Notebook Review: Dingbats* Medium A5+ Notebook

November 23, 2016

I continue to be amazed at the sheer number of new stationery brands being brought to my attention on a near-daily basis. A few weeks ago I was asked to review a new notebook from Lebanon, marketed under the name of Dingbats*. Dingbats* (the asterisk is part of the name) launched a Kickstarter project that did not fund, but they still managed to get their notebooks manufactured and have diligently been working to gain visibility in an increasingly crowded notebook/stationery market.

According to their website, Dingbats* notebooks are manufactured by hand in Lebanon. Mohamad, the proprietor, is a descendant of one of the oldest established Lebanese stationery companies, who now looks to carry on his family's business for another generation. This bit of history makes these notebooks unique to me and immediately piqued my interest.

One great feature of the Dingbats* notebook is that it lays completely flat when open.

The Dingbats* notebook features a very soft synthetic leather cover embossed with an animal design, 100gsm cream/ivory paper, and all the other trappings of the modern, "nice bound notebook": inner pocket, elastic closure, and ribbon bookmark. What interests me about these Dingbats* books, and what will likely set them apart in the larger market, are (1) a pen loop; (2) the fact that all 96 sheets are micro-perforated, allowing you to easily remove pages from your notebook for scanning, filing, shredding, etc.; and (3) a reliable lay-flat design. Be aware that these notebooks are slightly larger than your standard A5 (It's labeled A5+), measuring 8.4 x 6.3 inches. I suspect they will not fit an A5 notebook cover, if you are looking for a refill.

The inner pocket on the back cover. Check out the pattern on the end paper!

So how does the Dingbats* notebook write? In short, it's a good notebook that I would characterize as fountain pen friendly and will play nice with most of your other pens and pencils. I really tried to push the paper, pressing down hard with a fairly wet medium nib, and was only able to get the slightest hint of show-through on the other side. There was no noticeable feathering or bleeding.

My only critique of this notebook is that mine has some minor issues with the glue on the binding. Some of the pages were stuck together, so in a couple instances I had to manually separate them in order to get the notebook to lay completely flat. There was a similar issue with my back inside cover, where glue appears to have leaked out from under the inner pocket and caused the heavier stock paper of the end pages to stick together. None of this impacts the functionality of the notebook, of course, and I've noticed similar issues in first-generation products from other brands as well (like the Baron Fig Confidant). I'd expect to see these issues get worked out in the future.

Update: I heard back from Dingbats*, and they confirmed that the glue issue was a problem with a small number of notebooks from their initial batch, that should no longer be in retail channels. In other words, this shouldn't be an issue going forward.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Dingbats* makes a nice leather notebook that I think I'll enjoy using once I finally finish this Leuchtturm 1917 I've had going for a while. The paper is heavy enough stock to use with most pens, and I LOVE the perforated pages. While the book I received had a few hiccups, I'm not a notebook perfectionist (I pretty much destroy them, after all) so this wouldn't stop me from buying/using more Dingbats* notebooks. Honestly, if I didn't already have notebooks coming out my ears, I probably would pick up a couple more to stash away.

Dingbats* notebooks are sold via Amazon. The medium notebook featured in this review sells for $20, which is fairly standard for this type/quality of product. Dingbats* offers other sizes as well, including a much larger "A4+" (11.8 x 8.5), a top-bound "A6+" (4.1 x 6.1), and some "pocket" A6 notebooks (5.5 x 3.5). Please check them out and give them a try.

Disclaimer: Dingbats* sent me this notebook for review purposes, at no charge.

Portland-Leather-Small-Medium-Journal-Calepino

Notebook Review: Portland Leather Goods Journals and Notebooks

November 12, 2016

If there's one thing I can never have too many of, it's nicely bound notebooks and leather notebook covers. Even if it's impossible for me to use them all myself, if I see a nice one, I pick it up regardless of the time of year, because notebooks make excellent holiday gifts and hardly ever go unappreciated. When the folks at Portland Leather Goods reached out and asked if I'd like to review some of their Triple Wrap and Snap leather journals, I jumped at the chance. They were generous enough to send over three different samples of various models, and they're all exceptionally well made.

Specs and Construction

Portland Leather Goods journals are handmade in Portland, Oregon from full grain cow leather. The covers have been nicely finished; they aren't roughly cut like a lot of cheaper options out there. At the same time, the leather is not over-finished. It has a rugged and rustic look that I like, leaving some marks such as small scratches, blemishes, freckles, and brands. This isn't a notebook that you should be afraid to get scuffed or dirty or toss in your bag unprotected. It's going to look even better as it shows its age. Portland Leather appreciates having a lot of character in the leather, reminiscent of a good leather travel bag or a pair of leather work boots.

