Field Joirnal Weight?

[brendabethman]

I had previously said I thought I would use my FJN as a knitting journal, but realized that I would probably not use it that much as I put everything on Ravelry.

So I have been using it it as an all-purpose notebook for work, personal stuff, and some knitting info. In many ways, I love it. But I find it rather heavy and am wondering if it there do, too, and if so, do you carry it on a daily basis? Or just use it at home?


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[marytattoo]

For the moment I'm using it at home or if I go to some workshop. I hope to do art in it soon but that hasn't happened. A few days ago I was asking some FJ questions in connection with the Midori Travelers Notebook.

[adalangdon]

I had previously said I thought I would use my FJN as a knitting journal, but realized that I would probably not use it that much as I put everything on Ravelry.

So I have been using it it as an all-purpose notebook for work, personal stuff, and some knitting info. In many ways, I love it. But I find it rather heavy and am wondering if it there do, too, and if so, do you carry it on a daily basis? Or just use it at home?


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Mine was used as a workbook and brainstorming book for essays and exam prep when classes were on, so I usually found myself emptying out my SCB and moving to my DLBC/CP/LCB/Imago/PU to tote the FJN around to lunch, dinner, etc. whenever I had a lot of work to do. I had a lot of projects in school that required me to tote all these extra papers, which tended to get lost before I had my FJN. (Now I just print in Booklet form on A4, slice, punch, and file.) I didn't find it too burdensome since my EDC is quite light and all of the aforementioned 5 bags allow me to use the Absolute Strap. Also, I took it to classes in my S19/S25/SA/Swift and those make it quite comfy to carry.

Paper aside, the weight comes from the ring system, plastic boards, and the stationery that one puts into the pen pockets, I suspect. Although I've kept the plastic board, I think you can substitute that for a piece of laminated cardboard as the latter is stiff enough to be an adequate surface for writing on the left side.

[NWhikergal]

@brendabethman, its weight is one of the factors that contributed to my decision not to keep the FJN upon receipt. Its design and construction is a solid 10+ on the rating scale, but a side effect (not the bag) of that sturdiness is that it felt heavier than I wanted to commit to carrying around on a daily basis, and I definitely could not imagine traveling with it when I am generally trying to streamline my bag weight for travel. Granted, those who are using it for art or work activities might have a very different opinion. The most I want to carry around is an ultralight mini notebook for travel, simply because something more elaborate is not a priority for me. But others' needs or wants may be very different.

[ladyleo]

I carry mine in my Swift and use it daily as a time management system. It will *just* fit in the main compartment of my PU but that does make the PU feel heavier. I am on a two bag system at the moment so the FJN usually rides in the Swift.

[jennygoat]

I am currently on day 3 of using mine for summer classes. I'm used to carrying a heavier bag, so the weight of the FJN itself doesn't seem to make a huge difference. One thing I noticed lately, however, is that a pack of printer paper I bought is a much heavier weight than what I normally get. Even something as small as paper weight can make a noticeable difference. Also, my FJN is pretty loaded down with a lot of markers, an extra divider, scrap paper in the outside back pocket and one week's worth of planner pages. The more pages go into my FJN the more I like it. It's almost as though the weight of the sections mimics the weight of knowledge I'm obtaining.

Not sure this helped, but hope you find a solution to the weight issue!

[marytattoo]

I used mine last week in my S19 and had no problems. But, it is a much heavier book than I've used. I've used it at home and might get out with it this weekend since it'll be cooler.

[brendabethman]

Thanks, all! I think I'm reacting to the difference between the FJN and my usual Moleskine. It does fit just fine in both my Swifts and DLBCs, so that works. I'll give it some more time and see how my back feels. I do like being able to use it as a "mini bag" when I leave the office to head to meetings.


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[moriond]

@brendabethman, If you carry the FJN in a DLBP, Swift, or Synapse, you can always simply tether it by hooking the clip end of a keystrap through the metal section of the FJN strap's Gatekeeper clip, or you can slip a Double Carabiner Clip through the Gatekeeper Clip and tether either an O-ring or keystrap clip end to the other Carabiner loop, if you want a more secure connection, and are leaving the shoulder strap on. If you are not using the FJN with the default shoulder strap, you can add a pair of triangle clips that you buy from the parts page, and either the cord ties (just the precut cord ends for zipper cord pulls from accessories) or a 3" Nite Ize Gear Tie wrapped through the webbing loop to secure the FJN. You could also get the OP/Tech Mini S.O.S. strap and use it to carry the FJN. I'll quite my post and picture since this appeared in the Just for Registered Users forum, and is not readable if you are not logged in. But the earlier post in that thread gives direct links to the parts, etc. It also answered a query about how to use an Absolute or Mini S.O.S. strap to carry the FJN, which reduces the load.

