A lofi journaling kit for the digital age

I recently took up travel journaling as an honest alternative to performative social media. My kit cobbles together the best pen, paper, and photo printer I could find to document vanlife adventures for my spawn and some version of my future self that I’ve yet to meet.

My father left behind a typewritten memoir that I’ve returned to again and again since his passing so many years ago. Oh, how I wish there was a hand-written version instead of an impersonal Microsoft Word file — his all-capped lettering forged by a career as an engineer, replete with scribbles and smears made by his ever-callused right hand. Even better if those pages had been adorned with photos of the people, places, and things he wanted me to see.

My journaling kit consists of three main parts: a Pilot V7 pen, a notebook from the Traveler’s Company, and a Fujifilm Instax Mini Link 3 photo printer.

The pen choice was easy — I just listened to Liz. I value her opinion over Sam Altman’s, so the first thing I did was buy a pack of four Pilot V7 pens for less than $10.

The paper journal was a bit tougher decision and resulted in a few false starts. I should have known better than to cheap out on something purchased from Amazon. After being disappointed by a few different “leather” covers and mismatched paper inserts, I decided to visit a physical office-supply store to press flesh to actual product. It was there that I reveled in the discovery of journals from Japan’s Traveller’s Company.

Traveller’s Company makes the leather-bound travel journals your mind likely conjures when considering the topic. The rough-cut leather cover is made by hand in Thailand, while the paper notebook inserts are made in Japan. The sound, feel, and smell that comes with scratching ink into this journal can bring on a meditative bliss.

I purchased the regular-sized Traveler’s notebook for $55, which includes the leather cover, blank no-line notebook, cotton bag, and spare rubber band. I don’t use the bag because I want the cover to be as patinated as my worn face when time runs out. I also added a $16 pen clip, a second $5.50 blank notebook, a pack of $6.40 connecting bands, and a $9.20 transparent zipper case where I carry a roll of tape, extra retention bands, and miscellaneous mementos like receipts and ticket stubs.

The notebook measures 4.8(H) x 3.5(W) x 0.15(D) inches and is entirely concealed by the 5.2 x 3.8-inch cover. It’s small, but not so small that it can be easily lost inside a cluttered van. And it’s large enough that the two open pages can easily hold a single day’s written entry, including a miniature photograph or two.

Fujifilm’s $99 Instax mini link 3 is perhaps my favorite journaling accessory. I got the idea to print out photos alongside my journal entries from Charles Liu’s YouTube channel. It takes about two minutes to power on the rechargeable device, find a picture that best represents my day in my iPhone’s photo library, and print it out wirelessly. A twin pack of replacement film that’s good for 20 pics costs $15. Each 62 × 46mm photo saves me a thousand words of written text, they say, reducing each night’s journaling session to about 5 to 10 minutes.

All in, this kit cost me $216 and change, and it’s worth every penny. It makes journaling so easy and rewarding that it’s something I look forward to — not dread — at the end of almost every travel day. I even miss the ritual after returning home. Solid indicators that I’ve created a journaling solution I’ll stick with, hopefully resulting in an intimate library of notebooks that chronicles my earthly journey.

Photos by Thomas Ricker / The Verge