As I mentioned, Portland Leather Goods sent me three products: two medium journals in both the "Triple Wrap" and "Snap" styles, as well as a small notebook/wallet that has two credit/business card slots. All three turned out absolutely gorgeous. My personal favorite is the "Snap" style, and I've gotten the most use out of the smaller notebook, which could easily double as a travel wallet. While the Triple Wrap journal is attractive and well made, I open and close my notebooks a lot through the day, and the leather strap that holds the journal closed ends up being just a touch too fussy for regular use. That said, it would make a great travel journal or sketchbook, for more leisurely writing or drawing sessions where quick deployment isn't an issue.

From left, the medium Snap journal with the "Golden Mean" brand, the small Snap journal, and the Triple Wrap journal with the "Tree of Life" brand.

You can also choose from a wide variety of custom brands for your notebooks. I chose my three favorites: the "Tree of Life," "Golden Mean," and "Stormtrooper" options. The marks are fire branded into the leather, so yes, they're there to stay. All three are very well-defined and look very nice on the journals - understated and not overly ostentatious.

I love the "Tree of Life" brand.

An up-close shot of the "Golden Mean" brand.

The medium-sized Triple Wrap journal open. The refill on the medium journal is held in by an elastic cord, similar to the Midori Traveler's Notebook.

Fountain-Pen Friendly Paper

Portland Leather Goods markets its products as journals, not journal/notebook covers, so each notebook comes with a lined or blank notebook insert. They haven't cut corners here - this is quality paper. These notebooks are made from heavy stock that handles most ink fairly well, and the Kraft paper cover and stitched binding should hold up well. The notebooks contain 44 sheets (88 pages front and back), and you can purchase refills directly from Portland Leather Goods in their online shop.

I've not had any issues with fine or medium fountain pens bleeding or feathering on the Portland Leather Goods Paper.

My one quibble is that the ruling on the lined version is a touch wide for my taste. While a plain/blank notebook is available, Portland Leather Goods does not offer a graph or dot-grid option, which is my preferred paper stock. That said, I was able to test out the small and medium notebooks with some other refill options I had lying around. Here's what works:

The "Small" journals are compatible with a Field Notes-size pocket notebook or smaller.
The "Medium" journals will work with a Large Doane Paper Utility Notebook (5*7), which is probably what I will end up using for everyday purposes since I love Doane's grid paper. The medium-sized Baron Fig Vanguard is just slightly too large to fit.

The small Snap Journal fits Field Notes-sized pocket notebooks (see the Calepino peeking out).

Takeaways

I'm impressed. Portland Leather Goods makes excellent leather journals at a reasonable price. It all comes down to whether the style fits your personal preference. Many thanks to the folks at Portland Leather for sending over these gorgeous notebooks and journals to try.

You can purchase directly from Portland Leather on their website. Pricing is extremely reasonable given the quality of the craftsmanship. The small journal starts at $28, the medium at $38, and a large (9*6) at $48.

Disclaimer: I was sent these products free of charge for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review. All views expressed herein are my own.

The Slice Planner's "Clockface" diagram provides a visual representation of how you spend your time each day.

The Slice Planner (on Kickstarter Now!)

October 26, 2016

Kickstarters upon Kickstarters, that seems to be the theme for this month! Out of all the projects that I've had the opportunity to review, however, the Slice Planner has been the first where I've seen the project and thought, "I have a clear use case for that and I can't find it anywhere else on the market."

The Slice Planner claims to be "built around [the] core concept of easy synchronization between your paper notebooks and all your digital calendars, whether you use Outlook, Google, or Apple." It looks to accomplish this by combining a high-quality notebook with an app that makes it easy to scan handwritten entries into your digital calendar. Other companies have attempted similar "digital notebooks" in the past, with middling success. The most well known has been Moleskine, which sells an Evernote-integrated notebook and a "smart writing" pen/notebook set, which appears to have since been integrated on some level with the Livescribe 3 Smartpen. Slice Planner looks to take this idea a step further by offering reliable calendar integration.

So why does this project interest me? Recently, I've been looking for a notebook which can serve as a kind of "work journal," keeping track of how much time I spend on the various projects I have going on at any given time (including both the day job and the blog). The Slice Planner struck me as a good candidate. More than one week in, I'm very happy with how things have worked out, and can see myself using this notebook in this role going forward, regardless of how the app turns out.

The Notebook and "Clockface"

Photo courtesy of Slice Planner. This shows both the clothbound and leather versions, and also provides a fairly good indication of the size (approximately A5).

