The A5 Boston has 20 mm rings, and most of Filofax's A5 binders have 30 mm rings so this one is significantly slimmer. It's also not as wide as some of the A5 binders. I could definitely carry this one in my bag with me everywhere! And, I can switch out the A5 pages with my Mother Ship A5 Finsbury that stays on my desk.
So here is the A5 Boston compared to my A5 Finsbury. Here you can see how much wider the Finsbury is:
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Not a great photo, but you can kind of see how much bigger the Finsbury is (bottom) with its 30 mm rings as opposed to the Boston's 20 mm rings:
Below you can really see the size difference, Finsbury on top and Boston on bottom:
I tried to get a shot comparing the rings on the Finsbury (top) and Boston (bottom):
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Anyway, you get the idea: the Boston A5 is significantly slimmer, narrower and less bulky than a Finsbury A5.
The Boston is made from soft Nappa leather.
Here's a view of the inside cover. There is a full-length pocket, and several card pockets. The top pockets are smaller than the bottom ones so larger cards can fit in the bottom pockets.
At the back of the binder is a notepad. I took it out to see how much slimmer and lighter the binder would be without it.
With its classic design, the Boston looks great. And its super-smooth leather feels great in your hands (which is very important to those of us who are tactile like I am).
Many huge enormous thanks to Filofax USA for sending me this binder as a sample to review. This is the A5 Filofax I've been searching for!!
SO NICE! We really needed a slim A5 alternative besides the Adelphi. Great review and comparison with the Finsbury!
ReplyDeleteThanks for the review Laurie. I'm really tempted to purchase one now, especially as I'm sure I've seen it in purple!
ReplyDeleteI've been able to take a closer look at the Boston at CO. I wasn't impressed to be honest: the nylon(?) lining inside looked and felt cheap and tacky to me and the leather -though soft - is puffy (some sort of padding inside?), which is a shame on any slimline binder, as it adds unnecessary bulk.
ReplyDeleteIt's certainly an improvement on the Adelphi size wise, because of that hefty pocket in the adelphi which defeated the object making it a lot less slimline.
ReplyDeleteBye the way I was surprised you say most A5s have 30mm rings - mine don't. I thought it was only the Malden, the Domino, and the Finsbury that had the larger rings? Perhaps I'm just buying the wrong binders - ideally 20mm for travel and 30mm for desk use is ideal.
I'd love to be able to order a binder, and as part of the order process order the size rings I want! A customised binder!
Have to say this is a good looking binder which ticks all the boxes and a very useful review.
Laurie - thanks for the review.
ReplyDeleteI don't think the Boston answers our cries at all! Yes, it has 20mm rings (traditionally A5 Filofaxes have had 25mm, not 30mm as you state) but at 41mm thick (source: Filofax website), that's 21mm of puffy padded covers!
The Boston is actually BIGGER than many A5 binders! For example, the A5 Finchley is 235mm x 186mm. The Boston is 237mm x 195mm! So, it's neither compact nor slim!
With so many Filofaxes aimed at women and fashion, this was surely an opportunity to do something a bit different? Just for once! But yet again we have "the perfect chic accessory" - that's the Filofax marketing description of the Boston. So disappointing...
I purchased my A5 Finchley because it was the smallest dimensions, and after I'd been disillusioned by the Adelphi A5. The Finchley is still a big item inside my purse!
DeleteI see where you are coming from Tim, the cheaper end of A5 ie identity, metropol, Domino do have have 30mm the expensive end is 25mm and some 20mm.....sadly someone mentioned men like gadgets and assume you only carry black or brown...this is a step but only a step.
ReplyDeleteThe Luxe A5 also has 20mm rings and is slim. Strangely it is not on the U.K. FF website but city organiser do have it in the brown, black and red. The empty weight is 298 g which is less than the personal Deco.
ReplyDeleteThe A5 Luxe is a better 20mm A5 and it's beautiful. I wouldn't consider either compact but they are both less unwieldy and heavy. I think what many are probably looking for is somewhere along the lines of 15-20 mm with a maximally streamlined, lightweight and unpadded leather cover - this would be easier for those who want to tote their Filofaxes about town or want an unobtrusive,simple Filofax with a larger page size. A lower price would also be appreciated. The 20mm A5 is still a good alternative if you would want to minimize on bulk and hate writing around large rings.
DeleteThanks for the great review, Laurie!
ReplyDeleteI love the idea of a 20mm A5 but why so expensive?! Hopefully they'll come up with a less pricier alternative very soon.
ReplyDeleteThanks for a great review, Laurie.
ReplyDeleteI had a brief look at the personal size when I recently visited the Conduit store but it didn't really grab me. Maybe I should have checked its strokeability :) I agree with Babs about the price as I don't think I'd be comfortable spending that type of money unfortunately.
Very nice! So many pages in my A5 Aston go unused, this new Boston might fit the bill. Question....8th picture of review, the one showing the inside cover, what is the Filofax business card within the binder. I've seen that card in many pictures of binders. None of my binders came with it. Just wondering what it is? Cheers!
ReplyDeleteYou can see the details of the back of the card in this album
Deletehttp://s1293.beta.photobucket.com/user/philofaxy/library/Filofax%20Card
Steve
LOL That's great!!! Thank you, Steve, for easing my worried mind! Cheers!
DeleteThe back of the card says there are natural variations in real leather that should not be considered defects but add character.
DeleteI'm loving that diary layout. I'm off to see if that's available for my A5.
ReplyDeleteI'm not too sure about a slimline A5 as I use mine for work and it's stuffed! However, this is a lovely one. I like the design of the clasp.
You just made me click on "Add to Cart".
ReplyDeleteEeeep!
Interesting. The Boston is not on the filofaxusa website, but is on the filofax.co.uk site only in pink. The Personal sized Boston has 11mm rings and is also available in black and brown.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to pensandleather, they seem to get ring sizes wrong a lot. Several personal-sized organizers with 11mm (7/16") rings, they list in the specs or details has having 1/4" rings, nearly half their actual size. 1/4" rings would be impractically small.
My current main a5/half-sheet binder is a dayrunner, with 20mm rings, a discontinued "Concorde" model. It is only fake "leather-look" vinyl, but it was quite inexpensive, and most importantly much thinner than the other fat ringed organizers. Also, this model is three-ringed unit, so I don't need a special 6-ring hole punch and there are many inexpensive refills and inserts that fit.
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DeleteThis would be at the top of my list if I were to consider going A5. Since the standard 23-mm rings of a Personal work great for me, a combination of 20-mm rings and larger pages would probably work out great in A5. Now, if only FF were to introduce an A5 Malden in ochre with 20-mm rings...
ReplyDeletegreat review! Thank you so much, this comparison was just what I was looking for.
ReplyDeleteGreat Review! Thank you so much. This comparison was just what I was looking for and will really help me make a decision.
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