REVIEW: PEBBLE STATIONERY TRAVELER'S UNDATED PLANNER

Getting close to the end of 2020, many of us are probably looking into a new planner to start off 2021 organized (or at least try to be organized, in my case!). While there are certainly high-quality planner options available, many mainstream brands leave a lot to be desired from the paper quality for fountain pen use. That's why Pebble Stationery, an Australian brand I encountered last year with their fantastic Pocket Tomoe River notebooks (reviewed HERE), created this: the Pebble Stationery Traveler's undated planner - of course filled with Tomoe River paper... but do you need that in a planner?

At least for now, Pebble launched their undated planners in a single size, made to fit Traveler's notebook covers. Therefore, it follows the sort of narrow-and-tall form factor that's unique to the regular Traveler's company leather notebook cover. It's exactly as tall as a standard  A5 notebook, but about 4 cm narrower (11 cm by 21 cm / 4.33" by 8.26"). Because of the 52 gsm Tomoe River paper, the 140-page (70 sheets) planner remains extremely thin.

I'm not necessarily a fan of the brand-specific form-factor, but at least the Traveler's products are so popular that they have become a more-or-less standardized form factor these days. You can find quite a few other brands adopting it and creating products to use within or alongside the Traveler's Company ecosystem. That being said, I don't have a Traveler's notebook cover, so I can't speak for the practicality in combination with the Traveler's system, but luckily Pebble's planner can also perfectly be used as a stand-alone product. 

The leatherette cover is thin and flexible (you can easily fold the cover backward without issue), yet more durable than typical paper stock covers which can crease or tear after longer use. My particular review sample came in a dark navy blue colorway, which is subtle and business-appropriate for sure, there's also a red version available. The cover has a pleasant leather-like texture and doesn't show much wear at all, even after almost two months of daily use.

The undated planner has two narrow ribbon page markers, and the first page has a dedicated space for your name and contact information - in case your planner gets lost. But in terms of physical features, that's about it. There's no back pocket, but more importantly, there's no elastic or other way to keep the planner closed. The leatherette cover is elastic and flexible, so after a few times of opening it, you'll find that the cover doesn't want to stay closed at all. That's a bit annoying, but it wouldn't be an issue when using the planner inside a Traveler's cover, of course.

Now, for the inside of the Pebble undated planner: Across the 140 pages, there are three main sections that make up the general structure of the planner, as well as 6 empty dot grid pages for extra notes. But as the name suggests, nothing is actually dated: days, months, or years aren't set in stone, so you can use the planner how - and when - you like. 

The planner starts with a four-page overview of the year. Granted, there's very little space to write things in the individual boxes, but it could work well as sort of a 'table of contents', to keep track of birthdays, holidays or special events. 

The next 12 double-page spreads are monthly overviews. I actually like these layouts because they do offer a bit more space, yet you can still get a quick glance at the entire month, laid out over two adjacent pages. Each day of the month has its own box, and you get dot grid paper to keep your agenda items neat and organized. 

Then the major bulk of the planner is 52 weekly spreads. On the left side of the two-page spread, you get seven boxes (with dot grid) for each day of the week. Again, you have to fill in the dates yourself, which is useful if you sometimes skip weeks/months (during holidays, for example). The right side is just an empty page of dot grid paper, for notes. The daily structure doesn't have a bullet-point system or anything like that, so you can choose whichever structuring method works best for you.

These small ink smears are scattered all throughout the planner at this point

The main selling point of the Pebble planner is the Tomoe River paper, but it's also my biggest gripe about it. Don't get me wrong, I love TR paper, but there's a time and place for it. And maybe a planner is not that time and place?

I use a planner for work, and at work, I'd say efficiency and functionality beats neat writing and ink shading. For practicality considerations, I don't tend to use fountain pens at work very often. In fact, I write mostly with a gel pen (most often the fantastic Tactile Turn Bolt Action pen!), so the benefit of having fountain-pen friendly TR is already non-existent. But the real issue is the long drying times of TR paper: At the end of the meeting when you quickly add in a new meeting date before leaving the office, and you close the planner a bit too fast... that's an ink smear right there. You have to use it consciously. 

Inherently, due to the extremely thin TR paper, you'll also get quite a bit of ghosting. I typically only use Tomoe River notebooks on a single side of the page (yes I know, wasteful), but the Pebble undated planner utilizes both sides of the page, so you can't really avoid show-through. That being said, the show-through is noticeable, but not to the extent that it makes writing illegible.

The Pebble Stationery Traveler's undated planner is a well-crafted, durable and functionally laid-out planner that I actually enjoy using (that in itself is already quite the compliment!). Being made specifically for the Traveler's notebook ecosystem didn't hold me back from using it as a stand-alone planner, although obviously it'll integrate more seamlessly if you already own and use a Traveler's notebook.

The Tomoe River paper is both a blessing and a curse. If you use your planner in a more aesthetically pleasing and creative way than I do, TR will certainly add character. But from a purely functional, work-related point of view, Pebble's planner doesn't necessarily benefit from the paper choice, maybe it's even a bit unpractical at times - except for the fact that it keeps the planner thin and lightweight.

