Endless Recorder A5 Notebook Regalia Paper Review

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

For all the A5 notebooks I already have in my stash, I'm sometimes a little confused as to why I still have the desire to purchase more of what is essentially the same notebook. Despite having the same size and similar specs, they all feel and act different! That's part of the joy that stationery provides. But just because a notebook uses the tried-and-true A5 dimensions, doesn't mean it will be a great notebook in practice.

The Endless Recorder A5 notebook is a sleek looking book that borrows from the aesthetic language that Moleskine made famous decades ago. It's a simple hardcover notebook with a pocket on the inside back cover, an elastic strap to keep it closed, and a couple of bookmark ribbons for keeping your place. It even has a couple of index pages at the front, and every page is clearly numbered in the bottom outside corner of each page. So far, I could be describing any number of notebooks you could buy today. What sets the Recorder apart from the rest?

Like so many notebooks, the answer to that question is: the paper. The Recorder uses an 80gsm paper that Endless have coined "Regalia." It's a smooth, white paper that feels great to write on. It's a little on the "too smooth" side for me, which means the paper doesn't provide as much grit or tactile feedback on the writing instrument I'm using. It's not bad, and I get used to the unique smoothness the more I use it. The dot grid pattern on my unit is exactly what I expect — it's a light gray ink and spaced well.

With the fountain pens I used on this paper, they all behaved well when writing. The colors were bright and the ink was sharp, with no feathering in sight. This is great since the marketing tout this paper as one that won't bleed or feather. Show through on the back of the page is also minimal, which isn't always the case with paper that has an 80gsm density.

On top of all that, this paper is acid free, which means your writings and doodles should last as long as the paper. In my first few writing sessions, I was happy with how the paper was performing. But then I started noticing something — it was really easy to smudge if I wasn't careful about where I put my fingers or hands while writing.

As I started noticing more and more smudges, I became more curious. Once I was focused on it, I realized that every fountain pen ink I used on this paper took a really long time to dry to a point that it resisted smudging. Even then, some inks seem to smudge even after they look completely dry. Interesting.

After a little more testing, I discovered that other pens produced similar results. Gel ink, rollerball ink, and some ballpoint inks all smudged slightly if you rubbed over them with your finger or hand. Not great! Whatever coating they use to make the paper ultra smooth has a terrible side effect: super long dry times.

This was a bummer because I realized that my writing style is the best case scenario. If you're left handed, this paper is a non-starter. I was even more bummed when I came back to a page that I had written 24 hours before and confirmed that it was still extremely easy to smudge if I lightly dragged a finger over it. Wow.

To add insult to injury, the marketing on the packaging for this notebook states "World's most ink-friendly notebook." I get that marketing materials have a certain level of hyperbole — that's just how the industry works. But in this case, it's not even in the best tier of ink-friendly papers. With the way it prevents ink from fully drying, this notebook goes straight to bottom of the list for me. I'd pick up a Moleskine before this one because at least the Moleskine would let my ink dry in a reasonable amount of time (albeit with lots of feathering and show-through!).

The Recorder is available in several colors and paper ruling styles for $23.50. That's a pretty average price for the hardcover A5 notebook category, so that makes it incredibly easy to say you shouldn't consider this notebook. Look at Leuchtturm1917, Rhodia, Lamy, Clairefontaine, or any number of more established paper brands before you consider this notebook. I wanted to like the Endless Recorder because of its sleek design and cool color options, but the paper was ultimately a deal-breaker for me.

(Goldspot provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on May 3, 2023 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Endless Notebook, Notebook Reviews.

Makers Cabinet Lazlo Brass Ballpoint Pen Giveaway

Continuing this fun streak we are on, I have yesterday’s review pen, the Makers Cabinet Lazlo Brass Ballpoint, up for giveaway today. An awesome friend of the Pen sent this product to me for review and giveaway, so let’s do just that! This giveaway is for the pen I used in the review, so it’s not brand new, but pretty darn close. If you are interested in winning it, read the rules below and enter away!

