Archive for User Reviews
User Review: Bill from the FPN compares the Webbie to several similar journals
Gratuitous photo of packaging, pages, and Visconti Van Gogh Cappuccino.
Bill was gracious in allowing us to use his review of the small Webnotebook and images he had posted to the Fountain Pen Network. Thank you Bill for your detailed review and most excellent photos of the Webnotebook and its peers. We always appreciate honest reviews of our products and we want you to know that they are reviewed by the powers that be.
1. The paper is not a disappointment. A light ivory color, it is smooth and resistant to bleed-through, certainly better than all the notebooks shown here. No surprise if you have used Clairefontaine and Rhodia papers before. Black ‘n Red will give it a run, Continue Readering »
User Reviews: J. Herbin ink art with a Squirrel
I really think I just might pack up all my inks and send them to Gentian from the blog “Drawing with a Squirrel” just to see what she will do with them. Not only is her art amazing, but so is her calligraphy, as you can see below.
Close up of design drawn with Herbin’s Rose Cyclamen in a hardbound Clairefontaine journal.
Bleu Nuit with Calligraphy examples.
All images courtesy of Gentian Osman – Thank YOU for sharing your gorgeous art!
User Review: Bearcat loves his pocket sized Rhodia
Bearcat from the Fountain Pen Network submitted the above image and following review about a favorite pocket sized Rhodia:
“After spending a small fortune over the years trying almost every brand of notebook out there, I keep coming back to Rhodia. They just seem to be the all-around best for my uses. They are great with all of my fountain pens and every ink that I have tried in them. Not the cheapest out there, but not the most expensive, either. Here is a quick shot of the little 7.5 Cm X 12 Cm graph-ruled one that is currently riding in my shirt pocket. The ink is Waterman’s Florida Blue out of a Parker “51″ Special with a fine to medium steel nib.”
Thanks Bearcat!
User Review: Rhodia Races to the Top of the 2009 Pike’s Peak International Hill Climb
Image courtesy of Adam Kneipp
We recently received the following reader submission from Adam Kneipp, co-driver for Rally Ready Motorsports. He wanted to share his experience with us on how he used Rhodia to help navigate Pike’s Peak at the recent International Hill Climb. Be sure to check out the video clips below that show Adam in the car with his Rhodia pad as they are snaking their way to the top of Pike’s Peak.
“Just wanted to pass along how I use your amazing notebooks. This year I was a co-driver for an automotive racing team, Rally Ready Motorsports, that competed in the Pikes Peak International Hill Climb in the Pikes Peak Open class. The hill climb consisted of 3 days of testing, tuning and preparing notes and 1 day, 1 run for the official timed run on the road’s 156 turns over 12.42 miles and 4500′+ of elevation gain. In the Pikes Peak Open class, teams are permitted to consist of two people in car, a driver and a co-driver. As a co-driver, my job is to relay information from a set of stage notes (a book with shorthand descriptions of the road) to the driver via an intercom system. The driver then uses the information a co-driver relays to him/her to set the car up for the upcoming straights, turns and other conditions the we know of the road….and drive it as quickly as possible.
As I said, our preparation begins days before the actual race takes place, allowing us to make our road notes as detailed as possible. I had been using Rhodia note pads off and on for a few months leading up to Pikes Peak in performance rally, but when the opportunity was presented to me, I had no question as to what notebook I was going to use for notes preparation. The Rhodia A5 with the top wire bound spiral was already a favorite of mine. With the 5/5 ruling, I could make sure that my writing was sized so that I could easily see it during the entire race, through fast straights, tight hairpins and the rough transitions from dirt to pavement that exist up the mountain road. Combined with the new Sharpie pens, there was no bleeding through and everything was clearly readable the entire race. The pages were easy to turn (my notes for the entire 12.42 miles took over 20 pages of A5) and having the heavy cardboard backing made any changes I needed to make on the fly during the race easy. I keep a smaller A6 size pad in my gear bag that I use to make any service notes or changes to the car’s setup that the driver requests.
Our result? The car itself suffered ignition trouble and turbo boost leaks just after leaving the start line. We lost well over a minute off of our projected finishing time, but we were able to battle and stay focused the entire run, putting us in first place in our class by over 20 seconds, our next closest competitor have engine issues as well. This was my driver, Dave Carapetyan’s, second consecutive Pikes Peak Open victory and the first in his Mitsubishi Evo 8, a new car for this year for the team.
I’ve attached links to our in-car camera that clearly shows the famous orange cover of the Rhodia pads.”
User Review: Kate and the Webnotebook
Photo Courtesy of Kate Marshall – see more of her Webnotebook images here.
Kate from the blog K’s Notebook gives her impressions on the Rhodia Webnotebook:
“I think I’ve found my new permanent journal. Scratch that– I know I’ve found my new favorite journal! You could write in these things with half of a blue crayon and the paper would still hold up.… I threw every pen I had at the book and it held up with aplomb: ink didn’t feather or bleed (if at all), nib widths were accurate, and it didn’t feel like I was writing on a dry leaf. Whee!”
Thanks Kate! We are glad you like the Webnotebook. Click here to read Kate’s full review.
Essentially Invisible to the Eye
Leave it to the Office Supply Geek to experiment and find out for us this heretofore arcane wonder:
“I tried the Noodler’s Blue Ghost on multiple different papers and it seems to get the best results when used on non-white paper, especially a non bright AND non white paper. The Rhodia Web Notebook with 90g paper in the cream color got by far the best results. The photo above shows the writing sample in that Rhodia Webnotebook . The light that I used for getting these pictures is from Feit Electric, which is a compact fluorescent light, so its even environmentally friendly. There are many better and worse options for a fluorescent light, so do your research and find the one that is best for you, but also be aware that lights like this can be dangerous for your eyes, so exercise care when using them….”
