Baron Fig Squire Giveaway

When the Baron Fig Squire launched on Kickstarter I wasn’t sure what to make of it. There was no doubt I was backing it, but my expectations were metered until I had it in my hands. When that day arrived (on schedule even!) I was thrilled with the final result. The Squire is a wonderfully designed pen with a great feel and balance when writing.

They have been on pre-order up until this point, but as of this morning, they are in stock and available. To coincide with he launch, the Baron Fig team is giving away one Squire in the charcoal finish to a reader of The Pen Addict. Here is how to enter:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Friday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time. You are limited to one entry. This contest is open to US and international residents.
2. For this contest, I will pick one winner at random from the comments section of this post. The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on. The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.
3. The contest winner will be posted on Saturday, May 21st. The winner will have one week to email me via the Contact link at the top of the page.

My thanks to the team at Baron Fig for offering up this great pen for giveaway. Good luck!

Moleskine Alternatives

Baron Fig Confidant

I spoke about Moleskine journals on the podcast this week and it generated a lot of spirited conversation on both sides of the ledger. I think it's pretty clear that I am not a fan of the brand, but I wanted to elaborate a little bit as to why.

When I say Moleskine as a general term I am talking about one specific model: the hardbound Classic Journal in 8.25" x 5". This is the ubiquitous Moleskine. The one that is fawned over by the press, and the one that doesn't fit my needs. That's the key here. My needs. If it fits your needs that's fantastic. You should definitely keep using them. But for me, Moleskine paper falls short of its competition.

For the most part, Moleskines work well with ballpoint pens, fine liquid ink pens, and pencils. I've traveled before with just a Moleskine and a Fisher Space Pen refill and been completely satisfied. But my two favorite pen types - micro tip gel ink pens and fountain pens - perform poorly on Moleskine paper. Luckily, we live in a world where other options are only a mouse click away. I've tested all of the notebooks below and would choose any of them over the standard Moleskine Journal.

Moleskine alternatives (Classic Journal, 8.25" x 5"), in no particular order:

Leuchtturm 1917 - The closest in look, style, feel, and price, but with better performing paper for a wider range of pen types.

Rhodia Webnotebook - My personal favorite, and the best for fountain pens. Longer dry time is the tradeoff.

Baron Fig Confidant - Great style and format, could work better with fountain pens but great with gel ink.

Quo Vadis Habana - Slightly bigger and more expensive but on par or better than Rhodia.

This list just scratches the surface. Don't even get me started on other sizes, such as pocket notebooks and top-bound pads. We could get into the hundreds on that list!

I just ask that you keep in mind one thing when reading this blog or listening to the podcast: You don't have to agree with everything I say. And you shouldn't. Disagreement is good and healthy. We all have specific needs that we are trying to solve for, and within that journey lies the fun. I'll keep having opinions, and you should too.

New Baron Fig Limited Editions Now Available

Three-Legged Juggler (via BaronFig.com)

I very rarely make a product post without an accompanying review, but sometimes an exception needs to be made. This is one of those times.

Baron Fig has has come out with two limited edition notebooks: The Three-Legged Juggler, a limited edition Confidant, and Lightbulb, a limited edition Apprentice. I'm a big believer in what Baron Fig is doing in our realm and wanted to make sure the word gets out because these are great holiday gifts for the stationery junkies out there. I'm sure they won't last long.

Baron Fig sent me one of each at no charge to check out and I am impressed. I think I'm going to have to get The Juggler into the rotation very, very soon.