Booker-Palooza 2012 Review and Giveaway #5: Clairefontaine Back to Basics 1951 Vintage Notebook (Enties closed and winners announced)

Welcome to day 5 of Booker-Palooza 2012. This is the fifth — and final — givewaway of the week. And it's another "two-fer" — there will be two winners.

The Review

Retro something or other

 The first problem I had in writing this review was . . . fatigue. I've been working like crazy this week. Wrong week to host Booker-Palooza, I think! It's been fun, though, and I'm glad I did it. But I think my fatigue is going to show in this post. This will be a pretty lazy review.

The second problem I had in writing this review was what the heck to call this product. There are so many different words on the label, I wasn't sure. I'm still not. European Paper Company ("EPC") from which I ordered these notebooks, calls it the "Clairefontaine Vintage Notebook." Interesting, because "vintage" is one word that does not appear on the label. So I looked for this in the Clairefontaine catalog, and couldn't find it. So, we'll go with what I think is the best combination of words from the label: "Clairefontaine Back to Basics 1951 Vintage Notebook."

But it seems pretty clear that Clairefontaine was going for a retro feel. That is suggested by the "1951" and "Back to Basics" on the label, and the look of the cover as well.

Speaking of the cover, it looks in photos almost like it could be cloth, and the product description at EPC calls the cover "textured." All they mean, though, is that the cover has a rough laid finish, unlike the glossy finish you see on most Clairefontaine notebooks.

As you can see, there is a labeling area on the front cover. The back has a Clairefontaine logo, so there's no chance of confusing the orientation of the notebook. There is no pocket in the back, and the cover stock just doesn't feel that sturdy to me

This is a staple-bound notebook. I've never carried one of these around much, so I can't comment on its durability, but I always feel better if the binding is stitched.

The ruling runs to the end of the page and has no margin line, but each page does have some blank top and bottom margins. A lot of people don't like that, but I find the margin habit hard to break. Even when my notebook doesn't have them, I tend to leave some blank space at the top and bottom. At 8mm spacing (my measurement could be a little off), the lines are a little more widely spaced than I prefer.

As for the paper . . . I didn't even test it out. Why bother? Its 90 gsm smooth, bright white Clairefontaine paper, which is consistently awesome for fountain pens: no feathering, no bleeding, easy to write on both sides. The only downside to Clairefontaine's paper is that inks take a long time to dry on it (at least, in my opinion). I'm always amazed when a blogger reviews an ink and says it dries in 10 seconds, because I've had ink smear after 40 or 45 seconds on Clairefontaine paper (but I don;t mind because the writing experience is so great). The fact that I take all these things for granted and didn't test the paper means that these winners won't have to put up with a page of my scribbling, like most of my notebook winners.

I had second thoughts about ordering these at $13 until I realized that is the price for a two-pack. At that price, they are very reasonable. That $13 price is for the large size (5.75 in. x 8.25 in.). It also comes in pocket size (3.5 in. x 5.5 in.) at $9 for a two-pack. In either case, you can choose your colors.

The Giveaway

You can enter by email, by commenting, or by both. It's perfectly OK for you to enter both ways. Not everyone is necessarily going to take the time to do that (very few did on the first giveaway), so entering both ways may increase your chances of winning.

To enter by email, send an email to me at notebookeresqATgmail.com, with the following subject line:

1951

Your email must reach me by 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, Saturday morning, September 8. You may send only one email per person.

To enter by commenting, click in the comment field, then use one of the login methods displayed or click in the NAME field to comment as a guest. Please note that if you log in using your Twitter or Facebook account, I will not have your email and will not be able to contact you directly if you win. In that case, you'll have to return to this post to see if you are the announced winner and claim your prize. (If you are concerned about privacy, note that your email will not display in the comment.) Your comment must be timestamped no later than 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, Saturday, September 8.

Per my usual practice, the winners — remember, there are two winners in this giveaway — will be selected by generating a random number at random.org (in this case, two random numbers) and counting down the list of entries. Good luck!

UPDATE — WINNERS ANNOUNCED — Not only do we have two winners of this prize, we have our second double-winner of the week. Our first-time winner is Stan and our second-time winner is Kyle Curia. Congrats!

Booker-Palooza 2012 Review and Giveaway #5: Clairefontaine Back to Basics 1951 Vintage Notebook (Enties closed and winners announced)

Booker-Palooza 2012 Review and Giveaway #1: Levenger Wired Notebook-White Full Page Ruled (Closed to new entries)

Welcome, everyone, to the inaugural post of Booker-Palooza 2012!

Today's giveaway is the Levenger Wired Notebook-White Full Page Ruled. Usually, I link the name of the product to someplace you can buy it, but I don't see this product on the Levenger website anymore. I don't know if that situation is temporary or not, but I'm surprised to see it gone. I've been buying these for a while and usually saw them whenever I was just browsing and drooling the Levenger website. (While I'm mentioning the Levenger website, I should mention that the Labor Day Sale they have going is fantastic, and it goes through September 5. And, full disclosure: Levenger has provided products me free products (but not this one) to review.)

Anyway, on to the review.

The Review

I've had one of these notebooks opened on my desk at work for probably eight months out of the last year, using them mostly to keep my timesheets, but also using them occasionally to take research notes or to make notes for upcoming oral arguments. While it has its faults, I like it well enough to have bought seven of them when they were on sale.

It sits open at my right hand, so I can immediately jot down the tasks and time spent on my client matters, making for very accurate time reporting and detailed, accurate bills for my clients. There's nothing about the notebook itself that really improves my timekeeping, exactly, unless you count the fact that I enjoy writing in it so much. Maybe, on some subliminal level, that makes me more likely to record my time promptly. good not only for my clients, but for me, too, as billable time does not escape billing.


The reason I like writing in it is the feel of the paper. I love, love, love, heavyweight paper. Not so much for the writing, but for the handling. Once these sheets are removed from the notebook, they are a joy to shuffle, sort, or arrange. Since the paper is white, the weight of the paper (and slightly narrow dimension, as discussed below) helps my pages of handwritten notes stand out in a stack of other white papers.

The writing experience is quite nice, too. Most pens, except those with tips of less than 5 mm, tend to write very smoothly.

