Kikki K A5 Cloud Stockholm Planner Review

Kikki K currently has a sale going on which has 20% off their 'luxurious' Cloud coloured Stockholm collection. I was a little excited by this as I have been eyeing the A5 cloud planner (and compendium) for a while but couldn't justify the $175 price tag. So when this went on a slight sale, I decided to take the plunge. I had just sold my A5 Malden prior (as it was too floppy to use, even though it's beautiful), I had the extra money to get myself another needed A5 planner for uni.

I ordered the Kikki K planner on Friday, it was shipped Sunday (Monday, really; AusPost doesn't work on weekends) and I received it on Tuesday. I had a particularly shitty bad day on Tuesday with some miscommunication going on with my uni supervisor and I, so I was really looking forward to picking this up from my post office after uni for a little pick-me-up.

Despite the fact that I knew it was an A5, the large size never fails to surprise me every. single. time. I couldn't open in up on the train (unfortunately), so I had to wait till I got home to do the big reveal. And I must say, I was highly disappointed...

I unfortunately forgot to take a picture of the box and the dust bag that came with it (which is probably nicer than the planner inside), but that's not why we're here for. We're here for a review of this:

Kikki K Cloud Stockholm A5 Planner

(Again, forgive my pictures; they seem to degrade in quality with every post...)

At first glance, the colour to me seemed dirty. That's all I could think of when I opened it up. Unlike the A5 compendium I've seen and caressed in store, this grey just seemed... off. Maybe it's me and maybe it's the lighting, but I just couldn't shake the 'dirty' word out of my head when I saw it. But I kept going, hoping for the best.

Then I saw this and it was wrapped up for return faster than you can read this sentence:

Squared spine. WHY?

The spine, look at it, just look. It's square. If I had known about this sooner, I would definitely not have bought it. Maybe it may seem to be such a small hiccup to some (handling it in real life was worse, trust me!), but the fact that the spine is stiff and square just broke the deal for me. It looked awkward, bulky and like an A4 lever folder; yknow, those that sell for $2 at your local stationery store? I hated it. I actually do not understand why Kikki K had to make the spine so square. If it were round like the others, I would have no doubt, kept it because it does smell wonderfully leather and the insides are pretty, but square?! Nope, just can't do it.

Buckle

Something else I found slightly awkward was the metal for the buckle. It was slightly sharp on the edges and would definitely hurt if hit against or held at a weird angle. Strike 2.

Inside

Unlike the outside, the insides were absolutely fine. The rings were nice and tight, the zip was good and smooth, the back pocket could be used as storage and I even liked the slit pockets as it brought on less bulk for the planner (compared to the cheaper Kikki K leather planners).

Undated monthly calendar, meeting notes, to do notes and non-specific notes included

The planner held monthly calendar inserts that were non-specific, so you could use it at any time of the year. It also had a bucket load of lined paper which would probably last you the year.

I forgot to take a picture of the back of the planner, but it held another disappointment for me as there were 2 spots on it that couldn't be cleaned off. The dots reminded me of someone handling the planner with newspaper stained fingers... ugh.

Now, if the planner had a rounded spine and a less painful-to-handle metal buckle, I most definitely would have kept it. But after handling the planner, I'm beginning to wonder if I would have needed to 'baby' it. I have seen people commenting that the leather has somewhat 'scratched' away in some areas just by sliding it on a table, and with my rough handling, I wonder how long it would have lasted. I hate planners that need to be babied, and maybe that's why I keep coming back to my Ochre Malden. It's durable and the scratches obtained just adds to its age and character, rather than to its demise.

Don't get me wrong, despite all of this, I tried loving it for a week. Tried and tried till I found an A5 Lockwood for the same price on eBay (which would hopefully be better made in all aspects possible) and bought it. So now that I'm money short, I decided that this planner had to go back to Kikki K for someone else to love.

Sorry dear, I tried.