Quo Vadis Habana - the moleskine killer?

[limesally]

I've been on something of a hunt for the moleskine-killer: a notebook that can match the functionality of the moleskine's hard black cover, sewn signatures that lie flat, back pocket and elastic, but with more reliable and consistent paper quality, particularly for use with fountain pens.

 

Quo Vadis is an Exaclair product and the Habana notebook is reputed to be filled with Clairefontaine paper. I have used the QV planners in the past, and the paper does indeed look, feel, and behave like Clairefontaine - smooth, white, and FP-friendly.

 

Habana notebooks are not available in my town, but on a recent trip to Calgary I stopped at Reid's Stationers and picked up the 10" x 15" ruled notebook. This is really a larger format than I like to use, but it was the only size available in the store that day.

 

The Habana resembles the iconic Modo e Modo moleskine, with stiff black leather like covers (though slightly more flexible), rounded page corners, back accordion pocket, elastic, and bookmark - woven instead of satin. No big surprises there. What I really wanted to find out about was the paper quality - and here is where my experience differs from bluestocking, who wrote an excellent review here. The paper in my Habana does not have the silky feel that I expected from a Clairefontaine product. It feels more like the paper in my Mead composition book - which is good paper, for a $3 notebook. But the Habana is not a $3 notebook. It feels nothing like Rhodia, Clairefontaine, or the Quo Vadis planners I've owned in the past. It feels toothy running your hand over it, and this is confirmed by writing - I tested several pens and inks on it, and the worst was my Sailor 1911M medium - my smoothest nib by far. Writing on this paper made my pen feel scratchy - in fact, I had to keep some Rhodia notepaper nearby to write on intermittently to assure myself that the tines didn't suddenly spring out of alignment or catch a fibre. There isn't any doubt that it was the paper causing the scratchy feeling.

 

I am utterly baffled that as a clear competitor to the Moleskine, the Habana still fails to come out ahead in the paper department. Although there is less feathering and bleedthrough on this paper, the writing experience is made so unpleasant by the toothiness of the paper that one can hardly bring oneself to use it. I'm astonished that the smooth writing one would expect from the same company that produces Rhodia and Clairefontaine is not to be found in this product - and thus the Habana has no advantage over the Moleskine for me.

 

All that said - I find it interesting that bluestocking's Habana, presumably bought in the UK, does meet the expected standards. Perhaps inferior products were shipped to the colonies?* :roflmho:

If someone tells me "oh no, I bought a Habana in Canada and it was excellent, I would be inclined to drop Quo Vadis a line to ask if there have been paper inconsistencies. But for now, I have not been won over by this particular moleskine alternative.

 

*ETA: I noticed on bluestocking's thread that someone in Vancouver apparantly bought a good Habana. Hmmmph. Maybe they're shipping inferior products to the prairies.

Edited May 7, 2008 by limesally

[jot]

Thanks for the review. Oddly enough, I saw this RIGHT before I was about to order a Habana notebook from an online store in BC. Sad that the paper is so inconsistent though, I guess it's back to my moleskine, despite the feathering. I don't understand why it's so difficult for these manufacturers to just use decent paper in their moleskine-like notebooks. Oh well, maybe someday.

[limesally]

oh, go ahead and order it! It seems that someone in BC did get a good one. You must write a review when you get it, though

[jot]

  limesally said:

oh, go ahead and order it! It seems that someone in BC did get a good one. You must write a review when you get it, though

 

I did take another look at the store and the Habana, but it turns out that they charge $25 for shipping from BC to ON! As much as I want a quality notebook, $20 for the Habana + another $25 for shipping seems rather excessive. In fact, I think ordering directly from the UK might actually be cheaper!

 

Edit: I did end up ordering one from Quo Vadis in the UK, I'll be sure to add my thoughts on the notebook once I receive it!

