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.