Field Notes Expedition Edition (3-Pack)

FNC-17 marked the start of Field Notes fifth year of Quarterly Editions. In that time, they had explored a wide variety of papers, colors, and printing techniques, but with this new Expedition edition, for the first time, they actually expanded the type of paper used in their notebooks.

Aesthetically, you’ll find a design with plenty to like: a hi-visibility “Antarctic Survey Orange” front cover and “Polar Night Black” back cover, with a subtle varnish effect featuring a topographic map of Antarctica. The body pages feature their popular dot-graph paper printed in light gray.

But the real innovation here is the paper. It’s maybe not even fair to call it paper. The whole book is printed on Yupo Synthetic paper, an amazing tearproof and waterproof paper extruded from polypropylene pellets in Chesapeake, Virginia. We could go on and on about the new notebooks’ durability and incredible properties (especially in concert with the Field Notes Space Pen), and we will, in this series of 12 (reasonably) scientific tests:

TEST 1: WATERPROOF

TEST 2: VISIBILITY

TEST 3: WIND RESISTANCE

TEST 4: BALLISTICS

TEST 5: VACUUM

TEST 6: TENSILE STRENGTH

TEST 7: COMPRESSION

TEST 8: ACID RESISTANCE

TEST 9: FLAME RESISTANCE

TEST 10: EXTREME TEMPERATURE

TEST 11: ELECTROMAGNETIC WAVES

TEST 12: ELECTRICAL RESISTANCE

Months of development and testing were required to get these books just right, and many thanks go to Yupo for their extensive support, as well as the great printers and ink technicians that pitched in to help.

The majority of Field Notes customers may not test the limits of these notebooks, but the map of Antarctica is neither hyperbole nor coincidence. They sent the Expedition edition to the South Pole with explorer Ben Saunders back in October 2013 as he and his team retraced Captain Robert Falcon Scott’s ill-fated journey to the Pole and back, on foot and unsupported.

Note: Synthetic paper is nonporous and does not absorb ink like conventional papers. Ballpoint pens, pencils, or fine tip Sharpies work best. Of course, the perfect companion for the “Expedition” Edition is the Field Notes Matte Black or Chrome Space Pen.