Filofax Flex Review

[danahn17]

I noticed there wasn't a Filofax Flex review on this site so I figured I'd write one All pictures can be clicked upon for a bigger version.

 

The Filofax Flex is an organizer/journal that is very flexible (hence the name). There are different inserts available as well as many different pockets in the Filofax Flex that allows you to organize the Flex to however you want. Here's a video from Filofax that shows off some features:

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Anyways, the A5-sized starter kit comes with a textured vinyl cover, a pen holder, a "Jot pad," and a lined journal.

 

The cover has a nice feel to it and seems pretty durable. It's not super fancy cover but it doesn't seem cheaply made either. There's a lot of slots for inserting the various add-ons to the Flex, as well as some slots that I'm guessing are designed for credit cards. There's three colors available for the cover: Pink, Black, and Gray. I'd rate the cover a 8.5/10.

 

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The pen holder is an insert that can be moved pretty much anywhere. In the starter kit, it is originally placed in such a way that the pen will be at the center (where the binding of a book would be) when you open your Flex (see above pic). I moved mine so that the pen holder will be on the outside:

 

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As you can see, the pen holder isn't particularly big. It's probably designed with ballpoints in mind. My Pilot Prera's body barely fits (the cap will not fit). I've read you can use two pen holders in the outer covers to make it a closer for the cover... but I'm not too sure how that will work; I can't seem to visualize how that would work haha. (7/10).

 

The lined journal is placed in such a way that the cover of the journal slides into one of the slots in your Flex cover. The jot pad is just a narrow pad of paper designed for quick notes. While the store I purchased the Flex from said it was fountain pen friendly paper, it's definitely a "your mileage may vary" deal. If you have a dry or fine nibbed pen, you shouldn't have any problem. My Prera (F) and Vanishing Point (F) both write well with no bleeding or feathering (both are using Iroshuzuku inks). However, when I tried with a TWSBI (it had a De Atramentis ink) with a broader and wetter nib, I had a lot of feathering. (6/10)

 

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Fortunately, at least with the A5 sized journal, other brands of journals fit well. I'm currently using a Rhodia notebook... with much better results. If you're planning to use a wet fountain pen, I'd suggest this route, especially since the Flex A5 Journal refills are actually more expensive than the Rhodia (at least at the store I visited).

 

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I also bought a calendar planner and it had the same paper issues as discussed above. I noticed that the calendar planner I bought had a few specks in the paper. I'm guessing they are just impurities that made its way to the paper. There's not many... but there were enough to notice (in photo below look above the T and 24). It's not a big deal for me but just throwing that out as well. (6/10)

 

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Overall, I like the concept of the Flex. I wish the paper quality was a little better. I also wish the pen loop would be a tad bit larger. But it's a pretty nice planner / journal. The A5 starter kit was around $30, which is a little on the higher side for what it is. I'm not sure if they sell the cover separately without the starter kit journal, pen holder, and jot pad... I'd have preferred that (especially since the paper isn't the best quality). I'm happy with mine but I'd have to rate it a 7/10 overall.

[dapv]

Thank you for the review. It is very helpful. I'm surprised by the lack of responses. Perhaps others may comment.