What is Reddit's opinion of ZLYC Refillable Leather Journal Vintage Travelers Notebook Set, 4.7" x 8.6" &3.9" x 5.2", with Pen Holder, for Men Women Writing Gift, Dark Coffee?

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My mom sews and I'm trying to come up with a way of tracking patterns so she doesn't get duplicates so often. I think she'd do better with paper than her iPhone. Crafters are an untapped market when it comes to notebooks :D

I have this ZLYC set and I'm really happy with it. Great quality, the covers are flexible but plenty stiff enough to support the inserts, and the price was right.

I agree the Midori branded ones are up there. Honestly on balance if it is the style of notebook cover you want it is worth the price. Look at Etsy and Amazon (their is a set on Amazon that sell you the long style and passport plus a pen holder) and if you don't see one you like get the Midori.

I have the long one for traveling and I like it. Just thin enough to fit in my back pocket. Big enough to keep track of any tickets and many maps and also too big to be easily pick pocketed.

Doing the notebook and wallet together is also good. Cuts down on what you carry and one less thing to keep track of.

Amazon

I got a set from Amazon instead by ZLYC: for $37 at the moment

When I got them, the original was still more expensive, but right now it would be similar (this is for one, not a set).

Quality-wise, the ZLYC ones were a bit disappointing. The leather is okay, but not great and the included elastics look nice but are quite large. Similarly, the included paper is okay for pencils, but rough and feathers with ink. By comparison, I had a look at the Midori one at a local bookstore and it definitely felt much, much nicer.

Since the refills are a non-standard size, you can either order them online or cut down more standard sizes. Alternatively, the copies (also called fauxdori in reference to midori) can be found in standard sizes.

Personally, I went back to leuchtturm hardcover notebooks in A5, but that is personal preference.

I have both sizes, the smaller one goes with me everywhere, and the larger one gets used in class (I'm currently experimenting with it instead of using composition notebooks - I don't know how it will hold up over the course of a semester, I take lots of notes.) I've experimented with ZLYC. The leather is very soft and flimsy compared to the Midori, the paper is not fountain pen friendly, there are only certain inks I can use and only in fine nibs, and the stretchy elastic thing they use to hold the inserts in is too thick for the paper and it's problematic to get it to lie down. However, for the price it is AMAZING, and if you can make your own inserts, buy your own, or simply find an alternate solution it's really a great buy. That having been said, the Midori is truly better in every way other than price.

I think the Webnotebook uses Rhodia paper, which is one of the best papers there is for fountain pens, however the Midori inserts that I have are Tomoe River, which (in my opinion) is the best paper I've ever used for fountain pens (I can't find any solid proof that Midori uses Tomoe river, but in a side by side test they look and perform the same, and Jetpens.com claims they are the same paper so take my claim that they are the same with a grain of salt.) There is some ghosting/showthrough because it is such thin paper, but not so much that it is problematic, you have to be looking for it to really notice it.

If you haven't used Tomoe River, the dry times are on par with Rhodia (which is why I'm giving it a test drive in class, ideally it would be a faster drying paper since I take so many notes I can't sit around waiting for ink to dry.) Tomoe River shows sheening inks off the best of any paper that I've heard of, if you're into sheening inks. I have yet to find an ink that will feather on it (I use medium nibs.)

I have been trying to compare the differences between Foxy Fix and Chic Sparrow myself. I have a standard TN in brown from Traveler's Company and was looking to expand into one of the softer leathers. Here is what I found out: Chic Sparrow has sizing charts that are very well explained. The pocket version would be the size that most matches the TN Passport, though it will also fit field notes and moleskien small notebook

Foxy Fix has sizing charts that are done in measurements only. The No7 size is a standard TN size-ish. The No2 would match the passport/fieldnotes/moleskin small size.

As far as other shops, check etsy. There are a lot of them all over the place. In addition to that, you can look at Amazon.com and try the ZYLC line of TN's I think that for the price of one book you can get one of each size and a pen holder. I have one of these as well and just got the passport size for my husband. The leather is good. And it comes with inserts.

Let us know what you end up getting!

Here are some links. At these prices, I easily justified upgrading to real Midori inserts. I'm a huge fan.

ZLYC set -- a regular size leather notebook, passport size leather notebook and a leather pen holder for $40

ZLYC passport size only -- $14.99 (There's also an embossed one for the same price)

ZLYC regular size -- embossed -- $29.99

I have been using a traveler's notebook (midori) https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00ME26WYU/ref=cm_sw_r_awd_.cI.vb4RJ3R5Q It has multiple inserts for different subject areas and inserts can be lined, grid, calendar, etc.