A Match Made in Heaven Levenger Circa with Rhodia Clairefontaine Paper

I’ve been hearing rumors about this for quite a while now, so when I finally saw it on the Levenger website, it was almost like a dream come true as dorky as that may sound.  I’ve been a faithful user of my Levenger Annotation Ruled Paper in both my letter sized and junior sized Circa notebooks and my daily planner, but I’ve also been enamored with the incredibly high quality of the 90g paper found in the Rhodia Webnotebooks.  Luckily we now live in a world where both of these products have merged to make a what is probably the most awesome notebook I have ever used, the Levenger Rhodia Circa Notebook.  Before I get into the review though, a big thanks (and disclaimer for the free review product) to Steve Leveen for getting this sample over to me so quickly so I could try it out.  If you aren’t already following him on Twitter , check out @SteveLeveen to keep on top of the goings on with all of Levenger’s products.

Levenger's Circa System with the Classic Rhodia Orange Cover

For this version of the popular notebooks, the translucent cover has been given a refreshing and updated look by placing a nice orange glossy Rhodia branded card stock behind the front and back covers, but more importantly, the Levenger paper has been upgraded with 90g bright white Clairefontaine paper.  As a side note, my notebook came with two of the Rhodia inserts, not sure if that was on purpose or a mistake, but either way I am not complaining.  Now if you are not familiar with the 90g Clairefontaine paper, it is probably one of the most fountain pen friendly papers that you can find.  It handles just about every pen and ink combination amazingly well as it doesn’t feather, bleed, or show through.  Combining this Rhodia branded Clairefontaine paper with the Levenger Circa system (which has been a critical part of keeping me more organized and efficient at work) is a HUGE win in my book.

Levenger Circa Format with the Rhodia Branding

One thing that I’m usually pretty picky about is when companies overbrand their products with their brand name or product name, and I think that Levenger and Rhodia got it right with these hybrid notebooks.  They left the usual micro-print “Levenger.com” and 800 number on the far right side of the bottom margin and added a similarly small Rhodia logo at the bottom left corner of the side annotation space.  Both the Levenger and Rhodia branding are only found on the back side of each sheet.  The biggest difference with the new paper besides the change to bright white and 90g quality is that the regular gray lines from the Levenger paper has been changed to the standard violet colored lines that you normally find on Rhodia paper.

The pre-assembled Rhodia Levenger notebook comes with 1/2″ discs and 60 sheets of the 90g Clairefontaine paper, however the 1/2″ discs do have a listed capacity of up to 80 sheets.  Each sheet has a noticeably smooth feel to the touch that just exudes quality and makes you want to break out your fountain pen to start writing on it.  My plan is that I will be using this paper in my letter size Bomber Jacket Notebook with the 1″ aluminum discs, so I cant wait to fill it with this awesome paper once I receive the stack of 300 sheets of Rhodia Clairefontaine Levener Paper that I ordered recently.

Levenger Rhodia Circa Notebook Writing Sample

Getting down to business with the Levenger Rhodia Circa Notebook proved to be the incredible writing experience that I thought it would be.  All of the fountain pens and inks that I tried with this product  handled great as expected, with no feathering or bleeding, and the nibs of each pen glided over the paper effortlessly. The only very minor issue with this paper has always been that ink does not dry too quickly on it, which could be an issue if you are a lefty.  One other thing that you might notice is that in the wide left hand margin,  you can definitely see the horizontally ruled lines showing through. For me this is actually a good thing because it is a big help when I put a date or topic in that margin because it helps me keep it aligned with the rest of the text that I have written.  It is just hard to put into words how nice it is to write on this, and how much more I look forward to getting to use this as my everyday organizational system at work.

I am really excited about using the Clairefontaine refill paper in my Circa notebook as a full replacement for my old Circa paper, however what I would REALLY love is if this paper was also used on the daily planner pages for my junior sized notebook, but that is probably pushing it.  For now, I’ll just be content with having one of the greatest notebooks ever.  Definitely check out this new offering from Levenger, especially if you are a fountain pen user, you wont regret it!  Again, many thanks to Steve Leveen for the sample product for review, and I cant wait to have this as my everyday paper for all of my Levenger Circa notebooks and planners.

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