Field Notes Byline Reporters Notebook Review

I recently signed up for the Field Notes Quarterly Subscription, and this new Byline Reporters edition was the first of my subscription deliveries.  The Field Notes Byline Reporters edition (via Field Notes) is a nice deviation from the standard size Field Notes journal, as its a specialized size designed in the style of a reporters flip notebook.

The most notable thing about the Field Notes Byline Reporters edition is the double coil binding that appears at the top of this elongated yest still pocketable offering from one of the most creative notebook manufacturers out there.  The Byline has a handsome and fairly sturdy grey cover that measures 8.3125 inches by 3.75 inches, while the 70 pages of paper inside measures an even 8 inches by 3.75 inches.  That extra size for the cover allows it to extend up past the top coil binding as you can see in the picture above.

Here is a comparison shot of the Field Notes Byline Reporters Edition with the cover open and closed.  The very top notebook in the picture has the Byline cover closed and you can see it protects about three quarters of the double coil binding at the tip.  The second one below that shows the Byline with the cover opened and flipped over completely as you would position it if you were writing with it.  This is also a pretty good shot to be able to pick up on the ivory tone of the pages inside of the notebook and the light grey college ruled markings as well.

Although the Field Notes Byline is a significantly longer notebook than most Field Notes offerings its still a perfect width and thickness to slip into your back jeans pocket or inside jacket pocket as long as you are OK with the extended length.  Speaking of pockets, the Byline also has a pocket of its own on the inside back cover.  The pocket is open on both the top and right hand sides so its easy to slip something in there, but exercise caution so that whatever you put in there doesn’t also fall out as easily.  Both the front and back inside covers are full of helpful information and places for personal info.  Some of the helpful information comes in the form of a time zone map, some common reporter and news jargon with definitions and common proofreading marks.

Field Notes Byline Reporters Notebook Writing Experience:

Overall the Field Notes Byline Reporters edition handled almost every single ink perfectly, which included two fountain pens.  Neither fountain pen ink sample (JetPens Blue and Noodlers QEternity) showed any signs of feathering on this super smooth paper.  I did notice however that trying to erase standard HB lead laid down with my Uniball Kuru Toga didn’t result in a perfectly clean erasure as you can see.  It wasn’t bad, just not perfect as in each of the light, medium, and dark swatches, the eraser cut through about 95% of the lead but left a bit behind.

The only ink that really resulted in issues with show through was the Bix Z4 which you can see coming through a little on the 6th full line from the bottom of the Byline page.  If you notice about 13 to 14 lines up there is some spotting but after taking a closer look that is not actually on the paper and is just a smudge of something on my scanner bed.  The fountain pen inks that I tested here, which again were the JetPens blue and Noodler’s QEternity didn’t show through at all which is great as there is always some debate as to how fountain pen friendly some Field Notes notebooks are.  Having the cardboard backing that flips over creates a great amount of stability for your writing if you are standing around with nowhere to plop this down, like a desk.  This definitely fits a specialized need and quite honestly just visually outdoes any other reporters notebook I’ve ever seen.  Check out the limited edition Field Notes Byline Reporters notebook via the Field Notes website before they are gone!