This was what I suppose you could describe as an unintentional purchase; I was in a stationery store picking up some other things when I noticed this notebook on sale. They normally retail around $14/£10 but this was half off and as I had never seen a Filofax notebook like this I picked one up.
The appearance is very like other notebooks with an elastic closure and once the stickers are removed the only indication of its brand is a very discrete ‘Filofax’ embossed at the bottom centre of the rear cover.
In essence it’s a hard-backed notebook made using a leather effect plastic that encapsulates card to provide stiff covers and the spine is flexible having built in creases that allow it the covers to fold over.
When you open the notebook, you find standard lined paper (my copy also came with a small stash of grid & plain paper attached to the rear cover) approximately A6, a 13cm ruler and four dividers, one of which has a pocket suitable for credit cards etc.
All of the contents were protected by a thick piece of card both front and rear which was a nice touch, particularly as this is a hard-back notebook. The ‘refillable’ aspect of this notebook is a wire binding variation on disc binding with the paper being punched accordingly.
With regard to the paper, I was not expecting much from it, so I was very happily surprised when I tested it with several inks and there was no feathering or bleed through at all.
In general use this is notebook is fine, it’s easy to add and remove pages/dividers and the fold back design of this is a big help when writing notes on the go; the only downside is you are tied to Filofax for refills either that or you need a compatible punch to create your own and when I bought this I saw it in several sizes but no refills on the shelf.
Overall these are well made ‘pocket’ notebooks, although they are a bit large for the average jacket pocket, and the one point I have to commend Filofax on is the elastic closure. It’s thick, strong and unlike most other makes it hasn’t given up after a couple of days; it’s the only elastic closure I’ve come across that works well and seems to have some serious longevity.
So, would I recommend it? I’d say go and see for yourself but don’t forget this is not like generic notebooks, such as Field Notes, you are buying into a Filofax system.
Would I buy another? No. This is no reflection on Filofax or the quality of the product but for me it’s not what I’m looking for in a notebook.
Disclaimer: This notebook was purchased with my own funds at retail price. The opinions expressed in this review are my own; and I am not connected with either the retailers or manufacturers in any way.
The Indian Marmalade Company 