Rocketbook New Mini Reusable Smart Notepad, Pocket Size Notebook 3.5×5.5, Teal – Dotted Pages, App-Connected, Erasable, Ideal for On-The-Go List Taking & Quick Notes Anywhere

This notebook is amazing, used to go through a couple of regular notebooks a year for work and personal notes. Finding notes and info was a bit of a challenge on my regular notes books, being able to capture and digitize my items is amazing. The ease on the process to find and store notes is implemented unbeatable.

For starters, if I were in a role playing game I’d be a Scribe-Wanna-be-Warrior. I kinda document stuff like a hoarder keeps anything they might run across. I don’t remember details well past a few days, but my job relies on details. I’ve learned to thrive by writing/sketching down a lot of stuff that most people wouldn’t even think to keep.

The Everlast Mini is my newest attempt and I’m very happy with it! Initially, I was looking for what is apparently the older version – the one you throw into the microwave, but it sounded like the Everlast model is the newest approach Rocketbook is going with. Before this, I’ve used Notability, Livescribe, and of course pencil/pen & paper.

I’ve been using the Mini for a month or so now. I chose this size because I wanted to have something super-portable. The size is perfect. I can still get a full-page sketch scribbled out or a decent amount of text before switching pages. Given the relatively short time, I wonder how durable these notebooks are. I don’t think the pages will tear easy or the binding will break so that is good. There is some slight etching on the page that is left over, but that doesn’t really limit future writing/drawing. I have a sense that the page will eventually take on a new “finish” because the etchings will cover almost the entire surface. You can only see them when you hold the page at a certain angle, so it doesn’t affect the function at all. Anyhow, I gave a four star rating because I just don’t know how durable the notebook will be.

The pages erase quickly with water and a paper towel. I keep forgetting, but I want to pack a small water atomizer that I have left over from my Skinomi smartphone class protector kit. They send you one to wet the protector before installing over your iPhone. Anyhow that would perfect to be able to spray the page with water and then wipe it clean.

After relying on digital-inputted notes for so long, it is great to go back to analog! There’s something so much more personal about writing something out. It’s also better in a consulting role to scribble out notes than separate yourself from the other person with a screen and keyboard. I’ve found this notebook encourages even more creativity because unlike pencil & paper, the only consumable is the ink, so I end up writing/sketching way more than I used to because I can just keep going and going. It reminds me of the transition from film to digital photography. I could take tons of pictures and not be worried about the developing and printing costs and I used to have my own darkroom. I’m interested in trying out the other pen types that Pilot makes for their Frixion line. Rocketbook makes it sound like any of these pens will work with their notebook. I want to try out some thin markers next. It would be great to have some kind of pencil-like experience too! Pilot, please invent the Frixion “pencil” – erasable with only water!

There is an odd feel when writing though that you’ll get used to. It does feel a little like you are writing on plastic at first, but I’ve gotten a hang of it. On a related note, the ink can be inconsistent at first because it doesn’t always take to the surface of the page consistently. Once the pen gets going though, it’s no problem. It’s only the first character or two of your first word though, and not all the time. That might be more the pen than the notebook, but they are used together as a system. The ink also may take significantly longer than just 15 seconds to dry. I’ve noticed that some of my sketches take up to 90 seconds to dry before I can flip a page or close the notebook.

The software doesn’t pickup “edge bleeds” well. I wouldn’t recommend writing/drawing to the black edge of the page. The software has a difficult time scanning these pages. The software doesn’t always properly auto rotate the page. When it doesn’t, it leaves the QR code and then it actually deletes part of your page. Caution, you can lose important information if you have it in the opposite corner. What is the QR code for if not to detect rotation? They all appear to be identical. Normally, it is deleted by the software so it’s not an issue with your scans. One other minor thing is that sharing a scan via some other pre-programmed action takes a few extra buttons. It’d be nice if it were as easy to send to a different email ad hoc. Those minor things aside, I love the app. It is well designed and looks great. It didn’t take any time at all to get up and running.

Rocketbook may not like this because I have a cheap and super-effective way to keep your pen with your notepad…
wait for it…
Duct tape!
I know their pen keeper doesn’t get the best reviews – I haven’t tried it. I found this way is perfect for me. Just cut a piece of duct tape that is the length of the circumference of the pen, then stick it to a longer piece of duct tape so that the sticky sides adhere to one another. Then tape it to the back edge of your notepad and you have a 3-min, half-cent, flexible, durable, and even colorful pen holder!

By the way, I’ve started to use their Beacons as well and absolutely love them! I need another set because I lost them 🙁

This thing is like having a 15 page mini-whiteboard in your pocket. It’s great! You just have to have the right Frixion erasable gel pens for it to work.

Unfortunately, though, I find there are some things about it that are a complete waste of money and materials that unnecessarily reduce its value:

1) Don’t use the app, it’s a privacy/security problem regardless of what the “privacy policy” says. Just scan the pages with your own “scan” app that doesn’t collect tracking information. There’s no legitimate reason why anyone needs to collect tracking information of any sort about your note taking and it doesn’t matter if they claim you aren’t identified. None of the features they offer for organization etc are unique to their software.

2) Don’t use the app’s handwriting recognition. There’s no reason why this has to be done on a remote server or why any tracking data needs to be collected on it. If you need this then use other OCR software that does everything on the local device.

3) The QR code is a waste of space and is completely unnecessary. It seems to contain very few bits of information but the company isn’t very upfront about telling you what it’s for. The same exact code is on all pages, so it doesn’t help with page numbering. If the page dimensions are encoded then it’s a very wasteful way of doing it. If it’s for tracking then that’s not only a waste of space but also a privacy violation. The code is useless and it’s a serious waste of space on such a small pad, reducing the value of what you’re getting.

4) The polymer material they are using really only seems to be suitable for the frixion “gel pens”. (0.7mm work best, even though it came with an 0.5mm). Even though they claim other things like markers will work, they put down too much ink of a less suitable formulation and make too much of a mess trying to remove. Some colors of marker are especially resistant to cleaning and won’t even wash off completely under running water. Basically they’ll turn into a messy oily smear that may still leave a slight tint on the page even with a lot of wiping. Yellow seems to be the worst. So I’d just forget about using anything other than the “gel” type mini rollerball frixion pens. (And yes I used actual Pilot Frixion brand markers and highlighters.)

5) The small pad comes with a 0.5mm pen but this is a bit too thin on the hard polymer surface of the pages. This makes the lines too thin to see well and would only make sense if you’re going to write very tiny. I think 0.7mm is much better for most people so I’d recommend getting one of those thicker point pens.

6) I haven’t tried every color but so far every “gel” type ink color I have tried (black, red, blue) seems to erase equally well.

7) The need to let the ink have some time to dry can be more of an issue on the small notepad where you may need to flip the page before it’s dry so you can continue writing. Might want to keep a blotter sheet in there or something.

Pen stop working send replacement

Bought as a gift. She loves it. Perfect for quick notes. Transfers easily to phone or laptop. Small enough to fit in purse. Would recommend.