Nock Co DotDash Spiral Pad Review

June 26, 2015

It has been so exciting seeing the continued progression of the Nock Co product line. If you aren't familiar with Nock Co, it is a small business out of Georgia, USA that was founded by Brad Dowdy and Jeff Bruckwicki. Although their specialty is a range of colorful and durable pen cases, they also dabble in the realm of notecards, pocket notebooks, and now a new spiral pad with their proprietary DotDash ruling.

The guys were kind enough to send me a 2-pack of the new DotDash Spiral Pads for review and I'm excited to share some thoughts.

The first thing that stands out on the spiral pad is the bright red cover. Honestly, such a refreshing color to what could have been your standard black, grey, craft... I tend to sway towards the boring side, so I appreciate when someone prompts me to try something new. The cover is a thick cardstock, and the back is an even thicker stock, almost chipboard, but not quite. When holding the pad in your hand, there is some flex, but no more than other pads like the Doane Paper large flap jotter.

This is actually one of my favorite things about Nock Co. The guys seem to push the envelope with color with fabrics made in shades of "Blue Jay", "Mandarin", and "Mango" so a red notepad cover fits perfectly with their line up.

There was a recent change up in the paper they were using in their DotDash Pocket Notebooks to be more fountain pen friendly (which is excellent), and the new spiral pad incorporates the same.

My first time using the spiral pad was in a meeting at work where I was using a fountain pen (my colleagues find it amusing of course) and I was blown away by how much I loved the experience.

My lines were crisp, little to no bleed through, and the pad size seems just right for taking notes.

The pad comes with 84 double sided pages that are 5.8" x 8.3". Although double sided, I personally will be using single side. Although the bleed through is almost non-existent, I seem to prefer using just the "front" of my notebook pages. Am I weird?!

I really enjoy these pads. The color, the paper... Although I got this pack complimentary from the guys, I'll definitely be placing an order for myself for these pads in the near future.

WINNER - Brass Pocket Pen by SchonDSGN

June 25, 2015

A special thanks to Ian Schon of SchonDSGN for sponsoring the review and giveaway of one of his new brass pocket pens. We had a 142 entries which was a great turnout! Thanks for entering.

And the winner is (via random number generator): John Fischer!

Congrats John! Please connect with me through the Contact page with your details and I'll get your prize sent out.

As mentioned in the review, the pocket pen by SchonDSGN is one of my favorite EDC pens. Please take some time to check out the SchonDSGN shop to see if picking one up may be right for you.

More giveaways soon on the horizon so stay tuned!

Brass Pocket Pen by SchonDSGN Review - and Giveaway!

June 18, 2015

From an EDC pen perspective, Ian Schon of SchonDSGN created one of my favorites a few years ago which he launched under a Kickstarter campaign called The Pen Project. Small, reliable, and perfectly pocketable.

I've had the opportunity to review the pen on a few different occasions in both aluminum and titanium, but Ian recently released two new materials: bronze and brass.

Needless to say, I was pretty pumped when he offered to send me a brass version for review.

For a recap of the overall pen design, it is a small, clipless pen that takes the versatile Fisher Space Pen refill. A pen that writes in heat, under water, in the rain, in space... great for all of your writing situations. Granted, it is a ballpoint which may not be everyone's preferred, but still great for a pen to toss in your pocket or bag to take anywhere.

The pen is a simple, cylinder shape, but a somewhat unique element is the threaded design on the end. Once uncapped, the pen is too short to write with (unless you have really tiny hands) and the threaded end allows you to post the cap and extend the pen to a normal writing length.

Continuing on that thread, the brass material is weighty. Coming in at 3 oz, it is a hefty pen. Personally, I enjoy the added weight, but required posting for normal writing does make it a slight on the top heavy side. Not unbearably top heavy, but noticeable.

The pen came polished to an almost machined golden finish, but has acquired a nice patina over the weeks I've been using it. Like any brass pen, it will start to "age" with use.

Another thing I love about this pen is that has several ties to small business. Ian, the designer, and a small machine shop in Massachusetts that does all of his work for him. The products may be a slight bit pricier being made in the USA, but I love supporting small business and have bought several of Ian's pens including his Titanium version. Excellent stuff.

Personally, I think that every EDC (or pen) person should own at least one of Ian's products...

Please take some time to look over his wares at his SchonDSGN website and make sure to keep up with him on Instagram.

AND, A GIVEAWAY!

Now, to sweeten the deal for the review, Ian has provided me with another brass pen to giveaway to a reader of The Clicky Post which is extremely generous. Thanks so much Ian!

CONTEST/GIVEAWAY RULES (the "fine print"):

- Contest will run through Wednesday, June 24th and will end at 11:59pm Arizona Time, USA

- To enter, leave a comment below about something you carry every day with you. Could be anything! One entry per person; no cheating!

- I will arrange the entries in numerical order and randomly select a winner. The winner will be announced on the blog on Thursday, June 25th and will need to connect with me within a week to claim their prize.

Open to both domestic and international!