Rhodia Meeting Book 90

 Rhodia recently released a new Meeting Book 90, a note jotter "invented (more like designed?) by a CEO for his personal use". I was lucky enough to win one from Rhodia's blog giveaway so here is my review for it.

Just like the existing Rhodia A4/A6 meeting book, it comes with 80 pages of pre-printed paper but this uses 90g  (instead of 80g) paper. As a given, the paper is smooth a dream canvas for fountain pen users: No feathering or bleed through and it brings out the shading in most inks.

 

Even with a wet-broad - The show through is minimal.

 Beside the pre-printed Date/Note/Action, each page is micro-perforated "for easy and clean removal". Since the paper itself is relatively thick, the removal is clean but I find it much easier and quicker to just rip the page from the spiral.

 

One should never judge a (meeting) book by its cover so I save it for the last (And no, it wasn't chewed by a dog). From the short online research I have done, it seems that the another new feature of the Rhodia Meeting Book 90 is the ribbed pattern on the black polypropene cover, a subtle make-over from the bland version. The ribbage looked rather handsome when I first got it (If it were a human, it would be named Don Draper) but after a few days, I started noticing white flakes on it.

  Initially, I thought it was drool (God knows how it got there...) and went ahead and tried to scratch it off. Then I realized that the textured ribs, which seem to be made of a waxy coating, are flaking off with small amount of friction. It might not be that big of a problem, if you only use it during meetings and have it kept inside a tidy drawer. I generally don't babysit my stationery so I prefer something that's lower-maintenance . 

Overall: I love the paper and binding but the new ribbed design is nuisance that I can't quite ignore. I am hoping that after a few more toss-in-the-bag, the coating will flake off completely (so it look like the older meeting book, just with better paper).