Sometimes you need more space to think. A notebook is just not enough room. I used to love those desk pads that were sold at big box stores but the paper was crap. Well, Baron Fig has a solution. The Mastermind Desk Pad ($15). It’s a large “scratch pad” with the same quality paper you’ve come to expect from Baron Fig that you can use as a desk pad complete with dot grid.
The Mastermind looks to have been designed to be the same size as my 13″ MacBook Pro. I can lay the whole pad over my keyboard. For home use, this is perfect. At work, the pad is completely dwarfed by my 15″ laptop, my extended keyboard and my ginormous 27″ CINTIQ the size of a full size sheet cake stood on its end.
Each pack of Mastermind comes with two tablets of 35 sheets, measuring 8″x12″. The pages are glue bound along the long edge and are dot grid on the front, blank on the back. The corners are rounded and the back has a thin piece of chipboard backing.
The paper quality is the same as all the other Baron Fig products currently on the market so it can handle an array of pen, pencil, marker, felt tip and ballpoint with ease. I’ve run this stock through its paces in the past.
The number of pages makes the Mastermind pads about as thick to start as your average mobile phone or tablet which makes writing on it pretty comfortable.
Pricewise, the Mastermind is definitely more expensive than the larger desk pads from an office supply store but the paper quality is better and it features the beloved dot grid. Also, if you are working in smaller spaces and tend to work more mobile, the scale is more manageable. You may even be able to use both sides of the paper, doubling your value.
For more detailed reviews, check out “in-action” shots from Alt. Haven and Leadfast.
DISCLAIMER: This item was sent to me free of charge by Baron Fig for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
