Budget EDC gear that's BETTER than the popular stuff!
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- Опубликовано: 9 фев 2024
- Currently the most popular EDC notebooks are the Rite in the Rain notebooks and the Field Notes set. The problem with the Field Notes notebooks imho is that they are pricey for what you get. They're about 3 notebooks for about $15. There are some alternatives you can get for a fraction of the price.
Items discussed:
Moleskine Cahier Journal, Soft Cover, Pocket (3.5" x 5.5") Ruled/Lined, Black, 64 Pages (Set of 3) ------------- $9
www.amazon.com/gp/product/888...
Maruman Memo notebooks (These fit in pouches better)
www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00...
Rhodia notebooks
www.amazon.com/s?k=rhodia&i
Gerber Chonk ($25)
www.amazon.com/Gerber-Gear-Ch... 
Развлечения
Use the space pen refill, but cover the tip with a small piece of a coffee stirrer straw. That way it doesn't stain your stuff, and you can also use different color stirrers in case you have multiple refills of different colors.
I'm using a protective rubber tip that came with a pointy knife sharpener, but I might try a stirrer if I can find the right size, or maybe a bit of shrink tubing.
I have many multiple $100 pry tools...the $5 nite ize DoohicKey is the only one i carry daily.
maxleveledc!!! You are a legend!! I watch all your vids!! I love watching your channel!! :D Niteize Doohickey is great, I agree! Very lightweight too.
Heck ya for the Rhodia. Their no13 spiral bound dot pads have been my favorite for several years. I dont understand the popularity of booklet-style notebooks. They don't lay nicely on a flat surface and you have to hold them open while in-hand. Spiral bound is less friction in both use cases.
I build my own field notes out of old cardboard boxes and copy paper, a field notes ( I call mine renotes) costs me around 60 cent
... and is in the format I want.
recently did that in several formats, way better this way
I never leave the house without a small Rhodia dotpad and an eyedroppered Platinum Preppy with Noodler's Polar Blue ink. I've written down to -28 C with that combo when standard ballpoints are frozen. As a bonus the dotpad is perforated so I can tear off sheets cleanly and easily.
When you buy those your buying the name you can find ones like them for less them half the price. Same thing and just as good
Nice!!!
Defenitely will buy those maruman notepads
Awesome!! You might love em! I like the size of them for sure! They're better than most other in that size, ie you'll see other people have tiny notebooks but they're generics - whereas these are good, small ones.
I agree to an extent. I love my bolt action pen. Can’t give that up but the other stuff I’m good with. Been buying off brand pads & they work just fine
I cut down paper or thin white cardboard and carry it in a zip lock bag or Aloc sak along with tag out tags & small florescent cable ties. Works well. I have the Field notes one & the Rite in the rain ones that I hardly ever use. I like your options.
Thanks for making this. EDC are very susceptible to FOMO
Generally I prefer to buy Field Notes because they employ American workers by manufacturing here. That’s worth the higher price for me.
That's a good point. Made in the USA. I respect that. ^_^
I just make my own but RITR are usa made as well. Field Notes are about as cheap as you can make a notebook so I only buy the special editions
@@FactFinderGeneral made your own
Reminder that you can just staple together some American-made paper and get the same underwhelming product for a fraction of the price. Being patriotic doesn't mean you have to get scammed.
Portage pocket notebooks are my go-to. Spiral bound at the top, sturdy back cover for writing while holding, the paper isn't anything special but my grocery list doesn't need to hold up to the rigors of apocalyptic collapse.
Also, they sell nice leather covers for them. You can flip it open and feel like an old-timey detective.
I believe they're still made in Ohio, ~$15 for a dozen.
So funny about carrying the refill. I had been carrying one as an extra when that idea came to me 😂
Right?!! Why doesn't anybody talk about doing that. Instead they keep talking about these other tiny pens but this is the penultimate tiny pen, no pun intended.
Nice alternative options.
Not hating but i feel like everyone and their dog has Field Notes. Obviously their doing something right but i feel people need to stop going with what's trendy and make your own everyday carry. Again, not hating. Just had to express this haha!
