Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Traveler's Company Traveler's Notebook Unboxing and Setup

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

When you're planning a trip and writing your packing list, do you create a whole category for stationery? Of course you do; you're here. I love thinking about what pens and journals I'll need (or want) on my trips. One of the things I've wanted to do for a while is road-test a Traveler's Notebook from Traveler's Company. I mean, it's right there in the name! And this year seemed like the year to do it, as I have a lot of traveling planned. Mostly short business trips, but there will be planes, trains, boats, and buses, cars, and hotels, and couch surfing. And the Chicago Pen Show, of course. I did some research and planned a TN setup that I think will work for my adventures.

I got everything I needed from JetPens (some sent for review, some I bought to add a few accessories), and I'll be reviewing the components individually, but this post focuses on how I decided to set things up.

First, I opted for the Passport size, since I like to one-bag travel, and space is a premium. I want to use this notebook according to their old "all in one place" motto, so I intend to use it as my planner, wallet, and commonplace book. So, I got a Monthly Planner insert (which is all I'll need once school is over in May!), the zipper pouch/wallet, the kraft folder, a lightweight paper insert, a writing board, a pen holder, the adhesive pockets, and the brass notebook clip. I also got the sheet of double-sided adhesive so I can use it to put bits of travel memorabilia in the notebook.

I want the zipper part in the front of the book (so that I'm not writing on the lump of the zip), and the card slots in the back (to keep them extra safe). I want the monthly planner in front of the commonplace book, since they'll work together (events in the planner, task lists in the notebook). I connected the planner to the notebook with the extra elastic that came in the starter kit and put that pair through the notebook band, then put the zip-wallet behind them, and the folder in the middle. I put the writing board in the folder (along with some essential stickers), the adhesive pockets on the outside of the folder (for business cards), and I'm using the brass clip to hold the folder closed. I started with the pen clip on the back of the notebook, but it was annoying me, so I moved it to the folder as well, so that it holds the pen in a more central spot. I also swapped the black elastic out for the striking red one, and put the adhesive card slot on the inside of the front cover (for my ID). I still need to find a charm or bead for the elastic closure, but I figure that's something I'll find on my travels.

This is the setup I'm thinking and hoping will work for me! I haven't truly started testing it yet. I'm still using my main Midori planner for at least a few more weeks, while school is at its most intense. But using the Traveler's Notebook as a wallet setup for the past few weeks has been very successful. It's not too big or fiddly, it keeps everything safely contained, and I feel like I have everything I need right in my hand.

This notebook kit has so much personality. Maybe it's the act of constructing its layout and combining all the components, but I feel a bit like I've assembled a travel buddy, or like a bit of my own character got caught up in the elastics. You can't assemble a system so personal and not put a bit of yourself into it, I guess. Like Victor Frankenstein, but less messy. Or just as messy, you do you.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on February 16, 2023 by Sarah Read and filed under Traveler's Notebook, Notebook Reviews.

Bindewerk Linen Flex-Cover Notebook Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

If there's one thing I can never have enough of, it's A5 notebooks. Lucky for me, that particular size is easy to find in just about any paper quality, cover style, and binding style I could ever want. The A5 size just feels right in most situations, and I think it's great to always have one nearby.

The Bindewerk Linen Flex-Cover Notebook is the latest A5 notebook I've tried, and I'm really impressed with the quality that this hand-bound notebook packs inside.

Bindewerk is a small German company that produces stationery goods. This particular notebook features a soft linen cover that flexes easily like a poly cover on a spiral notebook. The linen is soft to the touch but still has a really great texture that makes it easy to handle. The notebook has rounded corners and zero branding on the exterior. The only branding is at the bottom of the inside back cover, which features a simple Bindewerk logo and "Handmade in Germany" in gray ink.

The notebook is perfect bound, and the stitching/binding feels tight and well-done. It can take some time to break in the binding so that the notebook lays flat without something to weigh it down, but once you've written a few pages of notes, it feels like an old worn notebook that goes with you everywhere. Unlike a lot of other A5 notebooks, this one does not have an elastic closure band or any bookmark tassels. It's minimal, and I love it.

The notebook I have features the grey linen fabric, but there are over a dozen other color options available. Regardless of the color you choose, you get the same linen fabric that I've really come to appreciate in this notebook.

The interior of the notebook is as simple and sparse as the exterior. There are no extra pages for titles and content lists — just 192 pages (96 sheets) of premium paper for you to work with. The pages aren't numbered, and there isn't any additional legends outside of the lines or grids (as in, there aren't any special date or title fields at the top). In my case, I have lined paper in this notebook, but you can also find this with blank or dot grid pages.

