Lihit Lab Smart Fit ACTACT Bag in Bag A5 Horizontal Review

(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 her latest book, The Atropine Tree, is now available!)

There are few things I love as much as pens and notebooks, but one of those things is bags. Especially bags that you can carry with other bags. Especially especially bags in bags that hold pens and notebooks. The Lihit Lab Smart Fit ACTACT Bag in Bag is the nesting doll of awesome. There are even pockets inside of pockets!

This A5 sized bag is made from nylon canvas and is available in a variety of colors. The main zipper compartment is water-resistant. The zipper has thin cord pulls with plastic tabs. The zipper is smooth, though it does struggle going around the corner when the bag is very full. It opens along the top edge and one side of the bag, to make it easy to fill.

Inside the main compartment is a fuzzy slip pocket that's perfect for a small tablet up to 8". It's perfect for my Kindle, even in its case. Outside of that slip pocket is the main compartment that easily holds an A5 notebook--even a chunky one, like my hardcover Hobonichi Cousin, also inside its cover.

On the outside of the bag are even more pockets! These don't close, so they're less secure, but still very useful. On the back side is one slip pocket that goes the full length of the bag. On the front, there is a low mesh pocket that goes all the way across the bag, and behind that mesh pocket is one slip pocket that's half the width the bag, another slip pocket that slightly more narrow, and a pen pocket. That's seven organizational compartments!

All those pockets are a great way to organize your gear inside a larger bag that might not have enough internal organization. It can also be carried solo. There are attachment points for a purse strap on this bag, so you can carry it without putting it inside any other bags. It's also perfect for carrying it around the office to meetings, or keeping in the car with a few essentials. It would make a perfect flight bag on a long airplane trip. Basically it's good for everything. I mean, when don't you need a zillion pockets?

This bag sells for $21.50 at JetPens, which is a very fair price. The strap does have to be purchased separately, and costs $13, though any strap that hooks onto an o-ring will work with this bag. An A4 size is also available for just a few dollars more, and that one could fit a 13" laptop.

Overall, this is well-priced, useful, practical, and a great way to maximize the number of pens and notebooks you carry every day. Pens in pockets in pockets in bags in bags! Living the dream.

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

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Maruman Utöka Pocket Notebook Review

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

My philosophy when it comes to notebooks is that there's always room for one more. This philosophy is in direct conflict the lack of adequate storage for the notebooks or enough time to fill them all. But, for better or worse, the philosophy of never turning down a new notebook always wins.

The Maruman Utöka Pocket notebook is the latest notebook to find a home in my collection. This is a small spiral-bound notebook with 80 sheets of 4mm graph paper, and 10 sheets of lined "list" paper at the back. All 90 sheets are perforated, making them easy and clean to tear out. And, these sheets are made of 70gsm paper that works really well with all types of writing instruments. Fun fact about the name: Utöka means "expand" or "extend" in Swedish.

Despite this notebook looking like a top-bound steno-style book, it's laid out to be used with the binding on the side. In practice, it's like using a standard A5 notebook that's been sliced in half. I actually like having the extra horizontal space instead of the typical vertical space you get with most notebook orientations.

Since "pocket" is part of the name for this notebook, you might assume that it can fit in something like, say, a pocket, but you'd be wrong! It is a small notebook, but there aren't many pockets that will hold it. At a total size of 107 x 163mm (4.2 x 6.4 inches), it's very portable, but not pocketable. For most people, a pocket notebook is something around 3.5 x 5.5 inches. It's just barely too big to work well with pockets.

The usable sheet dimensions are close the A6 size (105 x 148mm) at 107 x 142mm, meaning there's plenty of space to let your ideas and sketches breathe. The 4mm grid also provides lots of structure while also disappearing if you want to freeform.

Maruman paper is always a delight to use, but most of my experience with their paper is in their Mnemosyne line. With the Utöka notebook, they use a little lighter paper, but it still performs well. It's done great with all the pens and inks I've thrown at it. There's a small amount of show-through when using some inks, but it's not enough to make the back of the page unusable. There's no feathering or bleeding or other weird ink behaviors to speak of. It's a consistent paper that works really well.

The covers of this notebook are a sturdy cardstock material with a glossy coating on the exterior faces. The covers should stand up to minor wear and tear, but I'd expect to see plenty of bends and deterioration with lots of use. Likewise, the double-wire binding is really sturdy, and I love that they've colored the wire a nice gray to complement the color of the cover.

At $7.75, the Maruman Utöka Pocket notebook is a good value. It's perfect for jotting down notes, sketching out ideas, and throwing into a bag to carry along. While it's not a true pocket notebook, it's still very portable and up to the challenge of being a notebook you carry frequently. Plus, if the yellow isn't quite your thing, there are four other accent colors available! You can pick from yellow, red, navy, light green, and light blue.

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

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Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!

Leuchtturm1917 x Monocle B6 Accordion Notebook Giveaway

I ran across the Leuchtturm1917 x Monocle B6 Accordion Notebook during last years trip to London and had to have it. You know what happens next right? Yep, I haven’t used it, despite it being a super interesting concept for a notebook. Will one of you put it to good use? I hope so! To win this notebook, read the rules below and enter away!

Leuchtturm1917 x Monocle B6 Accordion Notebook Giveaway