Everyday-Writers-Notebook-Slim-Softcover

The Best Paper for Everyday Writing, Part II: Top Five Slim Softcover Notebooks

April 4, 2020

The second category of paper that I’m going to discuss as part of my “Everyday Writing” series is probably the one that I use the least: slim softcover notebooks. It’s not that I don’t find these notebooks “bad” in any way, it’s just that they rarely meet my personal needs. I tend to be hard on notebooks, and often a soft cover - particularly those made from paper or card stock - will wear quickly, fall off and need to be reinforced with tape before I actually finish the notebook. I also generally prefer to use a single book for multiple projects, relying on an index or bookmarks to separate pages by subject matter. This is mainly a matter of convenience, since I don’t want to have to carry too much when I commute or travel. That said, many people who like to use individual notebooks for different projects swear by the slim softcover format, and I’m slowly coming around and beginning to incorporate them into my workflow, particularly for projects like logging household expenses and home improvements, where the notebook lives on a desk and not in my bag.

BaronFig Vanguard Softcover Notebook. At $12 for a pack of three, BaronFig’s Vanguard softcover notebook is one of the best buys out there if you like smaller, “single-subject” books. I enjoy BaronFig’s paper, and while it’s not the most fountain pen friendly option out there, it’s certainly good enough for my use case, especially at this price point. Baron Fig will also periodically release limited edition Vanguard notebooks, such as the current “New York City” softcover set.
Write Notepads Paper Notebook/Journal. The surprise hit from the Baltimore Pen Show, where I sold out of these Write Notepads notebooks/journals in a matter of hours. These lined notebooks contain the same premium fountain pen friendly paper found in Write Notepads’ larger spiral notebooks, and come in a wide array of cool colors with a design reminiscent of vintage books that you might have stolen from your parents’ office supply closet back in the day. I absolutely love Write Notepads’ paper, and they’re one of the only brands I currently carry in my curated shop. (They’re now restocked!)
Studio Neat Totebook. At a higher price point that the previous two options, Studio Neat’s Totebook sells in packs of 2 for $20, but offers a slightly more durable leatherette cover, 100gsm dot grid paper, and 8 perforated sheets at the back. If I were to choose a softcover notebook as a “daily carry”, it would likely be the Totebook simply due to durability. I also love that Studio Neat includes archival stickers that you can use to label the spine of your notebook when you’ve finished.
Life Noble Note A5 Sidebound. If you want both quantity (in terms of sheets in a notebook) and quality (in terms of premium paper), consider Life, a premium Japanese brand that makes some of the best notebooks around. At $20 per notebook, they’re expensive for a softcover, but you get 100 sheets of paper. The question, at least for me, is whether a softcover notebook will survive long enough for me to actually use all of this paper.
Midori MD Notebook Light. Midori is another exceptional Japanese paper brand that makes softcover “Light” notebooks in both A5 and slimmer B6 sizes. The great thing about these notebooks is that Midori makes PVC covers. I’ve not tried this, but I’ve heard you can fit two volumes of the “Light” notebooks into one cover. Midori paper is quite versatile and handles fountain pen ink well.

Both the Studio Neat Totebook and the BaronFig Vanguard are best described as “A5-ish”. They are both slightly smaller than a standard A5 notebook, whereas the Write Notepads Paper Journal is a closer match at 5.5” by 8.5”.

Takeaways and Final Thoughts

Though this particular format is not a personal favorite, that doesn’t mean it won’t meet your needs. If you best organize your thoughts and projects using separate notebooks for different topics, the slim softcover format is a highly cost effective way to do that, especially if you need more space than a pocket notebook can provide. As I mentioned above, if I had to pick one notebook from this list, I’d roll with the Studio Neat Totebook, if for no other reason than the increased durability offered by the leatherette cover.

