In this 4K video I review the Rhodia Rhodiarama Soft Cover Notebook. This notebook features a soft Italian leatherette cover and Clairefontaine 90gsm paper. Rhodiarama – Beige Lined – https://amzn.to/3kL7KpZ Rhodiarama – Beige Dot -https://amzn.to/3HwIo8Y
Rhodia Review
Rhodia Clic Bloc Mouse Pad / Notepad Review
As I said earlier in my review of the Hermès Ostrich GM Notebook Cover, I love items that bridge my interests, and while the Rhodia Clic Bloc combines my love of pens with my love of technology it hasn’t exactly won me over.
The Clic Bloc is a notepad that doubles as a mouse pad and unfortunately serving double duty makes it both a bad notepad and a bad mouse pad.
The pad measures 7.5″ x 9″, contains 30 sheets and has a nonskid backing. The Clic Bloc looks like a regular Rhodia notepad with an orange flip over cover, only the Clic Bloc does not have a cover, it is merely a color picture of a folded cover that even has a shadow line.
It is nice that they want this product to look like the other notepads in their line but to me it is a waste of space to print a fake folded cover on every page. I also don’t like that “www. bloc-rhodia.com” is printed on the bottom.
The paper is the same 80g paper that Rhodia is famous for and of course it performs superbly with fountain pen ink. No bleeding or feathering.
It should also be noted that the grid is only on one side of the paper, the opposite side is completely blank. The pad is bound with glue on the bottom and left edges and tears off easily. Because its glued on the left it isn’t going to work well for left handed people as the paper is not going to stay put when you brush against the pad.
As a mousepad, the nonskid backing is not as secure as a regular mousepad but it works well enough.
I found no tracking issues using the pad but I found the edges of the pad to be uncomfortable to brush up against while moving the mouse around and this is ultimately what caused me to stop using it. It’s just not comfortable.
Rhodia DotPad Number 38 Review
Rhodia (and Clairefontaine) products have been a staple at my desk since middle school and there are not many formats I haven’t tried but the Rhodia DotPad # 38 and the Rhodia Clic Bloc mouse pad (review to come) fit the “new-to-me” criterion.
The #38 DotPad is the largest format top staple bound pad that Rhodia offers. It measures 16 ½” x 12 ½ “ and contains 80 sheets of Rhodia’s classic 80 g paper.
I purchased the #38 because I am currently using the end of my dining room table as a makeshift desk while I am in the process of remodeling and I was getting tired of juggling my Rhodia Reverse pad with my keyboard. Now I just sit the keyboard right on the #38 so that I don’t have to move my keyboard when I want to write a quick note.
The dot grid is the standard 5mm interval and Rhodia calls the dots “pale violet” in color but on the Black version that I have they look grey to me and are clearly different than the light purple color I see on my orange cover Reverse pads. The paper is micro perforated so it is very easy to tear out a page.
Using Rhodia’s standard 80 g weight paper, this pad does very well with fountain pen ink. Dry times are slower but tolerable and I use both sides of the paper without problem. I have been using the pad for a while now and I really like it. With a retail price of $16 and a street price closer to $13 it’s an affordable notepad that I plan to make a staple in my new office.
Rhodia Bloc Pad No 11 Review
I love Rhodia paper products because they are both affordable and fountain pen friendly. They come in dozens of formats and I have tried almost all of them and only two have remained staples in my notebook collection: the Rhodia Reverse Book (review to come) and the Rhodia Bloc Pad No 11.
The No 11 is small notepad that measures 2.9″ x 4.1″ and contains 80 sheets of Rhodia’s standard 80g paper in lined and graph formats (I prefer the graph). The No 11 comes in black and classic Rhodia orange covers. Like the vast majority of Rhodia products, there is a lot of branding; all three sides of this tiny pad have the Rhodia logo. The sheets are micro perforated and if you are careful the sheets come out pretty easily. Because the sheets are bound only with one centered staple it is important pull the paper up off the pad to get the perforations to work. If you pull straight the paper will detach at the staple.
The No 11 is great for short lists and notes. I prefer them to using sticky notes.
As you can see there are no issues with feathering or bleeding. Rhoida (and sister brand Clairefontaine) are the gold standard when it comes to fountain pen friendly paper and it is easy to see why.
Virtually no ghosting to speak of.
At $2 a pad it’s pretty hard to go wrong. I believe the No 11 would be useful to almost everyone; I highly recommend it.
Please note: this product was provided to me at no charge by JetPens for review purposes.