I mean it’s paper. One of the most flimsy and delicate things we use on a daily basis. To over-engineer it until it’ll withstand everything from the washing machine to monsoons to the ravages of time with nary a mark to show for it… that’s some #humanityfuckyeah right there.

About 101 years ago a logger by the name of Jerry Darling made this his mission, and gave birth the the Rite in the Rain company and their “Defying Mother Nature” slogan.

One of their products is a little pocket notebook called the Memo that I’ve carried around with me for the past few years, completely filling up a few & subjecting them to unreasonable abuse and testing against every condition I could think up (including fire, the washing machine, blood, endless condiments & spills, & underwater writing).

After all that, here is my item by item breakdown of how the RITR Memo stands up beside every claim its creators make for it (and some they don’t).

Disclaimer: This review is not paid for or related to Rite in the Rain as a company in any way. Everything here is 100% my opinion, and I am under no obligation or expectation whatsoever to give a favourable review (and have given unfavourable reviews to crappy products in the past). The following is my unfiltered and honest opinion, and nothing else.

What the Rite in the Rain Notebooks Are Made To Do:

On the homepage for the Memo Book & company product and about pages, Rite in the Rain claims that they…

can withstand rain, sweat, oil & grease, mud & grime, time, and the dreaded laundry machine. “it is an archival quality paper and will last several hundred years under normal use. So… not only will it survive the elements, it will survive the attic!”

are super durable and will never fall apart. “Our percafect bound books use only the most durable glues to ensure your Rite in the Rain book won’t fall apart in the field.”

look & feel like real paper. “The paper-based stock is tough enough to withstand the harshest and wettest conditions yet can be torn like heavy paper. As it’s paper-based, it can be recycled with other papers.”

are environmentally responsible. “it’s as recyclable as standard office paper, which is untrue of synthetic, or poly coated papers.”

TL;DR? Skip to the “The Results” section at the bottom.

Do the RITR Notebooks Do What They Are Made To Do?

Super durable, can withstand nearly anything

Verdict: TRUE & TRUE

Before we get into the abuse I’ve subjected my RITR notebooks to, let’s take a look at testimonials: According to their site, their paper has been used on Mt Everest, (#263), in Antarctica (#235), in tropical rain forests (#176), the Australian outback (#274), swampy wetlands (#316), and on a rowboat across the Atlantic ocean. There’s even a story of a WWII veteran who kept a diary in a Rite in the Rain notebook (#212), which is still intact to this day.

I believe it all.

I’ve used my RITR in through the snow drifts of harshest winter on record (-25°C) in Toronto, Canada. Through and into waterfall treks in Bali and Thailand. I’ve carried it around in my unnecessarily sweaty pockets in 30°C degree weather for months. I’ve spilled beer (no mark), red wine (slight mark), hemp oil (slight mark), ketchup (no mark), nail varnish (slight mark, mostly just spreading of ink that got dissolved), worcestershire sauce (no mark), lipstick (full mark), beer (no mark), hot chocolate (no mark), string cheese (no mark), blood (left I mark, I think), and who knows what else on it.

I even lit it on fire, and it burned just as if it was normal paper. Ah well, you can’t have everything.

There’s a page to spill, each allowed to sit for at least 5 minutes.

I’m pretty sure that unidentified mark is blood. Still poetic.

Put through the washing machine (loose, for maximum damage) the only thing that didn’t make it back out intact was the sticker. The notebook, a bit swollen and beat up looking when I pulled it out, nonetheless sustained no lasting damage.

It stayed a little puffy and beat up looking even after drying, but still functions just fine. There was also some slight bleeding of the ink from what I’d written in the notebook before. All in all, nothing was damaged or lost, including the ability to keep using the notebook & reading past notes.

And, of course, I’ve written on it underwater without any problems at all.

RITR Underwater Writing Test

Over the course of about three years, the only degrading I’ve seen in the printing on the notebook covers rub off. Not a big deal, though I did miss the rulers they print on the back page.