The Studio Neat Totebook pleasantly surprised me, and I’m looking for a way to get this notebook into my workflow soon. I previously reviewed Studio Neat’s “Panobook” panoramic spiral notebook, and if they' ever decide to use the Totebook’s paper in… — The Studio Neat Totebook pleasantly surprised me, and I’m looking for a way to get this notebook into my workflow soon. I previously reviewed Studio Neat’s “Panobook” panoramic spiral notebook, and if they' ever decide to use the Totebook’s paper in that format, I’d buy a dozen immediately. I’m becoming a fan of the Panoramic notebook for computer work.

The Best Paper for Everday Writing, Part I: Best Hardcover Notebooks

April 1, 2020

I offered a seminar at last month’s Baltimore Pen Show titled “Everyday Writers: Choosing the Best Tools for Home and Office,” and I had planned to focus on pens and ink. What surprised me during the Q&A session at the end of the seminar was the extent to which everyone wanted to talk paper. This came as a pleasant surprise - while it can be more “fun” to go pen shopping, selecting the right paper and ink often makes the biggest difference in terms of how well a specific combination of tools will work in an everyday writing setup. We spent a solid twenty minutes discussing various paper options at different price points, and ever since I’ve been considering how best to frame my paper recommendations on the blog.

Different Categories of Paper for Different Purposes

You have to break paper recommendations down by format, and I don’t believe there can be a standard, generalized set of recommendations because different formats lend themselves to different use cases and needs. For example, the paper in your legal pad or desk pad probably doesn’t need to be as high quality (or expensive) as the paper in a hardcover or spiral notebook where you’ll likely need to write on both sides of the page. Today, I plan to start by discussing what I call “bound hardcover notebooks,” sometimes casually referred to as “Moleskine replacements.” There’s a reason that Moleskine notebooks took off in the early 2000s: the brand managed to package a vintage-inspired, nostalgia-driven look into a convenient form factor. While the paper was never the greatest quality, writers, journalers, and office professionals all loved the combination of a relatively durable hardcover, elastic closure, and catch-all envelope that let you carry your thoughts and ideas with you anywhere you went.

From left, the Endless Recorder, the Lamy A5 Hardcover Notebook, and the Baron Fig Confidant “Work/Play III” Limited Edition.

Today, of course, multiple companies have built on the “Moleskine” concept, and consumers have such a wide array of options that it’s begun to get confusing. My goal here is to narrow this category down to five solid recommendations for versatile hardcover notebooks that offer a balanced combination of durable construction, quality paper, and a reasonable price point.

My Five Favorite Hardcover Notebooks

Endless Recorder. The most fountain-pen friendly notebook on this list contains 192 pages of 68gsm Tomoe River paper, which not only will handle essentially any fountain pen ink you can throw at it, but has slightly more texture than the lighter-weight 52gsm version. From a functionality perspective, I love that Endless includes 16 perforated sheets at the back of the book, and if they ever made a version in which all pages were perforated, I’m not sure that I’d use anything else. I’ve been using the Endless Recorder as my work notebook for the past several months, and the green leatherette cover has held up remarkably well despite being subjected to rough handling and transport in various bags, backpacks, and suitcases. The combination of paper and price point makes the Endless Recorder hard to beat. Read my review here.
Leuchtturm 1917. The “better classic Moleskine.” If you enjoy Moleskine’s visual aesthetic - especially in all black - and simply want a basic notebook with better paper, Leuchtturm offers just that at under $20. For a while, Leuchtturm notebooks were becoming as ubiquitous as Moleskines, and you might see them at local brick and mortar book and art supply stores. Lately, however, they’ve become more difficult to find, even at pen stores, presumably due to increased competition in this segment that’s left retailers reluctant to stock up due to slower-moving inventory. Read my review here.
Lamy Hardcover Notebook. Lamy recently released their own series of hardcover notebooks, and the version pictured here contains 192 pages of 90gsm paper, which performs similarly to, if not slightly better than, the paper in Leuchtturm and Baron Fig notebooks. What I’m really enjoying about this Lamy notebook is the ruling: Lamy has developed their own version of the “grid plus lines” ruling first made famous by brands such as Doane Paper, only this time in a more fountain-pen friendly notebook.
Rhodia Webnotebook. The Rhodia “Webbie” has served as many people’s standby notebook for years, though it only comes in two colors (black and orange). If you enjoy Rhodia’s smooth paper in pad or spiral-bound form, there’s no reason you need to change. The Webbie’s leatherette cover also has a soft texture with a pleasant feel, if that’s your thing.
Baron Fig Confidant. Don’t read anything into Baron Fig’s placement in the fifth slot on this list. My Confidant notebooks are one of the most-used stationery products in my rotation. Some people report inconsistencies with Baron Fig’s paper, especially when using extremely broad or wet fountain pens, but to me this paper offers one of the most enjoyable writing experiences out there for pencils, and it works just fine with fine or medium nib fountain pens. Baron Fig’s paper has a tactile feel to it that’s difficult to describe, and it performs well enough that I have no trouble using it for nearly any purpose. Note that the Confidant is the one book on this list that does NOT have an elastic closure, if that’s important to you. Read my review here.

