I broadly agree with many of your observations, but I think you may have over egged the pudding when it comes to the sharpness and potential danger of the Plotter back plate. I've ended up with a few Plotters. I thought I'd try a year pretty much exclusively on them. It's been a few months now and I haven't ripped any pockets, scratched any tables, or had any horrific injuries. Have you actually had any problems like this, or are you just theorising? I'm willing to bet the perceived danger is not as big as the actual danger. Equally, I guess I could be proved wrong at any point. I've been thinking of getting a Wuzi. I don't need any more binders. I only got the Plotters because I wanted them. So I'll probably have a Wuzi this time next week to compare and contrast with you!

WhuziStudio was based in Hong Kong at least thats where I got mine ring binders from about 2 years ago and was one girl shop. Interesting news about the re-location of the business. She does some nice covers as well and the quality is fantastic. Pretty amazing she does all of this herself alone.

This is a great review and comparison. Thanks for sharing all the details. Peace and love..Suz What ☮️💛

You absolutely can’t beat the Kensingtons , the Portlands a close second . Pocket Portlands are slightly more compact than the pocket Kensington .

ironically, I really enjoyed the long format review as it was very detailed and i had a spare quiet hour to watch it while doing work in my usually loud shop that also includes make dull edges sharp and sharp edges dull. According to where they belong on the knife. . As I craftsman myself, I would say that the sharp metal plate is totally unacceptable. I make cutlery and there only one edge must be razor sharp, but the rest of the knife should be comfortable and safe. And trust me, it's possible to make the brass part look great without any visible rounding (keep the clean design) and simply de-burr the edges or just take time to finish the edges, before mounting it all together, if it is truly done by hand. It is premium priced and premium branded, but not a premium craftsmanship. The leather is premium, the durability is premium, the Krauss rings are premium, but the the finishing is not and therefore the final product is not as well. As you pointed out - it will get better with use. But something worth 100+ dollars should not be needing repair out of the box. The review was great and thanks for sharing the details. I decided to order the rings separately and make my own custom binder with thick leather and dye it in my favourite colour keeping in mind the details I learned, such as the thinned down leather in the middle. And make the backing straight, it also is possible.

I ordered the A5 planner and designed it myself to get the cream color I wanted. I wanted to try something new without being too quick to judge, so I got it with the QR codes. Here are my thoughts: 1. When you scan the QR code, it adds an inklink meeting to your iOS calendar for 7 am called inklink. 2. When you create a reminder in the Filofax app on an iPhone 15, it takes longer to take a photo because the camera needs to zoom out. You need to take the picture about half a meter away, and the ink is shiny, so it reflects and makes the photo hard to take. All the QR code does is add the date you’re on, so you still need to type the time. You can then take a photo, but there’s no OCR (text recognition), so you still need to type the meeting name and put the time. 3. It’s not as smart as the Notes app to take the written text out of the image and also doesn’t have smartness towards the sizing of the image around what you write. It takes a vertical image of a horizontal note. When you save it, it resizes the image, so you need to make sure you did it correctly. In short, it’s a nice idea to try to bring modern technology into a paper planner, but from the meeting they came up with it to the way it’s been implemented, it was a waste of time and ink. It takes less time to add a reminder in the phone if you just do it directly. Adding a third-party app and still needing to do all the extra work makes no sense. Also, the code should be opt-in, not mandatory. Now you have to pay more for not having a gimmick. If you wanted to make this a success, the planner app should have something that you’re missing on the phone. Start with why! Why do you need to have an image of what you wrote on the paper?

