Gillio have recently released a new size of Compagna, it was previewed at their event in November 2023, but it was a very busy event so I didn't get a decent chance to look at it.
Gillio were kind to send me one from the first production batch to review, and this is it.
From that photograph you might not be able to understand the size or have heard of it before.
HBxWA5 equates to HB=Height Bible (Bible is the reference to Personal size in Japan) by A5 Width.
The page size is therefore 171mm high (Personal Size height) by 148 mm wide (A5 width) and it uses Personal size (spacing) rings.
It's not a new size or one exclusive to Gillio, this size is popular in the Far East and a French organiser firm also sell organisers/inserts in this size.
You might recall this post, about one in this size bought by GMax for note keeping back in 2015.
Comparing it to regular A5, the organisers are about the same width but not as tall.
Looking at the interior. You will see that the pocket arrangements aren't the same as the A5.
The HBxWA5 has two additional card pockets on the surface of the inside back cover rather than the full width business card/papers slot which has been moved to the front cover on the face of the zip pocket.
The location of the elasticated pen loop has been moved up to compensate for the reduced height. There is also an elasticated pen loop on the leather fly-leaf.
When it comes to inserts, there are some from the French company
Mignon
They are some inserts also available from Amazon Japan, but the shipping and taxes can be expensive:
I suspect there might be other suppliers soon.
I decided to attempt to create some of my own by adapting the Philofaxy Diary Inserts to suit. Being the same width as A5 I naturally choose the A5 inserts, but the reduced height means that the normal A5 page height of 210mm is reduced by 38mm, or 19mm at the top and 19mm at the bottom.
I've not quite got the margins dialled in correctly yet on these test inserts, but you can see that the designs would work reasonably well in this different format.
As mentioned in the introduction it uses Personal Size ring spacing and this example came fitted with 26mm Krause rings.
If we take Filofax Personal size as the starting point the width difference for different sizes that use this height page is as follows:
| Size | Dimensions | Width |
| Filofax Personal | 171x95mm | zero difference |
| Franklin Covey Compact | 171x108mm | +13mm |
| Personal Wide | 171x121mm | +26mm |
| B6 | 176x125mm | +30mm |
| HBxWA5 | 171x148mm | +53mm |
Personal Wide or B6 inserts would also work in HBxWA5 size and still allow for very wide tabs! You would also be able to have 30mm Krause rings fitted without any fear of page overhang.
Depending on the popularity of this size we might make some 'ready to print' diary inserts available on Philofaxy, we will certainly consider producing a future post on how to convert the existing files to fit this size. I didn't want to get in to that in his review post.
Please comment below if you would like to see how to create your own inserts in this size.
Finally the HBxWA5 comes in a special box rather than the usual Gillio brown box:
Would you consider using this size?
Thank you to Gillio Firenze in Belgium for supplying the sample for me to examine and review.
Further information: Gillio - IIC bvba
Breedveld 2 unit 7
1651 LOT (Beersel)
Belgium
+32 (0)2 380 63 19
Email: helpdesk@gillio.be
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Yes, I would like to see making inserts in this size.
ReplyDeleteIt’s good to see this format becoming more available. The compatibility with personal size rings is a big plus point for me.
ReplyDeleteIn your experiments did you also consider starting with the personal size diary inserts and making them wider? I guess the end results could be very similar, but maybe it’s easier to adapt to having more space than having less?
I would love to see a post about making inserts in this size. Also, it had not occurred to me until reading your review, that personal wide inserts could be a good option for this organizer.
ReplyDeleteI've been eyeing an Ashford HBWA5 for a while and this was the nudge I needed to try it out. Please do post about doing up inserts for this size. Ashford is amazing for inserts but DIY would be excellent too.
ReplyDeleteI'm so excited for this size! Went from Personal to B6 for the width, then B6 to A5 for the Filofax inserts (especially the paper). Missed using my favorite handbag because of the height but found I love the A5 width. Had never heard of this size until the Gillio drop came out. It was truly a Goldilocks moment. Would love to see more about inserts -- thank you!
ReplyDeleteCan't say that I love the look of that one. I adore personal but agree it could be wider (but I'm not tempted to buy wide refills...) That size wouldn't be an easy fit in my bags either. Hmmmm.
ReplyDelete