Roterfaden Taschenbegleiter A3/A4 10 Year Use
Been using the A4 for 10 years and managed to pick up the A5 cheaply on eBay a two years ago (I'm UK) thought I would leave some comments here if it helps people in the future. Note I have not hammered these two, they have probably only been used hard for a third of that time, I try to keep them clean and looking good.
Size A4 / A5 - So I firstly had the A4 mainly as I work with loose A3 drawing packs a lot. Really useful to be able to unclip a pack of drawings make notes, show people, then clip them back in. For more casual and general notetaking I've been leaning towards the A5 purely out of convenience. It's easier to take with you, takes up less space on my crowded home desk, half the weight etc.
Elastic Band - On both A4/A5 this has become loose. Not the end of the world but annoying to not get that nice snap when packing up. They do do a repair but it would still be £60 to fix both I believe and I don't think that's worth it. Might try fixing them myself if I'm feeling brave.
Booklets - Started with hardcover notepads as the inserts but this is a bad move in my opinion. Just because of the weight and thickness they add, gravitated towards softcover thin small booklets approx 50 pages each. Nice to have different pages, squared and narrow lined etc. Whatever works for you.
Post It Notes - I just find it really useful to keep a pack in the back pocket and write additional notes and stick them in - I can move them about, update them, double them up and they are not permanent which is fine.
Cleaning - They do get grubby especially in a bag if you do a lot of travelling/commuting so try to avoid carrying them back and forth all the time, you will degrade them over time. I tended to leave them at work. To clean them (just the outside) I mix up some washing up liquid in a bowl or warm water and dip my scrubbing brush in it and clean them under the tap on a sunny day when they will dry well. I give them a good scrub keeping the inside dry as far as possible. Rince clean with tap water.
3/4 Clips - I think the A4 has x3 and the A5 has x4. Never really bothered me - three is fine. BTW they work really well and they are as stiff / strong as the day I got them. Amazing design. Remember you can just slide them out if you don't like them so if in doubt then get x4.
Pen / Pencil - Right you will see from my photos attached that I prefer a good pencil rather than a pen. Partly as I'm messy and I get ink all over my hands, this obviously does not happen with a pencil. Secondly using the Balckwing 602 it's smooth and makes me write more neatly. Why? Don't know I just take better notes with it. You do have to carry around the sharpener. Works for me - the eraser is also very useful. So no ink marks on the folder.
Pen Holder - I've found those two little red pen loops to be really useful on the A5 - recommend them. With some black electrical tape on the Blackwing it holds the pencil well covered up and protected (point does not get damaged). The one on the right / outside is awkward and not good in a bag, keeps getting caught. So if you get the chance spec the little loops on the inside. BTW I often just close up the book with the pencil in the page with the red band holding everything closed. Really useful as the pencil is ready there when it opens again.
Cost - Can you justify spending that much on a folder? Simple answer is no not really. It's a supa luxury. You could get a perfectly good leather folder for £100 less. It's the cache of having something really nice and special, you feel like a king at a meeting unclipping your drawings. When people ask how much it cost I normally just say think of an expensive folder cost? ......then double it and ..........add £20. 😂
Hope this helps
Edit: Just to repeat the point about using a pencil with your expensive folder and not a pen. How would you feel if your pen leaked all over your folder? Ink blotches never look good, never look like genuine age use or patina - it just ruins it really. Yes pens have lids but they come off in the bottom of your bag when you throw them in as you are in a hurry. So I really would suggest looking for a good pencil to use instead of a pen.