Field Notes

Notes on Heartbeat Field Notes

by Andrew

On Wednesday, February 14, 2018 (i.e. Valentines Day), Field Notes announced the Heartbeat Edition. A combination of the Wednesday and the Red Blooded editions, the Heartbeat notebooks were not for sale. Instead, 2-packs were included as a free bonus to any order placed on that one specific day.

The Heartbeat Edition is what I’ll call a “re-skinned” edition. The innards are identical to what you’ll currently find in a standard Kraft Field Notes notebook: a light brown graph grid on 60# white paper in the standard pocket-sized (3.5” x 5.5”) dimensions. The cover, however, is different. The outside is a deep (“Sanguine”) red with tan (“Manila Yellow Kraft”) lettering, and that color scheme is reversed on the inside.

There’s nothing spectacularly new to see, but what makes the Heartbeat Edition special is the heart replacing the letter “O” in the Field Notes logo. So don’t fret about the $40+ people are charging for this edition on secondary markets like eBay. While it’s true that Valentines Day doesn’t fall on a Wednesday again until 2024, I’m sure the company will run a similar promotion sooner than that.

Additional Notes

  • Of the 30 “Practical Applications” listed in the notebooks’ inside-back cover, my favorites are the following: “03. Meet-Cute Orchestrations”; “06. Times Had at ‘Hello'”; and “30. #9 Recipe.”
  • Apparently some people got Heartbeat pencils! I, sadly, did not.
  • No edition size is listed. So we’ll never know how many Heartbeats are out there.
  • I keep accidentally calling this the “Heartbreak Edition.” Maybe that’ll be the next one!

Notes on MxLxBxD Field Notes

by Andrew

When the Dead Prints Edition Field Notes were released in 2015, they were an immediate hit. They were so popular and so sought-after that there was bound to be a follow-up edition, and that’s exactly what happened in February 2018. Mondo, Landland, and Draplin Design Co. got together again, this time inviting Burlesque of North America along for the ride, to create the MxLxBxD Edition Field Notes.

Although Dead Prints Field Notes were created from each company’s leftover scraps, which made for designs that varied wildly depending on where you bought them, the MxLxBxD Field Notes was more of a group effort to create a single product. According to the Field Notes website, the image files for the cover design were passed from company to company (a total of 84 times) with new elements being continually added. The end result is a bunch of notebooks that look like a heavily graffitied wall.

Other specs of note: the Field Notes logo (and all the cover text) are printed with turquoise foil press, and the notebooks are the standard 5.5” x 3.5” pocked size. Inside, you get turquoise grid ruling on 50# white paper. A total of 11,500 3-packs were made (as apposed to the measly 3,000 made for the Dead Prints edition), and some are still available. As of this writing, you can purchase them directly from here, here and here.

Though these books aren’t as unique as the Dead Prints Edition, I like their loud and creative look. If you use Field Notes and are a fan of one or more of these companies, it’s worth grabbing a pack or two as long as they’re still available. But, of course, if these companies ever team up again, I’m sure whatever they come up with will be just as cool.

Additional Notes

  • Of the 30 “Practical Applications” listed in the notebooks’ inside-back cover, my favorites are the following: “01. Hot Dog Stands To Avoid”; “16. Weekly Cheese Tally”; and “26. Ink-Mixing Ratios.”
  • For more info and good pictures, check out the write-up on the MxLxBxD Edition at Three Staples.
  • If you like these, they remind me a lot of the Two Rivers Edition. Though, those aren’t so easy to get hold of these days.

Notes on 2015 Nixon Field Notes

by Andrew

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Many Field Notes fans are familiar with the special edition Nixon notebooks from 2016. It was a good collaboration, and those summery notebooks remain popular. However, all but forgotten are these notebooks that Nixon released a year earlier, in 2015. Although 2015 was a peak year for Field Notes collectors, the 2015 Nixon notebooks just never seemed to be highly sought after.

