Open Discussion – 14 November 2016

I received a request to start a once a week open discussion post like Free For All Friday over on Philofaxy.

So this post will be a regular feature hopefully every Monday here on Travellers Notebook Times where you will be free to discuss anything relevant, ask questions, ask for opinions and share other information as well.

Relevant is anything covering Ttravellers notebook, bound planners, Hobonichi planners, notebooks etc etc… But obviously excluding ring bound planners, disc bound planners which are more at home on Philofaxy.

I hope to keep it simple and civilised.

Enjoy.

7 thoughts on “Open Discussion – 14 November 2016

  1. Steve Yattes

    Good morning everyone, allow me to be the first to leave a comment in this new feature, and invite your comments. My question is Fauxdori or Midori? Originally, I bought two Fauxdori from an English supplier, one Field Note size and one regular, to give the concept a try, but I was a bit disappointed with the thickness of the leather, so eventually I sent for a passport size Midori TN. What a difference in quality, and since then I haven’t looked back. I’m interested to know what people think of their Fauxdoris, particularly as some of the producers have made theirs with additional features, e:g built in pockets, pen loops, bi-fold and tri-fold etc.

    1. Steve Morton Post author

      I’ve had some mixed experiences with some of the non-Midori branded TN’s. I ordered from Amazon the ZLYC TN cover set, it comes with a regular size and the small passport size plus a pen holder and booklets. It seemed a good price. I had seen reviews on You Tube by a couple of people.

      What arrived though was very disappointing. It looks and feels like leather, but it is split leather not full grain leather and it has a synthetic top coating. OK that might be ok for regular use. Except the cover had been cut too narrow. You could just about get one booklet in it, but any more than that and they stick out the edge. Compared to others the leather is about 2 cm too narrow.

      I should have returned it for a refund but at the time I was away when it arrived and it was too late to do anything about it by the time I got back.

      After that experience I decided to make one of my own, using leather supplied by a company recommended to me by a few people. You will see them mentioned on the Links page of this site.

    2. Freyja

      I make my own covers. I have ordered leather especially for the object and I have torn many a thick, leather manbag to merry pieces to get enough leather. On some covers I have made additional pockets, penloops, whathaveyous and on some covers I have just made a simple leather piece, just like the “original” idea was and is. I live in far corners of the world and ordering a Midori here would be terrifyingly costly so as long as such a cover does not appear within my very eyes, I´ll remain content with the hoard of TN covers that I have.

    3. caendicott

      I wasn’t ready for the expense of a real Midori or the other more expensive leather covers, so I went with the ZLYV covers off Amazon as well. For me, they work, but I also don’t like thick-thick leather. My only complaint is about my passport, I wish the leather wasn’t so stiff.

    4. Amanda Fleet

      I wanted a TN cover that had more structure than the regular Midori. I ordered a TN with card slots in the covers (6 in the front and 6 in the back) and a slip pocket behind the cards (front and back) in a size slightly larger than the usual Midori (so able to take a Moleskine cahier size if you don’t hate their paper). I ordered it from a great guy on Etsy (Meadowgate Leathers). The cost was only slightly more than a Midori for something made especially for me. I like the covers to have thick leather and I always wondered if the Midori would be too floppy for me. I think some of the non-Midori TN suppliers can be a bit hit or miss, quality-wise.

  2. ilkleymoortim

    There has been a massive growth in the number of imitation traveller’s’ notebooks (I don’t like the Fauxdori term). Some are undoubtedly of a very high standard – superior, dare I say, to the Midori product. Personally, I prefer covers with pockets and slots. Somehow, a pvc insert for credit and business cards, is a bit “low rent”. I think it’s a shame that Flex by Filofax wasn’t sufficiently successful and still feel that a Field Notes size and Filofax Personal size (rather than the odd-sized “Slim” would have had potential.

    1. caendicott

      Personal size TNs are very popular in some of the TN groups. I doubt Midori is going to branch out to the other sizes, since it’s known for the standard and passport sizes. There are videos on YouTube showing how to turn Filos into TNs. I haven’t had the guts to do it to one of mine, but maybe one day.

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