Filofax Refillable Notebook Blue (B115009U)

*Warning, Long, rambling review ahead. You can take a detour to though Bottom line by skipping to the last paragraph. I’m a writer. I’ve always been a writer. I have so many scraps of paper boxes filled with napkins and such, you’ve heard those stories. I have two iPads, both with Apple pencils and they are a dream but what can I say? I’m a handwriting, notebook junkie. Journals, paper, pens, markers, you name it are my joy. I struggle not to feel guilty about it but when the new year rolls around it’s too difficult to resist. As mentioned, I have iPads and they’re beautiful. With that Apple Pencil. Woo hoo. But I still wanna piece of paper. I have a live scribe pen then I cannot recommend it highly enough. Check it out. Every single thing you write will be synced to the cloud like magic. But I digress.With all those electronics, I still like a paper notebook. I had dreams of planning my life but that never seem to work out. The planners always have too many pages and categories that don’t apply to me. I want something that’s kind of a planner but kind of freestyle so when I saw Ryder Carrol’s bullet journal idea, I knew he was onto something. Brilliant in its simplicity. If I went to an a half is or was a different kind of person, maybe a more structured person, that’s probably all I’d have. There are so many gorgeous a five sized notebooks these days piggybacking onto the Bullet Journal praise that you’re no longer limited to a Moleskine, Not that that’s a bad thing, I love Moleskine not only because they’re a great quality but because they were holding the fort down for little black, Simple notebooks with an elastic band when Life got complicated and people wanted something with more bills and whistles. I love them for not throwing in the towel and sticking with what they knew to be a classic, classy book. That brings me back around to Filofax, Another company that’s been around since before the Great War, lol. I got my first Filofax 40 years ago. I think there was only one style, like there was only one American Express card. I love that. Make one thing and make it well. Stop with all the disposable crap and neon colors. People took pride in quality. Now it’s quantity. We know better but People can’t be bothered. Repurposing is a forgotten concept. Throw everything with character away and post Memes about saving the planet on Facebook.Uh-oh, i digressed again. OK here’s the bottom line on this Filofax notebook A5 size with the funny rings. I wanted a simple little bullet journal style notebook for the new year but I wanted it to be special, to feel good. Did I care if the pages are numbered? Is it that hard to number them? What about paper quality? I’m used to it all year Planner so the idea of these little books only lasting part of the year was a new concept to me and Blah, blah, blah. Turns out, I don’t want to number the pages (not that it’s hard but my handwriting isn’t pretty enough), paper quality does matter (unless you plan to only write with light pencil strokes) and that there are so many new companies selling affordable, gorgeous journals (“Scribbles that Matter”, “Uberworks”, “kinbo”, “Lemome”... ) that the hardest part is limiting myself (so many journals, so little time). So now I have a little book and I’m liking that it’s not filled with pages I’ll never use or can’t relate to ...but I want it to look nice, like those girls on YouTube, with the colored pencils and the stencils and the Stickers. How do they have time to do anything else? I want MY Bullet Journal to look like that but Since I can barely draw a straight line on graph paper with a ruler, it’s not gonna’ and you know you can’t rip pages out of those hardbound little books without leaving funny page stubble...so I dug out my old 6 ring personal size Filofax. It’s gorgeous, red crocodile purchased in London, in the ‘70’s. I paid $$$$ for it even back then but The quality and craftsmanship is something to be home. Plus, carrying a vegan bag won’t help the planet. Is the things that are natural, things made using chemicals or synthetics that are killing us (and that People people can’t have one or two but need want 20 bags instead of two or 300 pairs of shoes instead of 10 and even THAT wouldn’t be so bad if folks recycled, re-purposed, shared - but they don’t. They “de-clutter”, which really means keep buying, buying, buying consuming consuming and then get rid of it when you have too much. Heaven for bid they should buy quality, hang onto it and pass it down. No, just throw everything out. Arrrrggghhh. So I got out my great looking Filofax, remembered a few things tucked down in the archives my brain and then ordered some inserts. It still looks good but it feel smaller than I remember. It’s not that my eyes got old, it’s that while fine as a planner, it’s too squeezy for real writing. The letter-size is comfortable for writing but too big for my purse. but the A5 is Goldilocks :). Ahhhhhh*SO (finally), having decided on an A5 Filofax, I checked Amazon after Christmas. I saw this one and clicked “buy it now” without even reading the fine print.. Something happened with delivery so I waited, waited, waited while it herded cattle in Texas, i think. Finally it arrived this morning. Yay....and then boooo. What are these funny spiral thing is holding the paper in? Where are my six rings? I’ve been out of the Filofax world so long I didn’t even know about this incarnation. I was ready to pack it up. I even logged on to Amazon and clicked “return”. Then I saw the price. I’ve only ever known Filofax to be crazy expensive but I had purchased this from the warehouse and only paid $11. I figured I needed to look at this thing again. So happens, in that same delivery was one of the new little hardback bullet journals I mentioned and when I saw these two books together, Eureka! I knew I stumbled onto a winning combination. The Bullet Journal is fun and great for what it is but for creative writing, not as much. This Filofax notebook picks up where the Bullet Journal leaves off. It is comfortable to write in, looks nice and compact enough to fit almost anywhere. Both books art much thicker than my Filofax used to be (once I stuffed it). I thought it was more convenient and productive to have everything in one book but in fact it wasn’t. I spent more time looking for the right solution. When writing, it’s difficult to put things in sequence which is why I wanted the six ring binder. This achieves that same objective. These spirals might not be practical enough to flip back-and-forth constantly as I might do with the planner but they are great for allowing me to physically move the pages into proper order when I get inspiration out of sequence. Filofax sells a hole punch for this thing but it’s $15. That’s more than I paid for the notebook so I’ll wait to see if I’m still enthusiastic next week. If so, it’s probably worth it, considering the cost of paper with these holes. (I sure wish I knew the name of this hole spacing/spiral set up. You can find a cheaper, generic version of almost any paper size and hole punch IF you know what it’s called.) I do not think this would be a good notebook for heavy use as your all in one notebook. It’s more of a journal but what makes it better than most journals is the way The cover rotates 360° And lays flat, making writing very comfortable, Even for you lefties out there. I did not sleep last night and it’s catching up to me so I’m not going to edit this. I’ll come back tomorrow and hope autotext has not made me look like a fool. (Blame everything on autotext or the dog) Apologies for the side stories and digressions but it’s what i do. Cheers! ‘We are equal in value but we are not the same.” - me (Thank goodness.)

