The Wandering Eye

For those of you who are reading my blog or for anyone who has read many of my comments at Philofaxy, you know just how in love with my Guildford Slimline I am. Many times (most often after I read about someone else’s system or see their Flickr photos) I start thinking about how I can change up my planner – maybe go back to using only the personal size, rearranging my sections, or reorganizing my entire set up. I have even tried going back to the personal size in order to keep everything in one place. But everything comes down to how much I love the portability of the slimline, even if I can’t carry everything with me at all times, which is the point. And the leather of the Guildford is so soft and wonderful! So there’s really no need to change from my Guildford Slimline.

However.

For a while I have been eyeing the Cuban Slimline. I actually first noticed the Personal Cuban – there are a few Philofaxy readers who have it, use it and love it. The main purpose for getting a new slimline would be for a change in color. If Filofax made the Guildford in other colors I would be so tempted to buy them all. But it only comes in black (and while that doesn’t sit well with me, my bank account thanks you, Filofax).

Recently, Filofax US has added new colors to both the personal and slimline Cuban binders. I’m really struck by the Ink color, what appears to be a navy blue. But it’s a dark color, almost as dark as the black. So what would be the point in that? Also new is the Chestnut color, a dark tan. That appeals to me as well. Between the two it would probably be better to get the Chestnut since it’s a lighter color, which is the point after all. But I still can’t get the Chili out of my head, the dark red that’s deep and colorful without being too bright of a red or too dark.

Originally I was worried that the Cuban wouldn’t lie flat upon first use. With my Classic Slimline (in chocolate), I find that it’s not very easy to train it to lie flat because of the amount of papers that will fit into the binder. With a personal size there are enough papers (and therefore weight) to train the binder to stay open after some use. The Classic Slimline won’t even stay open for me to remove and add papers – it’s quite a struggle. However, I was told that it wasn’t really a problem with the Cuban, so crisis averted.

One worry I do have about the Cuban Slimline though is that the ring size is ¼ inch. The Guildford Slimline has ½ inch rings and the Classic has 7/16 inch rings. I tested all of what I carry in the Guildford in the Classic – everything fits into both. And I can’t see a visible difference between the two – the ring sizes look exactly the same to me. But at half the size of the Guildford, I wonder if the Cuban will actually hold less…does anyone have an answer to that? The way it is now, I have whittled down the amount I carry to just fit into the Guildford. I cannot downsize anymore than that. If the Cuban does not hold it all, then it’s useless to me (the horror!).

Decisions!

My birthday is coming up in a few weeks. I have told my husband that I would like a new slimline binder but I really don’t foresee him purchasing “another planner.” It may have to be a gift to myself, though I’m always coming up with excuses for those kinds of gifts.

Since you all are on the edge of your seats to find out what happens, I will keep you posted.