So I did order the A5 and did design it myself as I wanted the cream. To not be against something new without testing, I got it with the QR codes. My findings: 1: When you scan the QR it puts a inklink meeting in your iOS calendar for 7 in the morning. 2: When you create an reminder in the app on an iPhone 15, it take the camera for longer range and so you need to take the picture like halve a meter away and the ink is shiny, so with a desk-light it reflects and makes the photo harder. All the QR does is add the date you are on and you still need to put the time. You can then take a photo, but there is no OCR (text recognition) and so you still need to type the meeting name and put the time. 3. It is not smart like the notes app to take the written text out of the image and also it does not have smartness towards the sizing of the image around what you write. It takes vertical image of a horizontal note. When you save it, it does a resize and you need to make sure you did it correctly. So in short, nice try to get modern into a paper planner. But from the meeting they came up with it, to the implementing, it was a waste of time/development and ink. It takes less time to add a reminder in the phone if you just do it directly and adding a third party app and still needing to do all the extra work makes no sense. Also the code should be opt-in and not mandatory. Now you need to pay more for not having a gimmick. If you wanted to make this a success, the planner app should have something that you are missing on the phone. Start with why! Why do you need to have an image of what you wrote on the paper?

Very nice comparison. I would be very ineterested in your views on the pricing on these two items in general. The cheapskate in me keeps telling me that even though the material is probably very good, it is still just a flat piece of leather with no additional stitching or work done except the thinning in the middle. I have recently purchased a full grain vegetable tanned notebook A5 cover for half of what the Wuzhi binder. The quality so far has been really nice, it does not have the rings obviously, but it is stitched, has a pen loop and a couple of pockets just in case. I wonder what goes into price of these binders that makes them more costly overall.

These are lovely. Was this your most costly binder purchase to date?

This is really interesting, I might try this approach for my home tasks soon! I like being able to see ongoing tasks/projects at a quick glance.

Those lines I think are due the skiving being stepped while I think the plotter is more of a gradient to it. What size are the rings? They look slightly larger than the Plotter. Finally how does A6 paper fit in?

I got the tobacco smell out of a plastic mat I purchased online by putting it in a sealed bag with dryer sheets. Unscented ones of course, since I didn't want it to take on a new scent. I don't remember how long it took, just that I'd change the dryer sheets out for new ones every couple of days until the plastic mat no longer reeked. No idea if it'd work with a leather item, but it's worth a try if you have unscented dryer sheets handy.

I had a really damp smelling jacket that didn't seem to improve when I washed it. Someone gave me a tip - put some vodka in a kitchen cleaning spray bottle and give it a fine spray. (I used a Mr Muscle bottle). The alcohol surrounds the odour molecules and pulls them away when it evaporates. It really worked for me.

Weird, I also gave up smoking 18 years ago, haven't had a fag since. Coffee beans or grains are known to neutralize smells. Often used against bad smells in cars.

Thanks for this. I’m going to jiggle my task binder to follow this. I’m using an A6 disc binder for that. The flow is something similar to the Time Management International system. For the larger projects I would use the grid page format to sub divide the major sections. I would also use an A5 plain sheet in landscape to flap over and bundle the project sheets in an Everbook style, that A5 sheet can also be used for general overview notes.

"Ic wende þæt wære min godspell!" (What St Cuthbert would actually have said 😂).

Thanks for sharing 😊 It is so simple but works perfect 🎉 Won't tell, that I bought filofax inserts for more than 20 Euro 😅 now I can throw them away 🎉

I absolutely love this system! I did something very similar in a bullet journal but it’s even better in rings. Thank you for sharing this. Is your calendar I a separate binder?

What a beautifully made binder! Excellent video!

Thank you again for another video. I think you hit the nail on the head with respect to using a ring binder as a notebook. At least the way I have been using them is as a notebook. The use of a deconstructed Clairefontaine notebook is a good idea as those notebooks tend to not be very flatable in their bound state until you really break them in. I'm going to have to try that out as I still have a few in my stock.

i noticed this has the green symbol but it's still member's only.

The term I've seen for thinning leather is skiving. Varying terms in English are not only possible but probable.

Skiving leather, reducing the thickness (sounds like diving)

what makes a kensington a kensington? I have a personal size black leather , 20 years old, beautiful .

