Did you know that Exaclair, Inc. is the exclusive U.S. distributor of Clairefontaine, Exacompta, Rhodia, Quo Vadis, G. Lalo, Brause, J. Herbin, Mignon and Decopatch products? I've been raving and reviewing about the Rhodia line, with their seductive 'R' pads and awesome dotGrids but today I'm reviewing one of Exaclair's other products--the Quo Vadis Habana Pocket-sized Blank Notebook. As usual, I have lots of photos, so I'm breaking the review into two parts. Part One covers the look and over-all performance. Part II covers the results I got with various media.
Specs
Size: 4" x 6.125"/10x15cm
No. of Pages: 160 Blank Pages (80 sheets)
Binding: Hardbound, Sewn
Paper Weight: 85g
Paper color: Ivory
Extras: Accordion Pocket, Elastic Band, Ribbon Bookmark, Rounded Corners, PEFC Certified Paper-acid & Chlorine free
Look and Feel
The Habana comes in several bright, bold colors. I received one with a beautiful raspberry cover. It has a lightly grained leatherette surface--both nice to touch and a treat for the eyes. The rounded corners add a bit of elegance to the saucy colors.
The stitching is even and barely noticeable, but this book is surprisingly flexible for a hardbound book. You can bend the pages completely back. I suspect that if you did this all the time, eventually you would crease the cover, but it didn't happen during the time I was testing the book.
The pages have some spring but if you carefully fold back as in this picture, then you can get them to lie flat.
The paper has a smooth, hard surface but it's not glossy or slick.
Performance
I wasn't surprised to get a bold, smooth line. I expected no less. But
there was more show-thru, and even a bit of bleed-through on the back of the page. I wouldn't hesitate (didn't hesitate) to draw on the back, but I'm not sure I would use the back for drawing.
What really surprised me was that the Micron Pigma ink did not dry immediately. It only took a few seconds, but I managed to smear it a bit. Again, not a turn off for me--I'll know to be a tad more careful than usual.
What really surprised me was that the Micron Pigma ink did not dry immediately. It only took a few seconds, but I managed to smear it a bit. Again, not a turn off for me--I'll know to be a tad more careful than usual.
I was able to get nice, crisp lines and very bold darks very easily. This is a notebook I'll enjoy using for my Zentangle® -inspired Artwork.
In Part II of my review, I'll show you the results I got with various media and I'll be sharing a new tangle pattern.
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