Right on. I have tp redo my video on Field Notes alternatives once I finish revising my print your own templates. Field Notes are made in the USA which is great but the price with meh paper is tough for some folks on a budget.
I tried to use a Moleskine notebook before and the paper was horrible. I like Mnemosyne notepad though. I bought a mixed pack of pocket/mini notebooks from Goulet Pens and one of them came in it.
Field Notes is one of my favorite notebooks...I love the variety of covers and designs that they have. I also use my gel and fountain pens in it with no problem.
Oh for sure gel and fountain pens work perfectly fine on Field Notes. It's RiteintheRain where gel pens doesn't work. I really like Rhodia and Midori notebooks at the moment :P
I love my rite in the rain pen. And I like using the notebooks with it. I work outside, and like to take pretty exhaustive notes. Having a pen/paper combo that works great when wet is worth the price for me. Plus it's American made.
The reason I bought write in the rain was that it can write in we environments if necessary. Not sure if these other pads do that. I made and tempered my own pry bar. Has a paracord wrapped handle. Use it for everything. Wish I could share a picture of it.
yeah I think if you're dealing with moisture or rain or you're in construction definitely Rite-in-the-Rain is the way to go! Definitely understand. I'd argue Rite in the Rain is a far better value than Field Notes too. Just yip that it limits the pens you can use.
this is a great video. love the suggestions. Im going to check out that Gerber Chonk
It's a prybar! And imo it's a good looking one. Very pretty looking imo. :D
If you don’t experience situations where you need write in the rain paper and write in the rain pens, then go get something cheaper that fits your needs.
But if you might or indeed do face circumstances such as outdoors emergencies or outdoors survivalism, then you need write in the rain supplies. Go buy them and have them at the ready.
What do people need a prybar for? Btw I Love Chums Surf Shorts Wallet. Been using them for 10 years now. My first one lasted over 6 years stuffed to the gills. It’s still good but I wanted to get some new designs
I still use Chums wallet too! Lightweight, high capacity (if needed) very minimalist.
I'd like to know the answer to the pry bar thing myself.... In 50 plus years alive with a background in construction and commercial transportation I've never seen a pry tool used ever... What exactly are you prying with a 3 inch piece of metal?
@@stephenbarabas6286 only time I remember ever needing to pry something off was my Transmission pan. After i took the bolts off it didn’t want to cone down but a flat head screwdriver did the trick with ease
Imo the people who use prybars on the daily have no need for fancy expensive ones. They use other prybars. And the people who don't use prybars are the ones with $500 prybars :D@@stephenbarabas6286
I understand the want for quality things but there are also places that i cant do quality and its difficulty to find alternatives that are somewhat cheaper but are still useable like the prybar. Thanks a ton if you find any more Id love to know more
You got it!! And this is totally my jam! I like to find bang-for-your-buck things. I've done that for microphones but I can definitely do that for EDC once I get more into it :P
I bought a 12 pack from Amazon that looks similar to the field notes, cost me $10
Forestry Supplies has cheap hardcover field books with similar rite in the rain paper. I used them all the time at my old job.
I literally just thought of using the Space Pen refill for a standalone pen, and got it shipped and added to my EDC a week ago. It's cheaper than the whole pen, and thick enough to use comfortably. Weird coincidence, considering how long they've been out.
Dude!! Me too! I'm like...why don't we just use these refills? They're perfectly internally protected too and write on everything! Everyone is collecting these tiny little pens and this is just as good and smaller and cheaper :P
A trick i got from an old professor, if you end up working in the rain, just use a pencil and it wont get washed out
….Paper one can use while wet will always be more expensive than regular paper. One reason Fieldnotes and Rite in the Rain have fewer pages than the comparison. Moleskin paper tends to bleed and feather with heavier inks (you prefer gel pens so you might discover those quarks). Marumon’s pads are smaller, allowing more pages and pads at a similar price point. Finally, Rhodia and Clairfontaine paper are excellent paper that can run similar price points to Fieldnotes and Rite in the Rain.
