A few weeks ago I received the
Popovleather notebook covers...and let me tell you...they are amazing.
I ordered two;
* The Hobonichi cover, and
* The FieldNote sized cover.
** Note that Popov Leather is closed until beginning of August, 2016 due to adding a 'baby Popov'.
** If you order during this time you get a 20% discount (
see their site)
One of the neat things when ordering a product from Popov is that you can specify the leather and thread that you want as these are handmade to order.
In my case I opted for Driftwood leather w/ cream thread for the Hobo case (top) as I wanted it to be the same as my wallet... and for the FieldNote sized one I went for something a bit darker all around and got it in Tan leather w/ brown thread.
Popovleather makes some amazing high quality goods but these covers blew me away.
It's hard to really show in these pictures but they strike a balance between firm and supple that has to be experienced.
What's new about these covers is that Ryan has now added an option to have a pen on them that serves both as a way to keep track of your pen but it also holds the cover closed when the pen is inserted into the loop.
Note that there are two loop sizes to choose from. The larger one is well suited for most fountain pens.
Prices:
Hobonichi cover: About USD 59/GBP 44 (or USD 47 / GBP 35 w/ the 20% discount)
FieldNote sized cover: About USD 49 / GBP 36 (or USD 39 /GBP 29 w/ the 20% discount)
The Hobonichi cover
Obviously a bit larger to be able to accommodate this relatively thick notebook/journal.
Here it is with my Hobo inserted into it.
(As can be seen in the very first photo the case also has a small pocket on the inside where you can place a card or two or some bills).
A great fit (pardon the attempts at drawing)
Here's the cover being held closed courtesy of a gold-and-burgundy Parker 51
The pen fits snugly in place and won't slide out
The Field Note sized cover
Similar in most ways to the Hobo cover apart from size (and my personal color choices).
My rather "stealthy" color combination shown here with the same Parker 51 pen:
Using them
So it's been a few weeks now since I bought and received these covers and the natural question might be if they are actually also practical and if one will use them.
For me the answer to that is
"absolutely".
Most of the time I have actually both with me in my bag and love using them.
They also go well with beer.