Levenger claims the paper is fountain pen friendly, and that was my initial impression of the paper. In my post last December year about the great variance in paper quality among various Levenger products, I wrote about this particular notebook:

This one is a standout. The white paper has great weight, smooth feel, great performance. No bleed through even with heavily saturated inks delivered through juicy nibs. This is awesome paper.

Unfortunately, that initial impression has not held up. I use a different pen and ink color virtually every day on my timesheets, sometimes with a few changes during the course of the day, so I've tried lots of different combinations on this paper. It's definitely hit-or-miss when it comes to handling fountain pen ink, at least with respect to how usable the opposite side of the papers is going to be. There's very little or even no feathering with most inks, but show through and bleed through vary significantly and are very unpredictable.  Some saturated inks barely show through and make it easy to write on both sides of the paper, while some less saturated inks through the same pen bleed through like crazy. The particular notebook I chose to test for this post seems especially susceptible to bleeding.

I've really got to learn how to take a properly exposed photograph. Sorry about that.

You also need to choose your other pens carefully. The Bic permanent marker (felt tip) I tried bled through. (I did not have a sharpie to try out.) Surprisingly, the brown Platinum Preppy (at the very bottom in the photo), despite being one of the broadest and wettest lines, showed through very little compared to the Bic. Finer gel pens did best, but finer points tend to stick a little on this paper and take away the smoothness. Some rollerballs do better than others, even with the same color ink.

None of this particularly bothers me, because I'm not worried about writing on both sides. But if you are, I suggest keeping a few pages at the back of the notebook as test pages to try out pen and ink combinations before using them elsewhere in the notebook.

I prefer the full width ruling on this paper to the annotation ruling found in so many Levenger products. This is especially helpful for my timekeeping, where I don't need to "call out" notes to the margin. Ruling across the entire page gives me plenty of real estate to track my time and to tally it up at the end of the day.

This is billed as a letter-sized (8.5 in. x 11 in.) notebook, but keep in mind that is the dimension of the paper before removing it from the notebook. Once torn out, the paper is a little narrower, approximating the width of an A4 sheet. It's just enough to be another aid in finding one's notes among other white papers in a stack, but not so much to make it difficult to include in a file of letter sized paper. Putting notes in the file is also made easier by the fact that the pages are perforated, so the raggedy edges created from tearing a page out from the binding is easily removed.

While a great desktop companion, this notebook is not very portable. Few letter-sized notebooks are, but this one has a couple of other factors working against portability.

First, this paper is so substantial that the 85 pages make the notebook nearly a half inch thick. That's fine if you carry a full size briefcase. But it can be a bit of a space hog when space counts, such as in a laptop bag or in my Levenger Briefolio, which is all I tend to carry (besides my planner) back and forth to work.

Second, it's not especially durable. I carried one back and forth to work every day (besides the space it took up in briefolio) for about 4 months. It didn't fall apart, but the covers, which are not especially stiff, got beat up a bit. And the wire for the twin ring binding is not especially strong; it eventually started to bend and separate,  so about a third of the back cover started slipping off the wire. That second problem is likely to be even worse if you remove pages as you go, because I think the rings are more vulnerable without a full notebook attached. (One indication regarding the lack of strength in the wire is that several notebooks arrive from Levenger with the end wires bent.)

If this notebook is gone for good, that's a real shame. I much prefer it to the wired notebook with multi-colored paper and annotation ruling, both because I prefer the full page ruling and because the colored paper and fountain pen ink don't really seem to get along, and it doesn't even feel good to write on the colored paper.

For all its faults —principally, the inconsistency of the paper when it comes to different inks, and the features making it unsuitable for portability — I still really like this notebook, at least to keep on my desktop. Enough to have ordered seven of them when they were on sale for $8 (they were normally $12).

The Giveaway

Entries are now closed. The following procedures will no longer work.

If you'd like one, here's how to enter the giveaway. Make sure you read through ALL these instructions, to make sure you are entered and possibly double your chance at winning, before you actually carry out any of the steps.

Send an email to me at notebookeresqATgmail.com, with the following word, and ONLY the following word, in the subject line:

WIRED

Lower case or upper case doesn't matter, as long as your email reaches me by 12:01 a.m. Pacific Time, Tuesday morning, September 4. You may send only one email per person, but . . .

if you leave a comment on this post, that comment will count as a second entry as long as your email gives the name you used to comment. I need an email from every entrant because I need to be able to contact the winner, so a comment without a corresponding email will not count as an entry.

Good luck, and check back tomorrow for giveaway number 2 in Booker-Palooza 2012.

UPDATE: Congrats to winner Gerald!

Booker-Palooza 2012 Review and Giveaway #1: Levenger Wired Notebook-White Full Page Ruled (Closed to new entries)

Rhodia Unlimited Notebook review and giveaway (UPDATE: WINNER ANNOUNCED)

See that fading near the top? My fault. This sat on my desk
in a Levenger Unifier behind a small notepad, so the sun
faded the top.

I ran across the Rhodia Unlimited notebook by accident a long time ago while I was cruising around the Goulet Pens website (no affiliation, but I love that website and that company!), and decided to give it a shot, probably just enough for a review and giveaway. I'm glad I had the giveaway in mind, because this notebook just isn't my cup of tea. There are lots of great things about it, but some drawbacks as well. Of course, what I see as drawbacks, you might see as benefits, and vice versa.

Let's find out, shall we?

The Review

This notebook is typical pocket size, 3.5 in. x 5.5 in. Click here to see it with a Lamy Safari to give you a sense of scale.

This notebook has got a lot of style, and unsurprisingly bears the Rhodia tree logo on the cover. Unlike the matching elastic closures on the webnotebooks (i.e., orange elastic on orange covers and black elastic on black covers), Rhodia goes for contrast here. In fact, the elastic itself is bicolor — black with three orange center stripes. The strap appears to be the same on both the orange cover and black cover versions, but being bicolor, it stands out on both (though in my opinion, it stands out more on the orange cover). The Rhodia website calls it a "racing stripe."

The cover seems to have a soft feel somewhere between the cover of a regular Rhodia notepad and a cover of the "R by Rhodia" premium line of notepads, but more closely approaching the latter. In fact, for all I know, it may be exactly the same as the premium notepad covers. (On the Rhodia website, the cover on the premium notepads is described as "soft touch" while the cover on the Unlimted is described as "Verso soft touch," but I'm not sure they're different.) In any event, the cover feels very nice. It would almost be a shame to put a leather cover over this.

