Today I move one step closer to the Butcher Orange by completing the FNC-26 Field Notes Two Rivers Colors Edition notebook. I had the Two Rivers edition fairly low in my initial Field Notes rankings, but this time around it surprised me a bit. I have used one of these previously, but didn’t finish it because the middle page fell out and I got frustrated and was afraid I’d lose more. To combat the fear of losing pages this time, I used the notebook a little differently than I normally do. Typically I chart daily goals, make use of specialized to-do lists, journal, and copy down book quotes I want to remember in my every day carry. But to not fear losing pages I spend most of this book writing down things I truly had no need to remember after a single day. There are a couple of exceptions, but those are getting transferred to another book.

 

 

Overall, I really enjoyed this edition, and wouldn’t be surprised if it ended up a bit higher than #26 when all is said and done. How can you not love a big red white and blue USA notebook! As I mentioned in my Two River Preview, this edition was a collaboration with the Hamilton Wood Type and Printing Museum. Of all of the variations they printed, this book is at the top of my list. The perfect book for July.

One of the reasons I love Field Notes is cause they fit so easily in my back pocket…but I can hardly tell they’re there. The Two Rivers cover broke in so nicely, I really couldn’t feel it at all. Though the business of the cover makes it hard to see the wear on them, I do like how it creased and I love some of the overly worn spots that appeared.

 

Alright, I need to be a bit graphic for a second…Thats your fair warning. I live in Washington, DC, and it’s really hot and humid here in the summer. That leads to lots of sweating… And I carry these in my back pocket…meaning I sit on them a lot. Ok, I won’t get too vulgar here, but you get the picture. That may have contributed to the softening of the covers. It also left a surprise on the back page. The ink from the inside rear cover stamped onto the back page. I used to use the back page as my honey-do list, but I’ve shifted that to the front more recently, so I didn’t notice this until I got to the end of the book. Here are a couple shots of the ink that transferred.

It’s really not bad at all. I would have normally still used the page, but I wanted to be able to show it to you without interference. It’s got the characteristics of the beginnings of bleed through. Thank you humidity! On another random note, while I definitely prefer graph paper, I wasn’t a huge fan of the Duck Canvas colored grid. The color just felt kinda boring to me after a while. But oh boy, that cover! Love that.

I filled this book mostly with things I needed to remember that day only…like grocery shopping lists and editing notes. I didn’t have any major issues with bleed-through. The paper quality is the standard 50t so it isn’t the best for fountain pens with larger nibs, but I stuck pretty much to my graphic liner and a sharpie pen, and they both worked fine.

The only real flaw in the Two Rivers edition is indeed the middle page. I’ve seen a lot of complaints about this, and it happened with both books of this edition that I have used as well. Something about the staples just didn’t work that causes the middle pages to fall out.

By the time I got about 25% of the way into the book, the middle page had come free from the center and bottom staples. I opted not to write in it, hoping that it’d make it through to the end, but when I got about 2 pages beyond the center, it fell out. While I don’t consider this a deal-breaker for the edition, its still a bit of a bummer. However it’s not like I haven’t had to tape pages in before. It’s nothing a little pre-emptive tape won’t take care of. And if that does’t work for you, then simply don’t write in the middle page and get over it. It’s not the end of the world.

If you prefer soft covers, this Field Note Colors Edition is for you! For a month of wear, the Two Rivers edition held up really nicely and felt better and better as it aged. And the best part is that there are enough cover styles and cover color combinations that even if you’re like me and don’t love them all, it’s likely you’ll still find a few that you’ll enjoy using.