Stationery Spotlight: Tailormap Harris Tweed Ring Planner
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Last year, I reviewed the Tailormap Harris Tweed traveler’s notebooks. I was immediately impressed with them and have since purchased a few more in various colors. At the time, I had also seen that they offered a few ring planner options in the same Harris Tweed material, and today, I’m finally going to take a look at a few of them!
The Build
I have three of them here, two in their A6 size (more on that later) and one in A5. Right away, you can see just how beautiful the colors are, and they feel just as well-made as their Traveler’s notebooks. It’s the same Harris Tweed front fabric, with a soft canvas on the inside. The Harris Tweed on the outside has the same prickly-soft feel to it. The texture is definitely going to be a love-or-hate thing, and while I really enjoy it, I’ve had a few people tell me they didn’t love the rougher texture. Regardless, aesthetics reign supreme here, and that material is what gives these notebooks their beautiful and cozy look.
The inside of the notebook is very simple. There aren’t any pockets or anything, and that may be a turn off for anyone looking for something more organizational, but you can always customize with your choice of inserts. The hardware is functional, and the rings open and close easily (but not too easily). With that said, I wish they were attached to the cover with screws instead of rivets. It’s not impossible to replace the rings if you wanted to, but screws would have made it a lot easier.
On the outside, you have the opposite side of the mounting hardware for the cover, as well as an eyelet in the center for the elastic band. Around the end of the band, there is a leather closure strap.
The band is another reason I wish the rings used screws instead of rivets. Since the elastic band is something that will loosen over time or need to be replaced, it would be a lot easier to do so without the rings in the way. On the plus side, the cover is flexible enough to access the eyelet from the inside even with the rings in the way, but it feels like a design flaw.
The paper
The notebooks each come with their own paper; however, I’m not going to spend too much time on them because, like the Tailormap traveler’s notebooks, they all seem to come with something different, and in varying degrees of quality (Although, the grid paper that came with the A5 notebook was surprisingly nice). I suggest having your own paper ready for these notebooks.
The center ring spacing for true A6 is 1.5”, while these are closer to personal size at 2” apart.
While we’re on the subject of the paper, it’s time to talk about the sizing, because while the A6 notebook is advertised as A6, it’s actually closer to personal-wide size. Specifically, the inserts that came in my notebook were Franklin-Covey compact size (4.25”x6.75”, slightly narrower than personal-wide), but the ring spacing is the same as personal (2” between the center rings, and half an inch wider than true A6 ring size).
It’s not uncommon to see personal-sized planners mistaken for A6, but it needs to be mentioned because the inserts are not the same, and true A6 (5.83”x5.13”) will not fit. I’ll leave a short guide to getting the correctly sized insert below.
A short guide to the A6 insert sizes:
The size it came with: Franklin-Covey compact size (4.25”x6.75”, 2” spacing between rings)
Second closest fit: Personal-wide (4.75”x6.75”, 2” spacing between rings)
Will also fit but may feel too narrow: Personal Size (6.75”x3.75”, 2” spacing between rings)
Will not fit: A6 (5.83”x5.13”, 1.5” spacing between rings)
Final Thoughts
They’re very basic, so there’s not much else to say about the covers themselves, but they are just as great as the traveler’s notebooks are. They come in a ton of great colors, and they’re just so cozy. I mentioned in the traveler’s notebook review that I wasn’t sure how they’d hold up in the long term compared to leather, but I haven’t noticed any wear in the time I’ve had them (about 2 years), and the A6 that I drew the map in above gets used a lot. I’d say they hold up. With the weather cooling down, I can’t think of a more appropriate notebook to have in rotation.
Links!
Ring Planners:
Tailormap Harris Tweed Ring Planner, A6, Tarzan — Amazon
Tailormap Harris Tweed Ring Planner, A6, Rainbow — Amazon
Tailormap Harris Tweed Ring Planner, A5, no.879 — Amazon
Featured in the photography:
Kaweco Sport Honey, broad nib — Amazon
Hongdian Burly Wood Ink — Amazon
Retro51 Rollerball, green — Amazon
Pentel GraphGear 1000 — Amazon
Uni Ball One .38mm gel pens — Amazon
ANATTASOUL brass cat clip — Amazon
Paper I used:
(Though also mislabeled as A6, the above inserts are the same size as the ones that come with the notebooks)
Current text: Anne of Green Gables by L. M. Montgomery — Amazon
