If you missed the unboxing and first impressions video of the Lochby Field Journal with Tomoe River Notebooks and EDC Roll,
please check it out here!
Some people are on a search for their life's purpose, forever hunting and trying things to discover what they're put here for. That is deep and meaningful. ... I am on a search for just the right journal cover. I have been a big fan of the
Bond Travel Gear Field Journal I reviewed a while back, but it needed some tweaking. Lochby, the "new" Bond Travel Gear, took the customer feedback and refined the Field Journal. This iteration is even better, so let's talk about it!
Field Journal - $39.00USD
- Tough waxed canvas exterior keeps your journal protected & out of the weather
- Aircraft-grade aluminum hook to lock everything in
- Stout elastic pen loop holds thinnest pencils to thickest fountain pens
- Exterior velcro pocket fits larger items
- Interior pockets hold cards, passport, small items
- Comfortably fits 6 refills
Tool Roll - $39.00USD
- Tough waxed canvas exterior keeps your journal protected & out of the weather
- Aircraft-grade aluminum hook to lock everything in
- 3x pockets and elastic holds items in place
- Double stitching and bartacking throughout
Journal Refills - $8.99USD
- Fountain pen friendly, acid-free Tomoe River paper
- Subtle 5mm dot grid pattern
- Stitched binding
- Always lays flat
- Dot grid, plain & ruled options
There are a few things going on here that I love. I really, really like the choice of material for the inside of the field journal cover and the tool roll. I love honeycombs, I love the orangey-yellow color, and I love that it is water repellant (you never know). The Field Journal has a firm front and back cover which has made it ideal for me to carry around, especially to pen meets, where I tend to use floppy Tomoe River notebooks. Having a firm back to write on has been really comfortable, and I don't even have to remove my notebook from the cover to write. It's a great design and an improvement over the Bond Travel Gear Field Journal, which was not firm.
I love the clasps - they open quite a bit to accommodate a stuffed roll or cover, and they cinch pretty easily. Plus they look cool. I like the color of the material and how it feels in hand. I do sometimes miss having a zippered pouch because I often shove a bunch of pens in the zippered ones and obviously they do not fall out, but with the combination of the tool roll and the cover here, I can do the same thing. And there is a handle so it's easy to grab the cover. It's set up to hold SIX notebooks, which means my quest to organize my life may be answered. Six notebooks - one for each thing I'm doing? Okay, in that case, I need like thirty notebooks, but I love the options of having so many notebooks. I also love that it's already set up for me (unlike Traveler's Notebooks where you have to buy more accessories to set it up).
The tool roll design is solid with the various sizes of (very wide, snug) elastic loops, and the big pockets behind each section. Did they read my mind? Very possibly. I have a few tool wraps that I have shared here before and I love them but this design is well-organized and tidy. Nothing falls out (which can happen with the leather wraps I use), so I feel like it's safe to put nicer pens in here without worrying they'll slide away and perish in a drop to the floor.
The pockets of the roll are all the same size and all three hold notebooks like Field Notes (pocket-sized) or Traveler's Notebook Passport notebooks. I was able to fit two notebooks in the pockets so long as the loops weren't too stuffed with pens. I've also used the pockets to hold other loose pens, paper towels (for mopping up ink), ink sample vials, and other miscellaneous goodies. Depending on what you put in the pockets, it can affect the ease of rolling and the bulkiness but you can experiment and see what works for you!
We don't need to talk about Tomoe River, do we? If you know me or have been here before, you already know Tomoe River is my jaaaaam. I love the stuff. It's perfect for fountain pens but I must also admit, I love using it with gel pens and ballpoint pens as well because the paper gets extra crinkly and I love that so much. Fountain pen friendly? Check. Ballpoint friendly? Check. Gel pen friendly? Check. Crinkles? Check. I'm super happy with the refills and for an A5 Tomoe River notebook that lies flat, has a thread binding, has rounded corners, and kraft covers that are begging to be decorated, a notebook for $8.99 is a decent price and I'm happy. I love the refill options.
What do I not like? Honestly? Not much. The limited color selection? Hardly a dealbreaker unless you truly hate the color. I am hard-pressed to find something I think is a big enough reason not to, at the very least, check them out and see if they will work for you. I really appreciate the designs of both of these goods - they just work for me and for my needs. They have improved and simplified my daily carry system significantly.
This is a sponsored post. I have done my best to share my thoughts with you fairly and honestly. I love these things.
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