Before I even get into any of the "techy" features, or how the Slice Planner fares with its stated goal of "bridging the physical and digital divide," I want to say this: the Slice Planner is a great notebook, and the notebook itself is enough for me to back this Kickstarter, even if I never end up using the bundled app.

The notebook measures 5.5 x 8 inches, is clothbound, and contains two ribbon bookmarks and the omnipresent elastic strap to hold the book closed. The book itself seems very well made, and has held up well to my daily use. It's ever-so-slightly larger than a Baron Fig Confidant, but sports a similar cloth binding and lay-flat design.

The Slice Planner compared against the Baron Fig Confidant (top). The Slice Planner is slightly larger than the Confidant.

The inside of the Slice Planner features an undated, two-page-per-day layout. I love undated planners and notebooks, which avoid wasting paper on days when there isn't much to "plan" (such as days off, vacations, holidays, etc.). The left-hand page contains a "clockface" diagram which tracks 12 consecutive hours of time. You determine where on the diagram you want your day to "begin", and go from there. The right-hand page contains blank dot-grid paper for notes, diagrams, drawings, whatever.

Many people have noted the visual similarity to the Chronodex, by Patrick Ng. While the Slice Planner certainly borrows from the Chronodex, in the sense that both use the "clock face" circular layout, it's not an exact copy. For one thing, the Slice Planner tracks only 12 hours of time, whereas the Chronodex is designed to track up to 18. The folks at Slice Planner explain this based on a survey showing that, on average, most people do not plan more than 9.5 hours a day. Personally, I find the simplified Slice Planner diagram easier to use than the Chronodex, which never stuck with me. Since I don't use the Slice Planner as my primary calendar, the 12-hour limitation isn't an issue for me.

Yes, the Paper Is Reasonably Fountain Pen Friendly

Per the Kickstarter project page, the notebook contains "224 pages of acid-free premium Swedish paper for sketching and writing." I'll go ahead and get this out of the way first, because I know it's what everyone wants to know: Yes, it works fine with fountain pens. I experienced no bleed-through using any fountain pen I tried, which were limited to extra-fine, fine, and medium nibs. The only pen I used that exhibited some bleed-through/show-through was the Baron Fig Squire rollerball refill (which is the same as the Schmidt rollerball refill that ships with Retro 51 pens). Lamy Copper-Orange ink didn't work great (feathered a bit), but the the flip side of the page was still usable. I never tried to push this paper with especially wet nibs, but I imagine that you might see some feathering and bleeding with double broad nibs and stubs.

Testing various inks in my Slice Planner. You can see some show through from the following day, but no actual bleed.

Some have compared the paper to Baron Fig, but it reminds me more of Fabriano paper. The two are similar, but I've found Fabriano to be slightly more fountain pen friendly.

The App

And, finally, we get to the digital-analog integration aspect of this project. The project page makes it pretty clear that the Slice Planner app is NOT intended to replace your regular digital calendar, but rather to complement it by providing users with extra flexibility and making it more convenient to import things like appointments and notes into your phone or tablet.

The build of the Slice Planner app that was made available to me had limited functionality, but if it works as promised, I could see how I would use it occasionally. My day is often hyperscheduled with conference calls, appointments, hearings, etc., and needs to be broken down into time increments smaller than what I suspect the Slice Planner would be able to handle. I do plan to give the fully functional app a chance once it is released, and I'm excited to test the accuracy of the handwriting recognition feature.

That said, I'm not entirely convinced that opening a third-party app, waiting for it to access the camera, scanning in the information, correcting any handwriting recognition errors, and verifying that the entry is correctly reflected in your calendar app of choice ends up being more efficient than simply opening Fantastical or Omnifocus (two absolutely awesome apps that I use to manage my life) and entering an appointment/task manually or via Siri or Google Assistant. I'm pretty quick with my phone. That said, I'm excited to see developers and companies acknowledging that people still use paper planners and notebooks, and trying very hard to come up with thoughtful ways to accommodate these preferences. The Slice Planner app/calendaring system may end up working very well for some people; given my specific needs, it will require a lot more testing before I know whether it's something I can incorporate into the rotation.

Should You Back It?

UPDATE: The Slice Planner was a successful Kickstarter, and is now available for purchase via Amazon.

I backed the Slice Planner immediately, simply because I want two more of these notebooks. As discussed above, I probably won't use this as a classic planner, but more as a journal/notebook for tracking time management and work progress. While the App could be a nice bonus, it's not what's driving my decision to support this project.

You can back the Slice Planner by visiting their Kickstarter project page. The project is almost fully funded with 30 days to go, and rewards are still available for December delivery. Clothbound and leatherbound notebooks are available; the leatherbound notebooks accept a refill which Slice Planner will be selling aftermarket.

