Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

reNote Notebook Review

(This is a guest post by Garrett Kubat. You can find more from Garrett on Twitter @gazkubat.)

The reNote notebook is designed and made by Joshua Lepley of Intelligent Design Co.. I discovered these from a Kickstarter campaign that was used to allow for further acquisition of materials. I was drawn to these notebooks because they seem to be unique in that they are made out of repurposed materials.

In my case, one of the journal sized notebooks I have has a cover made from a soda carton, another pocket sized is made from a cereal box. This is something unique and I was also intrigued to learn that these notebooks were hand made by Joshua himself. There are elements of care and uniqueness in every one of these notebooks. They come in three sizes, a journal, a pocket and a wallet. I have found a use for the journal and the pocket but given that I almost always have a pocket notebook I don't have much use for a wallet.

I'll give a rundown of what I think is great about them, and what I could see being a problem for some people.

What is great about them:

Very fountain pen friendly paper! You'll see in the comparisons that it performs much better than the Field Notes and the Doane Utility journal, although the Rhodia pocket notebook does perform better. This might be a bit unfair given that some notebooks are not made for fountain pens, but I consider this a huge plus in favour of the reNote.
Each notebook is hand made. Very few things are handmade now. If you watch the Kickstarter video you can see the process that Joshua goes through for each notebook.
The materials are repurposed. This isn't something that I see very often and view it as a huge plus towards the notebooks.
They are durable. The covers are from cartons that are solid and have a rigidity to them that I find to be great when there is no hard surface to write on. One difference is that the "Vintage reNote Journal" has a cover made from something similar to card-stock and would note be as durable as the others.
The journals are unique. Every single one I have is different. The covers come from cartons ranging from soda to cereal to chicken nuggets to beer.

What could be a problem:

Some of the typeface remains on the paper that is used. This doesn't bother me because it is a good quality paper and for the most part the typeface is minimal. There are some sections where it does take up a fair amount of the page.
The pages are blank. Some people may prefer grid, lines, dots, grid and lines etc. My preference is always towards blank or grid so this again isn't a problem for me.
They aren't perfect. The pages often stick out from the cover when the notebook is closed. This varies by every notebook but it is never to such an extent that I would view them as unusable.

Testing:

I didn't do anything to extravagant here given that I do not have an overly wide range of pens to work with. That being said I decided to be extremely cruel and use the Kuretake Brush Pen I received with a bottle of Noodler's Baystate Blue to see how all the notebooks held up under immense ink flow from a very saturated ink. I would say that for the most part the reNote and the Rhodia notebooks held up fairly well.

How to get them:

The prices and options are as follows. For my most recent order I contacted Joshua from his website and place my order by email.

reNote (standard cover logo) - hand assembled, staple binding:

Journal - 5.5" X 8.5" - 20 pgs - 2 pk - $12

Pocket - 3.5" X 5.5" - 20 pgs - 2 pk - $6

Wallet - 2" X 3.25" - 10 pgs - 3 pk - $4.50

Vintage reNote (vintage cover logo) - hand assembled, hand saddle stitched binding:

Journal - 5.5" X 8.5" - 20 pgs - 2 pk - $16

Pocket - 3.5" X 5.5" - 20 pgs - 2 pk - $8

Wallet - 2" X 3.25" - 10 pgs - 3 pk - $6

Having talked to Joshua Lepley a few times by email I can say that he is an incredibly talented and creative person. The products that he makes and is associated with all have the elements of quality but also care and an interest in how they can be useful. I really do enjoy using these notebooks because of how well they perform with a fountain pen. They won't replace other notebooks that I use, but they have found their way into the rotation.

Posted on October 17, 2013 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Notebook Reviews, reNote.

Princeton Architectural Press Pocket Dept. Back Pocket Notebook Review

"Pocket Dept: A notebook for every pocket."

That is the tagline for a fresh line of notebooks designed and manufactured with recycled materials from Art House Co-op in Brooklyn. Being the fan of pocket notebooks that I am, I of course had to check them out when JetPens started stocking them.

As dedicated as I am to the standard 3-1/2" x 5-1/2" memo books I love trying out new notebooks, especially in non-standard sizes like the 4" x 4" Back Pocket Notebook. What looks like a stack of Post-its is actually a well put together, sturdy pocket notebook. In fact, I think it is too sturdy for back pocket carry. It doesn't have the flex of a 48-page Field Notes - it's more Costanza Wallet-feeling in my back pocket. Carry style aside, this is a nice notebook that I think works well in a backpack or purse.

The paper is standard all the way around, meaning it works well with most gel and ballpoint pens, while showing slight feathering and bleed with roller ball and fountain pen inks. Some work well, you just have to test them out to find the right fit. For example, my wider-nibbed fountain pens showed through to the back of the page. That is completely expected behavior.

One odd thing with the Pocket Dept notebook: It is made in China. There is nothing wrong with that inherently, but reading up on the product, looking at the design origination and the group involved in making it, it looks perfectly suited for a Made in the USA notebook. I assumed it was honestly. Not a big deal, but it made me say "hmmm".

If you are looking for something new to try and the 4" x 4" dimension fills a need, you will enjoy this notebook. For me, it isn't going to break into the regular rotation any time soon.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Posted on October 7, 2013 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Notebook Reviews.

Rhodia R Premium Notepad Review

It is well known that Rhodia is my favorite fountain pen friendly paper. I primarily use the Rhodia DotPad in the medium and large sizes, and they have proven to be very consistent and receptive to various inks as seen in my many fountain pen ink reviews.

The DotPad and other similar 80 g paper Rhodia products are the standard you find at stores and online, but they branched out into the premium paper market a couple of years ago with the Rhodia R Premium line. JetPens has started to stock this line and I got my hands on one to review.

Being as familiar with Rhodia's traditional offerings as I am, I noticed several differences immediately upon opening the package. First off, the cover has a different feel to it. Most Rhodia products have a glossy coated cover, while the R uses what they call a "Soft Touch" coated cover. It has a satin-like feel and the black cover attracts fingerprints like a mother. Not a big deal unless you are eating a cheeseburger and throwing your pad around like a frisbee at the same time, but I thought I would point it out since my fingerprints were the first mark on this pad, not ink from a pen.

Cover issues aside, the paper is obviously the star here. Despite being only 70 sheets, the 90 g ivory-toned paper was noticeable heavier and denser than its 80 g counterparts, as it should be. "Soft Touch" should be used to describe the paper instead of the cover because that was my reaction when first feeling it. Calling it smooth would be selling it short. I'm not sure I've felt anything like this before.

That smoothness carried over to every pen I tested, from the widest nib fountain pen to the finest ballpoint. All performed flawlessly. If there is one hangup it is the ink dry time. I thought my DotPads took a while - the R is extreme. Fountain pen ink glistens on the surface for quite some time, so lefties beware. Despite that, there was no feathering, bleed, or show through to the back of the page to speak of, which is an impressive feat.

So what would make the R by Rhodia my go-to fountain pen pad over the DotPad? White paper for starters. It used to not bother me so much with traditional pens but now that I am into fountain pen inks I find that it skews the colors too much for my liking. Secondly, add a grid or dot grid option. Lined and blank are my two least favorite and least used paper options. Rhodia makes great grid paper - why not mix one in?

Overall, this is fantastic paper. It is priced at a premium compared to the standard line, and the premium features are noticeable. Will it surpass the DotPad as my number one fountain pen paper? Not right now, but if any changes get implemented in the future I will be taking another look.