Posted on May 2, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Giveaways.

Makers Cabinet Lazlo Brass Ballpoint Pen Review

Makers Cabinet is an interesting company. I first became aware of them when they launched their Kickstarter for Høvel, a plane-style pencil sharpener. I liked the style and concept, but at the time I passed on backing the project due to the cost. I didn’t think I would get enough use out of it to justify the price.

Since the launch of the Høvel, Makers Cabinet has continued to put their stamp on stationery design, reimagining traditional products in modern styles. A ruler. A pencil extender (which I reviewed here.) And now, with Lazlo, a ballpoint pen.

In true Makers Cabinet style, it features a brass barrel, and a few specifically created design elements. Primarily, in the case of Lazlo, the twist mechanism to deploy and retract the refill. From their description:

“Featuring a patent pending, one-of- a-kind magnetic mechanism, that will elevate your writing experience. Diametrically opposed neodymium magnets rotate bidirectionally to engage and disengage the cartridge to create an unparalleled crisp click.”

More on this in a minute.

In addition to the mechanism, it features a custom designed clip, and two extra internal pieces that form a sleeve over the refill inside the barrel, assumedly to assist with the twist mechanism and internal magnets.

For a brass barrel ballpoint pen, that’s a lot. That’s a feature for Makers Cabinet. If I have learned anything, it’s that they are happy to take simple stationery goods and make them “extra.” It’s the Makers Cabinet way.

In the case of the Lazlo, I don’t think it is too extra, but it is a far more fidgety design than I hoped for.

Let’s go back to the diametrically opposed neodymium magnets used for the twist mechanism. It works, but it doesn’t work the same every time. Sometimes the twist engages the refill, sometimes it pokes it out then pops it back in, and sometimes I just overshoot the stop completely and have to keep going around to engage it again. It’s not a consistent station-to-station mechanism. It’s more like sta-tion to stati-on to st-ation. There is no consistency, other than you will eventually get to where you need to be.

Once you do, the writing experience, well, I had to enlist the help of my wife to capture this (volume on):

If I wanted a typewriter, I would have bought a typewriter. Wow, that is a lot of tip rattle. Now, I’m not going to knock them too hard for this, but for a company that prides themselves on their design work, I would think they would have better mitigation of this known issue with a metal refill on a metal barrel. It’s going to happen. How you deal with it says a lot. For Makers Cabinet, there is no dealing with it.

The aftermarket fix is simple, just a little tape around the refill to serve as a shock absorber inside the barrel will do the trick. An internal o-ring on the refill, possibly added by the company before shipping, would help, too.

Neither of those issues are deal breakers for me. They work, eventually, or there is a work around. The clip falls into this category as well, and I think it is the weakest design element of the bunch. In a literal sense, it is too flimsy for a pen this heavy. This is a full brass barrel, checking in at 66 grams (a standard Retro 51 rollerball is 28 grams, for comparison,) and this is a thin, stamped metal, clip that doesn’t even lock down to the barrel. It’s probably a better fit for the aluminum barrel model of the Lazlo, where it is a better balanced option. (Update: Makers Cabinet reached out to me via Instagram and said they will be updating the clip for the Lazlo V2, and will provide a retrofit option for this model as well.)

If your plans are to use this as a heavy duty EDC pen, which is what its style and choice of pressurized refill dictates, I’d worry about how quick the clip would fail. This is less of a concern when used as a desk pen.

With all of that said, I actually think the Lazlo is a good pen, especially given the $90 price point. That was the biggest surprise of all, and is completely fair for a pen of this quality. But I also think it is fair to point out when a company that prides itself on unique designs and ideas falls short, even if it is only a little bit here and there. That little bit makes the Lazlo a good pen, and not a great one.

(This pen was given to me by a reader, and I’ll be giving it away tomorrow!)

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