Edited May 7, 2008 by jot

[goldkiwi]

  jot said:

  limesally said:

oh, go ahead and order it! It seems that someone in BC did get a good one. You must write a review when you get it, though

 

I did take another look at the store and the Habana, but it turns out that they charge $25 for shipping from BC to ON! As much as I want a quality notebook, $20 for the Habana + another $25 for shipping seems rather excessive. In fact, I think ordering directly from the UK might actually be cheaper!

 

Edit: I did end up ordering one from Quo Vadis in the UK, I'll be sure to add my thoughts on the notebook once I receive it!

 

Just out of curiosity, where is this online store you're looking at? I'm wondering if they have a physical location I can drop in at...

[inkypete]

  goldkiwi said:

  jot said:

  limesally said:

oh, go ahead and order it! It seems that someone in BC did get a good one. You must write a review when you get it, though

 

I did take another look at the store and the Habana, but it turns out that they charge $25 for shipping from BC to ON! As much as I want a quality notebook, $20 for the Habana + another $25 for shipping seems rather excessive. In fact, I think ordering directly from the UK might actually be cheaper!

 

Edit: I did end up ordering one from Quo Vadis in the UK, I'll be sure to add my thoughts on the notebook once I receive it!

 

Just out of curiosity, where is this online store you're looking at? I'm wondering if they have a physical location I can drop in at...

 

 

Why is this so difficult? All we want is a moleskin clone notebook with decent paper - are manufacturers listening? I'll speak more clearly. MAKE A MOLESKIN TYPE NOTEBOOK WITH FP PAPER THAT IS CONSISTENT FROM ONE BATCH OF BOOKS TO THE NEXT. Have a reasonable price and you will sell plenty. Rhodia Webnote reviews are already suggesting great book but Rhodia has compromised on the paper so there's another ray of hope shot down.

Edited May 8, 2008 by inkypete

[inkypete]

  inkypete said:

  goldkiwi said:

  jot said:

  limesally said:

oh, go ahead and order it! It seems that someone in BC did get a good one. You must write a review when you get it, though

 

I did take another look at the store and the Habana, but it turns out that they charge $25 for shipping from BC to ON! As much as I want a quality notebook, $20 for the Habana + another $25 for shipping seems rather excessive. In fact, I think ordering directly from the UK might actually be cheaper!

 

Edit: I did end up ordering one from Quo Vadis in the UK, I'll be sure to add my thoughts on the notebook once I receive it!

 

Just out of curiosity, where is this online store you're looking at? I'm wondering if they have a physical location I can drop in at...

 

 

Why is this so difficult? All we want is a moleskin clone notebook with decent paper - are manufacturers listening? I'll speak more clearly. MAKE A MOLESKIN TYPE NOTEBOOK WITH FP PAPER THAT IS CONSISTENT FROM ONE BATCH OF BOOKS TO THE NEXT. Have a reasonable price and you will sell plenty. Rhodia Webnote reviews are already suggesting great book but Rhodia has compromised on the paper so there's another ray of hope shot down.

 

[jot]

  goldkiwi said:

  jot said:

  limesally said:

oh, go ahead and order it! It seems that someone in BC did get a good one. You must write a review when you get it, though

 

I did take another look at the store and the Habana, but it turns out that they charge $25 for shipping from BC to ON! As much as I want a quality notebook, $20 for the Habana + another $25 for shipping seems rather excessive. In fact, I think ordering directly from the UK might actually be cheaper!

 

Edit: I did end up ordering one from Quo Vadis in the UK, I'll be sure to add my thoughts on the notebook once I receive it!

 

Just out of curiosity, where is this online store you're looking at? I'm wondering if they have a physical location I can drop in at...

 

Hi goldkiwi,

 

I found them here: https://store.opusframing.com/sagro/storefr...p;category=2701. I believe they do have B&M stores in BC, and even the shipping is reasonable if you're within the province, but the shipping price is outlandish to anywhere not in Western Canada. $25 to ship a notebook? yeah right.