I'm not sure what you call this binding. Perfect bound? Glue bound? In any event, it does not make for a flat opening, unless you want to force it (which I didn't).

The perforations aren't really evident because of this — they're too deep in the binding. Every page is perforated, not just pages toward the back, as in some other notebook lines. I suppose that could come in handy from time to time, but I think I can count on two hands the number of times I've torn out a notebook page in the last two years.

The page has a lot of structure, with a two-line header field and ruling that does not extend all the way to the edge of the page. There are blank borders at top, bottom, and outside edge.

The paper is the usual excellent Rhodia quality. 60 sheets of 80 gsm paper that didn't bleed or feather with any of the inks I tried. It was a little surprising to see that the ruling — graph in my case, but lined ruling is also available — is gray rather than the usual Rhodia purple. That might disorient some Rhodia fans, but I like it (though I would prefer lighter gray). I never was a fan of the purple ruling. (Sacrilege!)

This notebook does not have a pocket inside the back cover. I've never found those pockets very practical on pocket  notebooks anyway, but diehard pocket fans should look elsewhere.

Rhodia did a very nice job with the closure, positioning the elastic so that it covers the grommets when holding the book closed. That is a nice, detailed touch in my opinion. But the grommets holding the elastic in place are likely to prove a problem as you get toward the back pages of the notebook. They are not nearly flush with the cover, and writing over those bumps would drive me a little nuts. Then again, they are placed as near to the edge of the cover as possible. With the margins in the ruling, you may not run across them that often. In any event, I don't need an elastic closure because I carry my notebook in my front pocket, so any little inconvenience resulting from the closure is not worth it to me.

Those grommets are probably going
to get in your way eventually

Because I was planning a giveaway with this notebook, I didn't really get a chance to put it through its paces. The cover feels pretty sturdy — it ought to be, considering this notebook goes for $8— but one never knows unless one puts it to the test. I'd be curious to hear from the winner how durable it is, both in how well the cover wears and whether the pages start to separate at the perforations over time (which I've found to be a problem when using Moleskine Cahiers).

Overall, I think I prefer my current setup: A Field Notes graph notebook in my InkLeaf leather cover. If I hadn't spent the money on that cover, I might have been more willing to try out the Rhodia Unlimited for a longer period.

As usual, you can find more crappy pictures in my Flickr photo set for this review.

The Giveaway

The cover faded some at the top while sitting in my Levenger Unifier, but hey, it's free, right? Entering to win this slightly faded notebook is easy. No need to leave a comment on this post. Just:

1. Send me an email (notebookeresqATgmail.com) with the following subject line:

UNLIMITED

Lower case will work, too, but the spelling must be exact, as I will be using a filter to group all of the entries. If you misspell the subject line, you won't have a chance to win.

2.  Tell three people how much you like my blog.

We'll have to use the honor system for part 2. But think how guilty you'll feel if you win without doing step 2.

Update (8/30/2012):

The Winner

Congrats to Gaby, winner of the Rhodia Unlimited notebook!

Rhodia Unlimited Notebook review and giveaway (UPDATE: WINNER ANNOUNCED)

Review: Kokuyo Inspiración Notebook

A Japanese notebook with a Spanish name. Well, that's an interesting start.

The name of this notebook is the Spanish word for "inspiration," which makes it rather unsuitable for me, or at least to the use I put it to. I used it mainly to keep my timesheets — oh, how I hate tracking my time!—and occasionally for meeting notes. Nothing inspiring there. ("9:06 a.m.: telephone call from client re deposition scheduling." See what I mean?)

Well, if the Kokuyo Inspiración Notebook doesn't provide inspiration, what does it provide? Plenty. And I know, because it took me about three months to fill this thing up and I really got a chance to evaluate it. Usually, I review new products while they're still new — this time, I can tell you how it holds up over the long haul.

After three months, it's not too beat up

Start with sturdy cardboard covers that make it real easy to use in your lap or on the fly. The covers held up real well over the three months it took me to fill up this notebook, which include getting lugged back and forth to work everyday in my Levenger Briefolio and the occasional use on the road. You can see the edges are are still in fairly good shape.

The twin rings also held up fairly well. By the time I was done with the notebook, the end rings were bent a little, and a gap had started to develop, but the cover material is thick enough that it was never at risk of coming off the rings.

Jet Pens, from which I purchased this notebook, calls this "semi-B5" sized paper. It measures about 7 in. x 9.8 in. It's nice and portable, and very thin. Since I use a briefolio instead of a briefcase, space is at a premium, and this takes up very little space. Personally, I like the size 7 in. x 9.8 in. size, but it's always a little troublesome to put anything but letter-sized paper in a file. (I don't mind, but everyone in the law office has to use the same file, and odd sizes of paper can be tough to find.) I also like that the pages are perforated. Although I removed very few pages from this notebook, it was nice to have a smooth edge when I did. I hate handling non-perforated paper that's been pulled from a spiral or twin-ring notebook.


Inside the front cover is a two-sided document pocket, which I found very handy. In this size notebook, the pockets easily handle letter-sized paper folded in half, unlike the pocket in the back of a typical A5-sized hardcover notebook.

The the 7 mm - ruled paper resembles what I've seen in other Japanese notebooks. It seems a little thin, and very smooth. It handles fountain pen ink wonderfully. I must have used a couple of dozen pen and ink combinations, and not one of them bled or feathered. There is a good deal of show through, so if that bothers you, stick to the less saturated inks.but it is very smooth. And something else that seems common among the Japanese notebooks I've tried: some nibs will actually squeak a little on the paper. Weird.

The notebook is a bit pricey at $14.00. So I picked out a whole bunch of notebooks at Jet Pens and ordered them all at the same time to hit the $75 threshold for the 40% discount. At that price ($7.40), it is much more fairly priced.

Bottom line: this is a very nice notebook, and I like it while using it, especially the document pockets. If you're not bothered by showthrough, or tend to use lighter inks, it's got a lot going for it.

Review: Kokuyo Inspiración Notebook

Review and Giveaway: Levenger Circa Dimensions Notebook

(UPDATE: The giveaway is now closed. Congratulations to our winner, Latonya Ramsey.)


