Slim Day Runners Review

Updated: I had this post published a while back that was lacking some details. This is thus the updated version of it.

On the 11th of April, before class, I decided to tour the city a little bit to pick up some stuff which I couldn't wait to pick up (as always).

Debden Day-In-View Refill from Officeworks for $5!

Elizabeth St Officeworks in Melbourne's city is currently (not sure if they still do) having a sale of organiser refills. These include Debden desk and personal refills and Filofax refills in personal and pocket sizes. I bought the desk version as my first every planner was a Debden Desk organiser I purchased from Fishpond. But I was quick to dismiss it due to its 7-hole binder rings and was onto Filofax in no time. But either way, since this pack was on sale for just $5, I had to grab it to use as a desk planner.

When I went over to Lincraft to check out how their 50% off store-wide sale was going, I encountered these:

Slim personal sized Day Runners

I was surprised to see them stocked in such a low-key store. A craft store, as well. They might have been old stock that was never really sold till now. But either way, as they were going for just $2 (yes, $2!) each, I had to grab some. I bought two of these but I was planning on keeping only one (brown). The other (black) was being wrapped up as a belated birthday present for a uni friend. Before I start describing these planners, these are the photos I got of the elusive Day Runners:

Inside of Persona Day Runner

Personal Day Runner rings are small!

Personal Day Runner

Comparing Personal Day Runner with Personal Holborn

Personal Day Runner with Personal Holborn. See the difference in ring sizes?

Personal Day Runner and Holborn height differences

These planners are not at all up-to-par with Filofax. I can't even say they're up to par with Filofax's cheapest models. They proudly bear the tag 'Made in China' on the inside covers and the notepad holder on the back cover is basically a slit through the fabric! Safe to say, I was very disappointed with their quality.

The rings represent compact sized Filofax rings and hence these planners have a 'slim profile' name. The outer cover is made with fabric (my mum says they're like those found on her pillow covers!) and are held together by a magnet clasp. The inside is covered with fabric as well, but are plain and would probably easily tear if not careful. There are 3 card slots on the side and an overall holder for loose papers. Nothing fancy.

What's included in the organiser are undated month-to-view and week-per-page, plastic card holder, zipped plastic holder (credits to Day Runner there), address and notepaper. For this organiser, I took out the inserts and kept it in a box so I could use the folder to place my old inserts into.

They also had an A5 equivalent Day-Runner that was going for $5 and I grabbed a brown one too, for the sake of it. They were set out the same as the Personal size just... a different size, and an increase of card slots on the front cover from 3 to 4. The major difference was the ring configuration: they had only 3 rings! They were able to fit the Debden desk refills, but you can forget about fitting your Filofax A5 refills into these!

Here are the pictures for the A5 Day-Runners:

A5 Slim Day Runner

The A5 Day Runner rings are the same size as the Personal Day Runner

Inside of A5 Day Runner. Has only 3 rings and it doesn't fit Filofax refills!

Comparing A5 Domino with A5 Day Runner

Comparing A5 Domino and A5 Day Runner ring sizes

A5 Domino and A5 Day Runner are approximately the same height

Just like the Personal sized Day-Runner, the inserts were the same, but for this organiser, I too took those inserts out to replace them with the new Debden Desk refills I purchased earlier. Overall, these planners would be good for... true beginners (had to stop and think for a moment there!). I have never seen them in Australia before today and I guess, with good reason. If you ever come across these organisers for the price I paid, it would be ok to own them for the sake of it, if not, I wouldn't actually recommend it. Oh well. I guess not every planner can be as good as Filofax!