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Eccolo Journal Review


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:gaah: Posted in the wrong forum. Please move as needed.

 

My birthday was this past Friday and as such, I received some extra spending money. I decided to make a stop at Staples while in Las Cruces, NM since there is no other location closer to me. While there, I found the Eccolo World Traveler Journal on sale for $5.

 

Its styling is modeled after the typical black Moleskine journal with a few differences. When I picked it up off the shelf, the smooth flexible cover immediately grabbed my attention. The cover is a "Italian Faux Leather Cover" with some stitching visible on the outer edges. I am not sure why I find the stitching attractive. This was followed by the substantial feel of more pages. 256 lined pages to be exact. It actually felt a bit Rhodia Webbie to me in thickness. When opening the book, the paper invited me in with its ivory lined pages. They did not feel very thick and I could not find anything on the labeling that would indicate the weight of the paper. Purely based on my experience with other notebooks, I would say the paper is of the same weight as what the Quo Vadis Habana (white paper small version, (64gr)). The notebook is just slightly big and almost not pocket-able. It will need a large pocket to carry it around. I usually use cargo pants and it will fit fine in those. Shirt pockets, not so much. All similarities with other notebooks I have end there.

 

The paper color is an ivory as mentioned before. It is slightly lighter than the Webbie (v2) but not as yellow as Moleskine paper, Moleskine being just slightly brighter. The paper is held together by two stitches. That may be a concern as I do not know how well it will hold together. That remains to be seen.

 

There is no elastic band to keep the notebook closed. As mentioned in another thread, this is not a deal breaker for me. I have some Quo Vadis elastic band book markers I can use to keep the notebook closed. One thing I do not know how I will overcome is the absence of a rear pocket. I mean, it's an obvious cost cutting measure but I think the pocket would have been a nice touch. That is the only thing keeping me from permanently adding this notebook to my collection as long as I can still source it.

 

Now the real meat of the review. Can it handle fountain pen ink? Well, yes and no. It depends on how you like your paper to handle the ink. For me, I cannot stand bleed through. I tested the notebook with an Esterbrook J with a 2556 nib. It is filled with Private Reserve Lake Placid Blue. I am happy to report that bleed through is almost nil. There is a slight "echo" but not enough to make the back of the page unusable. Feathering is a different story. It is there but it is not apparent. I had to look at the page under magnification to see the feathering. Nonetheless, it is there.

 

Overall, I like the notebook. The extra number of pages is good. The pocket-ability will limit its portability somewhat. Some may not like the feathering, if they can see it but bleed through resistance is better than Moleskine with just a slight echo present. At $5 I would not think too much about buying them but that is the sale price. $8.99 is the original price. Still not too bad. What still remains to be seen is how well it stands up to the rigors of every day use.

 

Now the pictures. Warning, these are cell phone pictures so please excuse the not so great color balance as I was under a fluorescent bulb. Also excuse my hand written sample as I am now trying to improve my cursive (I am a print type person). :embarrassed_smile:

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3551/5773843325_581738462e.jpg

Eccolo World Traveler by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5064/5773843321_9631d3d2e0.jpg

Eccolo label description by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2775/5773843317_dbd903fd63.jpg

Lower Label by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2070/5773843309_2d308d8eaf.jpg

Eccolo compared to Rhodia Webbie by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2083/5773843301_d75a547073.jpg

Thickness comparison to Rhodia Webbie by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2032/5774304650_b2960d5853.jpg

Paper Comparison to Rhodia Webbie (V2) by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2288/5774304646_ba93e3909c.jpg

Size Comparison to Moleskine by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5110/5774304638_4f30a3670c.jpg

Thickness Comparison to Moleskine by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2122/5774304630_90887d0c94.jpg

Size comparison to Moleskine by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3434/5774304622_58a7da6877.jpg

Paper Comparison to Moleskine by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3141/5774304606_316d96592e.jpg

Inside rear Lable by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2390/5774238302_bd81679e71.jpg

BAr code by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3277/5774238300_c8f06bac0e.jpg

Lays Flat by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5181/5774238294_55bb28eb6f.jpg

Stitching by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5225/5774238290_f32c329d40.jpg

Fountain Pen Test by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3102/5774238284_152a6409b7.jpg

Fountain Pen Test - back of page by IvanRomero, on Flickr

 

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3444/5774238280_dd6f0f7df7.jpg

Eccolo World Traveler Journal by IvanRomero, on Flickr

Edited by KrazyIvan
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Wow, what a nice and detailed rewview with photos. Thanks!