Here's what the hacked setup looks like with the OP/TECH Mini S.O.S. strap attached. For comparison, I've folded down the supporting part of the Mini S.O.S. strap and placed it beside the wider, larger Absolute strap (designed for much heavier luggage carrying loads).

The quick description is that you remove the gatekeeper clip ends of the FJN straps from the webbing loops, pinch together the webbing loops and push them through the bottom slit of the 1" Triangle clips, then pass a cord pull (that you knot) or 3" Nite Ize Gear Tie (that you bend and wrap) through the webbing loop to secure it.

HTH

moriond

[moriond]

With the renewed recent interest in the Field Journal Notebook, I thought I would bump up this picture showing how you can hack your FJN to carry it with another strap (like the Absolute Strap, which is probably overkill, or the OpTech mini-SOS strap that is a smaller version of the strap that is made by the same company that makes the Absolute Strap for Tom Bihn).

This is from an old post from someone who modified their Field Journal Notebook (FJN) to carry many more art supplies, and wanted a way to attach a more heavy duty strap. Because the original discussion and image upload was posted in the Just for Registered Members section of the forums, it's not readable by anyone who has not logged into the forums. It also turns out that embedded links to pictures posted in this part of the forums also don't result in viewable photos for people who are not logged in, so I've uploaded this again to the general section of the forums:

Adding an image so forum viewers who are not logged in can see the picture referenced in the previous post:


If you remove the default FJN strap, you can add 1 inch Triangle Clips from the Parts page to the webbing ends, and secure them with Cord Zipper Pulls tied through the webbing loops.

After you remove the Gatekeeper clip ends of the FJN strap, pinch the webbing loop closed, and pass it through the slot at the base of each Triangle Clip. The 1" Triangle Clip slot will just match the width of the webbing loop stub. Once you have pushed the webbing loop through the Triangle clip, secure it by passing a Cord Zipper Pull through the webbing loop and tying it. (I linked to the precut cord zipper pull lengths in black, but the ones used in the picture were Ultraviolet. You can also cut your own lengths.)

HTH

moriond

[GoStanford]

I'm hot/cold on the FJN but anticipating the one I currently have on order. I say hot/cold because I got one on eBay more than a year ago, destashed it when I couldn't find an efficient use for it, bought again when it was re-released purportedly for the last time, destashed that one, now have bought again. I tend to keep my daily notes in a bound notebook (lately am using a small Leuchtturm, which has been described here by Ilkyway and others). It has a good cover that keeps it from getting too dinged in my work bag.

I am going to try using the FJN to hold a small novel, index cards, pens to make it into a reading kit. I also am very curious if there are bound hole-punched notebooks that work in it; I don't recall seeing references to such in the threads about the FJN. It is a beautifully made product, as are all TB items, and right now I'm very much of the school of thought that I should be able to create a use for it. It may end up being left open and easily accessible at home as a go-to notebook for all the small Post-It notes and other detritus that piles up over the course of the day. I don't sketch and and don't necessarily anticipate traveling with it.

[blackbird]

I am going to try using the FJN to hold a small novel, index cards, pens to make it into a reading kit.

@GoStanford, I'd be curious to see how you configure the FJN in this scenario. Could you take some photos to show us how it looks?

[Kirri]

I'm interested in getting one or two as kids art/ journal sets. Has anyone done this? Did the kid like them? And more importantly, did they use them?

[RDR3]

I'm interested in getting one or two as kids art/ journal sets. Has anyone done this? Did the kid like them? And more importantly, did they use them?

I got these for my two older boys and they like them as long as I step back and let them put what ever they want in them and let them use it their way- AKA no organization 😉

[Pokilani]

I'm interested in getting one or two as kids art/ journal sets. Has anyone done this? Did the kid like them? And more importantly, did they use them?

I gave one to my 12 y/o friend. Her parents tell me she loves it for both. They have snuck pictures of her using it to send to us. She even took it on a recent trip to Rome and Portugal.