Field Notebook teaser on Twitter

[Darcy]

i was thinking these would make great christmas presents! is there any way we could have them ready to ship by mid-december?

That would be nice! Here's to hoping, but we don't want to make any promises that might be hard to keep - especially on shipping in time for Christmas or other holidays.

[BJ Nemeth]

I used Moleskins for a while, but they never completely clicked for me, and I found myself not using them as much as I would have liked. (I'll admit that part of the reason was the manufactured myth mentioned earlier about Hemingway using them -- that bothered me.)

I currently use -- and love -- Field Notes, which are relatively new. Some people like them, while others consider them overpriced (pack of three for $10). But I find them to be a really great balance of things I want in a pocket notebook (size, cover weight, number of pages, etc.). For example, more pages are not always better -- I like a notebook to have an expiration date, so to speak, when I fill it up.

Field Notes:
http://fieldnotesbrand.com/

Field Notes on Flickr:
http://www.flickr.com/groups/fieldnotes/

Of course, I will always seriously consider anything designed by Tom Bihn, so I look forward to doing a side-by-side comparison. :)

[backpack]

It is more likely than not that Tom Bihn product will be a vessel and/or a cover for paper notebooks.

Tom Bihn Inc doesn't make paper products, that I know of.


Here is what I found searching the blog, this is from the people of DIY planner.
They are talking about their Tom Bihn factory road trip on January 09.

"He calls this little journal-sized zippered pouch his "Field Notebook". It's a 3-ring binder that was commissioned by his friends at UCSC in Santa Cruz. Soon after, he'll release it to the general public and I can see this little notebook getting transformed into a do-it-yourself planner case."


Here is the full link from the Tom Bihn Blog
http://www.tombihn.com/blog/node/782


I used a Filofax planner I bought in the UK two decades ago, it still look very nice and has that older leather polished look minus the scratches and folds that are usually found on planners hauled about everyday.
Being leather, it is heavy and the page size it holds are a little small, so it stays home.

Years later, I found an Itoya planner made of PVC, but, before I could buy another, it was discontinued. I still have it and it stays home as well.

At the last resort, I bought a Crayola Marker Pouch made of cheap nylon. At the time, the bright kid purple didn't bother me but with the bright yellow logo, it definitely is -not- a professional look.


Between heavy, non animal friendly leather, possibly leaching PVC to cheap looking nylon fabric, I needed a nice looking and lightweight professional looking alternative...


From 06 to the present, I have been busy collecting Tom Bihn Pouches in every color and configuration.

One day, I was watching the picture of a Rhodia pad inside a Clear Pouch for the nth time and... Bingo!
I wrote a post, here, in the forum, about making a planner case out of the Pouches fabric.

As it turn out, as you can read above, people at UCSC had the same idea.


The rings are still on because they are the ones who came from Vienna, Austria.

Now, I would have loved to go pick them up, because I love anything stationery related and pastries. :) lol

[thorn]

Would it be better if it had a 3-sided zipper closure or just a band type closure?

[ratdeau]

Do you have any news?

[grumpy3b]

I cannot comment on Moleskine but I can comment about Apple.

I owned many Apple computers, from the AppleII, to the iBookG4 I am using to type those words.

I was a devotee of the brand until the handling of the faulty Invidia chip. Between 06 and 08, every laptop had a faulty Invidia chip which made the screen unusable or look crazy.

Invidia and all the laptops manufacturers, including Apple, decided on the "if we act like there is no problem, there is no problem" approach.
Hence, many laptops owners had to loose a lot of time and money to get their faulty laptops "fixed", they could never be fixed since the companies would not or could not replace the faulty chip.

So many laptop owners had to buy another machine when they got fed up of getting the run around, it probably made a significant dent in their budget and had them put off other purchase.


I was never able to buy a fairly recent Apple machine below the $1000 dollar range.

The price I paid for Apple products had trust for a great product implied, I wanted truth from them about the Invidia chip.
Apple never admitted that the chip in their laptops was faulty so it didn't have to take faulty laptop back and give refunds.

