Review: Moletape

A little while ago, after asking for reviewers, the folks at Molecover kindly sent me a sample of their Moletape strengthening tape for review. To be fair, I'm not a huge Moleskine user, though I did have a couple of notebooks lying around, neither with any damage to the spines, but I decided to fit one of them with the Moletape anyway.

Molecover also sells Moleskine notebooks and the Molecover, a protective leather cover for your Moleskine notebook. Currently available in black, white or tan leather, their website states they will include a strip of Moletape with every Molecover order.

Here's the Moletape as I received it, next to the pocket Moleskine it'll be going on:

My Moletape sample arrived on a Molecover-branded backing sheet and was already pre-sized for a small Moleskine. There was what turned out to be a little ink transfer from the Molecover branding on the backing sheet to the note it came wrapped in, but no dye transfer from the Moletape itself. So far so good.

Initial impressions were good, the Moletape is a strong, matte-finished adhesive cloth tape in rich black, one improvement I could suggest would be to pre-score the backing sheet along where the tape will attach to the spine of the Moleskine so this part of the backing may be removed separately, making it easier to line the Moletape up straight while applying it to the notebook's spine. I do however, like the pre-cut tabs to fit over the ends of the notebook's spine.

Now for the fitting. Here goes...

Separating the Moletape from its backing sheet proved to be more difficult than I had anticipated, and the amount of force required did deform the shape of my sample a little. Any more force and I was afraid the tape would tear where the spine end cutouts join the main piece of tape.

Applying the Moletape to the spine of my Moleskine was relatively simple, requiring only a little trial and error to line the two up by eye, then take the plunge and apply Moleskine to tape; this seemed the easiest way to do it - applying the spine of the notebook to the tape whilst the tape was lying flat on a firm surface.

Then it was simply a matter of smoothing the Moletape over the front and back of the notebook, and here's where I hit my first snag - whilst applying Moletape to the spine of the notebook was simple enough, ensuring a neat straight line down the cover of my Moleskine proved almost impossible; maybe I'm being a bit picky here, but the end result was, despite quite a bit of tweaking, not as sleek as I had hoped.

The extra length of the Moletape was great for folding over the edges of the cover, until that is, I began to tackle to rear cover where the pocket is. I found the only way to fit the Moletape was to trim the fold over flaps so they didn't obsure the pocket opening - trouble was, to do this successfully I had to leave them so short as to only just fold around the rear cover of the Moleskine.

Fitting the tabs down the inside of the Moleskine spine was easy, I opened the Moleskine so the covers were touching which bowed the spine enough to poke the tab down the opening with the help of the blunt end of a pair of tweezers.

So, there was have it, a Moletaped Moleskine.

So, what did I think?

Overall, I think Moletape is a great product, though fitting it is not as simple as I expected it would be, and whilst at least some of the end result is down to operator error, Moletape's adhesive backing makes it very difficult to separate the tape from its backing without deforming the overall shape. Had I possessed the skill to apply it to my notebook and retain a sharp edge to the front cover I would probably have been happier with the end result.

That said, I have no doubt that Moletape provides a wonderfully strong extra layer of protection for the spines of Moleskine notebooks, and I really like the look of the new colours choices in the Moletape range. I would be inclined to give them ago so I could colour-code my notebooks at the same time as protecting their spines.

At a Glance:

Model: Black Moletape (Pocket sized Moleskine size)
Colour: Black. Also available in Russet, Yellow, Pink, Sky Blue, Violet, Olive, Red, Orange, Grey and Brown.
Available from: Molecover in the USA
Price: $20 for 5 strips (Small or Large size)
Overall: 4 out of 5

Review: Moletape

Review: Asda Executive Notebook

You know how the old story goes - if it looks like a duck, walks like a duck and quacks like a duck then it's a duck, right? In this case, it looks like a Moleskine, feels like a Moleskine, but it's not a Moleskine, it's better!

There I was, avoiding the grocery shopping and hiding in the stationery aisle at Asda (well, it's more fun than waiting in the car!) when I stumbled across part of their new stationery range. Initially I thought Asda had started selling Moleskines but no, this is an own-brand offering, and I think I'm in love...with a notebook!

Asda Exec Notebook seen here on top of standard large Moleskine.

Billed as an 'Executive Notebook,' this new addition is available with the familiar black cover, plain or squared paper, and in both Large-Moleskine and A4 sizes. I've had a fair amount of experience of Asda's paper over the years and IMHO quality has been lacking of late, so I wasn't expecting too much from my new purchase, considering it retails for £3 for the smaller size and £4 for the A4 version.