 I soured on the Circa notebook system some time ago, at least for work purposes. The big obstacle to using it for work is the punched edge of the paper, which catches on everything once you remove it from the notebook and try to stick it in a file folder, run it through a scanner, or whatnot. I could cut off the edges, I suppose, but for now, it's not a realistic option for work. (If you're unfamiliar with the Circa disk-bound system, read about it here.)

That said, I haven't ruled out using Circa for some personal things, like an ink journal or some writing projects. And Daniel Marshall, Levenger's marketing manager, was kind enough to send me a bunch of sample notebooks and papers after he read about my beefs with (and praises for) various Levenger papers. So, I have to try 'em out! Then I have to give 'em away!

The Review

As Circa notebooks go, there are lots of cool things about the Circa Dimensions Notebook, and the paper's pretty good. Not perfect, but pretty good. I'll save the paper for the end and look at everything else first.

I know it's just a matter of taste, but the cover is probably the coolest I've seen on any Circa notebook. The outside looks like a carbonesque prism tape, though not quite as shiny (the inside is gray), and it's translucent. It has the kind of texture that makes a "zip" sound when you drag your fingernail on it.

It's also quite flexible. Consider this a soft cover notebook that requires a hard surface underneath it to write on comfortably. In fact, the cover — indeed, the entire notebook — can be curled around on itself. One bog benefit of the cover, in my opinion, is that it is so thin compared to the stiff leather covers, thus taking up a lot less of the disk when folded completely behind the notebook.

The cover seems way too big for the paper at first blush, extending quite a bit beyond the edge of the sheets (at the side only, not at the top or bottom). However, this is apparently to accommodate the use of tabbed dividers, and it's actually a good feature. The notebook comes with a single tabbed divider, nice and sturdy, probably to whet one's appetite for more.

It's almost impossible to tell the back cover from the front. As is typical, there is a Levenger logo at bottom center of the back cover, but it's so buried in the carbon fiber pattern that it's virtually invisible. You may need to reference the tab or put some mark on the cover to know which end is up.


The beautiful designs of some of the Circa disks (Kyoto, Golden Tortoise, and the various aluminum disks) are what made me try Circa in the first place. The disks that come with this notebook are 3/4-inch diameter shiny aluminum and  are a perfect match for the cover. They really make the notebook stand out with a futuristic, hi-tech look.

The pages turn very easily. That could be due to the size of the disks (my experience is that pages don't turn as well on larger disks), the fact that they are aluminum instead of plastic (these are the first aluminum disks I've tried), or both. I can't be sure.

Aluminum disk and carbon fiber pattern cover are a winning combination. Yes, those disks are solid, but the reflection makes it look like the paper is passing through rings.

Now, the paper. It's what Levenger calls "annotation ruled", very similar to Cornell note-taking ruling. Levenger calls the paper "soft white," and the margin is shaded gray.

There are two blank fields at the top of each page (front side only), and a perpetual calendar at the bottom of the margin on the front of each sheet for circling the month and the date. It's not very intuitive for me, because the dates are arrayed like a calendar, and the actual date may fall on a different day than it looks like on the paper. On the perpetual calendar, it looks like the first is always on a Sunday, the second is always on a Monday, etc. I suppose one would get used to it over time. But the perpetual calendar hardly seems necessary with those two blank spaces at the top of the page, the smaller of which is just perfect for writing in the date.

The paper is very smooth, both to the touch of the hand — really a pleasure to handle — and the touch of the nib. It's fairly heavy (100gsm) but does not feel as sturdy as the paper in Levenger's notepads. I didn't really give the notebook a workout, so I can't say how durable the the paper will prove to be when it's been moved over the disks a lot or removed and replaced repeatedly.

The paper is far more hospitable to ink than the paper that came with the Circa sampler kit I bought around two years ago. Only the most saturated fountain pen inks bleed through. Dry writers and less saturated inks should do fine. And I didn't get feathering with any fountain pen, rollerball, or gel inks that I tried. The showthrough can be significant, though. Choose your pens and inks carefully.

At $39, this notebook strikes me as a little pricey, but consider that the disks alone sell for $22 and the refill paper goes for $16, and it's not out of line if you're a Circa fan. (The disks do not appear to be available separately at present. Update: I was wrong.)

As usual, you can find more photos of the product (in my trademark poor photography) in the Flickr photo set for this review.

The Giveaway

All you've got to do to enter is send an email with the subject line DIMENSIONS to me at notebookeresqATgmail.com. That's it! No blog comment, Twitter tweet, Facebook "like" or anything like that. Just a simple email. But the subject line must read DIMENSIONS, or your email might be left out of the drawing.

I'll keep the contest open to entries through at least Sunday night (March 25), maybe a little longer. The winner will be selected at random and will be notified by email. If the winner does not respond in three days, I'll pick an alternate. And so on.

Good luck!

Review and Giveaway: Levenger Circa Dimensions Notebook

Review (and Giveaway!): Rhodia Large Dot Grid Webnotebook (Update - Giveaway entries are closed)

Thanks to the generosity of Karen at Exaclair, I was able to take a Rhodia Large (A5 size) Dot Grid Webnotebook for a spin recently. And, I am forwarding Karen's generosity on to one of my readers by giving this puppy away! Details on the giveaway at the end of the post.

There's been a lot of excitement about the dot grid "webbie" after the runaway success of the original webbie and the Rhodia Dot Pad. The Dot Grid Webnotebook is a combination of the best of both worlds.




The Review
 The heart of any notebook is its paper and, as you'd expect, the paper in this notebook does not disappoint. Silky smooth, as always (too smooth for some people), and wonderful for fountain pens. Even with heavily saturated inks, you have to really let you pen nib linger before you'll see any bleedthrough. Only the darkest inks show through to any noticeable degree. And feathering? Fuggedaboutit. All this means the paper also has the same drawback you're used to: slow drying times. If you insist on using a fountain pen, this is not a good notebook for on-the-go writing, because closing the notebook too soon after you've written in it is going to result in lots of ink transfer to the opposite page . . . unless you use a sheet of blotting paper for a bookmark.

Great ink handling at the price of slow drying time. Note the dot grid ruling.

So, tell you something you don't already know, right? OK, let's start with the purely subjective stuff.