When Apple acted like any other cheap PC manufacturer, I saw no need to further support them.


Linux, is growing by leaps and bounds (it is free) and I can get a small netbook for a couple of hundred bucks.


To me, hype means nothing, I am not impressed by a logo or "cool factors", I want quality and reliability, first and foremost.


With Tom Bihn we get quality first, then a cute logo, a nice owner/designer and a great great team of expert bag makers behind every product.

In the forum, we also have Darcy, a very nice and informative person who is the link between Tom Bihn company and its core (passionate, anticipating every new products) customers.


Still, cannot wait for the Field Notebook!

Extremely well expressed. My turning point on Apple was back when in college. I needed a new computer and the campus store sold Apples as well as PC's but there was a "student" financing program. I thought GREAT the Apple might cost more but I could afford the payments no problem. Now this was in '90 which is important because to qualify for the financing the "student" had to be earning $26k annually. Just how many full time students, math majors no less, taking all upper division courses works full time and was earning $26k/yr? I was already paying my own way through school as it was, without loans. So, instead I bought a Northgate system and never ever have purchased another Apple product, nor will I in the future.

[Jenne]

Hello! I'm just popping my head in here so I'll get pinged when there's an update!

[marbenais]

Pretty please could we get an update on timing of any sneak peeks? Even just a prototype sketch?

[maverick]

Pretty please could we get an update on timing of any sneak peeks? Even just a prototype sketch?

hi marbenais,

actually, i think that we may have seen a prototype of the field journal pictured in the last couple of newsletters... :)

[backpack]

This is the perfect size! Junior size.

I love the fact that there is only 3 rings and not 6.

Much easier to punch pages if one uses the D.I.Y templates.

It seems to have a strap of some sort.

I assume it will fit a pen as big as the 4 colors bic which means it will fit fountain pens which are usually wider than run of the mill pencils and disposable ballpoints and rollerballs.

Because it is olive and the user is wearing olive as well, it is hard to distinguish the features.


If you are anywhere near the store, go, this is
one more Tom amazing designs. :)


Oh yeah! Good one on the hot chocolate distraction. I also think that the model had a pastry in the square plate because the utensil looks like a fork and not a spoon.

Pastry shops in Seattle, one more reason to go. :)

[ex machina]

I hope this will be adaptable to my Circa Junior.

[backpack]

I hope this will be adaptable to my Circa Junior.

If... there are slits on the inner sides either vertically for notebooks or longitudinally for pads, it will be compatible, I believe.

But you will have to use the Circa with only its plastic cover.


What I would like, now that I see the look of the Field Note, are zippered pocket that can be used as is or transformed into holders to slip in a notebook or writing pad.

This way, people who want to use the paper in the ring binder use that and the pockets to store accessories and stuff like stamps.

The ones who want a calendar in the binder and a notebook or pad on the side can do that by tucking one side of the writing pad in a zippered inner pocket.


If it is too complicated, Tom can later build in a way to add an external Medium Pouch on one or both side of the organizer so that it could hold an extra notebook or notepad, the ultra strong Aplix® hook and loop closure, affixed to the exterior of the notebook and the optional Medium Pouch.

It is just an idea, for which I can already hear Tom thinking of a more elegant solution.

[tm23]

For those of you who want "moleskine-type" notebooks there's a blog called Black Cover that's reviewed a number of them. I have the Ciak myself and like it (esp since I bought it on clearance)

[gmanedit]

Ciak notebooks are too good—I still haven't come up with any thoughts worth writing in one.

Muji sells cheap notebooks with good paper. I cut one of them down to fit into a leather cover and used the cut-off part for shopping lists and similar ephemera.

[marbenais]

[bump!]

Is the Field Notebook going to be closer in appearance to a Filofax organizer than a spiral notebook? Is that picture from the newsletter Tom's personal prototype of what the Field Notebook will be?

(Yes, I'm impatient. Sorry, Darcy! I just can't wait to see what it will be!)