Paid $45 for a field guide on local pottery shards. Used it once.

I bought this fancy field guide to identify pottery shards from dig sites around the Ohio River valley. It was $45 which felt steep but I figured it'd pay off when I found something cool. Took it out on a weekend project near a known Hopewell site. Spent 3 hours trying to match a single rim piece to the pictures and the colors were all off because of lighting. The book just sat in my bag getting dusty after that. I ended up using a free app from the state museum that did way better. Has anyone else dropped cash on a tool that looked promising but just didn't work for real field conditions?

3 comments

3 Comments

olivia_harris191mo ago

Bought a "waterproof" bird identification guide once for 40 bucks. First trip out, a light drizzle hit the page and the ink literally bled into a rainbow blob. Used the damp pages to fan myself while I pulled up the Merlin app. Somehow a soggy pile of paper costs more than a free app that actually works. Guess physical objects and I just don't vibe in muddy conditions.

jadew631mo ago

The waterproof label really means nothing these days, it's like "weather resistant" on jackets that stop working after one rainstorm. Everything is marketed like it can survive a hurricane but falls apart the second real life happens. Maybe we should just accept that paper and water don't mix and save the 40 bucks for something that actually does what it says.

jennys721d ago

oh man @jadew63 i gotta disagree with you on this one. yeah some waterproof stuff is total garbage but there ARE good ones out there if you know what to look for. i've got this field notebook from rite in the rain that i've dropped in puddles and spilled coffee on and the pages are still readable. the paper feels weird and plasticky but it actually holds up. i think the trick is to check for actual specs instead of just trusting the label - like IP ratings or actual submersion tests. most of the junk with the waterproof claim is just a marketing lie but there's a few brands that actually mean it.