Mini Size Organisers

I see quite a few people using Mini size organisers on Facebook and Instagram.

It is not a size I think I could practically use as an every day planner, but some manage it! Going down to Pocket size I think would be about as small as I would want to go.

Filofax stopped selling Mini size organisers a couple of years ago, they still sell the inserts though, which is ok I guess. There must be plenty of organisers available on places like Ebay and other on-line sites to enable people to be able to buy a Filofax organiser in that size.

I only have one Mini, a Filofax Malden, I previously had a red Finchley Mini, I also have a couple of M2's which are similar page size to the Mini but landscape and only 3 rings!

The Mini uses paper that is 67 x 105mm although some makers do vary the page size within a  centimetre of that size, so check the size of inserts before you buy them.

I have used the Malden Mini as a notebook, and used A7 size paper in it which is a few millimetres wider than Filofax Mini size.

Filofax Mini Malden

The Mini next to a Pocket for size comparison!

So what do you do if you can't find a used Mini organiser? Well there are a few other manufacturers that still sell that size new.

Gillio
Gillio offer the following models in Mini size: Amica, Compagna and the Mia Cara. They all come with 12mm rings. The Mia Cara overall about the size of a pocket size compagna!

The 12 mm rings are the ones I've mentioned before that are only held in with small metal tabs at each end of the ring mechanism. Prices are between €125-€224 plus VAT if you are in Europe.

All three Gillio models use the same ring spacing as Filofax Mini, which of course is an advantage.

Succes
Succes offer their own range of Mini size organisers and inserts.

However you should be aware that the ring spacing on the Succes organisers is not the same as Filofax Mini organisers.

This drawing shows the difference.

Fortunately there is a punch available from this site. Although there is a slightly cheaper solution on Amazon with this punch below.

The punch blocks on this punch are adjustable so you can easily reset them to the required spacing. I bought this punch myself for use with a Deskfax and wrote about it here.

Unlike the Deskfax using this punch with the Succes/Van der Spek Mini, doesn't need the punch to be modified, you just set the punch blocks to the correct setting as shown above and you will be able to use it. And you can use this punch for all sizes up to A5, by just adjusting the positioning of the punch blocks.

Van der Spek.
Van der Spek also offer their Custom range with the same ring spacing as Succes, so they can use their inserts and the same punch I have highlighted from Amazon.

Being part of the Van der Spek Custom range of course means a large range of leathers and you can add various options such as a second pen loop and a full width back pocket as well if you wish.

They are available with 15mm rings. The attachment method of the rings is the same as the others in the Van der Spek range, so they are both strong and secure.

Prices of the Van der Spek Mini start at a very reasonable €99 plus VAT if you are inside Europe.

I'm sure there are other brands around selling Mini size organisers still. But these are just a selection of what is available.

My first Mini a Finchley

If you have any additional questions please post them in the comments below.

A Quick Query

Succes finds itself among our links thanks to an anonymous comment left long ago, the poster of which attested to the quality of the A5 inserts offered by Succes. Can anyone give any more specific comments? Some of the forms look really cool.

Here's the more specific feedback I'm looking for: Are the fricking holes in Succes inserts drilled in a Filofax-compatible fricking manner? For reasons that elude me, I can't find any indication on their website concerning Filo-compatibility. For other reasons that elude me, they have declined to respond to my e-mail requesting confirmation of compatibility.

(Aside: Why do so many companies ignore e-mails like this? When I was in Europe once, I bought a watch made by the "Rotary" company. They don't sell watches in the U.S. A couple years later, the band -- a weirdly shaped, custom-sized job -- broke. No one in the U.S. had ever heard of Rotary. So I began an e-mailing odyssey that took months. It finally, happily, culminated in my receipt of two new bands shipped from England. [Two bands, because I did not want to go through that again upon the next band breakage.] The reason for the delay -- and subsequent damage to the goodwill they otherwise could have built in a globe-trotting, product-recommending person like me -- was primarily their failure to respond to my e-mails. I think that "local" distributors of international products not commonly available in the U.S. are the worst. Anyhoo...)

Any fricking feedback?