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I was SO psyched to find out last month that Mead has brought a reincarnated version of our beloved Trapper Keeper back. I bought mine at Staples. So far, that’s the only store I’ve found that carries them. Also, there is a dearth of information about this new product on the web, so I’ve taken the liberty of compiling some information for your reading pleasure. What would you like to know about the new (improved?) Trapper Keeper?

What’s the same?

• It’s a three-ring binder
• It has a flap closure
• It is sold in a variety of colors
• Prominent Trapper Keeper logo (and distinctive font (i.e. typeface for those of you who are anal retentive))
• Trapper folders are available (plain colors at this time)

What’s different?

• The rings are typical of other binders, not plastic, and snap open and closed, without the slider (but see below*)
• The closure is not Velcro, it’s magnetic
• Only the front has a layer of clear plastic
• The front plastic is an open pocket so you can put whatever design you want on the front of your Trapper Keeper
• No Trapper folders come with the new Trapper Keeper; instead, heavy-duty plastic dividers are included
• There is no clipboard feature in this incarnation of the Trapper Keeper (and no notepad to go with the nonexistent clipboard)
• The inside front and back covers have one pocket each, similar to some other existing binders
• This Trapper Keeper features rubberized grips that are (somewhat?) color-coordinated with the main color

Here’s a list of the colors (main color w/ grip color) I’ve seen, either in person, or indicated on the Mead website:

• light blue w/ blue-grey (I own this one)
• pink w/ blue-grey
• green-grey w/ green-grey
• orange w/ green-grey
• light green w/ green-grey
• grey/green-grey w/ green-grey
• blue w/ grey
• red w/ grey
• 3 patterns (multi-stripes, drawings & scribbles, and stars) w/ blue

Note my grey notations above. On the website the grip colors appear to be blue-grey, grey, and blue. In the store, the grip colors varied even between two otherwise identical Trapper Keepers. Also, the non-blue-grey grips looked pretty greenish to me, sort of like greenish mud, but I can’t be sure if the intended color is supposed to have any green in it.
There are six different Trapper folders at this time. All are solid colors:

• red
• orange
• yellow (geography)
• green (solar system)
• blue
• purple (writing/English)

The folders have three holes, of course, and seems to be pretty typical of the original Trapper folders from our past. Sturdy paperboard with two 3-sided pockets. Each folder has some factoids/reference material about a different subject on the inside, printed in black or white, depending upon the color. The subjects are geography, history, music, our solar system — complete with Pluto as a planet — yikes!, English, and math/geometry. I only have three of the six colors, so I can’t recall which colors go with history, music, or math.
The folders are plentiful in the Staples stores, but the Trapper Keepers themselves are a little more elusive, and it looks like the stores only stocked about 20-30 Trapper Keepers initially. If you are going to look for them in a Staples store, head for one of the large yellow 4-sided cardboard displays. One of the four sides has the Trapper Keepers, and possibly some Zwipes. The other sides might have some Five Star products. The Trapper folders should be clustered with all the other back-to-school folders, probably 2-4 boxes worth. YMMV.

The regular price of the Trapper folders is $0.99, and the Trapper Keeper goes for $7.99, though it was just on sale for $5.99. This is still plenty cheaper than the $20+ Zwipes binder, which might be the closest thing to the old Trapper Keeper before the return of the champ.
Click the image below to see the official Mead Trapper Keeper mini-site. It’s got some pictures and a “3D” rendition (sort of) that you can play with.

*I forget which Mead product it was, but another of their binders HAS THE PLASTIC SLIDER ring system! Ahh, it’s the Five Star Tru-Lock binder.