[goldkiwi]

  jot said:

  goldkiwi said:

  jot said:

  limesally said:

oh, go ahead and order it! It seems that someone in BC did get a good one. You must write a review when you get it, though

 

I did take another look at the store and the Habana, but it turns out that they charge $25 for shipping from BC to ON! As much as I want a quality notebook, $20 for the Habana + another $25 for shipping seems rather excessive. In fact, I think ordering directly from the UK might actually be cheaper!

 

Edit: I did end up ordering one from Quo Vadis in the UK, I'll be sure to add my thoughts on the notebook once I receive it!

 

Just out of curiosity, where is this online store you're looking at? I'm wondering if they have a physical location I can drop in at...

 

Hi goldkiwi,

 

I found them here: https://store.opusframing.com/sagro/storefr...p;category=2701. I believe they do have B&M stores in BC, and even the shipping is reasonable if you're within the province, but the shipping price is outlandish to anywhere not in Western Canada. $25 to ship a notebook? yeah right.

 

Oh, excellent! There's an Opus within walking distance from my apartment, I'll have to look for these! Ouch, yeah, the note book is pricey to begin with, but to have to pay more for shipping than for the item itself is one of my greatest peeves!

Edited May 8, 2008 by goldkiwi

[aka]

Hey guys,

 

I'm the one that found some in Vancouver. I have to admit, I've since stopped using the notebook and switched back to Moleskine for few reasons:

 

1. The notebook just can't lie flat! At first, I thought since the notebook was relatively new, and that I hadn't written much in it, the inability to lie flat as due to the low number of pages I had used. I endured, and still, nearly half way into the notebook, there is such a pronounced hump in the middle of the notebook that it is extremely difficult to write on the back of the pages! So that was a no no pour moi.

 

2. The cover. It's a somewhat "hard" cover, but still much softer than the Moleskines. I found that when I was writing, sometimes the front cover would actually bend as I rested my weight on the notebook to write on the backs of the pages. Quite uncomfortable!

 

3. The paper. My notebook had very waxy and smooth paper, much like the Rhodia pads or other Claire Fontaine products. Yes, it was a bit thin, but that wasn't too much of a problem. Basically, after about a month of usage, I found that the paper was a bit too smooth and waxy, and that drying times took forever! And, it was just a tad too thin when using some inks. There was no bleed through, but one could clearly read what was written on the previous page.

 

All in all, a decent attempt, but for someone like me who likes to write on the backs of pages, the notebook's inability lie flat and it's softer cover were the deal breaker for me. The paper, while much smoother than my moleskines did not offer a significant performance boost to really way me. Yes, it was smoother, but over all, the feathering and bleeding was pretty much the same as my plain moleskines. Although, I must say Baystate blue had no bleedthrough at all with this paper.

 

That's my mini-review after the initial excitement wore off. In the end I returned to my Moleskines!

 

Regards,

 

Aaron

[jot]

  aka said:

All in all, a decent attempt, but for someone like me who likes to write on the backs of pages, the notebook's inability lie flat and it's softer cover were the deal breaker for me. The paper, while much smoother than my moleskines did not offer a significant performance boost to really way me. Yes, it was smoother, but over all, the feathering and bleeding was pretty much the same as my plain moleskines. Although, I must say Baystate blue had no bleedthrough at all with this paper.

 

Even with the Clairefontaine paper, there was still feathering? That's fairly disappointing to say the least.

[aka]

  jot said:

  aka said:

All in all, a decent attempt, but for someone like me who likes to write on the backs of pages, the notebook's inability lie flat and it's softer cover were the deal breaker for me. The paper, while much smoother than my moleskines did not offer a significant performance boost to really way me. Yes, it was smoother, but over all, the feathering and bleeding was pretty much the same as my plain moleskines. Although, I must say Baystate blue had no bleedthrough at all with this paper.