Nice idea a vid like this. It would be nice to expand in including all EDC stuff categories. Especially those, in which EDC posers excel, such as 500$ knives for an urban edc 😂😂😂
I could give that a shot but I have to be honest in that I'm not well versed with knives though my collection is growing. There's a knife reviewer stassa23 who goes over a lot of great budget options. I feel like the other categories, ie flashlights (Maxleveledc narrows it down very well), Multitools (are a very personal thing, but some of them Wave clones are insanely good), Knives (yip probably check with Stassa). Iridium would be my ultimate budget knife choice if I had to recommend one.
I suggest the EOS prybar, you can get one for about 20-25 dollars and they're solid titanium.
Ooh thanks for the tip. I'll check it out for research purposes :P
Gentlemen, make your own notebooks if they don't fit in your tiny pouches. I know because I too had that frustration and just straight up ripped paper otta my Rhodia spiral notepad, folded it in 2, optionally jazz it up, bam, done. And I genuinely couldn't recommend them higher, especially for the witchcraft that is the pricing for such good paper! Moleskine should smolder in shame.
Field notes are pretty but the paper isn't even that great, they're unbelievably overpriced. Tried a couple versions, but aside from the Arts & Sciences (which was a rare bigger size they did) they weren't really worth it.
I literally watched only a few videos on that topic and ended up here for some reason. I just buy the Clairefontaine notebooks with a plastic cover, 96 pages and 90g paper for 1,95€ per piece. It might not be waterproof or whatever but it's more resistant to wear and tear than the other notebooks in that size with thick cardboard covers.
Clairefontaine is literally like one of the most loved notebooks on pens reddit. I believe you! www.reddit.com/r/fountainpens/comments/z6zg1u/clairefontaine_notebooks_i_got_for_a_steal_i/
I had no idea. To me it is just the premium brand that is available at my local office/school supply store. The only annoying thing is that they don't offer A6 in dotted or blanko.
For some reason they're really expensive on Amazon.
(I guess my former comment with an Amazon link was automatically withheld... The price on Amazon was 3.12€ for the same Clairefontaine 303592C notebook. This time with a dot because you guys use a dot for decimals.)
Breathe you are really nervous haha your doing awesome!
Rite in the rain is for a specific application. Field notes are expensive and many of these notebooks are not a true A6 size. I sometimes make my own but recently switched to Pen&Gear which are 1.37 at Walmart.
Get the field books!
Alright, a lot of points are fair on the Field Notes! That said, the Reporter’s Notebook is pretty awesome, Marine X recommended them and yeah, you get two for $16 plus shipping (ouch) but still! Durable, stylish and of a decent size. My problem with little notebooks or pads is that I often run out of space (lots of notes) I will remember these suggestions, though!
Just FYI, Portage makes a reporter's size, basic paper, around $20 for a dozen. Top bound books are definitely easier for writing on the go.
I have some knockoff “field books” too that seem as nice as field notes that were way cheaper.
Swiss Army knife for a pry tool that’s more useful
Dude!!! The Alox can opener is a VIABLE prybar!! It's super sturdy, ie the Alox tools are tougher than the standard vics.
Field Book sells a 5 pack of pocket notebooks for less than a 3 pack of Field Notes and they have better paper than Field Notes and Moleskine that works well with wet rollerballs, gel pens, and fountain pens.
iPhone vs Android of notebooks.
I gotta say I genuinely do love Rite-in-the-Rain but I wish they made a non-weatherproof version that worked with gel pens.
My buddy created field notes from old farm guides that your seed distributor gave you for free. If you ask him he is like "oh yea there expensive." I do know that when people use them (Field Notes) they feel that they are a little more special for having the expensive choice.
Question for people that swear by pry bars, why do you like them so much? I love the aesthetics but I’ve never had the need to have a dedicated pry tool. I feel like I’m missing out 😂
Imo people who use prybars all the time don't use fancy prybars. But people who don't use prybars just collect $500 prybars. I could be wrong though.
