The Rite in the Rain Monsoon is designed to be a compact notebook cover, but I wanted to see how much more functionality I could get out of it.
In this video, I turn the Monsoon into a modular EDC kit built around observation, documentation, neighborhood watch, patrol-style activities, and everyday utility.
Rather than filling it with generic EDC equipment, I wanted to build a dedicated mobile writing and observation station.
The foundation is a Rite in the Rain notebook with bolt-action writing instruments, complemented by a compact flashlight, Nextool K2 multitool, military energy gum, basic first-aid supplies, and POM deterrent spray.
The multitool provides scissors, pliers, measuring capability, screwdrivers, and other everyday functions. The notebook itself also provides a ruler for quick measurements.
I chose POM instead of a knife because I wanted a less-lethal defensive option that supports creating distance and getting away from a confrontation.
One of my favorite features of the Monsoon is its hook-and-loop exterior. It can be integrated into compatible bags and equipment as a removable module or used independently as a compact observation and journaling kit.
This isn’t intended to replace a full-sized backpack or emergency kit. It’s a small, purpose-built module that keeps useful equipment organized and accessible.
EQUIPMENT & LINKS
Rite in the Rain Monsoon Notebook Cover: https://amzn.to/4jgceE3
Rite in the Rain Notebook: https://amzn.to/4hLojA3
Bolt-Action Pencil: https://amzn.to/4jV0pTR
Bolt-Action Pen: https://amzn.to/4ztTi9s
Notebook Business Card / Pencil Holder: https://amzn.to/47WzOyw
Military Energy Gum: https://amzn.to/4zzVk8n
Vastlite Flashlight i7: https://amzn.to/4yQ0VY8
Nextool K2 Multitool: https://amzn.to/4dE0KXm
POM Deterrent Spray: https://amzn.to/4hVNH4D
THE REASONABLE GENTLEMAN
Practical EDC, functional tools, modular kits, preparedness, and everyday utility.
#EDC #RiteInTheRain #EverydayCarry
we are back with another review
and today we're gonna be checking out the Monsoon from Right in
the Rain so without further ado let's hop right to this review
so the Monsoon is essentially a
waterproof notebook cover it comes with a couple spots to put a pen
or pencil um and just basically is
like a dedicated journal pouch
so i said why don't i take this and turn this into a nice little kit
is it an EDC kit it is it's a specified one
but what I ended up doing is not taking the original
concept and just building around that I just took
the actual original concept and built the kit
around that and said so that being said let's check out
the scatter pattern boom we got a nice
little night watchman security kit here this is going
to be something that you could take notes
with it's got some basic tools uh some layers
of defense here some layers of alertness and multiple
ways to take observational measurements
so let's do the inside i guess you could say we'll go let's
go right to left i want to do that we'll start
at the bottom here with the pad so essentially like
i said you're supposed to normally just have
the pad in here plus two pockets a pen and a pencil
and then you know maybe some business cards in that pouch
but we kind of took it to the next
level here so this is a standard just spiral notebook i like
to take these Ranger bands put
them on here because i like to put stuff
in the back now you could put um you could put a little
small folded map in here you could put some Breathe Right strips
um i like to do things
depending on the loadout this one i just got two band-aids
with that are loaded with antibiotic
ointment and i put a little piece of double-sided tape here
and stuck some tools to it as you can
see the tools don't come off easily i have
a little magnetic lens i got a sim card removal tool
i got a skeleton key for the interior doors of houses a toothpick
and some tweezers those are
all there for good measure those aren't like use everyday use items
those are more preparedness
if that makes sense so a nice little compliment
to the back of the book the book's already there
it's got some space in there even if you don't want
to put those micro tools or any micro tools
in there you can just put two band-aids
for yourself for peace of mind or even a local area
map would be good probably so you can have a paper version
so I modified this by taking their new
little business card holder plus pen holder
so normally you're supposed to take this and stick
it to the outside of your book here
then you can stick the pad pen and your business cards all in
one spot so what I did was I stuck it
to the actual flap that holds the pad in so I could fit
some more tools right so we got the bolt action pen here
which is awesome this one is in a desert
khaki with the black they have different versions
and color schemes just happens to match the theme
we're going with today you know what i'm saying
so in the little business card pouch i repurposed it
it has really good staying power
because i'm able to stick something fat like this plus a sharpie
in here without lifting off the adhesion
so legit uh this is one of my newer favorite multi-tools
right here from NextTool this one is a plier
and check this out and a scissor driven multi-tool we
got the the zoro i don't know what the heck what it actually is called
but this one is pretty dang
cool that is for sure it's f12 there you go um pliers
and scissors plus all the other normal
accoutrements that you get
with your uh standard multi-tools i guess you could say you know your
knife your little blades your little bottle openers
your little flat heads your phillips
your can openers a little measuring tool look
at that phillips on that one this one is actually
glow-in-the-dark this little appendage here for the scissors
which is nice and those are decent
sized scissors for a multi-tool you know what i mean let's put
the blade away first from next tool
i took the belt clip off this puppy
because you know you kind of got to it went on this side i
believe uh i think it pegged into that hole right there
and then uh you can see how much slimmer it
is which allowed me to actually fit it into the business card sleeve
then we got the sharpie mini
for making some permanent markings if we need
to and that's everything that's over here on the
right side pretty super simple you see there's
the pocket that i'm talking about you put your
business cards in there you put your uh pen here
and you stick it to the notebook pretty cool
concept so now we have this left side
which has some really nice stuff let's go to the pocket in
the back this is going to be positioned this is a pack
of military energy gum so if you're going to
be doing something like um observing
and reporting being alert always probably going to be the main
event and i had that positioned directly underneath the flashlight
because again it's something that
we're not digging into all the time
but if we're doing something like observing and reporting and
we want to get a little booster rocket we can just dig back there
and pull out that gum so next up we
got is a little flashlight this one is a vast light it's
a just a single push button flashlight
nothing crazy you don't have to adjust stuff there's
no modes um there's no twist or anything
like that there's nothing to change uh
and that's why i grabbed this one because it's super simple
When you're trying to do observing and reporting
and something like clicking multiple modes through
a flashlight could either give away your position or whatever.
It's not really going to be beneficial for you
to be clicking through a bunch of stuff to try to get some light.
You know what I mean?
And the last thing that I put in this kit is going
to be a little self-defense option from Palm.
This is going to be some deployable pepper spray.
So pretty cool.
It's Palm variety.
So you know it's going to be doing its good work for you.
it's going to be dependable um and i think
that that's going to be something that's good i was i
had a knife in here originally and you know what
i said i said let's go with the non-lethal means
let's do some palm because
this is an observe and report kit let's see if somebody somebody sees
you observing and reporting
and they want to confront you the only option you really have in
here for self-defense besides your hands it would have been a knife
so i said let's get rid of that
option let's put a non-lethal means in because again
this is a observing report type of a kit
that's the kind of mindset that i went
with this for the monsoon now i know they make larger pouches
and i am interested in making some larger builds uh especially
with something that maybe has like
zip pouches or areas to put stuff beyond just
the the memo book cover um offers but needless to say
i think this is probably a pretty good themed kit especially man
if you're a security guard or you're
somebody who does neighborhood watch this would
be like the perfect kit to put together and just
put aside and have it be dedicated
for that and you don't have to do uh this little thing like i
did here you can completely remove that and just put
the back page right here and just have the
paper um sitting here um on the outside of this little you know flap
and just have everything on
there ready to write so or maybe put
the pen underneath that i don't know however you want
to set this up you let me know how you do that down
in the comments below if you like this video
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and have a great rest of your day