I gotta say I liked the orange cover a lot more than I thought I would. It looked much too loud to me when I saw it on the website, but when I opened the package from Karen, I said, "Cool!" For me, the color would be quite practical if it was to make this my work notebook. That orange really stands out on a messy desk! Like the black webbie (version 1, anyway), the end papers, ribbon bookmark, and elastic closure all match the cover, so there's an awful lot of orange. Not sure you'll like it? I say try it!

As much as I like the orange cover, I'm not as thrilled by the ivory paper. It looks way too yellow to me, but that seems to be an effect of all the orange around it. When I placed this notebook side-by-side with my first generation webbie, it looked like the paper colors were identical.

Old ivory and new ivory appear identical side-by-side, but can look different based on cover color.

The dot spacing, like the grid lines on Rhodia graph pads, is 5mm, so it's very easy to adapt to if you're used to the pads. This is a very frustrating spacing for me and my writing style — too large for me to write every other line, too small to write every line — but that's just me. The dot grid is for more than just writing, anyway. The unobtrusive dot pattern provides just enough guidance for spacing drawings, diagrams, or doodles without getting in the way.  (Does one ever need precise doodle spacing? That's taking OCD to the next level!) I don't draw much, though. My notebooks are full of boring text.

The notebook has the standard back pocket, but the gussets on this one appear exceptionally sturdy. Same soft leatherette cover, same embossed Rhodia logo on the cover, as the old webbie.

One surprise is that this webbie did not lie particularly flat, because that was supposed to be an improvement over the first generation. When I looked at the picture I took, though (I'm finishing this post away from home and the webbie), it appears I did not have the binding flat on the table, so who knows how flat this thing lies. All I know is that it will break in, as even my old webbie lies pretty flat.

Overall, a great notebook!

The Giveaway

To enter, do BOTH of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post, AND;

2. Email me at notebookeresqATgmail.com. Your email must give the name you used for commenting and the subject line must read EXACTLY:

WEBBIE

I do it this way to be sure I can contact the winners and so I can set up an email filter to group all entries as they come in. I will keep the giveaway open through at least midnight Pacific time on Tuesday, July 19.

The winner will be selected using the random number generator at random.org.

Good luck!

Review (and Giveaway!): Rhodia Large Dot Grid Webnotebook (Update - Giveaway entries are closed)

Review (and Giveaway!): Large Quo Vadis Habana Lined Notebook

UPDATE: Giveaway Entries are Closed. Winners will be posted and contacted on June 30.

This is "version 2.0" of the Habana that I reviewed here. All the great quality remains, but fans of the old Habana need to be aware of changes in the color, ruling, and weight of the paper.

Instructions for entering the giveaway are at the end of this post, and there's even a consolation prize!

The Review

The old and new versions both have 80 sheets of Clairefontaine's legendary paper. As always, it is silky smooth to the touch and a dream to write on. So smooth, in fact, that I've read complaints from some Fountain Pen Network members that the paper is too smooth and makes them lose control of their pen! I love the smooth writing feel, but there is a price to pay for it: ink drying times tend to be slow. If you write with a fountain pen, you're going to wind up with lots of ink transfer to the opposite page unless you give time for the ink to dry (which could be 30 seconds or more, depending on the ink and nib combination) before closing the notebook or you use a sheet of blotting paper as a bookmark.

But the paper is otherwise quite different from the original version of the Habana:

	Original U.S. Version	New Version  (reviewed in this post)
Paper Weight	90 gsm	85 gsm
Paper Color	bright white	ivory
Ruling width	8 mm	5.5 mm
Lines per page	26	40
Distance from top of page to first rule	24 mm	9 mm
Distance from bottom of page to last rule	14 mm	9 mm
Rules	light gray solid lines	light gray dotted lines

Unfortunately, none of my photos accurately captured the color of the pages. The closest would probably be this one. When you see "ivory," you shouldn't confuse it with "off-white." I've seen this paper described as "off-white," but the paper is far darker than that. From what I can tell, it is about the same color as the paper in my Rhodia webnotebook.

The 5.5 mm ruling is very narrow. People who typically write with finer points and tend to write small anyway will love it. But if you like to write big and bold, this notebook probably only makes sense for you if you're going to write on every other line. Large writing would bunch lines much too closely to read comfortably. Fans of the old ruled Habana are going to have a hard time adjusting to this one.

What a difference in ruling! Old version on left, new version on right.
Top-most group of lines on rights is same as number of lines on left.

Provided you use every line, the new ruling is going to save you money over the older version. By narrowing the ruling and leaving less blank space above and below the ruling at the top and bottom of the page, each page now has 40 lines for writing instead of the 26 on the previous version. That's more than 50% more lines on the same size page, or the equivalent of adding 40 sheets to the notebook!

Another nice plus to the changes is that between the color of the paper and the dotted lines, the the light gray dotted rules are virtually unnoticeable on the written page. There's just enough there to guide your writing as you go, and it is almost invisible once you've written on it.

Another change in the ruling is that unlike the older version, the ruling does not extend the entire width of the page from the binding to the edge. Instead, there is a border of "white space" a few mm wide at both the binding and page edge.

The paper in this generation of Habana is a slightly lighter weight than in the first generation U.S. version. This apparently was a compromise between the weight in the U.S. version and non-U.S. version of the first generation Habana so that a single version of the second-generation Habana could ship everywhere.

The lighter weight is not really noticeable to the touch, nor does it result in a noticeably thinner notebook, but the lighter paper did allow some ever-so-slight and occasional bleed-through with two of the fountain pen inks I tried. Show-through actually seemed about the same or slightly better on the lighter ivory paper than on the heavier white paper of the first generation, probably on account of the color. Needle-point pens seemed to leave a significantly deeper impression in the lighter paper (though I can't guarantee I wrote with the same pressure in both versions, so this observation may be a result of writing with different pressure in each notebook). A light touch may be needed with those pens to keep from introducing too much texture to the reverse side of the page. There was no noticeable feathering with any of the fountain pen, gel, or rollerball inks I tried.

Sturdy, fabric-like gusset on the large
back pocket suggests durability

Other than changes in available colors, everything else about the Habana seems pretty much the same as the original. The cover is still a "hard flexible" cover that's firm enough for writing when away from your desk but has some give that might let you stuff it in a bag that has no room for a stiffer cover. The cloth bookmark is still there, as is the back pocket, complete with the fabric-like gussets that suggest to me that this pocket can put up with heavier use than most.

