Gear Junkie: Weather-proof Writing Paper

In the 1920s, a man named Jerry Darling was hired by a Pacific Northwest logging company to create paper made for the outdoors. The result was a waxy, water-shedding page that could stand up to the elements, but would still take ink like a dry sheet of looseleaf.

By Stephen Regenold, Special to the Star Tribune

Last update: October 17, 2007 - 8:58 AM

Today, the J.L. Darling Corp. sells its line of Rite in the Rain "all-weather writing paper" to the general public, with notebooks, bound journals and plain paper.

Coated with an acrylic-based formula, Rite in the Rain paper has a slightly tacky feel to it. But pages in a Rite in the Rain notebook do not cling together, and ink or pencil lead easily transfers written word to page. Put the paper under a faucet and water runs right off. The ink doesn't smudge, and the paper stays strong.

The company (www.riteintherain.com) makes blank books including the $14.95 All-Weather Sketchbook, an 8½- by 11-inch spiral-bound pad. For a travel journal, I like the $6.95 Sportsman's Outdoor Log, a 50-page lined notebook that lets you scrawl in the great outdoors with no real regard to the elements.

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