A review of the Hobonichi Techo A6 Planner and why I'm giving up on it!
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- Опубликовано: 7 сен 2024
- An indepth review of the Hobonichi A6 Techo English Planner. A little bit about my planning and why this doesn't work for me.
Why is my hair doing this weird cowlick thing at the front???
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Hobonichi do have a Weeks book which is smaller and would seemingly be a better fit for you
Thanks for the great review! I really WANT to be able to use and love the Hobonichi planners - any of them, since I love that paper - but for all the reasons you mentioned, they just don't work for me. Like you, I like the weekly layout with a facing note page. It's great to experiment with different layouts, etc though - I usually end up with a little tweak or two to my preferred system after trying out something new.
I came here because of your thumbnail alone 😭😅
Same
Me too lol
Try the hobonichi weeks, they have regular and mega (more blank pages), and different cover styles (soft vs hard) and color/patterns. It is smaller than the TN but I love the weeks! Most importantly it is the same vertival style as the TN
I’m confused as to why anyone would recommend the Hobonichi A6 original to you, when the Hobonichi Weeks would literally be the perfect planner to try out as an introduction to Hobonichi, given as it’s exactly the same week to a page layout as the TN weekly that you currently use and enjoy, haha!
Personally, I’ve tried the a6 original, weeks and a5 Cousin from Hobonichi and failed to stick with any of them for a full year. A small inexpensive notebook for tasks, and the stock calendar on my phone/other devices is the “system” I always fall back into, despite me so desperately wanting to be the fancy planner user my FantasySelf tells me I am 💀
I love seeing how other people use their techos, but, like you, it’s never worked out for me. I think the lack of a weekly is a big deterrent. I also find that when you account for the quotes and calendars and lines, I get about the same amount of writing space in a TN passport page with the flexibility of using the pages exactly how I want to use them. I do love my 5-year techo, however, and I’ve enjoyed my experiments with Hobonichi.
Thanks for being so honest and undramatic in outlining the reasons for stepping away after trying out the A6. The influencer communities love the Hobonichi and it is often touted as the perfect planner/journal combo. That may be true for some, but not all.
I'm learning more and more that I enjoy the concept of Hobonichi (and myriad accessories) more than the product itself. I do appreciate that it is a great product for some, but none of the configurations quite fit what I personally need. Some are too simple, and some are too complex. Additionally, the page a day format intimidates me, and the end result is typically more pages left empty than filled.
After using the Cousin for three years, the Weeks off and on for approx. 3.5 years, and the A6 off and on for a year or two, plus the Day Free A5 & A6 and two nonstarts of the A5 and A6 ... I'm out as well, and I plan to use a standard TN in its place.
Do you know the Take A Note planner? It might be one you’d like.
In past years, I’ve used this as my bedtime journaling each day and the monthlies I use for reading (a book’s start date/ end date). I’ve never used it as a “planner” - definitely wouldn’t work for me for planning. But even as a bedtime journal (I do like it being dated) there are times when I would want to write more, so then I’d have to write more on a separate page and then tip it in.
My brain works weekly too and I'm a bujo fan (the OG bujo) I initially wanted to try one page a day, but chickened out knowing that I can't really write many things in a day. so i turned my a6 into a bujo and enjoyed it a lot. Instead of following the dates, i turned the dates into "page numbers" instead and turned the daily pages into weeklies. I'm also trying to learn japanese so the a6 quotes kinda motivate me to try translating them.
Hobo weeks might work for you since you already are familiar with TN, but for me, the width of the weeks are too narrow so Im planning on going back to a6 and turn it into a bujo again.
Thank you for sharing your journey. A friend of mine got the hobo weeks recently and it confirmed my suspicion of space usage in terms of pre-populated quotes and slightly smaller grid pattern compared to the TN weekly. I may revisit this thought process for 2025. We shall see :) Have a wonderful day!
There is an additional smaller booklet you can purchase from Hobonichi that companions this that might suit you, it is called Hobonichi Weekly Calendar, It comes out out for each year and costs AUD $11 so around $15CAD I thnk.
If that's the problem why not try the hobonichi weeks instead ? It's exactly what you'd seem to be more comfortable with (weekly memo)
Why stick with hobo is the real question. They’re expensive and they have the quotes, and even if he gets the weekly he will still have this bulky planner because they also include daily. There are so many nice weekly planners out there.
@liliax9147 OK sure there is other options I'm not arguing with that. The hobonichi weeks don't have daily though. It just has the weekly layout. It's not bulky at all especially with the thin tomoe river paper
@@leslietriestodoart479 yeah, but doesn’t it have all those note pages at the back? But hey, do you happen to know of any planners that have a vertical weekly with hourly markings and no daily/notes (or very few notes)? I have sterling ink but even the compact has soooo many notes. And I would love a planner that doesn’t have all the months up front, but are grouped with their weeklies instead
@@liliax9147well I think you might like to try the plotter system. It's very expensive though. But since it's a ring bound system, you can really customize it the way you want it precisely. I hate rings usually, but the plotter's are very tiny and the leather cover is gorgeous. Very nice craftsmanship. Gives me the same vibe than traveler's factory (i think they are branches of the same head company too). They have a very nice weekly memo refill with hourly and no extra fuss. Otherwise the traveler's company weekly vertical might be your best option but you will have to deal with the month all at the beginning.
@@liliax9147 I wrote your a long answer but it was deleted :( I don't know why... basically I was recommending the plotter. Now I'm scared to write more in case it's deleted again 🙃
I found the Aura Estelle Catch All planner to be my perfect fit. It also uses Tomoe paper.
I highly recommend it to everyone who will listen. 😅
Omg I just looked into them and they look amazing thank you! I see what you would preach about them the B6 classic is going straight on my list to try out.
