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In the vast pantheon of products I love but I have yet to review, the Apica Premium C.D. A5 Hardcover Notebook is one of the best. The paper is top-notch for any pen or pencil, and the overall build quality is excellent. The only kicker is the cost, but I feel it has more than lived up to the price tag.
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(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.)
I love when a notebook cover turns a simple book into a whole system, with added handiness and productivity potential. Apica makes some fantastic notebooks, and it's nice to have a cover like the CD Notebook Wear Cover that will keep them safe while adding a few useful frills.
This notebook cover says that it's made from Italian faux leather. I'm not sure how fake Italian leather is different from fake any-other-kind-of leather, but it doesn't mimic leather very well. It feels like a rubbery vinyl. And that's okay, little notebook cover. You don't have to pretend. You be you. I'm unsure whether the materials in the cover qualify it to be vegan. It is very durable, and doesn't show much wear, despite being dragged around for a few weeks. There are a few dents, but no scuffs or scratches. I personally prefer cloth or canvas covers, but this is a nice, affordable leather alternative. It's also easier to keep clean than leather or canvas, so it will likely look better longer.
The front is embossed with the Apica notebook cover design. I think it looks quite classy. Inside, it's similar to other notebook covers. An A5 notebook can slide into each sleeve, or a notebook can go in one and a notepad in the other. If you put a notepad in, you won't be able to use the back flap as a folder, though. It can also hold one larger A5 notebook. I tried a Leuchtturm 1917 hardcover in this one and it fit just fine, though the brand mixing made me twitch a little. There are two ribbon bookmarks, which is a nice touch. Inside the front cover is a business card slot, but it's large enough to hold a small stack of 3x5 cards. Possibly also large enough for a business card to slip right through, I'd think. On the back, inside cover, there's a pen loop. It's a fairly decent size, though some bigger pens may not fit. I did find that the placement of the pen loop caused it to get in the way of the notebook a little. I don't know if more use might train it to behave better or not, but it was a minor annoyance.
The notebook it comes with is a standard Apica CD A5 notebook, and it's very nice. The paper doesn't feel overly thick or coated, but it held up to everything I threw at it, including my very wet, flexy Pilot FA nib. There was no bleedthrough and almost no showthrough.
The listing for this product says it also comes with a pencil board or writing guard to place between pages, but there wasn't one in the sample I received, so I can't speak to its usefulness.
I think this cover would be excellent for meetings or class notes. The one bummer is that they're only available in navy, red, and brown. I'd love to see some fun, bright colors. I'd have loved these as a college student--they're compact enough that I could fit a day's worth of class notes into a reasonably sized bag, and have everything I'd need handy. The fact that they can hold larger notebooks as well makes them nicely practical for other uses, like journaling or writing blog posts about stationery.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
In the never-ending quest to find the perfect notebook for every situation, I recently came across the Apica Blank Cover Twin Ring Notebooks.
Premium notebooks are plentiful and definitely have their place. The major downside (for me, at least) is that I feel like I have to fill them with award-winning thoughts since they cost so much. While this is completely my own irrational problem, it's still real to me. So, that's why inexpensive "beater" notebooks that take fountain pens well are so enticing.
The Apica notebooks are the perfect solution to my self-inflicted problem, and I'm sure they meet the needs and desires of a lot of other people as well. In the slim-B5 market, they are my equivalent to Field Notes. At $4.35 for a 30-sheet fountain-pen-friendly notebook, it's hard to argue with.
The outside of the notebook is a plain, light-weight, craft card-stock. It's not heavy duty, so don't expect it to hold up any better than your Field Notes covers. Part of the allure of a blank cover is the ability to decorate it in any way you see fit. The only thing on the cover is a small sticker on the back of the notebook. And, if that sticker bothers you, it's simple to remove without damaging the card-stock underneath. The interiors of the covers are also blank. Really, the description of this product is quite apt.
The thickness of the notebook is thinner than I expected based on other Apica notebooks I've purchased with the same number of sheets. Still, the paper doesn't feel thin or cheap. I think most of the thinness can be attributed to the thin cover materials.
The twin ring binding is fantastic on these books. It's strong, sturdy, and come in a variety of colors. While we're talking about colors and variety, I'll also mention that the books come in graph, blank, and lined varieties. The graph books have white binding, the blank books have black binding, and the lined books are available with blue, green, red, or yellow binding. Plenty of choices, all for $4.35.
Finally, the size is one of my favorites — slim B5. It's tall and slender, which is perfect for me when writing.
I was surprised by the quality of the paper in relation to the price, which is a good thing.
The paper is very smooth with every pen I've tried. It's a pleasure to write on, just like other Apica papers I've tried. The paper is 70 gsm weight, which is barely good enough for fountain pens. I say barely, but it actually handled everything I tried with flying colors. Each paper is different, and I've used other 70 gsm papers that didn't perform as well as this one.
Feathering was almost non-existent, show-through was impressively low, and dry time was pretty quick. The version I have is lined, and they're spaced 6.5 mm apart in a light blue ink. The pages are not perforated, which is something I appreciate; although, this might deter some buyers based on their preferences for tearing out sheets as needed.
In my experience, anything up to a medium nib and standard ink will do fine with this paper. Anything above that or an exceptionally wet ink might cause some problems, but I think they would be minimal. Overall, I'm really impressed by the paper for the price of the notebook. I'd wager they cut costs on the covers in order to use higher quality paper.
It's plain, has no frills, but is inexpensive and works really well with most fountain pens. This is a great notebook for classes, general writing, brainstorming, etc. in situations where you don't want to use a more expensive notebook. If a low-key, budget-friendly, fountain-pen-friendly notebook sounds enticing to you, I can't recommend the Apica Blank Cover Twin Ring enough.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