 

Even with the Clairefontaine paper, there was still feathering? That's fairly disappointing to say the least.

 

Sorry, I should have been more detailed. What I was trying to say was that there is little performance gain, because my Moleskines rarely feather or bleed through. Thus, to me, the performance was about the same.

 

There is no feathering nor bleed through with this paper, unless you use Baystate Blue. Also note, the paper is very thin, so if you write on the back of the page, you WILL see the ink from the other side.

 

Sorry for the confusion!

[excarnate]

  inkypete said:

Why is this so difficult? All we want is a moleskin clone notebook with decent paper - are manufacturers listening? I'll speak more clearly. MAKE A MOLESKIN TYPE NOTEBOOK WITH FP PAPER THAT IS CONSISTENT FROM ONE BATCH OF BOOKS TO THE NEXT. Have a reasonable price and you will sell plenty. Rhodia Webnote reviews are already suggesting great book but Rhodia has compromised on the paper so there's another ray of hope shot down.

Hi,

 

I don't know about availability in your area, but several of us agree that the Markings by C. R. Gibson (available at Target stores) are excellent. And real leather! Well, for some folks that is bad but I like it.

 

Start here.

[bluestocking]

I seem to recall running my hands over the paper of the lined habana in the shop, and noting that it felt toothier than the smooth unlined that I got. I'm thinking it's not a matter of paper manufacturing inconsistency as much as perhaps they just used different paper altogether for the lined versions. Something to investigate further, but I am still quite happy with mine.

 

[limesally]

  aka said:

3. The paper. My notebook had very waxy and smooth paper, much like the Rhodia pads or other Claire Fontaine products. Yes, it was a bit thin, but that wasn't too much of a problem. Basically, after about a month of usage, I found that the paper was a bit too smooth and waxy, and that drying times took forever! And, it was just a tad too thin when using some inks. There was no bleed through, but one could clearly read what was written on the previous page.

 

Wow, that's interesting that your paper experience is so different from mine! Drying time isn't an issue in mine at all. Actually, to be honest the paper performs very well. It's just not pleasant to write on because of the scritchy feeling. Other than the scratchiness, it certainly outperforms the ruled moleskine I'm using right now, which I hate so much I'm ready to stab it with a basilisk tooth. There are three inks I can use in it without bleeding. On the other hand, my 18 month moleskine planner is perfect. I can use ANY ink and pen on it.

 

So....it seems that a good Habana is better than a bad moleskine, but a bad Habana has no advantages over a good moleskine.

 

  bluestocking said:

I seem to recall running my hands over the paper of the lined habana in the shop, and noting that it felt toothier than the smooth unlined that I got. I'm thinking it's not a matter of paper manufacturing inconsistency as much as perhaps they just used different paper altogether for the lined versions. Something to investigate further, but I am still quite happy with mine.

 

Now that is interesting. I might stop at Opus and to pick up a blank one when I'm in the Vancouver area this spring. Because I'm a glutton for stationary punishment.

[aka]

  limesally said:

  aka said:

3. The paper. My notebook had very waxy and smooth paper, much like the Rhodia pads or other Claire Fontaine products. Yes, it was a bit thin, but that wasn't too much of a problem. Basically, after about a month of usage, I found that the paper was a bit too smooth and waxy, and that drying times took forever! And, it was just a tad too thin when using some inks. There was no bleed through, but one could clearly read what was written on the previous page.

 

Wow, that's interesting that your paper experience is so different from mine! Drying time isn't an issue in mine at all. Actually, to be honest the paper performs very well. It's just not pleasant to write on because of the scritchy feeling. Other than the scratchiness, it certainly outperforms the ruled moleskine I'm using right now, which I hate so much I'm ready to stab it with a basilisk tooth. There are three inks I can use in it without bleeding. On the other hand, my 18 month moleskine planner is perfect. I can use ANY ink and pen on it.

 

So....it seems that a good Habana is better than a bad moleskine, but a bad Habana has no advantages over a good moleskine.

