On the menu today: a review of the revised Rhodia Webnotebook. Introduced last year, the Rhodia Webnotebook is a different type of product for the company. Instead of Rhodia's classic orange pads, the Webnotebook is a bound book with ivory, lined pages. Available in small (3 5/8 x 5 5/8 inches) and large (5 1/2 x 8 3/8 inches) sizes and with black or orange covers, the Webnotebook appears to be Rhodia's answer to the popular Moleskine brand. Or is it????
(Sorry for the dramatic emphasis. That was kind of unnecessary, wasn't it? I mean, Rhodia is totally trying to nip at Moleskine's heels with this new notebook! Well I for one, welcome our journal overlords!)
Anyway: I've been keeping journals since 1993. That is a long time. When I was younger, I was never interested in using the same kind of journal over and over again, except for those first two diaries. Then a few years ago, I saw a bunch of Moleskine journals in Barnes and Noble (they're sneaky, they are) and used those consistently from 2005 to 2008ish. BUT: the paper could be inconsistent. It wasn't awful. It just didn't work well with fountain pens...sometimes. In one book, fountain pen inks can feather or bleed like crazy-- in a different book, everything's fine.
So after a while, I started using Exaclair products like Clairefontaine and Exacompta. These journals and notebooks come in a variety of styles and sizes and are known for having high-quality paper suitable for all types of pens and pencils. There was something missing though. I love the design of the Moleskine journals: the handy size, interior pocket, ribbon bookmark, and elastic ribbon to keep the covers shut. Why couldn't one have the cool design of the Moleskine with the bitchin' paper of a Clairefontaine notebook? Why, why, why?
Enter the Rhodia Webnotebook (no, I don't know what's up with the name either. Moving on). The Webnotebook debuted last year with different paper than their normal, 90g white stock. This summer, they changed the paper back, in response to customer feedback. (Listening to your customers: It's what's for dinner). 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.
Below are some links to photos of the Rhodia Webnotebooks and writing samples. 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 the it didn't feel like I was writing on a dry leaf. Whee!
All the pictures at a glance
Black Webnotebook with writing sample
Black journal when closed
Writing sample in orange Rhodia Webnotebook
Orange notebook when open
Orange notebook when closed
I purchased my journals from the Writer's Bloc store but they can also be found at JetPens and the Daily Planner, among other vendors.
The moral of the story? Competition is good. Or wait, maybe that's ice cream. Either way...enjoy the show!
32 minutes ago
Nice work you did!
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ReplyDeleteI had a question about the new books and I posted this also on FPN. Perhaps you have some insight on this and in any event your review was great. The new web notebooks now contain new paper which is either 90g Clairefontaine paper per the Rhodia website or 90g Rhodia paper per a new web notebook I just received from Vickerey? I am also using what is an older web notebook that says it's 80g Rhodia paper this came from The Daily Planner. Confused as to whether there's also a notebook that actually has Clairefontaine paper as the chnage to the new book per Exaclair was that it now had Clairefontaine paper. Help bloggers and reviewers out there and yes geeks.
ReplyDelete@mike: The new Webnotebooks contain 90g Rhodia paper. Last year's Webnotebooks had 80g paper. Since some vendors are still carrying those, it's best to contact the vendor directly to confirm which notebook they have in stock. If you run into roadblocks there, you can also contact Exaclair (Rhodia and Clairefontaine's US distributor) about where the new Webnotebooks are being sold:
ReplyDeletehttp://exaclair.com/contact.php4
They're very responsive to questions.
@Woodworker: Accidentally deleted my reply to you but just wanted to say thanks.
ReplyDeleteJust ordered a Rhodia Webnotebook in the UK. They say its 80g paper although it's not stock so we'll wait and see if European version is still 80g or not. I do wish they did a grid version though. Thanks for the review
ReplyDelete@Superpooky: Yeah, it can be a bit of a search to figure out which is the older stock and which is the newer paper. Perhaps a grid version is in the future, someday, if enough people tell Rhodia they want it?
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