Lamy’s latest notebook might rapidly move up my recommendations list if I continue to enjoy this ruling as much as I have recently. I appreciate the versatility in terms of being able to write large (on the lines) or small (in the grid), depending o… — Lamy’s latest notebook might rapidly move up my recommendations list if I continue to enjoy this ruling as much as I have recently. I appreciate the versatility in terms of being able to write large (on the lines) or small (in the grid), depending on what exactly I need to do at the moment.

Also, if you’re tired of boring black, Lamy’s shiny covers and, yes, love of neon green, offers some variety.

Takeaways and Final Thoughts

I go through about 3-4 hardbound notebooks a year at work, and always have another two or three devoted to specific projects, so this is one area of my tool kit where it’s important for me to get things right. All things considered, the Endless Recorder is my current top choice for a general purpose, “workhorse” notebook. It contains top-notch 68gsm Tomoe River paper that works well with a range of writing instruments from fountain pens to pencils, and can be found for less than $20 (which I would typically consider a steal for a Tomoe River notebook). In general, price is less of an issue with bound notebooks than it used to be. Increased competition in this market segment has driven most brands below the $25 price point, and you can take advantage of periodic sales and coupon codes to stock up when you run low.

Notebook Review: Oxford USA Hardcover Journal

December 18, 2019

Those of you who spent your youth (and let’s be honest, still spend their adulthood) stalking the aisles of stationery stores will probably be familiar with Oxford, a brand with a reputation for making high-quality stationery that’s attractively priced and widely available. A representative for Oxford’s parent company reached out several weeks ago to ask whether I’d be interested in reviewing their new hardcover notebook/journal. Oxford has partnered with Monadnock, one of the oldest family owned and operated paper mills in the U.S. According to the contact who sent me the journal, this book is entirely sourced, printed, and bound in the U.S.A.

Since this journal is bound like a regular hardcover book, it won’t lay flat, but it’s sturdy and will last for quite some time.

The Oxford USA Journal contains 192 pages of the aforementioned Monadnock paper, in a Smyth-sewn binding with a charcoal grey, hardback linen cover embossed with an American flag logo. It has a sturdy, well-made feel to it, and the super-picky among us will be glad to know that the end of the ribbon bookmark appears to be heat-fused to reduce fraying. It’s a tastefully designed notebook/journal that I would have no problem carrying anywhere, including at work.

A bit more background information is included inside the back cover.

But of course, as with any higher-end notebook, what everyone wants to know about is how the paper performs with various inks and fountain pen nibs. The answer: Surprisingly well, and better than expected. I tested the paper with a Retro 51 rollerball (.7mm Schmidt refill), a Lamy 2000 EF nib, and a Sailor fine nib, and while there was some show-through with very minor bleed-through, I could still use both sides of a page. A wet Graf von Faber-Castell medium nib pushed the paper a bit too far, and feathering/bleed-through became an issue. If I had to make a comparison, I would equate the performance to the heavier-grade paper used in certain Field Notes editions like “Lunacy” or “America the Beautiful.”