@@aliceinkwell5751 yes! The paper is amazing quality and I am so thankful I found a perfect fit for me. I hope you love it just as much! They’re a small company, so I found out by word of mouth as well!
I'm [somewhat] comfortably in a ringbound for 2024 but sometimes I want that book bound feel that I love for journaling, as a planner. Ive been eyeing the A6 techo over on JetPens for the last month, wondering if I should get one. I'm totally new to Hobonichi. Glad to hear some criticisms of it, which gives me a bit of pause. There is also an A6 Kinbor that's almost identical to the techo, except no quotes on the page. It also comes with trackers and everything - including the 12 monthly calendars - is undated so you can start when you want and how you want. I accidentally bought one thinking it was. a plain notebook but it is legit a beautiful A6 undated planner.
It is still the most elegant planner I feel. But personally, I think the Weeks might be more productive for some people.
Why Hobinichi? The combination of excellent fountain pen paper, not too stark printing, and their system of organising information are unmatched I feel. No. There is no way to have the same experience using something else.
I’d be curious to see how this format would fair out if you use it not to plan but as a journal or memory keeper.
I’ve committed to do so for 5 years in conjunction with a 5 year planner. This year is my 5th year. The 5 year planner was doomed from the start, and various life events took me away from journalling, and have forced me into digital planning.
I am going to try PLOTTER next. Filofax was my first organizer and it worked so well back in the 1990s. So I am curious how Plotter might perform.
Have you ever tried it?
Sadly I am moving away from Hobonichi not because they are not amazing. But because I have slowed down with my fountain pen hobby.
New subscriber here. I love your presentation.
Nice thumbnail BTW.
Thank you for sharing your journey. A friend of mine has the plotter and I have to say, I am intrigued but not sure it does anything unique that my current TN setup can't already do. Also, my own strange personal bias against a ringed spine factors into my decision... I am intrigued though... Who knows? :)
Thanks very much for your kind feedback. Have a lovely day!
I didn’t mind even the Japanese writing (I don’t speak it but enjoy the script). But after 4 years I’m done with them.
I actually chopped that part off and fit it into a passport TN cover 😂
I’ve gone from Hobo weeks planning to Hobo days. Different stages in our lives require different formats.
Thank you for sharing your journey. I agree. Different stages = different formats. Have a wonderful day!
I tried this planner in 2022. I didn't care that all the months are all together. I like month & weeks together. Other than that, it's a pretty cool planner. I've found planner peace with the Wonderland 222 B6. Love your channel here in Los Angeles -Anita
Oh my goodness. Resonated with everything you said. Just bought my first a6 Avec and started July 1. Am already freaking out without a weekly to-do list. But love the hobo cover i got with it & feel so bummed that I'm not loving it as much as I hoped. Will get the weekly supplement so hopefully I can make this work. Then use the dailies for journaling instead. the flipping back & forth to find my weekly tasks, driving me nuts!!!
BTW, so cool to see some of my fave YTubers commenting here. I love the planner community. 😊
Thanks for sharing your experience! Watching your flip-through made me realize that not being able to use all the spaces and pages would bug me the most about it, especially considering the paper they use. I don't think the hobonichi or other similar planners would be right for me. Enjoy your videos!
I keep a nightly journal, so this, in a larger format, is up my alley. I found a Canadian company making a daily journal, so I might stick with them for a bit. Daily journals are super hard to find these days. Chapters used to have loads of them, but the past few years it has been a real struggle to find something.
would love to know which canadian company you're buying from please!
I got one last October for "Black Friday" on Amazon for $10. I figured that I would give the brand a try as I do have their notebooks, and am familiar with the 52 gsm paper (I prefer the 68 gsm of my Take a Note), but I was wondering if I could grow to love the A6 size.
As always with Hobonichis, it's the quotes and the slicker paper. Now, I just used it as a wonderful little notebook for capturing thoughts.
Next year will be my second year with the Take a Note planner and I plan on getting a few alongside their notebooks.
My heart though, belongs to Rhodia. If they only made a planner whose format worked for me, it would be the best of all worlds.
16:03 I agree with you, it's good to try something new that is out of your comfort zone. Which inks do you prefer to use on your TN paper? Also, do you notice feathering? When I used to have a TN most of my inks would feather on the paper.
I've tried all sizes of the hobonichi the weeks, the a6, and the a5. I have never spent more than half a year in any of them. I love the idea of having most everything in one book, but I've been in travelers notebooks for so long I can't seem to stay away for to long.
Hi there! Since you said you love the Tomoe River Paper and you like the "weeks" style layout but you miss the monthly layouts, I would suggest you try an N1 or N2 horizontal from Sterling Ink! The compact version because it sounds like you don't need a ton of notes pages or dailies. It might solve your "planner problems". :)
You could have both if you tried the Sterling Ink weekly + memo format. She has recreated and improved ( by cutting out the quotes and other superfluous stuff to give more space) the most popular planner formats and makes them with TR-S paper. And I just saw that Faded Chronicle, which is Canadian, may be doing something similar next year. I also need a weekly format and might try the Sterling Ink planner for next year depending on price.
I agree about the quotes.
I like the idea of the Hobo but feel id be in the exact same possition with empty space
I enjoy hobonichi for the thinness of the paper and how,it showcases fountain pen ink. But due to finances I currently cannot justify spending this kind of money on a notebook. I’m using Stalogy now which is a bit better than the hobo in my opinion.
What an ugly and overpriced garbage! I would never spend my $ on it, not even $5. Hate it! Softcover is not protective, but flimsy сrар. Pages have terrible look and quality too. Boring АF and belongs in a dollar store.
I also feel like the covers they sell are childish.
Someone wake me up please