How wrong can this pen-thusiast be?!

It's excellent, truly excellent! Let's start with the paper - there is no indication on the packaging to suggest the weight but it's thick, comparing it to other similar notebooks in my collection I would estimate it to be 90gsm; it's certainly not 80gsm.

Open notebook showing the lovely cream paper and black ribbon bookmark.

Close up of perforated pages.

The paper itself is a lovely pale shade of cream and, on the squared notebook at any rate, the 5mm squares are printed in a contrasting pale grey. The markings go right to the edges of the page, which isn't an issue for me, though some may not like how this makes the book look when closed. A wonderfully smooth writing surface is provided by this paper obviously having had size applied - it passes this pen-thusiast's standard 'Mk1 Finger Quality Test*' with flying colours.

* I usually make an initial test of unknown papers by gently rubbing the pad of my index finger over a page to get an impression of the smoothness (highly scientific, eh?!). I have found the smoother the paper, the nicer it will be to write on and more recently, the more likely it is to be fountain pen friendly. I've been doing this for years so I'm usually pretty accurate, of course YMMV.

Whilst smooth and a pleasure to write on, the ink of my test fountain pen dries quickly, so smudging hasn't been an issue; thankfully. I tested the paper with a variety of fountain pens, a couple of gel pens and a Sharpie Twin-Tip marker (whatever I had to hand basically) - there was no evidence of feathering at all and only the thick tip of the Sharpie showed any bleeding, and that was minimal.

Ink test with a variety of fountain pens, gel pens and a Sharpie marker.

Reverse of ink test sheet showing lack of bleeding.

Close up of Sharpie bleed-through.

Each of the 80 pages, which are stitched rather than glued into the book, features perforations approximately 3mm in from the spine allowing pages to be detached neatly should that be required; a great improvement over the Moleskine for mistake-prone me. The perforations, along with the soft spine, also have the advantage of allowing the book to lie flat, a feature I really like.

Detail of the notebook's collapsing spine which allows it to lie flat for writing.

Now for some dimensions of the smaller sized Asda Exec notebook:

Height: 212mm inc. cover (209mm just the paper)
Width: 139mm inc. cover (135mm just the paper)
Thickness: 25mm inc. cover.
Weight: 450g

It's a bit of a 'brick' compared to a standard Moleskine!

The cover is finished in a similar fashion to the standard Moleskine with rounded corners, though the patterning of the faux black leather is finer, making for a slightly smoother overall texture. The cover itself is about twice the thickness of a Moleskine cover, and should lend itself well to embossing and other such arty customisations folks with much more talent than I possess often emark upon.

In keeping with the book its emulating, the Asda Exec has a pocket at the rear though, unlike the competition, this is a concertina affair with 3 separate sections to the Moleskine's one. The only downside is that the manufacture of the pockets could be improved and the dividers need to be made of heavier weight material - indeed on this review sample I managed to tear one of the dividers (bother!) whilst trying to loosen the excess glue sticking the dividers together.

Rear pocket detail - spot the tear (stunt finger courtesy of my darling daughter).

Also in keeping with the competition, the Exec features a black ribbon bookmark and an elastic strap closure. The latter is of what is usually termed here in the UK, 'knicker elastic' and on the Exec seems much stronger than that on my current Moleskine, pressure marking the Exec's cover at the top and bottom. This is no bad thing to my mind as the resulting grooves provide a secure anchorage for the elastic when the book is closed; nor does it come adrift in my bag like my Moleskine's elastic strap sometimes does.

Elastic closure markings to front cover of the notebook.

I am pleased that I have no hesitation in recommending the Asda Executive, not only as a fountain pen friendly notebook, but as a serious contender for the position of Moleskine replacement.

There are niggles of course (this is me after all!), the rear pocket dividers could do with strengthening and the pages occasionally don't seem to line up correctly when folded over to write on them (diagonally out by approximately 1.5mm), but for a mass-produced supermarket own-brand that retails for between £3 and £4, it's nothing short of a masterpiece!

At a Glance:

Model: Asda Executive Notebook
Fountain Pen friendly: Yes
Paper: 90gsm (estimated); perforated; stitched
Pages: 80 sheets
Colour: cover - black; paper - cream
Type: plain or squared; endpapers - plain
Closure: black elastic
Pockets: 3-part rear pocket
Bookmark: 1 ribbon bookmark (black)
Price: Small £3; A4 £4
Available from: Asda (Wal-Mart) in the UK (not available online)
Overall: 5 out of 5

Review: Asda Executive Notebook

Review: Hero 329 Fountain Pen

I thought a while ago that I might be in the market for a new fountain pen. It was something of a 'slow burner' of a thought, having rattled round my head on and off for weeks, especially as the last time I'd lifted a fountain pen in anger was at school, where five years of furious note-taking, day-in-day-out had, metaphorically, beaten any enthusiasm I'd had for fountain pens out of me.