Disclaimer: I was provided with a prototype Slice Planner for review purposes, free of charge. I was not otherwise compensated in any way for this review, and the funds that I used to back the project are my own. This post contains affiliate links.

My morning companions: Calepino Graph Paper Notebook and a Calepino Pencil (and Coffee).

Notebook Review: Calepino Pocket Notebooks (Graph Paper)

October 15, 2016

I've made no secret in the past about my love for France and French stationery products. I spent a year studying at the Sciences-Po Strasbourg during college, and it's where I first discovered fountain pens and fine paper (especially my personal favorite, the Clairefontaine French-ruled). I enjoy French paper because, regardless of price point, it typically handles fountain pen ink fairly well. I lived there in the early 2000s, and even then I would say the majority of the students in my class wrote with a fountain pen (though sadly it’s probably less now). But back to Calepino.

The standard Calepino cardboard-covered notebook. Graph-ruled notebooks have green trim, blank notebooks blue, and lined notebooks red. The dot grid notebooks are a light gray cardboard with light green trim.

Calepino is a notebook company located in Nantes, France. According to the company website, the name is a play on “Calepin”, a French word meaning “small notebook,” which is itself derived from Ambrogio Calepino, a fifteenth century Italian scholar who devoted his life to making a multilingual dictionary.

The cover is just standard cardboard.  Nothing fancy here, though I appreciate the minimalist look. — The cover is just standard cardboard. Nothing fancy here, though I appreciate the minimalist look.

The first thing you’ll probably notice about Calepino notebooks is that the cover is made from a stiffer cardboard - much stiffer than books made by Field Notes and Write Notepads. I’d compare it more to the notebooks made by Doane Paper and Scout Books. To be honest, the cover is not my favorite aspect of this notebook, but apparently the cardboard was a key concept behind this design, as the notebook was inspired by a cardboard-covered notebook carried by the designer’s father.

A writing sample on the Calepino notebook paper with two fairly wet fountain pens: a Pilot Custom Heritage 92 with a FM nib and a Pelikan M205 with a wet fine cursive italic. Note the lack of feathering. — A writing sample on the Calepino notebook paper with two fairly wet fountain pens: a Pilot Custom Heritage 92 with a FM nib and a Pelikan M205 with a wet fine cursive italic. Note the lack of feathering.

The paper is the key selling point for the Calepino notebook. As a pocket notebook user who likes to use a mixture of fountain pens and pencils on a daily basis, I found it just heavy enough to handle most fine-to-medium nib fountain pens without much bleedthrough, and still tactile enough for pencils. Using a super-wet nib may still cause some “pinprick” bleeding, but you'd have to really push it in order to render the back side of the page unusable. I opted for the graph notebook, which contains bright white paper with a blue-green grid. Calepino also makes plain, lined, and dot grid versions of their notebooks.

No bleed-through on the back of the page, at least with these pens and inks! With broader nibs you sometimes get a bit of "pinprick" bleed-through but nothing that prevent you from using both sides of the page.

As a bit of a side note, Calepino also sells very nice, French-manufactured pencils. The one I have is a matte black pencil with a white eraser. The wood is not cedar, though it sharpens well and the graphite is dark, reminiscent of the Staedtler Norica. Calepino makes yellow and white versions too, so I may pick up a few more in the future,

Where to Buy

I purchased a pack of Calepinos during my last visit to C.W. Pencil Enterprise in New York City, and I will most likely pick up some more (in both graph and dot grid) during an upcoming work trip to NYC next month. Calepino notebooks are $10 for a pack of three, which is standard pocket notebook pricing. Calepino packages their notebooks in a small cardboard box, rather than the belly-band + shrink wrap that other notebook companies use. This makes it much more convenient to store your hoard!

Disclaimer: I purchased the products featured in this review with my own funds, for my own personal use. This post contains some affiliate links.

I've become a fan of the Write Notepads pocket notebooks, especially their latest Kindred Spirit limited edition.

Write Notepads Kindred Spirit Edition

August 17, 2016

I use a lot of pocket notebooks, and go through them fairly rapidly, so I'm always shuffling something in and out of the rotation. I started off using Field Notes many years ago when they were the only game in town, and even though the paper wasn't very fountain pen friendly, I stuck with it. One of my first reviews on this blog (and one of my personal favorites, if only for the sake of nostalgia) was my review of the original Kraft Paper Field Notes. Fast forward to 2016 (over two years later) and there are now a ridiculous number of new pocket notebooks on the market, ranging from the excellent to the gimmicky. Write Notepads, one of the newer entries to the market, are uniformly excellent.

