Another Quo Vadis Equology Textagenda Review

Recently I received a wonderful Quo Vadis Equology Textagenda Planner to review, along with a bottle of J. Herbin Violette Pensee ink that I'd been meaning to try out as well. Many thanks to Karen Doherty for the gifts of orange and purple, they are much appreciated. And out of the starting gate for the first review of the Textagenda I've seen is Miscellany and Cacophony, with a very thorough examination of the Textagenda and some great pics. I'm going to concentrate on style and utility in this review.

Regarding planners, I started using the Day Timer system about 15 years ago, mostly because the company and I both hail from Allentown, PA. But even with a two-page-per-week system, the desk size planner was too large to carry in my bag. I gave it up for a Palm Pilot that was convenient, but I really missed the paper and ink experience of a planner. When the Palm Pilot expired in a tragic accident two years ago, I bought a Moleskine planner to keep track of projects and notes at work. I liked it a lot and would have gotten it for 2009 but I really missed my Day Timer, so that's what I've been using this year. Unfortunately, though my handbags have gotten bigger the desk size Day Timer still doesn't fit comfortably, so I've been looking around for something different that will also fit into my bag. Enter the Quo Vadis Equology Textagenda.

When the Equology arrived I was surprised at two things: how bright the orange color of the planner cover actually is, and, given it's a synthetic, it's amazingly silky feel--like fine cloth. The Textagenda is a one-page-per-day planner beginning in August 2009 to July 2010; turns out, it is the same size as the Chelsea journal. So if you'd like to use the Equology cover with a Forum refill as blank journal, it works perfectly. Unfortunately, the reverse isn't the case--you can't use the Textagenda with the Chelsea cover as the Textagenda is much thicker than the Forum refill. The journals both have roughly the same number of pages, although the Textagenda includes world maps, note pages, and address pages. But that's only about 25 or so extra pages, and so I'm guessing that the Textagenda recycled paper is thicker than the Forum journal paper. An interesting situation, as I would have thought the reverse, that recycled paper is thinner.

Which segues nicely into the whole point: the Quo Vadis Equology planner is part of the company's recycled green line. The web site touts the recycled paper made from 100% post-consumer fiber, the chlorine-free manufacture, and the overall environmental friendliness of the products. The website also states "Equology paper is crisp, very white, and good to write on." And it really is that, with paper that feels quite substantial to the touch. I've been using the planner every day as both a journal and planner, making notes as well as scheduling my time; I find I like the way the Textagenda "handles" very much, there is more than enough space on each page for numerous notes and cryptic messages as well as two special areas for important points to remember. The Equology Textagenda is the right size, has great writing paper, looks good, and feels even better.

Any negatives to this planner? Just one, and only because it's a pet peeve: when removing the Textagenda from the Equology cover I had to bend the front and back journal covers. This caused the cover to open a bit rather than stay flat when closed. Bending the planner back and forth got rid of most of the problem, but if your planner absolutely must be closed when on its side, fortunately for you Quo Vadis has many more great planners available.