Which is a good thing, because this pocket will see more use if I use a Habana for work. Because the dimensions of the large Habana (6.25 in x 9.25 in.) are larger than the typical A5-sized notebook, it will accommodate a letter-size sheet folded in half, which the pockets of A5-size notebooks simply can't.

Three views comparing the large Habana to a typical "large" notebook. The smaller notebook I used here, however, is about 1/4 inch narrower (when closed) than a large Moleskine.

As usual, you can view more photos at my Flickr photo set for this review.

The Giveaway

Left: New version large Habana. Right: Old version pocket Habana.

I was tempted to keep this as my work notebook, but seeing as how Karen art Exaclair supplied the Habana gratis, I thought it more appropriate to spread the love and give it away.  And, to the runner-up, I will give a small first-generation black Habana with blank pages. I believe the small Habana has 64gsm paper, but I'm not sure. (I bought it long ago and failed to review it.) Both the large and small Habanas will have a page of my test writing in them, but they are otherwise mint.

To enter, do BOTH of the following:

1. Leave a comment on this post, AND;

2. Email me at notebookeresqATgmail.com. Your email must give the name you used for commenting and the subject line must read EXACTLY:

HABANA

I do it this way to be sure I can contact the winners and so I can set up an email filter to group all entries as they come in. I will keep the giveaway open through at least midnight Pacific time on Tuesday, June 27.

The winner will be selected using the random number generator at random.org.

Good luck!

Review (and Giveaway!): Large Quo Vadis Habana Lined Notebook

Quite possibly the last review in the entire world of the first generation Quo Vadis Habana notebook (large U.S. version)

This is embarrassing. What is it with me and Exaclair products? The legendary Karen at Exaclair is kind enough to send me a couple of samples, and I wait until each one of them is nearly obsolete before I review them. I posted Quite possibly the last review in the entire world of the second generation Rhodia Webnotebook just before the third generation one came out, and now I find myself in the same position with the Quo Vadis Habana. I guess the good news is that I can tell you what I think of the upcoming changes at the same time.

By now, there is very little original to say about the Habana. Plenty of good, detailed reviews have been written (see the end of this post for links). Let's get the basics out of the way, straight from the Exaclair website:

• Clairefontaine paper - extra white, exceptionally smooth satin finish
• 90 g, acid-free and pH neutral paper (for desk size and pocket blank)
• 80 sheets
• Firm cover for writing support
• Elastic closure, ribbon bookmark
• Inside pocket for notes and cards
• Elegant round corners
• Sewn binding for extra security and flexibility
• 6 1/4 x 9 1/4"

The large Habana is significantly larger
than the large Rhodia Webnotebook
(pictured) or Moleskine

Love, love, love the paper. Extremely fountain pen friendly — Noodler's Baystate Blue and Noodler's Baystate Concord Grape were the opnly inks I tried that bled or feathered — smooth as silk, and the bright white paper makes an excellent testing ground for trying out new ink samples or to show the true color of your favorite inks. The only thing I would change about the paper is to make the ruling narrower. The current 8mm spacing is too wide for my typical handwriting.

Unfortunately, it is what I love most about the notebook that is changing — the paper is going to be off-white in the newer version, and slightly thinner (85 g).  The thinner paper is supposed to be just as fountain pen friendly, but I will miss the bright white paper, which is somewhat of a standout feature in notebooks.

Apparently, the change is intended to make the paper identical in Habanas worldwide. The announcement from Quo Vadis is here. Goulet Pen Co. proprietor Brian Goulet shares what he learned from Quo Vadis and his hopes for the new notebook at Ink Nouveau.

My sample was taupe. Some months ago, I read a review (that I can't find now) in which the reviewer thought the taupe cover looked just plain brown. Odd, because to me, it looks quite pink!

The Habana opens nice and flat when on a table, and is easy to write on when you're away from any surface to put the notebook on. Its somewhat larger size lets you rest your hand on the page longer than in a smaller notebook, and the leatherette cover, though uniquely flexible, is firm enough to serve as a writing surface.

Rear pocket gusset

The pocket inside the back cover impresses for two reasons. First, because of the size of the notebook, the pocket easily accommodates letter-sized or A4 paper folded in half. Second, the gusset appears to be some kind of fabric-reinforced paper rather than plain cardboard.

The leatherette cover is uniquely flexible, yet stiff enough to provide a firm writing surface if you're away from a table.

Flexible cover, anyone?

Assuming the paper's fountain pen characteristics remain the same, one thing you'll need to look out for in both the old and new versions is the trade-off for the smoothness and fountain pen friendliness of the paper: drying times for most fountain pen inks that are longer than on many other papers. If you're in the habit of closing your notebook immediately after writing in it, this may not be the notebook for you, at least not if you use a fountain pen. If you do, you may want to use a sheet of blotter paper as a bookmark so your writing does not smudge when you close the notebook.
  

So far as I can tell, the only thing changing is the paper, so if you find any of the other aspects I've described appealing, and the new paper lives up to its billing, this may be just the notebook for you.

Other reviews:

DIY Planner
Takenotesonthis's Blog
Reciprocal Crap Exchange
Everyday Correspondence
Unposted
Plannerisms
Passion du Jour
Black Cover
The Orchard
Lady Dandelion
Rants of the Archer
Spiritual Evolution of the Bean

I'm barely scratching the surface there. I'm not kidding that this may be the last review ever for this version of the notebook!

Quite possibly the last review in the entire world of the first generation Quo Vadis Habana notebook (large U.S. version)

Review and Giveaway: Staples Sustainable Earth Ruled Spiral Notebook (UPDATED with winner)

The Sustainable Earth line is the apparent successor to Staples' "bagasse" sugar-cane based paper, which has lots of rave reviews on the Fountain Pen Network. Many people were lamenting that Staples was no longer carrying the the bagasse looseleaf, so others were pointing out that the paper was available in notebooks under the new "Sustainable Earth" name.  With everybody clamoring for it so much, I had to pick up a notebook to try it out. (See the end of this post for giveaway details.)

The Review

So, is this sugar cane based paper as sweet as everyone at FPN says it is? For me, the answer is no, but it has more to do with the paper's feel rather than its performance. In fact, other than the feel of the paper, I like everything about this notebook quite a bit.