Now that I'm getting older, I wondered if it might be possible to learn to like them again, and to see if I could enjoy using a fountain pen for pleasure; I'll be ordering the pipe and slippers later!

I'd also begun a brief dalliance with a Moleskine notebook and I'd read that some users like to use a fountain pen with theirs, so I began looking around for something I thought I might like that would work with the 'skine.

It would have to be cheap as money is tight at the moment, it should have a pleasing grip (something my childhood Parkers and Sheaffers never had), and it needed to be something I could research online as my last remaining local pen shop closed down last year.

Enter the Hero 329. I'd read about it in connection with Moleskines and was impressed both by its price, and by what other enthusiasts were saying about its performance, so I set about trying to locate one for sale in the UK. If it hadn't been for the wonderful chap who runs Andy's Pens I might still have been looking. There were a few 329s on eBay, but the majority of examples I would have to import. Andy on the other hand, had a variety of 329s available for sale on his website (in the Vintage Pens section) and was very helpful in talking me through my first purchase.



The 'beast' soon arrived in the mail - an 'old stock' but brand new 329 in black with an F nib, and it was soon put through its paces filled with Aurora Black ink; a wonderfully opaque and velvety black ink by the way.

So, what did I make of it?

The short answer is - I loved it, absolutely loved it! I must have as I went back to Andy for another three, and a couple of Hero 616s for comparison; at around £7.00 apiece it would have been rude not to! The model I'm reviewing here is the old style Hero 329 (circa 1970s) with the rounded back end and 'Star Trek' arrow symbol above the nib. Now let's consider the 329 in more detail...



Dimensions are as follows:

Length (capped): 139mm
Length (uncapped): 120mm
Length (posted): 146mm
Weight (filled): 16.4g
Barrel diameter: 11mm
Nib: Fine, though with this being a Chinese made pen it equates to somewhere between a Fine and Extra Fine western nib. Feels very smooth straight from the box and produces a very nice wet line.



The cap is brushed steel with a chromed clip, which has the word 'HERO' stamped into it. Beneath the cap is a gold-plated hooded nib with an iridium tip, very reminiscent of the old Parker 51, which the 329 emulates. The barrel unscrews to reveal an aerometric (squeeze) filler system, which to be fair holds a decent amount of ink. A very thin metal clutch ring where the two sections of the barrel meet breaks up the overall black of the barrel nicely, and provides a biting point for the cap, which is pleasantly secure when posted and a reassuringly good fit when the pen is capped.

The only thing I had to compare my first 329 with was a Parker Reflex (M nib) which, to me, was like writing with a house painter's 2" emulsion brush! There's nothing intrinsically wrong with the Parker, but as you may have guessed I'm not a great fan of Medium nibs, neither am I much enamoured of Parker Quink ink - Quink Black is grey, I'm sorry but it is, and for that I don't like it, hence my changing over to Aurora Black which is most definitely BLACK!



Compared to the Parker, my Hero 329 put down a lovely fine line and was very pleasant to write with. As with most fountain pens it did take a while to get used to the feel of the 329 and there was a tiny amount of scratchiness about the nib until I got it bedded in, after that it wrote as smooth as you like.

Since that first day, my Hero 329 has tackled a variety of papers, including Moleskine, without bleed or feather and has given me no cause for complaint or worry - it does as its told and always performs. The paper used for the test in this review is 80gsm Pukka Pad Vellum paper - nice and smooth with a slight tooth, perfect for fountain pens.



For the price (£7.00) the Hero 329 is an excellent investment for the novice fountain pen user, those on the go who can't bear to be without 'wet' ink, or just about anyone who likes fountain pens. Mine has travelled all over the place with me without leakages or other problems, though I have yet to take it anywhere by air.

At a Glance:

Model: Hero 329 (old style)
Colour Choice: Black, Red or Green, all with brushed steel cap
Available from: Andy's Pens in the UK or HisNibs.com in the US
Price: £7.00 at Andy's Pens; $15.00 at HisNibs
Nib: Extra Fine - Fine
Filler: Aerometric (squeeze)
Ink: Bottled ink only (no cartridges) as the filler is non-removable
Overall Rating: 5 out of 5

Review: Hero 329 Fountain Pen