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Oxford apparently shares common ownership with TOPS stationery (maker of the famed “Double Docket” legal pad), which makes me hopeful that this notebook will receive a wide release. If this journal were to appear at Staples, Target, etc., I’d venture that it would do really well. The cover feels solid and the paper will meet the needs of the overwhelming majority of people. I do wish the ruling were slightly narrower and not quite as dark, but that’s a personal preference.

Currently the only place I’ve been able to locate these notebooks for sale is Amazon, and even there they appear to be sold through third-party office supply wholesalers. Priced at just under $20 (shipping included), this seems reasonable for a quality hardbound notebook. I plan to keep my eye out for this notebook in stores in the coming year. Curiously, these books are not yet featured on the TOPS website, which leads me to believe that they have not yet officially launched. Many thanks to Oxford for sending me this product and making this review possible!

Disclaimer: Oxford USA sent me this journal for review purposes, free of charge. This post contains affiliate links.

Notebook Review: Filofax Notebook and Clipbook

December 11, 2019

Last week I reviewed some new products from Letts of London, and in that same shipment I received a couple of samples from Filofax, Letts’ sibling brand. I’ve been a regular Filofax user over the years - their A5 organizer was my go-to organization system through college, law school, and for the first few years of work after graduation. I fell away from the Filofax as most of my professional calendaring went digital, and my binder-style paper planner was replaced by books like the Hobonichi Techo, which I would use more as a journal.

Filofax Notebook in “Architexture” cover, A5 size.

Presumably sending shifting trends, Filofax has evolved as a company over the past decade. In addition to their classic organizers, they have launched a series of notebooks that not only feature extremely high-quality paper but are flexible in how you can use them. Taking a cue from disc-bound notebook systems such as Levenger Circa or Staples Arc, the Filofax notebooks feature “movable” pages that can be rearranged within a sturdy wire binding. The 100gsm paper feels and performs similar to Rhodia, and is available in blank, dot grid, lined, and graph rulings. The key selling point of this notebook system is its flexibility over the traditional Filofax organizer: you can certainly use it as a dated planner if you want (Filofax sells “Diary” refills), but I would envision using the included dividers as a way to organize research notes for a work project or a longer piece of writing. Since the notebook is a standard A5 size, you can use Filofax’s proprietary punch to clip in notes from your own A5 notepad. (Other sizes are available, though you’ll have to purchase A4 from Europe as it appears the U.S. store doesn’t carry it.)

For those who prefer the traditional Filofax six-ring binding, Filofax also sells the “Clipbook,” a similar product with a flexible structure but only 80gsm paper, which won’t work as well for my own personal use. While liquid ink pens such as fountain pens and rollerballs work ok, you will see some minor bleedthrough and feathering. That said, if you already have a Filofax Organizer and the “punch” accessory, you know that you can create your own paper refills using whatever paper you prefer.

Filofax Clipbook in A5. While some people might be sold on the ringed-binder system, I definitely prefer the more streamlined look of the Notebook.

The Clipbook binding will look familiar to devoted Filofax users.

While I found the 100gsm Filofax Notebook paper superb, the standard 80gsm paper in the Clipbook does not hold up as well to fountain pens.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Of these two products, the Notebook is the clear winner for me. The 100gsm paper handles fountain pen ink quite well, and Filofax’s “movable” page system is more convenient than disc-bound notebooks, since the Filofax binding covers the back of the binding and you don’t have the discs sticking out and at risk of coming loose in your bag. Though the Filofax Notebook does not allow you to upgrade the size of the notebook by substituting in a higher-capacity binding, in my experience these sort of moveable-page notebooks become unwieldy to the point of being unusable once you pass a certain point. (It becomes nearly impossible to flip through the notebook without pages falling out.) Thus, I don’t feel that I would be losing anything by moving to the Filofax Notebooks over a Circa or an Arc, which do let you substitute in bigger discs if you need them to hold more paper.