@@Dracomies i agree why spend more for a name brand when there are better alternatives\brands for a more reasonable price
instead of spending $100 for a piece of steel 😆, i've made my own out of a wrench so it's like a couple bucks, just search for: diy wrench pry bar, for the use it depends, you can see it as a metal finger nail so: scraping, separate things, open stuff, maybe in a pinch could be used as a flat head screwdriver
for notes i have a couple of A4 paper folded since i don't write that much
@rbux1636 I recently bought a couple of really tiny bars on ebay - they weren't as good as the American ones I found on youtube, but I didn't have to pay postage/shipping. Although they are small, they are sturdy and quite efficient and effective for small jobs.
My wife likes hers for removing large staples from magazines before recycling. She doesn't get on with the tweezer/jaws types of staple remover and nearly injured herself using other tools. She is also a teacher and removing staples from walls and boards is a frequent task, so having a tool she feels happy with is worth the money.
I have only ever needed a pry-tool on very rare occasions, for example, when removing the lids of paint tins or dismantling some lightweight wooden boxes which have been stapled together. In the past, I have used screwdrivers or knives to do these tasks - the result has either been damaged tools or the risk of slipping and injury - which has happened on a couple of occasions. So I am quite happy to have such a tool on my keys. If I ever face a heavier task, I would buy a properly made crowbar set. I see no need to pay £s just for looks and if I had £500 (or even $500) there are plenty of things I would/could buy rather than a pry-bar.
Genuinely a question I ask myself all the time… there’s people spending $200-300 on these insane pry bars and I wonder how much use they actually get.
It's man jewelry :P @@NorfTec
You forgot to mention the quality of the maruman paper as well as each sheet being perferated at the top for single piece usage.
That means you like it right? Or no? :P
yes@@Dracomies
:D@@joeysanchez6777
Rhodia is great.
Oh fo sho!! I love Rhodia!
The UK cost is about £14 for 2 Moleskine books and only about 16 pages to a book, so quite expensive.
Dangit. What about the other ones I recommended? Those hopefully are cheaper in your area.
@ies Hi, thanks for responding.
I checked further and there appears to be some confusion about the Cahier three pack. The details appear to contradict one another - so it be 2 packs of 3 books with the 16 pages detachable, in which case quite good value, although not quite the dollar price.
On the other hand, at least one review suggests that someone paid £8+ for just one book. I have gone as far as contacting Moleskine to try to resolve this.
By the way, the Maruman books are listed on Amazon, but are not currently available.
Secondly, it isn't just Moleskine, most things are dearer here than in the USA. This makes sense, esp. when the goods come from the USA to the UK. However, it also applies to stuff from Europe (Moleskine are Italian). However, this is easily explained. The US population is about 5 times the size of the UK's and so there is a bigger market and that results in lower prices. (It was the case back in the 1970s/1980s when I was buying academic books direct from the American publisher. They were massively cheaper because of much bigger print runs.)
Such a price difference is usually the case even if the item is a minority interest, as 2% of 300 million is still much larger than 2% of 60 million and that is assuming some interests are equally represented.
In reality, EDC, Survival and Bushcraft are almost certainly going to be more common in the USA not least because of a larger country with more wilderness and a different mindset.
Purchasing direct from the US should solve the problem, of course, but shipping costs and the possibility of customs and other charges means that the savings are soon swallowed up. (Buying books to be the exception, but the cheap shipping meant books were often not in mint condition on arrival.)
Write in the rain and others like them are junk. While it is quality paper, you are totally correct in not being able to use many pens, and pencils and be visible or legible. I use a leather refillable fold over pad holder. I buy bulk paper pads and refill when it fills up. It’s similar in size to your write in the rain pad. I carry it in my shirt pocket and have for over 40 years. A note pad isn’t worth sh*t in a pouch that is slow to get to. Now, professionally, our notes have to be maintained pretty much forever if possible. We use expensive sewn note books with very good paper. Better than anything usually edc’ed. Different sizes and ruling for different tasks.. much too bulky for a little pouch. You generally write in those with a pencil. I carry a decent pen and pencil set every day and have for 50+ years. Fisher space pens are not very good, IMHO, I have one, but I’m not impressed with it. Still looking for another pry bar. I have carried a Gerber Artifact daily since they came out. It’s been discontinued for years.