In some things in life it's better to take a Zen approach. If you think too much you won't achieve your goal, wheras if you don't think and let yourself go, it shall be achieved with ease. I find this helpful in writing, kendo and music.

 

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Sounds like you got lucky on your paper batch. I'd picked up some in the past that had real leather covers, but Chinese paper, and they had slick pages that skipped with virtually all FP ink. Ended up giving mine to a friend that uses BPs. :headsmack:

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Thank you for the review and the photos! Very helpful and wonderful photos!

 

I have one of these in the larger size. I put it on the table and turned a few pages and then with my fist really flattened the spine. I did this for the entire book, and now the entire book opens reasonably flat and the spine seems to have taken the punishment well. I think with the stitching this one will last just fine.

 

Like your experience, my experience showed the paper to be smooth with a little see through and a tiny bit of feathering. [i found the paper in the Staples C. R. Markings journal to be just a little bit better, as smooth but less show through.] The big Eccolo journal (roughly 10 x 7 or 8 x 11??) was only 9.99 at my Staples, so it seemed like a decent deal to me.

 

J

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Thank you for the remarks and thanks to the mods for moving the post.

 

I hope the paper quality is not spotty like Moleskine. :(

 

I did get a couple more journals so more reviews are forth coming. I plan to take some better pictures too. No promises on the cursive quality. :P

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KI, Informative review the photos came out pretty good for a phone camera. It seems to have a useful macro setting judging by the close-up of the barcode. It is rather a handsome notebook with the faux leather and stitching.

 

The Eccolo label reminds me of those paper strips on Japanese CDs.

 

Looking forward to reviews on the other goodies from your recent shopping expedition.

In the meantime I'll have to keep a lookout for these Eccolo journals.

Edited by Bogon07

sinistral hypergraphica - a slurry of ink

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Thanks for the review. A couple of years ago the Eccolo World Travelers journals were being remaindered at Barnes & Noble, where I purchased two for $4 each. I liked them a lot -- handsome, well-constructed, FP-friendly paper. Hope my local Staples is carrying them.

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  • 2 weeks later...

KrazyIvan, do you know if they use different paper in their leather 4x6 versus their 3.5x5 side stable bound notebooks? I bought a 3 pack at OfficeDepot a month or so ago to fit in my Coach Passport Wallet. It was hard enough to find a notebook to fit so well, so I was super excited when I found these. However, when I write on the paper with Fountain pen, the ink feathers terribly. For now I'll just be using a regular BP until I can find a fountain pen friendly notebook in the appropriate size...

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You might want to look at the Basics notebooks - I can't remember if they call them Life Unplugged or something, but I found the smaller ones fit a notebook cover I had and the paper is the lovely Clairefontaine. They have the ribbon markers but not elastic and are FAR superior to the Eccolo paper.

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KrazyIvan, do you know if they use different paper in their leather 4x6 versus their 3.5x5 side stable bound notebooks? I bought a 3 pack at OfficeDepot a month or so ago to fit in my Coach Passport Wallet. It was hard enough to find a notebook to fit so well, so I was super excited when I found these. However, when I write on the paper with Fountain pen, the ink feathers terribly. For now I'll just be using a regular BP until I can find a fountain pen friendly notebook in the appropriate size...

Unfortunately, I cannot comment on other sizes. I looked for some indication of paper weight but it has none. :(

Edited by KrazyIvan
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Thank you Ghost Plane! I am looking at them right now. I see lots of 3.5x5.5 :/ I really hate to have to cut the notebook. Seems like an awful waste of good paper...

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  • 4 years later...

Blowing the dust off this review to note that I picked up a large (8" x 10.5") Eccolo World Traveler notebook, which was on sale at my local Staples for $7. I picked up a Leuchtturm 1917 a few days ago to use as a personal bullet journal, and was haunting Staples in the hopes that there would be something I could use for my work bullet journal. I happened to spot the 8x10" Eccolo World Traveler, found this review suggesting that the paper was not bad, and decided to take a chance.

 

I'm quite glad I did. So far, I very much like how my daily writer (a Lamy Safari with a 1.1mm stub nib, with Waterman Inspired Blue ink) is doing. No bleed at all, some small amount of showthrough, and while I confess that I haven't busted out the old magnifying glass, no feathering that I can see. At this size, there are plenty of lines for things like monthly calendar spreads, and with 256 pages I'm not worried about running out of space any time soon. I like the flexible faux leather cover -- it feels quite sturdy. I kind of wish it had an elastic band to hold it closed, but it's the only nitpick I have thus far.

 

So, keep an eye out -- if my local Staples is selling them at deep discount, perhaps yours is, too.

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