Filofax A5 Chameleon - Review

The Filofax Chameleon came out in 2010 but only appears to have been in the range for a couple of years. By the 2012/13 catalogue it was no longer shown. 

It was available in A5, Personal, Pocket and Mini. I bought a black Filofax Chameleon Pocket at one of the first meet ups in late 2010, I still have that pocket. It was used for many years as my log book in the car for recording fuel fill ups etc. 

I really like that pocket the leather is very supple and it has worn well. One oddity with the pocket is that the pen loop is attached to the front cover not the usual back cover placement. 

I did a review soon after getting the pocket which you will find here: Filofax Pocket Chameleon

A few years later I had a hankering to get the A5 Chameleon but of course it was few years out of production and I thought it would be very difficult to find one in good condition. My black pocket was holding up well. Some of the lighter coloured Chameleons show wear quite badly. 

A reader contacted me after seeing my Wanted advert on the Adspot page about an A5 Chameleon in Black on Ebay. At first there were some issues about shipping it outside of UK, but after exchanging a few emails with the seller they agreed to ship it to me. I won the auction for just under £40 and with the postage add it was still a bargain. 

It arrived in the original box and with all the original inserts and it was obvious it had never been used. That was in the middle of 2019! 

I realised the other week that I've never reviewed the A5, or used it that much.... time to change both of those things. 

The Chameleon has a 'scale' like pattern pressed in to the leather. Some people like this, some people hate  this, I quite like it as it gives the organiser character I guess. 

It uses a design of tapered clasp that was common to other organiser models in the Filofax range at the time.

The front inside cover includes 8 horizontal card slots, a business card slot, a vertical slip pocket and a vertical zip pocket and finally an elasticated pen loop. 

The Filofax Chameleon A5 is fitted with 25mm rings, which are big enough for my needs. They also make the overall size (width and thickness) of the organiser quite compact too. 

The scale pattered leather is also used on the interior as well. 

In the rear inside cover is a notepad slot and another elasticated pen loop. 

Unlike the pocket Chameleon the A5 version does appear to have some form of stiffener between the inner and outer layers of leather. It however does lay flat straight out of the box. 

Overall I'm very pleased to have used this organiser for a few weeks and I will be coming back to it in the future. 

Have you ever owned a Chameleon?

Gillio Compagna HBxWA5

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:

• Daily
• Weekly
• Monthly
• Note Paper

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

Announcement post: https://www.gillio.be/en/blog-2/mellacompagna
Website: https://www.gillio.be
Facebook page: Gillio Firenze
Facebook group: Gillio Firenze

Instagram: @GillioFirenze 

Free For All Friday - No. 738 by Anita

After a busy number of months at work, I'm very grateful to be on annual leave this week and then back on the 4th January. In preparation for the new year, I normally set time aside now with my Filofax to:

• Remove all contents
• Clean with a damp cloth
• Polish with Lord Sheraton leather balsam
• Choose a different dashboard and dividers
• Choose a different set up, if needed - I will be changing back to my GTD based set up
• Choose some different pens, if I fancy a change 
• Process all notes and brain dumps from my inbox (first section)
• Update my to do lists
• Update my projects list and notes
• Update my A to Z section - remove any unwanted sheets and update projects and/or to dos from this section
• Add more spare paper to my inbox
• Have a think about what has been working well or needs to be tweaked. 

Have you done, or are going to do, something similar to get ready for 2023? 

And as always on Fridays, please feel free to discuss anything organiser related.
I hope that you have a great weekend and wishing you a happy New Year from all of us at Philofaxy.

Filofax Garden zipper pouch review

Depending on the Filofax model, it can sometimes be hard to get into the zippered pockets or I've found that I'd like to securely carry money or important documents, so I hole punched a cheap plastic pencil case. Despite years of use, it's still going strong and has been very useful whilst on holiday, or for processing bits of paper or receipts. 

Plastic pencil case on a trip to Iceland

 

I rarely buy direct from Filofax, so I decided to treat myself to an upgraded version when they brought out the Garden zipper pouch. 

My first impressions were that I like the print and the pouch itself feels nice to the touch. The Filofax website doesn't say what material it's made of, but it feels like some sort of plastic, with a more textured pink lining inside. 

The pouch fits both personal and A5 size. I remember seeing some reviews saying that it doesn't fit A5, but due to the differences in hole configuration between personal and A5, it does work as below in my DIY A5 binder.

