Definitely just ordered a passport-size Midori because I wanted something smaller for a vacation at the end of this month. I'm going to try to record a quick video when it arrives showing more detail of my setup and how it is being miniaturized.
April in the Midori Travelers Notebook
For the past month, I have been using a standard Midori as my daily carry notebook. Other than a few shopping lists, everything has gone into the Midori. My weekly schedule, tasks, blog post drafts (including this one!) - it's all wrapped up in a well-worn piece of leather. This is not my first dance with the Midori, but there are some elements of my current usage that are really making it work for me.
The aesthetics
This is what always brings me back to the MTN. The look is so Indiana Jones and my life is so not. But I can pretend it is when I am toting around a leather notebook. I also really like the dimensions of the standard Midori. The tall, narrow format does not work for everyone but it fits my brain perfectly.
No accessories
I know that some users love to deck out their MTN with pockets and card holders. For me, more is just too much. I don't need my notebook to be my wallet and I try to keep extra bits and bobs out as well. There is not even a bookmark in my cover because little bits of string hanging out would be too distracting.
Current notebooks (both Fabriano A5 cut down to 4.25" wide)
A junk notebook
I have exactly two notebooks in my Midori. The one in front is the one that I keep "nice" for the sake of archival posterity. The other is a madhouse and that is what keeps the front book pretty. This junk notebook is where I test new pens, color/create endless owl doodles, scribble notes during presentations, etc. As soon as something is no longer relevant I cross it out with a highlighter pencil so I can flip through and quickly see what is still active.
A page in my junk notebook that has no active material
I really do draw a lot of owls. They aren't all winners
Microjournaling
This is not specific to the MTN, but it is really working for me and thus worth mentioning.
I used to be a prolific journaler but now life gets in the way of that. But I still want to be able to look back and see what I did in a particular week. So I have started to fill my weekly planner pages with little bullet points about my day. The limited space absolves me from not giving too much detail so all I need to capture is the big picture. At this point in my life it is a method that works well and the activation energy required to do it is so low that I rarely miss days.
A completed week
This week so far
Thoughts on the Bic Cristal
There has been some chatter lately about the Bic Cristal, from Brad at The Pen Addict to the Erasable Podcast (I can't remember which episode, so if you know it, let me know!) to a Facebook group entirely devoted to this modest ballpoint pen. And, at $1.59 for a pack of ten, I didn't have a good excuse to not see what all the fuss was about.
I hate to say it, but I just don't love the Cristal. Don't get me wrong, I want to soooo bad. The Cristal has been described as "the pencil of pens" and I 100% agree. It's simple, it's cheap, it works without being fiddly.
But for me, the Cristal has no joy. The colors are a bit washed out and sad and the body feels cheap (hey, it is cheap!). While I am pretty sure that the Cristal is water resistant, my prior ink testing experience showed that a Bic Roundstic did not hold up well to sunlight, so I hesitate to use something like this for anything where permanence is key.
If you are looking for a way to spend less than $2, have a handful of pens that will be really reliable and not require further thought, go get you some Cristals. But for me, I need a bit more joy in my writing than this pen can provide.
Felt tip face-off: Sharpie Pen vs. Sakura Pigma Micron
I have recently discovered a strong fondness for felt tipped pens. They seem to give me a lot of the things I like about pencils in terms of how they feel on paper, but with the convenience of a pen (no sharpening or smearing, consistent tip size, and an array of color options). I have the luxury of an art supply store on campus that sells singles of a wide variety of pens, so I thought that I would do some comparisons and start off with two of my favorites - the Sharpie Pen and the Sakura Pigma Micron. These are two great pens that really set the bar for what a felt tipped pen should be.
Sharpie Pen
Things I like:
- Pretty inexpensive
- Very water and light resistant (see tests here for light resistance)
- Of the two, this pen is the more comfortable to hold
- Tip seems finer/able to resist mushing better
- Dries quickly
- Fairly mainstream
Things I don't like:
- Ink seems like a "light black"
Pigma Micron
Things I like:
- Truly black ink
- Color variety is better
- Wide range of tip sizes
- Metal clip can be adjusted, to a point
- Water resistant and would assume light resistant as well
Things I don't like:
- Slightly harder to find in normal stores and slightly more expensive
- Lots of sharp edges and short section
- Body color scheme is drab
I have a really hard time picking a clear winner between these two. I wish I could mix the body of the Sharpie with the ink of the Micron - that would probably be my perfect felt pen. Until then, I reach for them both equally and the difference in cost is so slight that it will not affect my purchasing habits. If all you have available is big-box retailers, I would highly recommend the Sharpie and I doubt you will find yourself unhappy with it. But, if you have an art supplier nearby, give a Micron a try - maybe for you there will be a clear winner but for me, there's room at the top for two.
Pencil review - Ten KM Pencil
Sometimes gimmicks turn me off a product before it even has a chance. Sometimes an especially cute gimmick can get me to try a product that I would otherwise pass over. This is the case with the Ten KM Pencil.
Looks
Visual appeal is where this pencil wins. It is a comfortable semi-hex painted a cheerful, lemony yellow that does not immediately make me feel childish (as is often the case with yellow pencils). The finish is smooth but not glossy and carries a bit more "rustic" feel compared to many other pencils. But what I love the most are the little tick marks along the barrel that supposedly mark off each kilometer worth of writing you do. This painting is very crisp and only along one side, so nothing feels overdone. On the opposite side is the branding, with "THE TEN KM PENCIL" on the dip end and "MADE IN ENGLAND" on the point end.
Core
I am pretty sure that this is billed as an HB pencil, and that seems like a fair grading. I typically prefer a softer core in pencils, but will use an HB if I want better point retention. Sadly, I don't feel like this pencil holds a point for an especially long time either. The core is also scratchy, which I don't enjoy when writing more than a few words. On the plus side, I don't find it to be especially smeary and it does erase easily with a quality eraser.
Writing experience
Besides the sub-par core, this pencil is pleasant to use. It is very light, due to the fact that it does not have an eraser. I will sometimes put on an eraser cap if I expect to do a lot of erasing but the balance is definitely improved when left naked.
Overall
At $1.50 each, this pencil's price surpasses its quality. It is nice, but I don't reach for it "just because" and I will probably not use it extensively now that the review is done. It will probably live on the workbench in my office, which is seems perfectly suited for based on the ruler theme.
This pencil was purchased with my own money. If you want one for yourself, you can get it here (no affiliation).