Note: I did not write this post. I only transcribed it. All credit goes to the awesome /u/glah. Note that many of the links hide more images if you want more pretty pictures. {: .callout .info}
Avast /r/notebooks!
Anchors away for a trip on the USS Review! Today's port o' call: Hobonichi Techo 2015.
Alright, enough with the sailor talk. Today I am happy to bring you my review of the Hobonichi Techo (English version). I've had quite a few people ask me for pictures and for a review, so hopefully this meets expectations. If there is something that you've been dying to get more details on, please ask and I'll post more stuff.
##The Loot
I put a lot of time into figuring out what I wanted to order from the Hobonichi website. Since shipping is so expensive I wanted to make the best of my order without spending $150. Here's the breakdown of my order:
- Memo Pad Set: 540 Yen
- Basic Stencil: 370 Yen
- Standard Black Cover: 1.620 Yen
- Hobonichi Planner: 2,700 Yen
- Shipping & Fees: 2,000 Yen
The general rule of thumb is that 100 Yen = $1. The exchange rate was roughly 190 yen to $1. My total order ended up being ~$57 with about $16 going just to shipping and fees. Could be worse, but still a bit of money right there.
##Packaging
It seems silly to mention the packaging but I want to share the whole experience. The order is packed in a green box which is wrapped in a yellow bag. The bag served as the outer packaging for the journey to me. Here's another picture of the front of the box and also the inside flap. I don't speak Japanese so don't ask me what it says...
##The Cover
I chose this cover for two reasons: It was cheap, and it had pockets on the inside. Here is the front of the cover. The bookmarks have two different shapes so you can tell them apart, and are a nice bonus (some covers don't have them).
On the inside of the cover, as I mentioned, there are many pockets. I was considering using this as a replacement for my wallet. Given the size of the whole deal that is on hold, but I am still considering it. The back has a pocket as well.
The little loops on the front and back are to both hold a pen and to keep the cover closed. Or you can hold two pens (more on that later). On the inside there is text hidden behind one of the pockets that I actually didn't notice until I was taking these pictures for this review.
Here is the inside with what I currently carry with my notebook, as well as the outside pocket with a Banditapple Peewee Weekly which I am transferring stuff into my Hobonichi from. Honestly all these pockets are a great size for the things I want to carry in it. They did a really good job and you can tell that they have perfected it.
##The Memo Pad & Stencil (Template)
The Memo Pad is interesting. I have been looking for a decent pocket sized notebook with 100% micro-perforated removable pages. This notebook has 48 pages of micro-perforated Tomoe River Paper pages. The only bummer for me is graph ruling (I prefer dot-grid). Do you know how much this 3-pack costs though? Not counting shipping, a 3-pack costs about $5! Five. Dollars. Why the heck would I not add this on to my order?
Anyway, the Memo Pad is about the size of your standard pocket notebook. I'm using a FN book since that is what most people are familiar with. Height-wise they're the same; width-wise the Memo Pad is slightly bigger. My guess is that this is because they wanted the sheets to be the right size after you remove them.
The graph ruling is actually not that bad. It is a light gray; while it looks dark in the picture that is probably due to the thinness of the pages allowing the other graph lines to show through. In this closeup you can see that the graph lines are dashed slightly which is kind of cool. The arrows you see indicate where the perforations are. You can barely make them out if you zoom in, but they are super hard to see. I haven't tried removing a page yet so I'm not sure how easy it is.
The stencil, or template, that I bought is just the basic one. I don't use the numbers that much but I like the different line options and the stars for rating food and such. Not much to say here; it is what it is. I will say that, while the dashed line says it was made for a 0.5mm ballpoint pen, they also sell (and include for free in some cases) a Uni Jetstream multi-pen. Let me tell you this, the 0.5 Jetstream is on par with my 0.38 Signos so be aware that this stencil is made for smaller pens.
#The Planner
"Who would use a planner. That seems silly. Paper is dumb."
—Me, not too long ago.
"This planner is awesome and I love paper and pens."
—Me, today
##Intro
The Hobonichi Techo, English version, 2015 edition. It's pretty. I think the text on the front reads "Hobonichi Techo". Honestly, a few of the pictures I'm going to share probably look better on their website, but sometimes it just is easier to get an idea of something when pictures aren't taken by a marketing team with something better than the camera on a Nexus 5...
Here are a few shots of the planner inside the cover. The Memo Pad ,and any other similarly sized notebook, fit really well in the back of the cover. The same goes for the back pocket.
A pen does a pretty good job at keeping is closed too. I have a Slicci 0.3 holding mine shut, but even large pens will fit fine.
##Overview
In case I haven't told you what this is enough times...
The first few pages are things like year view as well as month view. Please note how I expertly made note of something from March in the May section where it would be most useful (eye roll).
Most of the planner is taken up by the day pages which feature quotes, a mini calendar to show you where you are, and moon phases. The markings on the right side are for the month so you can quickly move to another month AND see which one you're in (it also says at the top of the page).
One question I had before I bought it was: "Does it really lay that flat?" Yes, yes it does. And it does so pretty much anywhere except the first and last page or two. I didn't really have to hold anything down for these pictures.
