One of my grail stationery items is a Traveller's Notebook, but since I can't think of a dedicated purpose for one yet and I have several other notebooks, I've so far refrained from buying one, telling myself that when I travel abroad in the future I'll bring one along to use as a travel notebook.
When choosing items for this series of reviews, I saw the Explorer Pocket Journal, which looked like it could be a good dupe for a Traveller's Notebook. I know, I was trying to commit to using my other notebooks first, but seeing as I was doing well with my Spanish journal I decided to go for it. I mean, it's technically a notebook cover, not an actual notebook, right?
With this useful bit of reasoning in my brain, I waited for it to arrive. It came in the black and gold box distinctive of Endless Stationery, and was (like the Companion pen pouch) wrapped in thin paper.
When I removed the paper, I saw the adorable little notebook. I live on both sides of the staionery coin. Yes, I love beautifully ornate items with intricately printed covers and delicate detailing, but I love rugged, versatile things just as much, which is probably why I enjoy leather goods so much.
My first impression of the Explorer was that it would be perfect to chuck in a backpack and trudge into the wild with. It'd be equally good for sketching in urban areas, or journalling on the go. It just has that air of portability about it. I can get finicky about my stationery getting beat up and losing its crispness but I don't worry about that so much with leather.
This case feels like it'll tolerate abuse well, and the material should age nicely. A big reason why I have enjoyed Endless Stationery's products so much is the gorgeous finish on their leather.
I believe this type of fuzzy finish is known as 'nubuck' (thanks for the info, Mardi!) and while it can pick up scuffs and stains quite easily it is quite tough. Dheeraj from Endless Stationery told me that the occasional wipe-down with a dry cloth should keep it in good condition, and he advised me to avoid using a damp cloth. You can get brushes designed for taking care of nubuck, but since the cloth was struggling to get all the dust off, I started using a very soft toothbrush to remove grime. It works like a charm for me but do this at your own risk - I'm not an expert by any means!
This notebook has seen a lot of use in the past two weeks as I've been using it as my watercolour practice book, and I've been using it for a few hours everyday on average as I wash the pages with colour then Zentangle over them. I've dropped the notebook by accident a few times and it got scuffed once or twice, but each time I've brushed it gently with the toothbrush, the scuff has come straight out. Though the leather seems more delicate than smoother types, it can clearly handle some wear and tear from intensive use. It can hold two Endless Recorder refills, my notebook came with one refill but more were included in the review package so I could test it out at full capacity.
The refill included was Tomoe River paper, and the other two were Regalia paper, but since I intend to review them seperately I'll discuss that in a separate article.
Three Endless Recorders do fit perfectly, but I decided that I didn't want to paint on dot grid, so here's my current setup:
1. A Tomoe River Everyday Book from Galen leather. It's just a little wider than the Recorders and fits just as well. This is my painting and drawing book.
2. An Endless Recorder book. I use this to swatch all my paints, and it holds up very well to watercolour.
3. A green Uglybooks notebook. Realistically it's a bit too wide for this notebook cover, but the inner elastic band holds it in place and the outer elastic bandhold it all together. It might not look as pretty jutting out of the book, but the paper is perfect for oil pastels so I'm keeping it in there!
The notebook cover is customisable in this way and adapts well to a range of refills, and I intend to buy some Traveller's Refills that are made to be used with watercolours as from the measurements, I think they'll fit. I'll update when I get around to buying them.
On the face of it the Explorer could be a good dupe for a Taveller's notebook. I look forward to using it every day for practicing art and I've integrated the Explorer into my list of most-used stationery items (which also calls for a post of its own). I still want to buy an actual Travellers Notebook, but for anyone who wants a good, reliable notebook cover that will stand the test of time and adapt to how they work, the Explorer is a brilliant option. I'm looking forward to seeing how mine ages on its adventures!
Disclaimer: This product was provided by Emdless Stationery for review purposes. All opinions in this article are my own.
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