And all this time, I thought Levenger's Circa was a unique product! I am so happy to see this available at a drastically lower cost than Levenger!

Oooh, there's a Target across the street from my office. I'll have to check this out!

Jason Echols and I have both found the Rollabind notebooks and refills at Staples (this post). I wasn't very pleased with the picked-over selection at Target. Also, they were a bit hard to find as they were not with the notebooks or school supplies. I found a few on a clearance shelf near the sample toiletries.

I went to Staples last night to check out the goods. I've been using a similarly-designed basic notebook, called Atoma, but they do not make a punch (and the Atoma guy told me the shape and spacing is different from Rollabind/Circa). I wanted to try some DIYPLanner pages, or at least my own (cheaper paper). This is probably why they don't make a punch...

Anyhoo, I really wanted to like the Rollabind stuff at Staples, but I just couldn't. he layout was cool - you get a lot of features for the money (I think $7.99 and $5.99). The faux leather felt way too "foamy," and I didn't really like the feel of the cloth covers either.

I know, I'm not going to get Levenger leather for $7.99. But the feel of these pieces made me wish they were $15 or $20 and nicer. Maybe I'm just a becoming a gear snob.

The real disappointment to me was the flipping of the pages & covers. They did not turn smoothly at all, and turning the cover all the way around was a bit of a hassle.

I can't imagine that the Circas work this way. My Atoma notebook (with just a basic plastic cover) pages turn easily, just as smooth as spiral-bound. Maybe the punches are a little more open, or maybe it's just a better design/quality of rings.

Oh, well. I suppose it's a good thing that there is something in the productivity pr0n arms race that I don't want. (although my interest in a Circa is now still intact).

If you can live with plastic covers, Rollabind.com sells very functional (i.e., the pages turn, etc.) notebooks at prices cheaper than even the Staples ones.

chrisw

In Belgium there is of course Atoma. But also ADOC Systems and they sell or make punches. They dropped the 3 page punch I use, my guess is due to quality problems. Now they present only a 10 page punch. see http://www.cadara.be