In the back of the daily pages there are two days per page for getting ready for the next year. They also have a bunch of orange dot-grid pages for general notes and such. Here is a close-up view of the orange dot-grid ruling.
I really like the extra little additions as well. They have size charts and random-selection guides, how to stay at a traditional Ryokan, plant identification, international phone codes, and national holidays around the world. The Holidays are also listed on the daily pages (with the country code).
##Using the Planner
May 11th is the day that I got my Hobonichi! Look at that happy stick figure. My first impressions were:
- The paper is CRAZY smooth to write on. Zero pressure required to get nice lines with my Signos.
- The colors really shine on the paper even though it is so thin.
- Ink takes a LOT longer to dry (more on that later)
- Don't fill in the '4' from the stencil.
Illustrations
Of course the first thing I want to do is try out my stencil. I got it since I thought it would be nice to have a dedicated straight-edge for my Hobo. I also liked the lines with the dots and arrows at the ends as well as the stars for rating things.
Even though I tend to just want to write things, I felt that it would be a lot more fun to illustrate more things in here to add a visual touch. The weird thing is that it doesn't feel weird to add illustrations in here. Usually I would feel stupid, and maybe it's just that so many other people add pictures to theirs, but it feels sort of natural.
One thing that I'm trying to do is draw things instead of pasting them into the book. In this example I traced a map of a 5k I did rather than gluing it in. The paper is so thin that it worked pretty well.
Ink Transfer & Too Much Pressure
A close-up shot of the same page from the last picture shows one of the first things I learned: ink might not bleed through, but if you write hard enough it will transfer. The ink you see here is from the left page and transferred when I wrote too hard on the opposite side of this one.
In this picture you can see some indentations on both pages from writing too hard on the other side. A close-up of the right page shows you the raised portions, and a close-up of the left shows you the indents.
Dry Times
This page with it's close-up show an example of me running a finger over ink that hadn't quite made it yet. One of the things that requires consideration is to make sure you don't write at the bottom before you write at the top. I sometimes do this since I sometimes write things out of order when logging.
Pens & the Pen Loops
I really like the fact that the pen loops hold a pen and simultaneously hold the book closed. I always thought pen loops were too much, but these work really well. For those of you interested, I was able to fit four Sliccis into the loops, though this way they're not latched.
What I use it for
A brief summary of how I have started to, and how I plan on, using my Hobonichi.
- Daily log
- Daily goals list
- Birthdays & events (on monthly pages)
- Things to add to next month's budget ("Coming up" page at the beginning of each daily page section)
- What I eat for dinner (daily pages at the bottom) with a rating if it's a restaurant or something.
- Other things that are small enough that I can't think of them.
##Final Thoughts
I really like this notebook. Now that I have gotten used to the dry times and am training myself to write with a lighter hand (really hard to change) I am not experiencing ink transfer problems any more. I still get some indenting, but not as much.
###Colored Pens
I like how the illustrating and drawing are going so much that I ordered a few more colors from JetPens. Of course, I'm starting to think I like the Sliccis more now for the Hobo, but I've heard that they have problems with running dry early, they hold less ink, and they're more expensive than my Signos. Hard knock life I know.
In all seriousness though, having different colors really helps to separate things on pages and gives me the ability to highlight words and illustrate things better. I would recommend at least a couple different colors for anyone considering buying one of these.
###Weekly Pages
I can see how the weekly spread would be nice too, but I wasn't ready to go for the Cousin size. Besides the fact that it is in Japanese only, it is also larger (though I like A5 sizes). I wanted to make sure that I took the easiest route possible this time to avoid wasting the money.
They do have a separate notebook that you can get for weekly things, and some people have looked for this type of setup (as opposed to all days on one side), but I don't know how I feel about having two different places to write things like this just yet. It would be nice to have a place to put weekly goals though...
###Other Accessories
I really like the stencil, and now I kind of wish that I had bought one or two more. It's not like you can't find them elsewhere, but I like the shapes on some of the others.
It also might be nice to have a band that wraps around this if I were to carry multiple pens in the loops, but lately I haven't even thought about it so not really a big deal, and I can find those elsewhere too.
I am REALLY tempted to buy the "pencil board" with my next order to keep from pressing too hard and other things. But again, once I've started to get used to writing lighter it hasn't been as big of an issue. I'll probably still get one though.
I've had a couple questions asked already that I will answer here. If you have any questions as well, I will add my answers here in addition to replying directly.
Would I buy it again?
Heck yes. I already have an entry in my calendar for when the 2016 edition goes on sale in September.
Would it be good for taking meeting notes/minutes?
Probably not honestly. I've found that the pages are a great size to sum up the day with a little detail. But unless your handwriting is REALLY small and you go to one or two really short or minimal meetings, this probably wouldn't work great for detailed notes. I DO think it would work well in an office setting and to jot down a couple notes just for yourself during a meeting, but not for extensive or detailed minutes.
Source: http://www.reddit.com/r/notebooks/comments/36x1vl/hoooooooobonichi_review/