A lot of people asked Van der Spek for a Touch Me 'Personal Wide'. After some thought they have brought out a 'Standard Wide' version in their popular Touch Me range of ring bound organisers.
Petra asked me if I would like to review a sample from the first batch that went on sale about a week ago. Of course I said yes.
I'm not particularly keen on 'Personal Wide' as it's a size that was invented, it's almost ISO216 B6 size. To me using B6 size makes more sense because it is easier to scale inserts to that size.
B6 is 125mm x 175mm whilst 'Personal Wide' is 121 x 172mm. The additional height of B6 is less of an issue and it's only 4 mm wider than 'Personal Wide'
Obviously trying B6 or Personal Wide in a normal Standard even with 25mm rings isn't going to work, the pages stick out beyond the edge of the organiser! With 30mm rings the B6 paper pushes hard against the clasp!
The line at the edge of the B6 paper is where Personal Wide would finish, not that much different, but it just confirms that normal Standard size just isn't wide enough for every day use with the wider paper in 'Personal Wide' or B6.
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| Standard fitted with 25mm rings |
The Standard Wide Touch Me has been made generously sized to cope with being fitted with 30mm rings or 25mm rings if you wish.
I used a stack of normal personal size inserts either side of B6 size paper to make sure that the B6 stack was in the middle of the rings, the peak of the arc of the rings and therefore at the widest point.
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| Standard Wide fitted with 30mm rings |
The rest of the design of the Standard Wide is the same as the normal Standard Touch Me, they both feature:
- Full width back pocket for larger sheets of paper
- Two pen loops,
- Two full height secretarial pockets
- The inside front cover has a vertical slip pocket and also a full height zip pocket and a card pocket.
- The inside back cover has 6 horizontal card slots on the front of the secretarial pocket.
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| Standard Wide in Stardust Velvet Matt Croco Leather |
It should be noted that the inside leather goes the full width of the organiser, it's not cut out like on some other brands. The inside of the full width back pocket and the reverse side of the secretarial pockets are finished in a synthetic leather like material.
| HEIGHT | 194mm | 7.64" |
| WIDTH (CLOSED PLANNER) | 146mm | 5.75" |
| WIDTH (FLAT OPEN PLANNER) | 310mm | 12.2" |
| DEPTH | 46mm | 1.81" |
| HEIGHT | 194mm | 7.64" |
| WIDTH (CLOSED PLANNER) | 172mm | 6.77" |
| WIDTH (FLAT OPEN PLANNER) | 362mm | 14.25" |
| DEPTH | 46mm | 1.81" |
- Only one entry per person.
- Last date for entries 3 January 2022 at 23:00 GMT as specified by the United Kingdom National Physical Laboratory at Teddington.
- Entry is open to anyone on planet earth.
- The number of prizes available is 1, the only colour available is as shown in the post. There are no alternatives.
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Further Information.
Web Site: https://www.vdsshop.com
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The problem with B6 is that the 176 mm height means that you really need different ring metals for it than you would us with Personal. That 5 mm difference is the clearance for the opening tabs.
ReplyDeleteNot an issue when I tried it, because the paper doesn't get that far around the rings to get close to the tabs.
DeleteThank you for this post. I have been trying to figure out if I can use B6 with this wide configuration. Super helpful!
ReplyDeleteThank you for this review. I have been trying to figure out if B6 would work.
ReplyDeleteThank you for the review and opportunity to win this gorgeous planner. I’ve been dreaming about a new VDS for a while now, they really do make the best organisers!
ReplyDeleteThank you for explaining the price difference. I new the Stardust Croco was a more expensive leather, but I hadn't considered that VDS would like up the pattern. I ordered the Van Der Spek A5 Manager Touch Me in Stardust Croco. It hasn't shipped yet because I also ordered custom widened zippered compartments. This is my first time having them widened, so it is a bit of an experiment. I like to have the leather fly leaf and leather zipper compartment curl around the rings and act as a ring protector. It is not perfect, but it does help. I'm so excited for my new planner to arrive!
ReplyDeleteWonderful post, thank you so much! I do wish that the B6 inserts were shown in a personal size with 25 mm rings also
ReplyDeleteThe 5mm difference wouldn’t make that much difference as B6 is 30mm wider than personal size.
DeleteI love VDS planners & I was extremely excited for this size in the RTS line, however, the secretarial pockets are so narrow for the width of the planner. All the other sizes within this line have great pocket to planner ratios. The wider pockets for the other planners add some structure to the other planners and seem to hold extra inserts better in their respectable papers because of the pocket-to-planner ratio. However, for this size, when you stuff the secretarial pocket in the front, it makes the "side" with the pockets heavier and makes it awkward to open. If what you placed in the pockets is not wide enough, it feels as though there is no support from the planner when you're opening the planner & its almost bending back on itself from lack of structure. Even the A5 does not have this problem as the pocket to planner ratio seems to work better.
ReplyDelete