My oldest one is a Finsbury Pocket sized 24 years old

I have heard tale that if you place the item inside of a plastic bag with a very, very ripe banana for a couple of days -- this allegedly will take care of many odious odors. I'm not sure if it will get rid of tobacco, that's a tough one. I hope your doctor's visit goes well; best wishes.

I think bicarb helps neutralise odour. you put some bicarb in a little container, pop it in a box with the binder and close it up for a week, see if it helps

Fantastic review, thanks Neil. It certainly looks like a beautifully made binder for sure. The angled card slots, Gillio does them also ❤

Oh dear, I wish you well as usual and certainly you should enjoy yourself no matter how many days are left. The passage of time is an odd thing to grasp really!

Too bad regarding the tobacco smell 😭 I would love to know how to draw out smells as well because I have a binder that isn’t an awful smell, it’s like a perfume… but I would prefer it to not smell of anything 😅 I never thought of cat litter! I thought of vinegar and baking soda that is supposed to draw out odor but no idea how to use it on a binder 😅

I love the drawer cabinet behind you. It’s the type of cabinet (I don’t know the proper term for that type of thing😂) that I’ve been wanting for many many years. Do you use that to organize your planner things? Thank you as always for sharing various Filofax binders and the reviews!😊 Also please take care, especially with the cold weather. Wishing you the best for your wellness ❤

Thank you for informative video. I agree with you. I am using a Kensington pocket. Love it. A mini Kensington is on the way. My first mini to play with. Hope rings are in good shape. Hope you’re feeling well. Regards.

A very nice binder. The angled card slots are a feature that my Franklin Quest binder has. I need to do a video on that one. I've had a leather chair I bought second hand that smelled of tabacco. I cleaned the leather with acetone to remove the tar but you will have to be prepared to possibly re-dye the leather as it may remove some of the coloring. I lucked out with the chair because it was a light color leather and did not discolor.

find a car valeter who uses ioniser to clear the smell in cars

Great review. I have had two Pocket Kensingtons, if it wasn't so bulky, it would have been my daily cary.

While it is in no doubt a great quality product, I would still miss some of the pockets and tbh I have a 30mm Filofax which just barely fits my inserts so it would take some engineering to accommodate it in the 11mm real estate. Nonetheless, it fits well with the japanese minimalist yes quality product.

Yeah, if you want to be inconspicuous, walk quickly and carry a clipboard lol

Thank you again for another video. I guess the value is in the wallet of the beholder. I like the Plotter brand on paper but cannot justify the cost when I've already purchased something similar. I've mentioned it before but you helped me realize I like small ring binders like the Plotter but in the vintage variety. I also discovered that some search terms work better than others on eBay. 😂

they are hideous. Hunting for filofax inserts without the codes and can't find them in a5. Dumb! I like their thinner paper and plainer layouts. it's now mid November and I haven't bought next year yet - still working out the "least worst" option.

I'm a late commenter, so I'm sure you won't see this, but I love your collection of vintage Filofax! I have 2 newer notebooks (Original and Norfolk, both personal size), and the rings are misaligned. They're not even a year old; it's quite sad. Because of this, I have been looking at vintage, and I've decided on the Sherwood. Unfortunately, I can't find any of them on eBay or Mercari! So there's proof in the pudding!! Thank you for the video!

Thanks for another fabulous video and review Neil. Loved it and such a beautiful Filofax. ❤

Welcome to Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

This was so good! Could you maybe do an ultimate showdown of the three: Meeplus, Plotter and Wuzhi?

Great review. I tried to find out more about them on their website. Aside from their first names used on the "about us" founding story, I couldn't even find a place or an address for their company anywhere, not even on the privacy / shipping / retirn pages. Shipping to EU seems to cost just €6.90, which is relatively little if the business is based outside the EU. Would you know more about where they are based and where meeplus is producing these great ringbinders?

Thank you again for another video. the Kensington is a binder I've wanted to get for a while but as the prices have gone up on the used market I've pretty much given up getting one. 😅