The FPN posters are right that this paper is very fountain pen friendly. I tried quite a few pen-and-ink combinations, and not one of them feathered significantly. Same for the gel pens and rollerball pens I tried. All of them, even the wettest fountain pens, delivered very sharp, crisp lines. Bleed-through was minimal, but show-through was quite significant with all the fountain pens, certainly too much for me to use both sides of the paper. Show-through was far milder with gels and rollerballs, enough so for me to consider using both sides of the paper with those pens, were it not for another problem.

Click the picture to see the show-through and mild bleed-through

Which brings me to my beef with the paper: it's very thin and feels crinkly. I didn't see a spec anywhere on the label, but it feels similar to the 15-lb. paper on the Staples graph pad. As a result, the pen leaves an imprint in the paper, so its difficult to use both sides even where show-through is not too bad. Maybe I need to develop a lighter touch.

In fact, the paper almost feels brittle, as if the corner is going to snap off when I turn the page. It doesn't, of course, but it feels like it could. Okay, that's an exaggeration, but it's enough for me not to enjoy it. Every time I turn a page I think they could have used a roll of this stuff to test Grasshopper's stealth in Kung Fu:



I love almost everything else about this notebook, so let me give credit to Staples where it is due.

Cover. There is a variety of covers available, but what I really like about the cover is how sturdy it is. It's like the cover of a hard-bound book and feels virtually indestructible, and it's not just because the paper inside is so thin by comparison. I do have one small complaint. That's the inside front cover, which explains the environmental benefits of the sugar-cane based paper. I tend not to put much stock in green claims because I find they tend to be pronounced in a vacuum without mentioning offsetting environmental downsides.

Binding. This is not a twin wire binding. It is a true spiral binding, and it is quite impressive. Normally, I prefer twin wires because they seem stronger (two wires going through each hole in the paper) and less likely to snag on things. The ends of flimsy metal spiral bindings snag on things, start to unwind, and they are usually so flimsy that they crush easily. But the spiral binding on this notebook uses the thickest gauge wire I've ever seen in a spiral binding, and appears to be exceptionally sturdy. The ends are neatly tucked, unlikely to lose that position, and thus quite unlikely to snag on anything.

Fantastic spiral binding. LEFT: end nicely tucked. MIDDLE: wire gauge compared to Levenger twin ring wire binding; RIGHT: spiral binding means covers are not aligned when open.

Ruling. I didn't measure, but this looks to be college ruling. What I like about it is the pale beige color, similar to a Field Notes notebook, but the color is more neutral and the lines are somewhat thicker. Still, it's a good combination. The ruling guides you but is virtually unnoticeable when you read from the page.

Perforated pages. In my opinion, perforated pages are a must for any wire-bound notebook to be used at work. After a brief experience with bound Moleskine-like notebooks, I've decided that notes simply have to be detachable to be practical in a law office. The perforations make that practical because they eliminate the raggedy edges one gets from removing pages from a wire-bound notebook.

Pockets. There is a two-sided "kraft" pocket at the front of the notebook. Like the cover and binding, quite sturdy. A nice touch for such an inexpensive product.

Price. I missed this part of the discussion on FPN, but part of what bagasse paper lovers really loved about the paper is that it's very inexpensive. This notebook has 100 pages and costs only $3.99!

The giveaway

My first thought was to give away this notebook, but then I wondered if that wasn't defeating the "sustainable earth" aspect of it. Is it really worth the energy, fuel and cost to mail a $4 notebook? Would anyone interested even sign up if they can get one for $4 at Staples?  But, what the heck, a giveaway is a giveaway!

So, the usual giveaway sign-up procedures apply:

1. Leave a comment.

2. Send me an email at notebookeresqATgmail.com. The body of the email must include the name you used to comment and the subject line of the email must read exactly:

SUSTAINABLE EARTH

I need the email so I can be sure I can contact the winner. If you leave a comment without sending a proper email or email me without leaving a comment, you will not be entered.

I'm not setting a deadline. How long I let the entry period run depends on the number of entries, traffic, and whether this giveway makes it into this Saturday's "Ink Links" at The Pen Addict. I'll pick a winner when I'm ready.  Good luck!

UPDATE (1/27/11): And the winner is, SheilaM. I'll email you shortly, Sheila. Everyone else . . . I'll be posting another giveaway next week . . . just not sure what it will be yet. Come by again!

Review and Giveaway: Staples Sustainable Earth Ruled Spiral Notebook (UPDATED with winner)

Blogger-only giveaway of the world's most overpriced notebook memo pad: Metaphys Blanc Fabric Covered 44113 Memo Pad (Updated with deadline)

That headline tells you all you need to know about what I think of this notebook. Which is why I am limiting this giveaway to other pen/paper bloggers: I want a second opinion! So, as a condition of entering this giveaway contest, you must agree to post a review of this notebook within two weeks of receiving it from me.

Now, here's why I think this is the world's most over-priced notebook . . .

This notebook sells for $10.50 at Jet Pens, and its tiny! It has to be the most expensive notebook I own, on a price per square inch of paper basis!

Actually, it's not a notebook. It's a memo pad with a cover and end papers. (To be fair, Jet Pens actually calls it a "memo pad." But the Metaphys site calls it a "notebook.") Granted, it's got really cool end papers -- black, giving it the stealth look of a Rhodia Webbie -- but neither they nor the durable cover transform this into a bona fide notebook.

The glue binding allows the pages to tear out very easily. If you want a memo pad, this is fine. But if you like to carry your notes with you for a few weeks, like I do, it's not so good. I can see these pages coming out accidentally very easily (though I didn't really put that theory to the test).

This notebook is small. Tiny. Here it is atop a stack of 3x5 index cards:



The paper is nice enough. Very smooth to the touch and when writing on it. It does bleed pretty severely with fountain pens, much less so with rollerballs and not at all with the gel pens I tried. But even the gel pens had pretty significant show-through. Probably not a problem for most folks, since there's really no practical way to write on the back, because of the reporter-style design of the notebook, unless you tear the sheet out first. There was no feathering with the rollerballs or gel pens, and only one or two of the fountain pen inks I tried feathered at all, and then very lightly.

