The Lett’s Travel Journal (£20, soon to be released in US) is a petite, pocketable notebook that feels both elegant and personal. The paper is just 147x69mm (approx. 5.78″x2.7″). The whole book is closer to 3.5″ across, when measured from the spine. The cover is a textured leather with embossed logo, centered on the cover. It’s very understated.
The Lett’s Travel notebook has a lovely satin ribbon bookmark and gold metallic edge painted pages. This book feels very posh.
Down the spine is a thin, gold fluted pen, hidden in the seam of the spine. It’s a slender ballpoint pen which is not always my tool of choice but the fact that it fits perfectly, and invisibly down the spine means that you always have a pen with the book, even if it’s not your favorite. It comes with a medium point refill which seems a bit chunky for the delicacy of the notebook and the pen itself. I really want to replace it with a fine refill. I think it would better suit the whole set-up.
Inside the book are lightweight 45gsm, soft ivory pages that have been printed with all sorts of sections related to travel. The book starts with a set of contents pages and then moves to several pages for specifc locales.
The pages are numbered and feature a spot at the top for date and location. These pages make up the majority of the book.
Towards the back of the book is a section for planning out your year and listing favorite restaurants.
There is also some top level city information for major cities across the world that includes time zones, airports and a few hotels. I have no idea how the hotels were selected. The one city included that I am most familiar with is Chicago and even if the criteria was poshest hotels, I’m not sure the hotel they chose were the ones I would have picked. But I am not old world money, so what do I know?
As I mentioned earlier, the paper in the notebook is quite thin, in order to make this notebook small and pocketable. As a result, ballpoint pens, gel pens and pencils are really the best option with this book. Wet liquid-y inks are going to show and bleed through.
The more I tested this little notebook, the more I started to appreciate it. When I first got it, it seemed like something for someone much fancier than myself. But the more I played with it, the more I realized, I’m someone who travels a lot. Having a small notebook to keep track of what hotels I stay in, which restaurants I like and don’t like, what various adventures (both good and bad) occur on a given trip might be nice to document. This book is no more of a luxury than all my fancy pens, right?
DISCLAIMER: The items included in this review were provided free of charge by Lett’s of London for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
Boy is that tempting. I used to carry a small Letts address book. Their products feel so elegant and sophisticated. This not only looks chic, but very practical. I use a travelers notebook with a separate insert for journal for big trips. I would use this for short trips or even local “travel”, recording restaurant info, shops,etc. great for walking tours too since it would fit into a small bag.