 

 

Haha.. yes that sounds about right. Although, I dare say a good habana offers little advantage over a good moleskine!!!

[jot]

Hi everyone,

 

I just received my Habana today! I'll write up a detailed review in a few days time, but for now, I have to say that the unlined version I received has met my expectations in every way possible. I highly recommend it to everyone looking for a Moleskine replacement that will not feather!

[limesally]

oh, man! I'm glad you got a good one - looking forward to your review. So, the secret is, to buy the unlined one, from somewhere that's not Calgary?

 

eta: I checked further back in the thread - did you order from the UK, then?

Edited May 22, 2008 by limesally

[jot]

  limesally said:

oh, man! I'm glad you got a good one - looking forward to your review. So, the secret is, to buy the unlined one, from somewhere that's not Calgary?

 

eta: I checked further back in the thread - did you order from the UK, then?

 

I did order from the UK, straight from Quo Vadis. Interestingly enough, ordering from the UK cost about $25CAD while ordering from BC would've been about $40.

Edited May 22, 2008 by jot

[jot]

Ok, here's my review of it!

 

---

 

In my search for a moleskine-like notebook with good paper, I purchased an unlined Quo Vadis Habana notebook. As some may know, Quo Vadis is a company that primarily manufactures agendas and address books, using the FP-friendly Clairefontaine paper. The cost of the notebook was £12.72, including £5 for shipping from the UK to Canada, for a total of £17.72. Pricier than the moleskine, no doubt, but is it worth it?

 

-

 

Let's talk about the size, exterior and whatnot of the notebook.

 

The Habana that I purchased is the smallest size that Quo Vadis offers, roughly 4 x 6". This falls somewhere in between a small and 'regular' sized Moleskine, which for me is perfect. I never really liked the smallest moleskine, due to its size; and the larger one tended to be a little too big for me to carry around. However, the Habana fits perfectly in my jacket pocket, or the back pocket of my jeans (albeit a bit uncomfortably).

 

The cover of the Habana is leather, but not nearly as rigid as the Moleskine, it has a bit of flex in it, which can be good or bad depending on what you're looking for. It's very soft though, to the point where the elastic that holds the notebook shut actually made an imprint in the cover while it was being shipped over. It's a minor flaw and one that I'm willing to easily overlook. In general, the Habana looks a lot more professional and classy to me than the Moleskine. It wouldn't be out of place shifting some paradigms and revolutionizing out of the box (insert more mindless business jargon here) in some big corporate meeting; whereas the Moleskine seems like more of a casual, rugged notebook. That's just the impression it gives off to me though, they actually don't look that much different than each other.

 

-

 

Paper

There isn't that much to say about the paper itself. It's very, very smooth, and it reminds me of my Clairefontaine notebooks. The colour however, is not the clean white that one would expect from a Rhodia or CF notebook, but an ivory. In terms of FP-ink tolerance, I've written with my Pelikan M200 (F nib), Lamy Safari (F nib) and a Pilot Capless Decimo (F nib), with both Diamine Kelly Green and Aurora Black inks, and I've seen zero feathering or any of the nasty issues that plague my moleskines. Drying times are somewhat of an issue since the paper is so glossy feeling, but it's really not all that bad. I just can't write something and quickly shut the book, it needs a couple of seconds (at least) to dry. In addition to this, the paper is rather thin, so there is that distinct echo (not bleedthrough) on the other side of the page. I find that moleskines have the same problem anyhow (including bleedthrough!) and given the thinness required of the paper, it's not really a big deal.

 

All in all, I'm extremely happy with my Habana. The design is very similar to a moleskine (in my opinion, I'd say better), and the paper works excellently. I highly recommend this notebook to anyone who's tired of moleskines aggravating paper issues. I just hope that more Canadian retailers will start stocking it soon, so I don't have to pay nearly $30 to get it shipped from the UK!