Behold! The Malden Arrives

After much anticipation and months of waiting, the Malden is finally available in the US. I have been waiting since August when I emailed Filofax asking them to carry this item. The pictures and posts from other people have had me wanting this binder with a vengeance.

On October 1 I checked the Filofax US website but didn’t see anything regarding the Malden. It was only a few days later when I saw Steve’s comment on Philofaxy that I realized it was available. I promptly headed over to the site to purchase it.

It arrived two days later. I’m very happy with it. I moved into it immediately. I was contemplating tweaking my system a bit but decided to keep things as they are. The front pockets hold any business cards I want to carry, a Filofax jot pad, and papers I need to have with me. I have not yet figured out what to put into the zippered front pocket – it can hold my pen but makes the binder bumpy. Maybe one day I’ll find a use for it. For now, it’s empty. The first item in the binder is the Filofax sticky note accessory. I love this thing. I love Post-its, so why would I not have it? My tabs are arranged this way. “Contacts” are for emergency numbers only – the remaining phone numbers are in my phone. “Health” is for anything health and/or exercise related. “Me” is a project that I’m currently working on. “Lists” is for shopping lists, blog and writing ideas, things to do, etc. “Diary” of course is for my calendar.

The only addition I made was to include a DayRunner note pad at the back. The Malden has a slot for such a note pad. This is one thing I’ve always missed with other binders, and so I had to add it. The paper size is the same as the personal Filofax pages, so if I decide to tear off a page and add it to my binder somewhere I can easily do that.

As the others have said before me, this binder lays flat, the leather is soft, and the pockets are great. My only wish is for a slightly larger pen loop so that my pen would fit inside. But what I am doing to make up for that is placing it inside the ring mechanism when the binder is closed. This works well as a substitute, though not the best – I need to remove it in order to turn the pages.

Since this purchase was a relatively expensive one, I am sending this pledge out into the Philofaxy community – I cannot (for my sake, my husband’s sake, and for the sake of my bank account) buy another planner for (dare I say it?) all of 2011. I’m sure that one day next year I will curse these words but that it my intention. I’m counting on you, readers, to reign me in should I mention the thought of another new planner.

On another note, I am planning on using two of my unused binders for special reference information. Look for posts on these in the coming weeks.