[lucentstreak]

My sincere thanks goes to Karen from Exaclair for sending the planner out to Asia.

The Notor



From the website:

12 months, January to December
8 AM to 7 PM schedule
Monthly tab
64g, acid-free paper
Tear-off corner opens to day in progress
Sewn binding, lays flat when open
Bound in address book
Refillable



Impressions
A relatively hardy agenda planner - very functional in terms of the layout of timing and lots of space to work with other lists and all. The paper is quite fountain pen friendly but some quibble about the ink (Waterman Florida Blue) not drying fast enough and the paper being somewhat thin (see below image).






The binding of the diary allows it to lie very flat and very appreciated.


Comes with a handy backpocket too! Relatively bigger than the Moleskines and with similar sides that extend out quite a bit when need be.

My Quibbles



1. I took some time with the planner to see how the perforated edges would work in real life and found it quite tiresometo try to rip to keep track of dates. Like other reviewers, I think a book mark would be handier not simply because that we can open to the page at will but also that there are times when I do not work in chronological order therefore needing a bookmark to remind me of the oncoming big event and so on.

2. I'm not exactly sure how it purportsto be refillable given its binding. Perhaps might be a mistake on the website?

3. The address book insert is a welcomed surprise but unfortunately, the narrowness of the line width does put me off from writing in there.

In Conclusion

This planner definately comes with neither bells nor whistles and if you were looking for something mildly aesthesized, then I'm sorry - you got the wrong product. However, I'm not sure if I will continue to use the planner after this year or for long as I feel a certain chafing against the lack in versatility of the layout and structure of the planner. Despite its limitations, the planner is strictly for day to day use and the quality of the paper is indeed top notch. Hopefully this will come across as more constructive than critical.

This post has been edited by lucentstreak: 12 January 2009 - 03:17 AM

[biffybeans]

The paper is 64G to fit keep it as thin as possible as a daily planner. It may be thin, but it's still Clairefontaine. (Which is a good thingt) And as for ink drying, that's also typical to Clairefontaine. Ink takes longer to dry on Clairefontaine & Rhodia products- Period. That's apparently the tradeoff for a paper that doesn't bleed or feather.

[lucentstreak]

The paper is 64G to fit keep it as thin as possible as a daily planner. It may be thin, but it's still Clairefontaine. (Which is a good thingt) And as for ink drying, that's also typical to Clairefontaine. Ink takes longer to dry on Clairefontaine & Rhodia products- Period. That's apparently the tradeoff for a paper that doesn't bleed or feather.

Perhaps. I would say that I have heard nothing but praise for the brand and that may or may not have affected my opinion of the planner. While I do agree that the ink does not feather or bleed on paper, I think this planner would be better suited for people who like having a light functional planner.