I’ve been collecting people’s thoughts on the new ivory-paged Habanas in our weekly review roundups, but here’s a more comprehensive look at the reactions we’ve seen across the web…
First of all, several people (myself included) have noted that the color is more “cream” than “ivory.” Unfortunately, it’s not a description that’s easy for us to change in our product packaging and marketing materials, but… duly noted. Whatever it’s called, I can’t say we’ve changed the minds of any passionate white paper lovers. I can say we’re very grateful that people have given the new shade a chance, and we hope it will still have a place in their notebook collections.
Of course, some folks prefer ivory to white. In an ideal world, we’d find a way to satisfy everyone, but given the economics, I can’t promise anything.
One thing our reviewers were relieved to discover is that the switch to 85g paper did not render the Habana fountain pen unfriendly. “I didn’t notice any significance in the performance of the two papers,” said Brian Goulet in a video review. Some reviewers noted a slight increase in showthrough (which Goulet rather poetically calls “ghosting”). In the words of our friend Beth, this is “Not enough to keep you from writing on the back of the page. But enough to cause a little eyestrain if you will be transcribing what you write to your computer at a later date.”
As for the narrower ruling on the new large Habanas, that seems to be a matter of personal preference. Though as Note Booker, Esq. figures: “By narrowing the ruling and leaving less blank space above and below the ruling at the top and bottom of the page, each page now has 40 lines for writing instead of the 26 on the previous version. That’s more than 50% more lines on the same size page, or the equivalent of adding 40 sheets to the notebook!”
In no particular oder, here’s a list of the Habana reviews that we’re aware of thus far:
If you’ve written or read a review that we haven’t posted here, please let us know! And thanks again for all your feedback.