Each pack contains three notebooks. The first is a turquoise/gray book, which is far and away the most eye-catching one in the pack, though it contains plain inner-paper. The second is a dark brown book with ruled paper. And the third book looks very similar to the standard grid-ruled, Kraft Field Notes notebook, though it has dark-brown printing on the inner cover. These notebooks use 100# cover stock, 50# paper, and light-brown ink for the ruling.

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The 2015 Nixon Field Notes books have long been sold out, but I don’t personally consider it too much of a loss. I find the books a little to plain, to be honest. But if anyone ever decides to release 3-pack of those turquoise books, it’d be an easy impulse purchase for me (just as long as it’s made with graph paper).

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Additional Notes

  • The 2015 and 2016 Nixon Field Notes share the same “practical applications” list. A little boring, I know.
  • Back in 2011, there was a different special edition of Field Notes that used turquoise covers (with a company called Tattly). But besides being long sold-out, I’m pretty sure they had blank inner paper too.
  • Did I mention that the 2016 Field Notes are still in stock?

Notes on Carhartt Field Notes

by Andrew

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Field Notes and Carhartt are a lot alike; Both companies are headquartered in the Midwest. Both companies appeal strongly to the blue-collar and the hipster demographics. And both companies exude pride that their products are manufactured in the U.S.A. It was only a matter of time before the notebook company and the apparel company got together to create a custom set of Field Notes pocket notebooks.

Each pack contains three 3.5” x 5.5” notebooks, and each has its own theme. There’s the orange book for hunting, the green book for camping, and the blue book for fishing.  The covers feature a slick two-tone version of the Carhartt logo (a zoomed-in curlicue “C”), and the back cover tells a short history of the Carhartt company, as well as some general tips for using Field Notes notebooks.

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These notebooks use 100# cover stock and 60# white inner-paper with a brown, lined ruling. In concept, these books seem very similar to the Campfire Edition, though the Carhartt Field Notes seem much simpler overall. And, honestly, I prefer this simpler look. It’s a clean cover design, yet it still pops, and the graphics on the back feel very 1950s retro.

As long as you’re okay using lined paper – I know, I wish they used graph paper too – I definitely recommend grabbing a pack. Most of the time these Field Notes editions are long sold out by the time I write about them, but luckily, these Carhartt books are still available on their website. It’s like a Christmas mini-miracle.

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Additional Notes

  • Each of the three notebooks have (mostly) their own themed “practical applications” list. From the camping book, my favorite is, “06. Sasquatch Composite Sketch.” From the hunting book, my favorite is, “25. Wild Boar Attack Formations.” And from the fishing book, my favorite is, “02. Old Fishermanisms.”
  • Carhartt used to make old-school “field notes” notebooks, apparently.
  • You know who likes lined ruling? Leadfast does. Check out the review of Carhartt Field Notes over there.

Notes on Wednesday Field Notes

by Andrew

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On one random Wednesday – July 26, 2017 to be exact – the Field Notes blog announced a “buy anything and get a special ‘Blue Wednesday’ 2-Pack free” promotion. There was no rigmarole or hurdles. It was just, buy something on this particular day and a special edition 2-pack of pocket notebooks will be thrown in with your order. It’s things like this that make me really like the Field Notes brand. So, I went ahead an ordered a steno book, partially because I needed one and partially because I wanted to get my hands on this Wednesday edition.

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Aside from their 80# blue covers, these books don’t hold anything out of the ordinary. The innards are exactly the same as the standard Kraft edition; 60# white paper with a brown, graph ruling. Even the “practical application” list is standard. However, as an extra freebie item, it’s impossible to complain. And I’m sure it was a pretty awesome surprise to those people who just happened to place an order that day, unaware of the promotion.

Please, if you want to get your hands on a set of these notebooks, don’t pay a premium price for them on eBay. They are super-fun as a bonus item, but not worth purchasing when there are plenty of other great editions still out there. Besides, I’ve heard rumors that this wont be the last time we’ll be seeing the Wednesday edition.

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Additional Notes