The paper is a light cream color and is 90gsm. I've had a lot of notebooks that claimed to be 90gsm that couldn't compete with 80gsm paper, so I've learned to take that number with a grain of salt. In the case of this Bindewerk notebook, the paper is absolutely fantastic. Bindewerk imports the paper from Italy to make their notebooks, and their paper choice is stellar. This paper is smooth, supple, and has a nice amount of feedback when writing. It handles fountain pen inks with aplomb and has almost zero show through on the back side of the page — even with dark, wet inks! I was really impressed by how well this paper behaved.

I've really enjoyed having this notebook on my desk over the past weeks. You can never judge a notebook by its unassuming A5 cover, but in the case of this Bindewerk Linen Flex notebook, it's something I highly recommend trying. At about $25, it's a good price. It's a few bucks more than some of the other large brands, but the price tag is worth the exceptional quality in my mind.

(Orange Art, the US distributor for Bindewerk, provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on February 8, 2023 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Bindewerk, Notebook Reviews.

Plotter Narrow Notebook Review

Putting in research time to find the perfect stationery product is worth it-especially when the product is expensive. Decide how you will use it, pick out the best option, budget accordingly, buy it, and GREAT SUCCESS!

I love it when a plan comes together, right up until it doesn’t.

That was the experience with my original A5 Plotter. The Orange Shrink leather, the brass binding, the perfect page and insert setup-I was thrilled with the entire thing. But the setup, as a whole, didn’t end up working for how I work. No matter how independently great a product is, if it doesn’t work for you, it is time to move on.

That I stuck with the A5 size Plotter is a testament to how much I like the idea of it. I thought through how I use it, and why it didn’t work for me in the end. The main issue was the standard pages, and not using them enough. If it were my one and only work notebook, it would be ideal, but given the fact I use 2-3 different notebooks during my work week, I never settled in with forgoing my standard, bound, hard cover A5 journal. The Plotter task pages and calendars were great, but there wasn’t enough there to keep me in it full time.

Given all that, I thought about what would work for me. Portability was at the top of my list. A5 notebooks are portable, of course, but my work isn’t mobile. I don’t need to pack my stuff and commute, or bounce around an office from meeting to meeting. My A5 stays at my desk, but I do work in different areas in and around the house, and want to have a smaller notebook tagging along.

Plotter Narrow A5 Comparison — *The Plotter Narrow on top of a traditionally-sized A5 notebook.*

Last summer, around the time I was thinking about all of this, I had started to realize I wanted to change out of the A5 Hobonichi Cousin as my planner for 2023. It worked well for me for the first seven months of the year, but by August, it was clear that one page per day was about 3/4 of a page too much.

How can I swap into something more portable, with efficient planner pages, room for notes and tasks, is high-quality, and can be fun to use?

Enter the Plotter Narrow.

I’ll admit that this was a bit of a risky move. Choosing the A5 size seemed low-risk at the time, and you see how that worked out. The Narrow was a format that I hadn’t used in a while, but there were similar products-Traveler’s Notebooks, Ro-Biki Note, for example-that I like the idea of. Could the Narrow, and requisite internal setup, be the answer?

My Plotter Narrow Specs:

Exterior Material: Pueblo Leather

Size: H7" × W4.1"

Binder: 6-hole

Hardware color: Silver

I was able to have this setup put together for me at the San Francisco Pen Show in August, 2022, and it has been in use ever since. The size has been ideal, allowing me to use it at my desk, but also able to easily carry it around as needed, even sliding it in a pocket for a short time (not ideal due to the rigid hardware, admittedly, but I can make it work for a bit.)

Plotter Weekly Pages — *Two page per week layout.*

The internal setup has been ideal. When I first purchased it, I added in the 2mm Grid Sheets and To Do List Sheets to slowly work my way into the setup. After about a month of using it, and in conjunction with the decline in usage of my Hobonichi A5 Cousin, I added in the Monthly Schedule and Weekly Schedule refills to round out my planner needs.

To complete my build, I added in the Leather Ring Supporter for a more comfortable carry, the Leather Pen Holder Lifter and Band Lifter for section separation and added functionality, and capped it off with the Envelope Folder for loose-sheet storage in the back.

My setup is complete. Over $200 later, yes, but complete nonetheless.

The key was moving my planning back to a two page per week style. I’ve used this layout previously in an undated Traveler’s Notebook refill, and more recently in my William Hannah Planner. While the concept of a one page per day setup-as found in the Hobonichi Cousin-is great, it is not the most beneficial to me. Two page per week has proven to be ideal for how I work.

Plotter standard pages are perfect for notes …

Plotter Ink Log — *… and a Currently Inked log.*

Add in endless note options with the standard grid sheets, a spot for a running task list, and a broader annual calendar, I think I’m set. And it doesn’t hurt that I love how Plotter paper performs with any pen or pencil I throw at it.

Getting into the Plotter Narrow was a process. I had a false start with the A5 size, but it has found a new home. And the Narrow has found a home with me.

(I bought the Plotter Narrow from Plotter USA at regular retail price.)

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