 

However, one thing that was immediately obvious to me was that the Filofax pouch is unsurprisingly more bulky than a basic pencil case, which is not something I considered at time of purchase. In the photos below, both are empty and you can see that the Filofax pouch takes up quite a bit more ring space.

 

The Filofax pouch is also smaller.

So, while the new pouch may be aesthetically more pleasing to the eye, unfortunately from a practical point of view my old pencil case is still the winner as:

• It takes up very little ring space, even when full with receipts
• It's taller and wider, so holds quite a bit more, like folded bits of A4 paper.
  

However, I do think that the Garden pouch would work quite well to hold spare pens etc. in a second binder, along with some spare paper, so that you have it all easily to hand. 

Gillio Compagna - Day and Night Edition

Gillio have today announced another limited edition organiser. This time it is based on the Gillio Compagna Pocket size organiser. It will be known as the Day and Night Edition. 

All of the organisers are in two colours a Royal Blue exterior with a Yale Blue interior, with the edging also in Yale Blue.

Like the previous 'Belgium Edition' each item comes in a special edition presentation box and dust bag.

The 'Night and Day Edition' is based on the Pocket XL Compagna so it has 20 mm rings fitted to it and the full width back pocket.

The organiser comes with two special edition fly leafs, one in Royal Blue the other in Yale Blue.

This scan shows the detail of the embossed fly leaf.

The inside front cover has three card slots and a deeper business card pocket with a secretarial flap pocket behind that.

The rear inside cover has a secretarial flap pocket along with a zip pocket and a single elasticated pen loop.

The 'Night and Day Edition' features all gold hardware including gold plated Krause 20mm rings.

Each one is stamped with a number to show it is part of the limited edition. 

Thank you to Gillio Firenze for supplying the review sample.

Further information: 

Gillio - IIC bvba
Breedveld 2 unit 7
1651 LOT (Beersel)
Belgium

+32 (0)2 380 63 19

Email: helpdesk@gillio.be
Website: http://www.gillio.be
Facebook page: Gillio Firenze
Facebook group: Gillio Firenze
Instagram: @GillioFirenze

Guest Post - Review of Moterm Personal Planner - Karen

Moterm is a new brand name that seems to be cropping up more often in Web Finds and Video Web Finds. They are available on Amazon USA and from Ali Express. 

When I was offered this review of one by Karen I was very keen to learn some more about this new brand. 

Moterm is a leather planner-if you know what a “Filofax“ is then you know what a Moterm planner is. It’s an amazingly well made leather planner-with features usually missing from most inexpensive planners.

The rings were 25mm, firm, yet easy to open, closed tightly and can be unscrewed to replace them.

Some of the features include a long full length pocket on the top for your full sized folded paper, or a bunch of bills, and 2 secretarial pockets, one on each side of the interior. The leather pen loop is made from a matching color leather with a back in elastic, and will easily hold a full sized pen. Even a Lamy Safari fountain pen, or a Frixion full sized ball point fits with ease.

The planner was fairly floppy, and stayed fully open on my desk; it had a very minimal stiffener, which felt like a thin sheet of cushiony material.

The planner also includes a leather fly leaf, one with a series of card pockets on the back side. The Moterm planner comes with approximately 100 sheets of undated lined schedule paper. As sometimes is found on less expensive planners-there was NO chemical smell, nor any type of plastic coating.

I purchased the Personal sized Moterm, which is the same size of a medium or personal sized Filofax or other brand of leather binder. They also offer Pocket, A6 and A5 size organisers as well.  

In conclusion, it’s interesting to note that considering the $56 I paid for the Moterm, it would have cost me at least $200+ for a similar sized leather planner with all these features. It’s a great planner-but at the same time it’s important to remember that ultimately it’s all about what you really want-and can afford.

I just wanted an attractive and dependable leather planner, one that would accommodate my basic needs. Spending $200+ was not something I wanted to do.

What it’s NOT: A luxury, handmade, top of the line, leather agenda. It does not show or have ANY logo, nor does it pretend to be anything other than a Moterm.

It came carefully wrapped in a nice box, and arrived in perfect condition. It smells like fine leather, and the stitching is neat and precise. I’m pleased with my purchase and would consider other colours and sizes in the future!

Thank you Karen for taking time to send us the photos and your initial impressions of this new brand of organiser. 

Filofax Chester A5 Compact organiser - review

The Filofax Chester range has been recently released as part of the Established 1921 range to celebrate the upcoming 100th anniversary of Filofax personal organisers.