Filofax Notebooks are available in A4, A5, Executive, Letter, and Pocket sizes, ranging from roughly $14-26, depending on size and design. The “Architexture” A5 Notebook pictured here is priced at $23.95 and comes with 56 sheets of ruled paper, four dividers and a ruler included. The Clipbook is more expensive, with the A5 version shown here priced at $29.99 and larger sizes priced at $49.99 or more. All products can be purchased directly from Filofax. For whatever reason, the 100gsm Notebook paper is less expensive than the 80gsm paper sold for the Clipbook: A5 notebook refills cost $4.99 for 32 sheets, whereas the A5 Clipbook refill costs $5.39 for 30 sheets. If you’re planning to invest in this system for the long run, however, by far the most economical choice would be to purchase a Filofax notebook punch and make your own refills.

Disclaimer: Filofax sent me the two notebooks featured in this review free of charge, for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review. Many thanks to Filofax for making this review possible.

Notebook Review: Updated Notebooks from Letts of London

December 4, 2019

I have a penchant for classic stationery design. On the notebook front, any sort of leather or hard-bound notebook with gilded pages immediately gets my attention, and if the notebook is fountain pen friendly it’s a no-brainer. Letts of London - a UK stationery brand that is now under the same ownership as Filofax - has always appealed to me from a design standpoint but the lack of US availability and a reputation for simply being “ok” for fountain pens kept them off my radar.

Recently, that has changed. Letts was kind enough to reach out and send me two of their larger A5 notebooks featuring excellent 90gsm paper. This upgraded paper, available in Letts’ “Legacy” and “Icon” notebook lines, performed flawlessly, with zero bleedthrough or feathering (even with a stub nib) and good dry time. The only drawback, for some, will be that the notebooks are lined, though the ruling is narrow enough for my tendency to write small.

Letts also sent me a handful of other notebooks: a travel journal that uses the same 90gsm paper as the Legacy, and two pocket notebooks (standard and travel) which use a 3x6-ish “long and slim” format similar to the Kunisawa Find notebook that I’ve been using as my preferred pocket notebooks for the past year or so. The Letts pocket notebooks (both Legacy and Travel) only use 45gsm and 70gsm paper, respectively, so I have no expectations that fountain pens will perform perfectly, but that’s not something I necessarily look for in a pocket notebook, and in any event each comes with a slim ballpoint pen concealed in the spine of the notebook. Not only is this a clever touch from a design standpoint, but the ballpoint refill writes extremely well, and you can purchase refills directly from Letts.

I love the cream-colored paper in the Letts Legacy notebooks. You get 230+ pages, even in the pocket notebooks.

Takeaways and Where to Buy

I’ve always admired the classic (and classy!) design of Letts notebooks, though I’d previously heard that their paper didn’t always play well with fountain pens. Now that Letts has introduced versions of their larger notebooks containing the heavier 90gsm paper, that’s no longer the case. The good thing about Letts, and to a lesser extent their sibling brand Filofax, is their notebooks’ relatively widespread availability at brick-and-mortar retail. I hope to see that expand in the future, especially here in the U.S.

You can purchase all of the notebooks featured in this review directly from the Letts website. The pricing is reasonable given how much paper you get, with both the larger and pocket “Legacy” notebooks running $24.99. The travel journals are priced at $16.99 for the larger notebook and $22.99 for the pocket. The price on both pocket notebooks could be a bit lower, in my opinion, given the lesser paper weight, but I assume the price also accounts for the included pen. I will reiterate that currently only the “Legacy” and “Icon” A5 notebooks feature the 90gsm fountain-pen friendly paper, while the other products contain paper ranging from 45gsm to 80gsm. Be sure to check the specifications before submitting your order, if the heaviest-grade paper is important to you.

Disclaimer: Letts sent me the notebooks featured in this review free of charge, for review purposes. I was not otherwise compensated for this review.

Takeaways and Final Thoughts

Further Reading

Different Categories of Paper for Different Purposes

My Five Favorite Hardcover Notebooks

Takeaways and Final Thoughts

Further Reading

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Takeaways and Where to Buy

Takeaways and Where to Buy

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