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If you want a well constructed, durable, premium notebook with the best paper around then the Habana is for you. Quo Vadis has made a notebook so good that I probably won’t even consider using a different one, unless I get to try it for free. The Habana is a hard cover notebook with a leather look to it and great feel in the hand. The rounded corners are a nice feature that I tend to prefer because it helps keep the corners from curling to easily. The binding is actually very user friendly and allows the notebook to lay pretty flat on its own. With a little encouragement you can get it to lay perfectly flat.

You should be able to find one in a color that matches your personality. Orange if you like attention, red, blue, black for a semi-professional look, and taupe…if you’re into that sort of thing. The Habana features an elastic closure that matches the color of the notebook, which is very cool if you ask me. It has a pocket insert at the back and comes in two sizes: 6X9 and 4X6 inches. The best part about this notebook, though, is the paper!

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The Habana notebook has 80 sheets of lined, premium, extra-white, 90gr Clairefontaine paper. This is my favorite paper and is often in a battle with Rhodia as my choice depending on what fountain pen I’m using. Clairefontaine is incredibly smooth, some people even say its too smooth. Of course, I don’t say that. But, some do. It handles any ink in any fountain pen with ease. I’ve only had it feather a tiny bit when using super flex nibs that gush ink.

I really enjoy all of Quo Vadis’ products. One reason I’ll keep buying this notebook is because it’s made in the USA and they care about the environment. They manufacture their own paper from sustainable forest and offer nearly 100% recycled planners in their Equology line. They’re also reasonably priced, especially for the quality of product that you get in return. The small Habana is $15 and the large version is $20. The only thing I can think of that would make this notebook better is to offer one in a 120 page version.

The Minister is a compact weekly planner is part of the Equology line by Quo Vadis. The Equology line of planners consist of the cover and the planner itself. The Agenda contains 88% of recycled materials and 100% recycled paper. The Equology cover comes in several colors including black, red, orange, brown, and rose. The red is a true red, not one tainted by shades of pink or maroon. The cover has a great texture that feels both soft and tactile.

The Minister is a 13 month, December to December, planner made of extra white, 90g paper and is loaded with a ton of useful features. Notice the word “useful” in that previous sentence. This planner doesn’t contain a bunch of so called features that nobody uses and end up just getting in your way. One of the neatest features I like is that each page has a perforated bottom corner so that when you’re done with that day you just tear the corner off. This makes it incredibly easy to quickly open the planner get to the current day. The opening page contains a section for your Personal Notes and also and important section at the bottom: How To Use Your “Agenda Planning Diary”. The opposite page contains International Telephone Access Codes and how to dail them. The next page contains Minimum and Maximum Monthly Average Temperatures in the World and a Chart of International Holidays on the opposite page. Clearly, this is a planner for the frequent international traveler.

At the begging and end of the 13 month weekly planner is a two page spread called “Anno-Planning” The Organization Of Your Year At A Single Glance. I find this incredibly useful as I can see major events at a single glance and know whats happening right away. I can make notes about which football games I’m going to, where I’m spending my holidays and with who, and block off dates for my vacation.

The week view is where you’ll do all your planning. Notice how there is not a lot of room for notes and to do lists. There is space for those things, but that’s not what the MINISTER is about. It’s about organizing your week so you know what’s going on in an easy to see, efficient manner. In the top right corner on the right page is the dates from Monday to Saturday, the previous, current, and next month calendar views as well as what week in the year it is. The dates across the top displays holidays and your single most important activity for the day, whether it be a meeting, a phone call, or your child’s ball game.

At first I was having a hard time figuring out how I would use the Receipts and Payments section. But after thinking about it for a while I could use this section to keep track of all the fountian pens I buy and sell. I could take up a few lines to comment on the buyer or seller, the pen, where I bought or sold it, and of course the price. I’m sure others would use for much more important things…

The back of the Minister planner contains several maps. One for world times zones and eight more detailed maps of all the countries.  The last page containes calendar views for the years 2009-2010-2011. One thing I’m glad those smart folks at Quo Vadis thought of was the removable contact booklet. Here you can write down peoples’ info, where you met them, how to contact them, etc. and at the end of the year when you need to order a new planner you can easily take those contacts with you.

This is one heck of planner, regardless of whether or not it’s made from recycled materials. I usually shy away from recycled items because I don’t like the feel or the way fountain pens write on them. But this is a good planner that’s well worth the money. The cover feels great in the hand and the paper doesn’t have that real fibrous type feel to it. I did write a little note in the back for the winner with my Namiki Capless with a fine nib and Waterman Florida Blue ink. It did feather just enough to make the line edges a bit soft but far from making the text unreadable. Also, it wasn’t a smooth as I’d like, but then I’m coming from Clairefontaine and Rhodia paper.

I can’t really think of knocks against this planner, which is unusual for me. I can usually find at least one improvement in everything but this planner is top notch and very well thought out. Maybe after a few weeks or a month of using it I might be able to find something to complain about but I’m sure it would be pretty trivial. So if you’re an unorganized mess who wants to take that step towards being a little “greener” then don’t hesitate to pick up one of these Minister planners, or just leave a comment below to enter the free drawing. The winner will be selected on Monday, October 26th and be notified by email.