I am now torn between being cool and not being cool or doing surgery to be cool.

Several months ago I finally broke down and bought a Midori Traveler’s Notebook Journal which all the really cool kids have. However, me being me, I bought the more pocketable Passport Size as the large size takes only one kind of notebook and requires a bag if you want to carry it around.

I liked it and liked that it took passport sized notebooks from Muji. It would also fit, just barely, an Eighty Pages notebook.  I started using it to carry my three basic notebooks (food journal; life and work notes; writing notes).

I like that it has thin but tough leather and I don’t mind the small bookmark, mostly because it can be cut off with no problem. With a little effort and a couple rubber bands it could be stuffed with extra notebooks.

The passport sized Traveler’s cover from the top with the Eighty Pages Volume three.

I wish that it was a little larger and could hold Field Notes sized notebooks–they can be forced in, but they stick out the ends–but I could forgive it because, unlike the larger version, it doesn’t require you use proprietary notebooks (or perform surgery on a notebook; more on that in a future post).

The leather ages well and gets softer without getting floppy. With one exception, the elastic bands held up well. The only strap I had to tighten was the strap that holds the cover closed. It’s attached at the back and was used enough that it started to get lose.

What I didn’t like almost as soon as I got it was the metal bit at the back used to bind the elastic cord and the book mark. What I didn’t realize was how annoying it would become.

First, it doesn’t even lay flat against the spine. It sticks out and is large enough to cover a mechanical pencil. It’s large enough it could be used as a weight for a fishing line. I can’t figure out who at the manufacturer thought this was a good idea. It taps when you set it on a desk. It scratches the desk. It prevents the notebooks from sitting flat. I tried moving it inside the spine, but it crushes the ends of the notebooks and works its way back outside. It’s such a bad idea only people in love with the idea of the notebook cover itself can possibly forgive its existence.

Cult Member: Dude, you’re too attached to material things. By scratching your desk you make it yours.
Me: Piss off and stop scratching the desk.
Cult Member: It’s a feature not a bug, Dude.

The metal bit in its natural position next to a Kurutoga mechanical pencil. Why does this fishing weight metal bit exist?

Something like that.

I’ve heard that, over time, the elastic bands loosen and the only way to tighten them is to remove the fishing weight, do some pulling and cutting, and then put a new fishing weight on. (Midori is more than happy to sell you a new one.) At this point I’ve heard that many people opt to knot the elastic bands rather than wrestle with the useless metal bit.

If they ever come out with a version that doesn’t have the metal bit I might reconsider using them. Until then, I have something else to try.

As I abandoned large notebooks and planners I found myself running about with various materials: smaller notebooks, bigger notebooks, note cards and random scraps of paper with random notes on both sides.

Along the way I discovered many excellent small notebooks, such as Field Notes notebooks, the passport sized Midori Traveler’s notebooks and other random notebooks. I suddenly found myself using three different notebooks at the same time (food journal; life and work notes; writing notes) and started looking for a cover to carry them all. I looked at the Midori Traveler’s notebook, but it was long and reminded me too much of my old Filofax planner. It also wasn’t pocket friendly.

Instead I started carrying the smaller Midori Traveler’s Passport sized cover with three small notebooks in it. The problem with it is, and I’ll give it a more through review another day, most of the notebooks I like to use are too large for it. At one point I tried a Field Notes Two Rivers and had bits sticking out both ends.

Somehow, and I don’t remember how, I discovered a company in Andover, Kansas named Old Church Works. They produce several pen and notebook related items, including a number of leather covers designed to hold notebooks the same size as Field Notes notebooks. I ordered one and, after a bit of delay, have finally decided to start using it.

The Quad Field Notes Leather Notebook Cover (hereafter referred to as the Quad) is bulkier than the Midori Passport, but that’s most likely because it’s new. Once I’ve had a chance to carry it around, I think it will start to soften and break in. It’s also half and inch longer than the Midori and I’m wondering how it will feel in a back pocket.

The Quad next to the Midori. Both are holding three notebooks. (The extra strap holding the third notebook is top left.)

The Quad is made from 6-7 ounce leather that’s been vegetable tanned and treated with bee’s wax along the edges. To hold the notebooks it has a long elastic cord laced through the leather to form loops. The laces are long enough to form built in bookmarks that end in brass aglets.

The Quad also comes with an extra elastic strap that allows the user to attach one or more extra notebooks.

The strap about ready to hold the Two Rivers (left) and the Story Supply together.

This is a nice touch as Midori is more than happy to sell you a glorified rubber band to help keep your extra notebooks together. (Note: a large rubber band also works really well.)

The Quad also solves the number one reason I’ve been annoyed with the Midori: the metal bit. Midori fastens the straps and the book mark together with something resembling a fishing weight. It sticks out and has a tendency to tap and scratch tables and desks. (More on that in the future post.) The Quad simply uses lacing and knots to hold the straps together.

The fishing weight on the top notebook cover. You can also see the length differences in the two covers.

Right now, the only early annoyance with the Quad is that the book marks are the ends of the straps meaning there’s no way to get rid of them without performing surgery on the straps. They look good and the brass aglets are nice looking and less tappy and scratchy than the fishing weight on the Midori, but I don’t really need bookmarks and they hang out farther than they need to for pocket carry. I wish they were tied in as a separate piece so that I could remove or add them at my pleasure.

But we’ll see what what I think in six months or so. Until then, check out Old Church Works website . The history of the name is an interesting story.