The paper has a very faint grid pattern that's very difficult to see. however, it nonetheless seemed to aid my writing, as if I could see it subliminally even though I had to have the light just right to see it on the paper. From what I can tell, the vertical lines are solid and the horizontal lines are dotted.

The worst quality of the paper, to my mind, is that is feels so thin and delicate. I prefer a "substantial" paper. However, this reviewer at Jet Pens says the paper holds up as well in his wallet as a dollar bill!

The cover feels quite durable, both because of the weight and the fabric covering.

Another drawback for me is that I like to keep a pen with my pocket notebook, and there's no practical way to do that with this memo pad. My Zebra Mini T3 Ballpoint Pen slips quite nicely into my pocket-size Moleskine Cahier (my usual pocket notebook), and its pretty darn small, but there's no practical way for it to clip to the Metaphys:

I know what you're thinking: Booker, you knew how small this notebook was when you ordered it, so what are you complaining about? Well, I'm not complaining, exactly. I don't hate this memo pad. I just can't figure out why it should cost $10.50! In fact, that high price is what made me buy it . . . I just had to find out what made it special, but I still haven't figured it out. Maybe I'm missing something!

Available at Jet Pens for $10.50.  Also available directly from Metaphys directly from Metaphys for 765 yen ($8.78 US at today's exchange rate). More photos (including photos of the bleed-though) at the Flickr photo set for this review.

GIVEAWAY RULES:

To enter the giveaway, you must have a blog about pens, paper, notebooks, stationery, office supplies, or something similar. Leave a comment on this post with a link to your blog. A link to you Blogger, Wordpress, or Typepad profile will suffice, as long as it has a link to your blog. And, I need a way to reach you, so if your blog or profile page does not have an email link, shoot me an email at notebookeresqATgmail.com so I can contact you if you're the winner. (I will choose the winner by random selection of a comment using the random number generator at random.org.)

Remember: by entering, you agree to review this product on your own blog within two weeks of receiving it, so I can get my "second opinion." Perhaps you can even pass it on to another blogger!

Good luck!

UPDATE: gee, I should have set a deadline for entering, don't ya think? OK, Midnight GST Friday night (Dec. 17). Yes, you read that right: GST = Google Standard Time, meaning I'll use the time stamp on your comment.

Blogger-only giveaway of the world's most overpriced notebook memo pad: Metaphys Blanc Fabric Covered 44113 Memo Pad (Updated with deadline)

Review: Apica Twin Ring Notebook (7 in. x 10 in.)

Add caption

UPDATE: Welcome, Pen Addict readers, and thanks to Brad for the link!

I bought this 7 x 10 inch Apica Twin Ring Notebook precisely because I don't generally like ring bindings.
Huh?

Yes, I bought this Twin Ring Notebook because I don't generally like ring bindings. I don't like the way they get snagged on things, so I really don;t like rings that seem larger than they need to be to accommodate the pages (especially if I'm going to be removing pages from the notebook anyway, which means the rings will get more and more oversized compared to the remaining pages).


So, when I saw the rings on this notebook seemed to be just big enough to accommodate the pages, I decided to try it out . . . and it turns out my one complaint about this notebook is that the rings are too small. There's just no pleasing some people, eh?

I'll get to the problems with the rings later. Let's cover the things I love first . . . which is pretty much everything else.

The cover is nothing special. It's a somewhat rough cardboard texture. I know this notebook is available in several other colors, so maybe some of them look more impressive. The cover is stiff enough to function as a cover, but not built for durability (though I haven't really tested it in that regard). I think this is a notebook you're going to want to keep at your desk or in a storage pocket in your briefcase rather than popping it loose into your backpack and taking it everywhere with you. I'm not sure it could stand up to that.

I do like the words on the cover, which I've seen on most Apica notebooks.:

MOST ADVANCED QUALITY 

GIVES BEST WRITING FEATURES

& GIVES SATISFACTION TO YOU 

There is an odd cadence and not quite right syntax there . . . just enough to let you know that English is not the native language of Apica (these notebooks are from Japan), and I find the effect somewhat charming.

The back cover is the same weight and texture, without the writing. There is no inside pocket on it. When the notebook is folded over on itself, the resulting stiffness isn't quite like writing on a clipboard, but it will do as a writing surface in a pinch.

The first page is a light blue (could be other colors in notebooks with different colored covers) and ruled for an index. Odd that the index ruling only covers the bottom of the page. A nice odd, though, if you're the artistic type and want to use the top half of the page for designating the contents of your notebook in some fancy lettering or with a drawing.

Following the index page are 40 pages of off-white pages with gray ruling. The outside top corner of each page has a space for numbering and dating each page. The top two rules and bottom rule on each page are somewhat heavier with tick marks spaced along them at 1 cm intervals. The ruling is 6.5 mm spacing (near a I can measure), which is just a tad narrower than the ruling in a Rhodia Webbie.

I couldn't find specs on the paper, but it is very smooth to the touch and I'm guessing its in the 80-90 gsm range. It feels thinner than the 90 gsm paper in the Webbie or Quo Vadis Habana but heavier than the 80 gsm paper in my Rhodia pads. It somehow feels more delicate.

It feels delicate, but boy, can this paper handle the ink. I tried LOTS of inks, including some of my wettest fountain pen nib/ink combinations, and this paper took it all with no feathering, no bleeding and almost no show through. Drying time is similar to my Webbie. Some inks dry a little faster in one, some a little faster in the other, but overall, they are very close.


Writing in this notebook is a dream. The pen glides across the page like an ice skate on ice.


There are no perforations on the pages. If you remove them, you're going to have the ragged edges unless you trim them. I like perforations in spiral notebooks in order to avoid that problem.

So, back to the rings. They're actually too small in diameter, in my opinion. The too-small size has the same effect as if you try to jam too many pages into a three ring binder. The inside edges don't have room to turn and they get folded over or don't travel all the way along the ring when you close it.


Still, that's a very minor gripe. It's easy enough to prevent that problem if you keep in mind the size of the rings and exercise care when closing the notebook.

Everything else on this notebook is stellar, at least so long as you don't require ruggedness. At only $4 to $6, depending where you buy it, this is a solid value.

If you're interested, I have a few more pictures in my Flickr photo set for this review.

Review: Apica Twin Ring Notebook (7 in. x 10 in.)