At 17.99$ (17.95€ at our sponsor La Couronne Du Comte), Pebble's planner comes in reasonably priced compared to traditional offerings from Moleskine, Leuchtturm or Filofax.

NOTE: This product was provided by Pebble Stationery Co., so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.

PAPER REVIEW: STALOGY 365 DAYS NOTEBOOK

The world of Japanese stationery is vast, and from my -rather limited- experience, filled with a LOT of fantastic products. Stalogy is a new brand to me, but I'm glad I got introduced to their products back in September when I visited 'Buiten De Lijntjes', a stationery/lifestyle shop in the Netherlands! 

The product that was recommended to me by the shopkeeper was the Stalogy Editor's note 365 Days notebook. A seemingly simple and low-key notebook that didn't stand out much, apart from its bright-yellow packaging. It immediately reminded me of the Hobonichi journals, but it's in no way connected to them (at least as far as I know). 

"...Eliminating unnecessary ornamentation and function, we are taking a new look at what's really necessary, rediscovering essential elements and aiming to finally arrive at what should have existed all along. What should have been, is," -Stalogy

The Stalogy 365 journals are plain-looking, softcover notebooks with a black textured 'plastic' outside cover. A few Stalogy logo's and their slogan "what should have been, is" adorn the top left edge of the front cover, hot-foiled in gold. It's a fairly no-nonsense, industrial-looking product at first sight.

One reason why I love Japanese stationery is their excellent eye for detail, and Stalogy definitely does not disappoint in that regard. The 365 notebook is flawlessly put together with a tight stitched spine and neatly cut edges. The 365 Days notebook comes in 4 form factors: B6, A6, B5 and B5. All versions come with a massive 368 pages, yet are only about as thick as a regular Leuchtturm notebook (which is only approx. 250 pages!). Reason for that is the extremely thin paper they use. I have the urge to say it's Tomoe River paper (probably the 68 gsm variant), but I couldn't find any information to back this up. 

In use, the outside cover is flexible enough to fold almost 360° if you want to. The notebook lays open on itself, but it doesn't stay completely flat. I used the smaller B6 size and it's comfortable to use and take with you on the go, although I usually tend to go for slightly larger notebooks. 

Again in true Japanese style, we're seeing a notebook with very little features. The pages have a faint grey grid printed on them (5x5 mm). The ruling is very pleasant to write on, and doesn't interfere when reading what you wrote down. The 365 Days -as the name suggests- is subtly optimized to be used as a bullet journal or agenda. 

The top right of the page features a date system, and to the left of the grid you can find the hours 7 to 23 printed in a tiny and unobtrusive font. Together, these let you use the notebook as a planner where you can indicate the date and divide the page into the hours of the day (Unless you wake up before 7am, or have appointments after 11pm. In that case I guess you're out of luck...). It's a useful feature when you want to, but it doesn't get in the way when you want to use the notebook as something other than an agenda. Don't bother searching for a page marker, page numbers, index table... you won't find those here.

One way to add structure to your notebook are the Stalogy stickers and sticky notes. They offer a wide variety of plastic post-it's and tab stickers, among which these small (5x5 cm) square see-through stickers (available in blank, ruled or grid). They are made of some sort of plastic film with an adhesive back, yet their textured surface makes it possible to write on them, even with fountain pen.

These sticky notes let you add small notes or details throughout your notebook, without making a permanent mark. While I like the idea of these little 'add-ons', they do come at a considerable cost and I admittedly didn't find much use for them. They might be useful for bullet journalling, or important notes, though.

Some interesting shading going on in some places where the ink meets the grid ruling. And look at that sheen!

The paper is very smooth to write on, and behaves perfectly with fountain pen (perhaps a bit too slick for pencil use). Ink is handled without feathering and very little bleedthrough (ink swabs, very wet writers and a few flex nibs could give bleedthrough, but all in all it's very well-behaved). Ink dries with a crisp edge and the paper brings out the best of the ink with rich shading and sheen. With the paper being relatively thin, you should expect quite a bit of showthrough, which makes it a bit less legible when you use both sides of the page (it's possible, but not ideal). Overall, if this isn't Tomoe River, at least it's a damn good copy. 

Quite some showthrough but little to no bleedthrough...except with a sharpie of course

The Stalogy 365 is an all-round excellent notebook. It won't turn heads with its design, but the build quality is bar none, and the paper is great for fountain pen use. Unfortunately quality comes at a price, with these 365 Days notebooks starting at 26€ for the smallest A6, up to 39€ for the B5 size (in the US they can be had for less). Regardless of where you buy, these are a good bit more expensive than, say, a Leuchtturm notebook of the same size (though you do get about a third more pages). The stickers and post-its also come with a pretty price tag, with the see-through post-its coming in at a hefty 9€ (about 6.5$ in the US). While I'm not a huge fan of the accessories at that price, the 365 Days notebook definitely comes highly recommended!

This product was sent to me by Buiten De Lijntjes so I could write this review. I was in no way influenced in the making of this review, the opinions shared in this review are completely my own! This post does not contain affiliate links.