Personal or Pocket?

It seems as if there is a revolution going on with people moving en masse to pocket filofaxes! Will I follow?

Well, there was a revolution in people getting Maldens and I haven’t followed that (so far). The current revolution seems to feature quite a lot of pocket Maldens too…

Now, whilst the idea of downsizing does somewhat appeal, I also know that I had a tough enough job convincing myself I could get along with a personal size! Although I do have several filofaxes, I only have one that I carry around with me and that has diary, to-do, lists, addresses, cards, coins, stamps etc all in there. I would want to be able to carry all of that in a pocket.

All in all, I think I will stick with my personal. I may revisit that decision over time but right now I’m staying put.

Why??? (I hear some of you holler)

Well, a number of reasons.

1.            I’ve already invested a not inconsiderable amount on personal filofaxes and inserts.

2.            It would have to be the perfect interior format to make me shift and none of the current pocket-sized filofaxes do it for me. You see, I want to be able to carry a reasonable number of credit cards/other cards around with me and there doesn’t seem to be a decent way to do this in the pocket filofaxes. You can put 2 or 3 or 4 cards in the cover (without doubling up the cards) but that would leave me with another 6 (to 8) to carry. I also want to carry coins and the zipped bit being right next to the card slots (as it is in the Malden and others) might be tricky. So, I would like the zip pocket and the card slots on different covers. Ah.. but.. I hear you say… the Finchley has that. Yes, but the Finchley looks like it would only hold 2 cards on the LH cover (with two weird pockets next to them… what are they for???), still leaving me with 8 to put into card holders that only hold 2 cards each. And… I don’t like the zipped pocket in mesh. And it’s too ‘puffy’ for everyday.

3.            Will I fit everything in? My current format is working really well for me and I would want to replicate that in any pocket I downsized to, but my personal feels a bit full at the moment and the pockets have smaller ring sizes. Now, the good folks over at Philofaxy have been assuring me that in fact, the pocket is a tardis and there would be no problem, but I’m not convinced. Quite.

4.            There are fewer alternative inserts for the pocket. There are some lovely ones over at the Succes site but it’s not quite enough to convert me.

I almost (almost) bought a pocket Portland on eBay and had I been a tad more convinced about being able to fit everything in, including all my cards, I might have bid a bit more. Why the Portland? Well, it will take 4 credit cards in one side and has a leather zipped pocket in the other cover (and in my personal Portland, that pocket is gusseted!). If the one I was bidding on had been either blue or green I would possibly have kept going, but it wasn’t, so I didn’t!

So, not being too demanding or anything… I would want a pocket that held at least 4 cards in one cover, had inserts for cards that could hold 4 without them overlapping, had a zipped pocket on the other cover from the card slots, had a vertical pocket behind the card slots for carrying notes and a ring size that would hold all the stuff I wanted to put in it! In addition it would have to have soft leather, be in dark blue or green (preferably) and there would be a sudden explosion in other companies producing inserts for the pocket.

Not asking for much, am I?? :-)

If anyone has any other types of pocket filofax that would fit (other than the Portland) please let me know!!