Note: Most of this review is applicable to Write Notepads pocket notebooks in general, but the notebook pictured in this review, that I've been using for the past week or so, is one of the "Kindred Spirit" limited edition notebooks. More about the Write Notepads limited editions and subscription service towards the end.

For the first year-or so of the company's existence, Write Notepads focused on making their spiral-bound notebooks. Spiral bindings aren't really my preference, so I never pulled the trigger on ordering any. I took the opportunity to test the paper at the 2014(?) DC Pen Show, and came away a bit disappointed because I didn't feel that the full-size notebook handled fountain pen ink all that well. When they released their pocket notebooks, however, I went ahead and ordered a couple packs, because (1) paper weight and fountain pen-friendliness is far less important to me in a pocket notebook; and (2) the designs were more attractive to me than the increasingly offbeat Field Notes Colors editions.

Build and Writing Experience

For me, Write Notepads pocket notebooks offer a near-ideal pocket notebook writing experience. Chris Rothe, the founder, is a third-generation bookbinder from Baltimore, Maryland, and his experience as a bookbinder shines through in these products. One of the first things that you notice is the craftsmanship. Whether it be their standard spiral-bound notebooks or their perfect/glue-bound pocket notebooks, Write Notepad products are very well-made. These things aren't going to fall apart after a week of being carried in your pocket or your bag.

The glue-bound Write Notepads pocket notebook, with the Sostanza in the foreground. The paper in this notebook is excellent for pencil.

Initially, I was a little hesitant to use a notebook that wasn't staple bound, thinking that the glue binding would have trouble laying flat. While the notebook doesn't "lie flat" in the same way you can get a staple-bound Field Notes book to lie flat, it does well enough to allow me to comfortably write on both sides of each page, and I'll take the increased durability of the glue binding over a slight loss of flexibility.

Ruled paper isn't typically my favorite, but I do like the "boxes" in the left-hand margin, which makes this notebook good for bullet journal-style lists.

I find the paper to be a step-up from Field Notes. According to the company, this is 70 lb. paper "meticulously selected to perform the best for most writing instruments." I think that's a fairly accurate summary: this is some of the most well-rounded notebook paper I've used. It's excellent with pencils, ballpoints, and gel pens, and handles fine/extra-fine point felt-tip, liquid ink, and fountain pens pretty well. Occasionally, if I'm pressing down too hard, I'll see some pinpoint show-through and/or bleeding on the reverse of a page, but I've never been unable to use both sides of the paper (which is a key consideration for me). The cover stock is sturdy. The standard Write Notepads pocket notebooks sports a 100 lb. cover stock, while the Kindred Spirit limited edition features 80 lb. "butcher orange" cover stock. (Yes, THAT butcher orange.)

The notebooks are 64 pages (another bonus over the typical 48-page staple-bound pocket notebook), and the standard edition comes in lined, graph, and plain paper. The limited editions thus far have come in graph (Lenore) and lined (Kindred Spirit) paper.

The design of the Kindred Spirit Edition (including the packaging) was well-conceived and well-executed. I'm a barbecue guy, so the charcoal theme spoke to me.

A word about the limited editions: Write Notepads turned heads a bit when they first announced that they would be launching a quarterly subscription service, similar to Field Notes colors. There was even a little bit of annoyance expressed in places, and doubts about whether a second notebook subscription service could even be successful in an area where Field Notes supposedly dominates. I initially shared some of the doubts about whether it would be successful, but when I saw the inaugural Edgar Allen Poe-themed "Lenore" edition, I immediately became a fan. They've created a product that both tips the hat to the predecessor (butcher orange covers) while remaining distinctive enough to bring something new to the table.

Overall Impressions and Takeaways

These are high-quality notebooks, and Andy Welfle got it right: the Kindred Spirit edition is one of those products that just makes you smile and want to use it. And I've been using it a lot: I've not torn through a pocket notebook this quickly in a long time. I'll probably purchase a subscription this fall once the next quarterly edition launches, in order to grab some of the "extras" available to subscribers.

Where to Buy

I purchased most of my Write Notepads products directly from Write Notepads via their website. Unfortunately, the Kindred Spirit notebooks pictured here are now sold out.

UPDATE: As of March, 2020, I am an authorized retailer of Write Notepads, and stock a diverse selection of their products in my Curated Shop. Additionally, since this review was originally published, most Write Notepads paper has been upgraded to extremely fountain pen friendly paper stock.

Disclaimer: I purchased the notebooks featured in this review with my own funds for my own personal use. I was not compensated in any way for writing this post, though certain links contained in this post are affiliate links.