Related: Rhodia Webnotebook
Exacompta Sketchbook
Gentian Osman in Seattle tried the Exacompta Sketchbook recently and wrote about it:
“I finished this one a while ago, but I did not get a chance to post it. I had recieved a wonderful Exacompta Sketchbook as part of a package from Exaclair inc, when I reviewed J. Herbin inks. It’s really a great sketchbook with lovely paper. I’ll have to draw in it some more! I was hoping to finish the moleskine I have had for ages, before moving on to a new book. I just have a bad habit of working in multiple books at once. But I can see myself easily wanting to work in this one the most.”
Here’s a close up of the delicate pencil work.
Largest/Smallest Rhodia pads
Granny Kass recently got hold of samples from us and wrote the first of a series of reviews, this one to introduce the largest and tiniest among the bunch.
The large pad is No 38 at 42,0 X 31,8 cm or 16.5 x 12.5 in. It comes in the standard 5 X 5 grid format. The same great paper as other Rhodia notepads. I have been using the pad for brain storming and mind mapping projects. The pad gives me a lot of space to formulate my plans. I have also used it for sketching and drawing. I have found only one short coming in this product. For the size of this pad the standard board backing needs to be thicker in order to use it away from a table or desk which makes it a little difficult to be portable.
Comments on the Rhodia pencil
Rhodia Pad Review by Tejal
Tejal Kuray recently got to try Rhodia Blank Pads and posted her thoughts on the product.
She gave the pad good points on construction:
“This has got to be the best designed notepad, ever. First of all, it has a COVER (which is more than I can say for Staples sugarcane bagasse paper…honestly. Is a cover too much to ask?) to protect it from the academic elements of sweaty hands, dirt, ink, and being tossed in and out of a knapsack or bag. I also dig the understated simplicity of the cover: The black logo, against an orange backdrop. Period. Nothing more. It has a vintage feel to it, which I appreciate…”
On the paper…
“Though beautifully smooth, it has a little more tooth than its sister brand Clairfontaine. It’s barely noticeable — just enough to give you some control over your steering, so to speak (I personally prefer the glassy Clairefontaine, but that’s just me :) ) ..”
The verdict:
“This has been my first experience with a Rhodia pad, and despite the slightly frustrating aspect of not being able to really write on both sides of the sheet [while still being attached to the pad], it certainly won’t be my last. Suffice it to say, I certainly understand why Rhodia pads have such a huge following. Consider me a fan!”
Thanks Tejal (say it: TAY-jull)
Office Supply Geek reviews the Webnotebook
A closer look at the new Rhodia Webnotebook by the Offce Supply Geek.
“When I cracked it open and felt the paper, I could immediately feel the difference between the paper in this and my old version. I was excited to try writing in this notebook because I knew that if I could feel the difference with my fingers, that the difference would be just as noticeable when I started writing with my fountain pens on the smooth surface. Sure enough, as soon as pen nib hit paper I was impressed with the way the nib would move across the paper with such ease and smoothness…”
(Thanks Max!)
Review: NEW Rhodia Webnotebook
Stephanie @ the Spiritual Evolution of the Bean, with her thoughts on the new Web Notebook, especially how it works with different inks and nibs:
“13 different fountain pen inks (3 different manufacturers – Herbin, Noodler’s and Diamine) tested in 13 different fountain pens ranging in extra fine to medium nibs plus two cursive italics in .5 and .7 nib widths. This paper is super smooth with every single pen/ink combination tested, and I experienced no feathering, spreading, (meaning that each nib wrote at it’s actual size) and no bleed-through to the other side. ..”
There are concerns, and she notes among others:
“…the signatures are sewn a little tight, (like most Clairefontaine products) and it prevents the book from opening completely flat – like the Moleskine. In my opinion…it’s flat enough – but I wish they would consider improving the tension…”
In the end, this nice compliment. Rest assured our R&D people are listening/reading.
“…while this product may not be all things to all people, I’m going to say that it’s immediately moving to the top of my list as the #1 plain black journal for “preferred writers.”
The Office Supply Geek reviews J. Herbin
The Office Supply Geek recently got complimentary samples from J. Herbin and shares his impressions.
The first writing sample above was done using the J. Herbin Vert Empire fountain pen ink in a Rhodia notebook with a cream color paper. The ink preforms really nicely on this paper writing very smoothly with little to no feathering and keeping a clean line. I should also note that the writing sample was done with my Pelikan M215 fountain pen with a fine nib. I think that the contrast of the green against the cream color paper here looks great, and is pretty easy on the eyes, creating a somewhat subdued look. The combination of this ink with a fine nib, and the Rhodia worked out well when it comes to the drying time. Within 2-3 seconds, the ink appears to be dry to the touch. The ink does show a very slight bit of bleed on the other side of the page, but I would say it is on par with other inks (outside of any black ink) that I have tested on the same paper.
Biffybean’s J. Herbin Ink Reviews
Ambre de Birmanie, Bleu Nuit, Bleu Pervenche, Bouquet D’Antan, Bouton D’Or, Diabolo Menthe.Just part of an index of inks Stpehanie has used and her thoughts. Helpful, interesting and cool photos as usual. If you missed some, here’s the list.
Face-off: Rhodia & Field Notes
Field Notes released its “Butcher Orange” version, and it looks like Rhodia’s own stapled notebook. Now, we’ve not yet seen a review of Field Notes in its orange rendition, but we’ve found this. But we’re even more interested if there’s somebody out there who has both the Rhodia and Field Notes version and actually tried test-driving them. Anyone?
