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Sunday, September 30, 2012

Quo Vadis ABP2 daily planner

This is a planner I've had my eye on for years and years but have only just now gotten around to ordering it.

This is the European version of this diary which is printed in six languages.
I like the format with the timed column at the left and designated space for notes. It's the perfect size for a day per page planner: 12 by 17 cm (4 3/4 by 6 3/4 inches, the same size as the QV Textagenda and Notor). And it has the super-smooth white Quo Vadis paper that I love. Click on photos to enlarge.

But I'm wondering if all the languages will annoy me. I might highlight the English days and months to make it easier to find dates when flipping through the book.  I do like that holidays are indicated on the day spaces. Moon phases are too, although you don't see it on this page.
I love the timed column at the left with times from 7am through 9 pm with lines for the half hours and lines before 7am for early morning reminders. I like seeing my day chronologically as a vertical column so I think this format will work really well for me.  The Notes section at the side will be great for lists and notes.

At the bottom of the page there's a space for reminders, and month calendars.

 Some other features of this diary:

 The personal information page is multi-language.
 There is a page to note school holidays, and an annual reference calendar.
At the back of the book there is an annual calendar for the following year. Then there are the awesome Quo Vadis maps of Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Benelux, the British Isles, Italy, Spain and Portugal, and all of Europe. I love the maps!
 At the back of the book are lists of public holidays for all the countries this diary covers.
Something that may or may not be an issue for me is the tiny spacing of the lines. I have shown them here alongside a Moleskine day per page diary.
The Moleskine ruling is 6 mm, which is pretty standard and is easy to write in. You can see the ABP2 lines are miniscule by comparison. Which isn't a bad thing, because I can fit a lot more writing on the page and it allows the schedule column to have a lot more timed lines.

The lines are tiny. I measure the ruling at 3.5 mm.
 To be honest I'm not worried about the ruling, I think it will be fine.

But during the process of taking these photos I did discover something that does really bother me. The book doesn't stay open on its own, which is unlike every other Quo Vadis planner I've ever used.  I was extremely disappointed to discover this because part of the joy of a Quo Vadis, besides the glorious paper, is the book stays open on its own for easy writing and reference.

So to figure out why, I compared it to my Quo Vadis Textagenda which is the exact same size and has the same paper.  Below I have compared the bindings and you can see the difference.
Textagenda stays open on its own. Binding is flexible.


ABP2 must be held flat. Binding is not flexible.

ABP2 when it's not being held open.

This really bothers me a lot. I don't think the book will stay open on its own even with training because of the way it's bound. I guess I'll have to hold it open with a binder clip or something.  This makes me really sad because I was SO excited about this planner and thought it would be The One for 2013!  But the not staying open is a huge disappointment.

So I ordered up the Quo Vadis ABP1, which has the same column + notes daily format but is 5 1/4 by 8 1/2 inches instead. The lines will be larger, and I'm hoping it stays open on its own. As far as I know the ABP1 is only available in the US, so I had it sent to my mom who is coming to visit me soon so she will bring it with her. I don't know how I'll feel about the larger book, usually that size is too large and heavy for me to carry around but I'm hoping the soft cover will make it light enough. We'll see.

I might still use this book, because the size is perfect. If I can get around the lack of flatability I think I'd love this planner.

I ordered this planner from Quo Vadis UK and the shipping was super-fast.

Dang it!  Just when I thought I'd found The One, it doesn't stay open!  The search continues...

15 comments:

  1. So a huge binder clip does hold it open, but rather brutally. It marks the page and the cover. And when it's on, the clip covers the English day name on the right page. Not that I can't figure out the day of the week from the other languages, but still, yet another annoyance.

    If I carry this book from home to work and back, I'll have to also carry the binder clip so it will stay open on the desks.

    Oh Quo Vadis, why didn't you put a flexible binding on this book?? Whyyyyyyyyyyy???

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  2. The reason probably is down to the fact it would then have been perfect, this one reminds me of the diary they are selling for about £3 in Liddl (united office is the brand)the difference is the quality of paper in the one above is probably far higher, no correction is higher as on mine you can not only read whats on the otherside but on the previous page as well..
    Regarding the days of the week mine has the advantage the english is first on each column, so it makes it easier..and yes it opens fairly flat...
    Have you thought of paper weights instead of the binder clip, or haevy duty magnetic bookmarks?

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    1. In order for paper weights to hold the book open I think they would cover up writing space. I don't think putting them just on the corners would keep it open. And anyway they'd be in the way of my hand when writing.

      I don't have any heavy duty magnetic bookmarks but will look for some. Thanks for the suggestion!

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    2. Try Wilkinsons they have an online store www.wilkinsonplus.com, there are set of six about£2/£3..there has been a couple of reviews on the pholifaxy facebook page... or you look up organisedlikejen on you tube, which has popped up on webfinds on philofaxy

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    3. I'll look for those, thanks! :)

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  3. This format is not for me. I think I've found the perfect combination of layout and features (monthly calendars, maps, etc) with the Hebdo. I'm using the Scholar until January, then I'll make the switch.

    Anyway, Laurie, thank you for doing comprehensive reviews of the planner layouts. It's not easy to get a hands-on with most of these planners before I buy. I've spent so much money this year on planners, partly because a lot of the descriptions on the internet are just incomplete, in my opinion.

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    1. That was the main reason why I started my blog: at the time I had to order all my planners online, and I couldn't find many photos of the interior pages and features. So when I do a review, I try to include enough information and photos to help people decide if the planner is right for them.

      I love the Hebdo! I got to review it a few months ago. Large daily spaces, monthly calendars and that gorgeous paper!

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  4. I've purchased the AB1 in France and it did lay flat BUT it's been a couple of years. I've also noticed that not all of the textagendas here in France lie flat so I'm not sure what that means.

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    1. Ugh I really hope they're not moving to a non-flat binding on all their planners! That would ruin QV for me. :(

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  5. Wow. I think that line spacing is a killer for me. I have a big handwriting and couldn't possibly go that small and still be legible.

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  6. Ahhh...you just threw another monkey in the wrench! I had it narrowed down to the Hebdo or the Space 24. How do those compare with this? You reviewed the Hebdo and I love it but I love the notes section of the Space 24. The only thing I am wondering about is the vellum green tinted paper of the Space 24. Are you familiar with it? Also, when I was looking at ordering, the Space 24 offers MONTHLY and anno planning but it doesn't list the monthly as part of the Hebdo. However, I thought you mentioned that the Hebdo had monthly calendars. Does the APB have monthly calendars. I also heard a rumor that Quo Vadis was thinking of discontinuing the APB? Ugh.....too many choices! I think the Space 24 would work best for me, but the green paper has me wondering. I LOVE ANYTHING Quo Vadis/Exacompta!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

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    1. Hi Kelly, the Hebdo does have month on one page calendars, you can see them in my review here:

      http://www.plannerisms.com/2012/04/new-for-2013-quo-vadis-hebdo-weekly.html

      I've never tried the Space 24, mainly because I don't care for the green paper. The paper is the same tint as in the Journal 21 which I reviewed here:

      http://www.plannerisms.com/2010/01/exacompta-journal-21.html

      You can't really compare the Hebdo or Space 24 with the ABP2 because they are weekly and large and this is daily and smaller. ABP has no monthly calendars.

      Quo Vadis has discontinued the ABP1 in the US a couple of times and brought it back again. It doesn't come up on their website but you can still order it from Alkos. I have linked the product page in my review here.

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  7. Too bad about the binding. That would be a deal breaker for me.

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