trip into the jungle.

Lately, I’ve been using notebooks from the J.L.Darling Corporation, whose founder, Jerry Darling, first developed rain-resistant paper for the Pacific Northwest logging industry in the 1920s.

Today, J.L.Darling Corporation’s Rite in the Rain brand of paper and notebooks is used around the globe in situations ranging from Everest base camp to gorilla research encampments in the Congo. That’s according to J.L.Darling Corporation at least.

But I wouldn’t doubt it. This stuff works. The notebooks I’ve been testing, which cost $5 on up, feel like normal paper, and write normally. But water runs right off, even when held under a facet. The ink doesn’t run, and the paper stays strong.

Go here to see the company’s full line: www.riteintherain.com