In considering the purchase of any "notebook," I believe that one should first think of how it is to be used. For me, this would be a most welcome companion in business meetings, in taking class notes, etc., when taking the notes and then organizing them is important. The fold flat feature is great in these examples as well, as the work space is uncrowded as a result.My usage is in research for my writing. There are often several elements to a story, and the Filofax is as good as any for keeping separate issues separate, and then collating all in a first draft. Really love this notebook in this usage, and I mention it only as an illustration of another practical use.The elastic band that secures the cover fits neatly into notches at the top and bottom of the front cover. This feature keeps the notebook a bit neater in appearance, and probably makes the closure somewhat more secure. Nice feature.Filofax makes a good selection of refills available. I won't be using the blank sheets as my handwriting is atrocious, but it is nice for those less cursed than I. I do like the graph sheets, and will use one graph refill to perhaps eight or ten of the lined refills. Those who use more diagrams or take scientific or mathematical notes will appreciate the graph paper.As to the minuses, the paper is not as friendly toward fountain pens as others in that wet inks will not dry quickly if that is an issue. Gels and, naturally, ballpoint inks are just fine, but there are many less expensive papers that will perform as well with these.I cannot imagine journaling with this notebook. I never remove pages from my journal. In this case, one of the great conveniences of the D-punched movable sheets would make no sense.Bottom line is that for my intended use, this notebook is great. Those whose use may be similar will find the Filofax A5 Notebook a useful tool. To me, it is just that: Strictly business. For my personal thoughts and inspired moments, it can never replace my Midoris.

Really happy with this, and I’m SUPER picky about my notebooks. It’s thin and lightweight enough to carry with you, and the dividers are perfect for sorting notes by topic, then adding/removing as needed. Which is key - most notepads I either clutter up with junk notes and can never find the one I’m looking for, or I get too precious about keeping them ‘dedicated’ to a particular topic and then they quit being useful. This is perfect bc you can always just grab it to take notes on a blank page, then move it where you want it - or toss it - later. I just wish the refills were more in line with the pricing of normal A5 paper - the 100# is very nice, and if you’re picky about your paper you’ll be pleased, but for genera everyday notes I’m fine with the cheap stuff. Have debated buying one of those hole punches with the slot like these have and doing my own.

I love these Filofax notebooks. Its a wonderful feature to be able to add and remove pages. I use these notebooks daily at work and at home. The previous three notebooks that I've purchased have all had smooth, crisp white paper - I'm a bit of a stationary nerd and paper quality is important to me. I was disappointed to find that this particular notebook came with cream coloured paper that has a very slight grainy feel to it. While I love the colour of the cover - a very rich pear green, I'm really disappointed that the listing didn't make it obvious that the paper colour was not white. That is my only reason for not giving this item 5 stars. If paper colour doesn't bother you, don't hesitate in buying this. Its a high quality product - very durable, the cover is almost leather and you would never know the difference, the elastic closure is very thick. Personally, I never use the 3 dividers and 1 divider/folder combo that are included but they are made of a thicker paper and seem durable. Included is a removable ruler style bookmark which I love. Its made of thin plastic, is very bendable and useful for everyday measuring or drawing straight lines/underlining. Overall this is another great product from Filofax

Su sistema de hojas perforadas es muy bueno para poder re-organizar las notas que tomo, el papel es de buena calidad pero no funciona muy bien con plumas fuente (basadas en agua), por otro lado, con bolígrafos es bastante bueno.Lo que no me gustó de la libreta es que el elástico que la cierra se desprendió después de algunos meses de uso, la llevaba diario en mi mochila y no soportó muy bien este uso, la portada también se comenzó a despegar (está compuesta por dos capas de plástico con un relleno de cartón) y los separadores tienen marcas muy notorias por el roce de las hojas.La libreta es buena pero no soporta el uso frecuente, algo que me sorprendió tomando en cuenta que está diseñada para aceptar hojas de reemplazo.

I've been enjoying this notebook! The paper is very thick and feels “premium”. I've had no issues with ghosting and the cover is sturdy. I like that it comes with dividers and a ruler and it is super handy to move the pages around. I bought a dot paper refill pack to add in and it's a little too full, so I only wish it would hold more. Overall great buy!

The notebook itself is very good and does everything as advertised except there isn’t a pen holder on the size I ordered.I did not receive everything as advertised though. I didn’t get a refill, index, the 8 quad pages or 8 blanks pages.

This has become a staple in my briefcase. The pages are removable and reversible - you can take a page out, flip it, put it back in, etc. Really, really handy. And JUST the right size. The leather cover is a really nice quality as well. The only improvement I'd suggest is a pen holder, but I can't think of a way that could be done without detracting from the clean look of this notebook.