I agree here! I like that Fisher space pens can write on everything but the way it writes is like...a Bic pen. Very stubby and ugly and hard to be precise on it. It's night and day between that and a Sarasa 0.4 pen or a Muji pen or a Hi-tec C pen as an example :P
My pen & pencil set are cross brand
Weird to include Rite in the Rain considering it is intended to be waterproof. That's not something you can just get unless I'm missing out on something.
I think if you value the waterproof abilities then RITR is the way to go. But if you like using gel pens, fountain pens (I do) then other notepads might work better. ie my pens wouldn't even stay on the paper, it would just blot out (since they're water based pens).
@@Dracomies I think you're just wrong to include it. It is not an edc unless you come across those conditions often.
Those notepads are meant for pockets not for pouches lol
You can't compare Made in USA gear to the cheaper stuff. Also the ergonomics and dimensions are going to different. I have big hands, I'm going appreciate wider books more.
Also that using a pen refill might mark stuff and use up the ink faster.
I never felt the need to carry around a pry bar in my pocket. Let alone spend hundreds of dollars on one.
I've seen millions of loadouts where people just put the notebook in some sort of wallet or pouch. So these other notebooks are smaller and fit the EDC pouches better. Also the 2nd statement is what's shocking - these actually are better than Field Notes, ie RHODIA is amazing and is a clear step above. The pen refill comes with a cap when you buy it.
What you have to ask yourself with any EDC: "Why am I carring this?"
For Field Notes, specifically Pitch Black, it is all about the ruling aka dot-grid. It has the functionality of graph paper, but the appearance of blank paper, and is a useful tool.
Are there other options on the market? Yes there is, but Dot-Grid is really only done by Field Notes & Rhodia, moleskin has started to use Dot-Grid. Personally, I use Word. Notebooks since it is a check box rule. It is the same 3.5" by 5.5" of the Field Notes, the paper is not as good.
So, it goes back to why are you carrying a pocket notebook?
Why are you carrying a pen?
If you put in the time, you can find better options, but stop and think do I really need water proof paper? Do I really need to be able to write in all circumstances?
I always have a fisher space pen in my pocket, a crkt ceo pocket knife, and my Orbit Key tool thing (that is a weak pry bar/ flat head), and a Zippo Lighter.
I have a Yellow Birch PocKit that has a nice pen, a nice AA flashlight, a Civivi Elementum, with my Word Notebook also I have a leatherman bit extender with the bit kit, a mighty hanks handkerchief, some extra flints, and various adapters for charging cables so I can use any charging cable available.
I have an office job so I don't need to worry about the elements.
Is is worth asking the question: do I want to pay top dollar for wearable goods?
Notebooks run out of paper, so is it really worth the extra money? If you want a specific format, than it may be. Or, you could go with a simple mini composition note for around $1 that fits better in a pocket because it is smaller.
What are word notebooks. Can you let me know the brandname. I'd be interested in seeing what those are.
i carry index cards instead of notebook.
That works too! At the end of the day it is the same function.
Portage 6 pack 9.99 Amazon
oooohh i Like that!! I'll check that out!!
Need RIR because im commercial electrician and after the 2nd notebook to get water damaged i was fed up
Oh in that usecase for sure the RiteintheRain notebooks make more sense.
Don't waste your money on Gerber!! Get a church key! If you need to file the edge, file the edge with a sidewalk.
Just a little constructive criticism: your hands are too busy. The constant flailing of the hands was a distraction from otherwise good information.
Yeah this was the final recording I did on the RX100 Mark 3. Never again! I since then switched cameras.
My hell your hand talking drove me crazy with you moving everything around
Yeah 1 is Made in china, field is Made in USA.
They're made in Japan. Rhodia are amazing notebooks imo