The Filofax Chester model name has been used before, but it looks nothing like this latest iteration.

Chester is a former roman city situated on the River Dee in North West England. It is also close to where I spent my childhood years. I lived about 12 miles (18km) from Chester, so I've visited Chester many times. It still has a medieval wall surrounding the centre of the city, and a wonderful zoo on the outskirts of the city. Therefore, you can imagine this model name has quite a lot of personal connections for me.

I'm very grateful to Filofax UK for supplying this Filofax Chester A5 Compact in brown for me to review and share with you.

The Chester range was released initially in Japan by Filofax, but thankfully they have added it to their web stores in all countries as far as I can tell.

The organiser comes in a sturdy cardboard box.

The pattern on the interior of the box matches the pattern used back in 1921. 

The leather has a very obvious printed pattern on it. The stitching is in a contrasting colour and it to a very high standard at 12 stitches per inch, that is equal to what I've previously measured on Gillio and Van der Spek organisers. A Filofax Malden is typically 7-8 stitches per inch. 

On the inside front cover at the foot is the embossed labelling of the model number and size in the usual way. 

Without any inserts and opened you can see the overall internal layout of the Filofax A5 compact. I think it is very practical and better than the Heritage A5 Compact. 

There are two pen loops provided, but they are not elasticated pen loops, therefore you might have difficultly finding a suitable pen.

I found pens over 9mm in diameter would not easily fit in either pen loop.

On other A5 organisers Filofax often make the left hand pen loop larger in size to the right hand one. With the Chester A5 Compact they are both the same size.

Despite the restriction on size, I found my Pentel P207 mechanical pencil and a Borghini V5/RE roller ball pen fitted the loops perfectly.

In addition to the pen loops there are 10 credit/business card slots available and two full height slip pockets, one 10cm in depth the other approximately 13.5 cm deep. These will be amply in capacity to hold various items of paperwork you might need to carry with you.

On the reverse inside cover in addition to the clasp and pen loop there is a full height zip pocket (19cm opening) and a full height slip pocket again about 13.5 cm deep, with the zip pocket being fractionally deeper. The zip clasp when closed can be tucked behind the leather of the slip pocket, a neat solution. 

The Chester Compact A5 does come with inserts, but it doesn't include a diary insert. On the transparent fly leaf there is a sticker which states: Want a Diary? Content excludes a diary, so you can buy the one you really want.

So in my case that will be one I print from the Philofaxy collection 😏

They have included a good selection of other inserts for you to use:

• transparent flyleaf, 
• 1921 collection front sheet, 
• 1-6 number indices, 
• 8 sheets of cream ruled paper, 
• 8 sheets of cream dotted paper, 
• 8 sheets of cream plain paper, 
• 8 sheets of blue ruled notepaper, 
• 8 sheets of green ruled notepaper, 
• 8 sheets of pink ruled notepaper, 
• 4 sheets of to do lists, 
• 8 sheets of contacts, 
• brown ruler/ page marker, 
• top opening envelope

The rings are quite small at '15 mm' internal diameter, but from my experience of using the same size in the Heritage A5 Compact it is surprising what you can comfortably fit on to such small rings. I managed to get a full 12 months of Week per View diary inserts, plus all of the fill it came with, minus the 24 sheets of coloured paper.

The rings are quoted as being 15mm on the website I measured them at just under 16 mm.

They are the same PXR type rings as fitted to the Heritage A5 Compact. This means they are replaceable (if you can find a supplier), but they aren't easy to remove. However, the contrast to that is that they are very secure. I removed the top plate to check what type was fitted.

The size of the Filofax Chester A5 Compact is very similar to the Filofax Heritage A5 Compact that we reviewed back in 2016.  It measures approximately 18 x 23.5 cm or 19cm x 23.5 cm if you allow for the clasp and pen loops.

In terms of weight, the Filofax Chester A5 Compact without any inserts weighs 286g/10 ounces.

The Filofax Heritage A5 Compact without any inserts, but including the leather fly leaf weighs 279g/9.84 ounces or 211g/7.44 ounces without the fly leaf.

The Filofax Chester is also available in regular Personal size with 23mm rings and Personal Slim size with 11 mm rings and no clasp. Additionally there is a full range of accessories and writing folios in A4 and A5. 

See the Filofax Website for full details of the full Filofax Est 1921 Chester range

Again thank you to Filofax UK for providing the sample for review.