The Pilot B7 Binder notebook is another Japanese “system organizer” type looseleaf that I ordered at the same time as my Raymay Davinci notebook. I love this format of slim pocket sized binder!
The Pilot B7 Binder is a pocket sized looseleaf notebook. It comes packaged in a clear plastic slipcover that allows you to open it and see what’s inside. The label notes that this is a “6 Ring Slim Binder, Just Refill Size.”
“Just Refill Size” seems to mean literally that– the binder is just as large as the refill pages, unlike many other 6-ring looseleaf notebooks, such as most pocket size Filofaxes, where the binder is wider than the refill paper in order to accommodate divider tabs that stick out beyond the page edges. But it isn’t “just refill size” in the vertical direction, where the cover overhangs quite a bit more. This allows you to use divider tabs that stick out at top or bottom.
This Pilot notebook is slightly larger than its cousin the Davinci notebook. Both have 8mm rings, which allow the notebooks to be very slim and small. In the photos below, the Pilot notebook is compared to the Davinci and a pocket Moleskine.
The Pilot binder is not real leather like the Davinci. It is made of a burgundy or maroon colored fake leather. This color and vinyl material has kind of a retro feel to me– it reminds me a bit of the cheap notepad covers that are often given away as promotional items. But it doesn’t feel quite as plastic-y as those. It actually has a sturdy feel, with real stitching all around the edges. It may not be as luxurious as the Davinci, but it is nicely made and doesn’t feel cheap. What I don’t know is how this material will age over time– I would guess it will soften somewhat with use, but could also crack at stress points, as it won’t have the ability to flex and stretch like real leather. My only quibble with the construction is that the cover seems to be just slightly off square, somehow, or perhaps the ring mechanism is slightly askew. I’ve had this issue with other notebooks of this type– sometimes the ring base can be shifted slightly in the clip that holds it to the spine, but in the Pilot binder it doesn’t move enough to make a difference. It’s not too bothersome, though.
Inside the front cover, there is a full-length pocket and a smaller slit where you could slip a business card or two. The back inside cover has another full length pocket and a pen loop. My favorite thing about this pen loop is that it is adjustable and can be tucked away inside the back cover. It still makes a bit of a lump but it doesn’t get in the way as much as the pen loop on the Davinci, which was so annoying I had to cut it off!
The included refill paper is lined and has a lovely smooth feel. I expected it to be fountain pen friendly, as so much Japanese paper is. But alas, it is actually really crappy and I could immediately see that my fountain pens were bleeding like crazy. I didn’t even bother to do a full set of pen tests– it’s not like this refill paper is easily found in the US anyway, and the whole point of a looseleaf binder is that you can fill it with whatever you want! The included paper is actually slightly wider than standard 3 x 5″ refills. If you fill the notebook with normal 3 x 5″ paper, it doesn’t go all the way to the edges of the binder, so you could add some low-profile tabs if you wanted to.
The Pilot B7 Binder leaves me with another dilemma. I have so many looseleaf notebooks that I adore, yet I find myself lacking for ways to use them! This one feels so solid and durable, I’d love to find some daily use for it. I originally discovered this size of Japanese notebook, commonly referred to as a system organizer, via Russell Stutler, who uses them for sketching. I love the way he keeps a watercolor palette and sketch paper inside his binder, but I find this page size just a wee bit small for drawing and painting, even though I am usually using a 3.5 x 5.5″ pocket Moleskine sketchbook or similar. That extra half inch in each direction, and the absence of ring holes, gives you a lot more space. So we’ll see…
Bottom line, this is a great little notebook. It is a cut above the usual generic pocket looseleaf notebooks sold in the US, and the small rings give it a very pocketable profile. It lacks the real leather luxury of a Filofax or the Davinci binder, but it’s also a lot cheaper, or at least it was when I bought it several months ago. I paid $14.75, with free shipping, via a 3rd party seller on Amazon. Right now, prices are around $18-$45 including shipping. But the Davinci binder is now around $70 including shipping (I paid about $43 with free shipping). I don’t think this can be completely explained by fluctuations in the Yen to USD exchange rate, so maybe the COVID-19 pandemic is a factor.
Here are the listings on Amazon for the B7 slim size binders. Other sizes are also available.
Burgundy color shown here (currently $41.61 with free shipping)
“Tea” color (currently $44.51 with free shipping)
Black (currently $17.81 +$23.99 shipping)