Everlast Rocketbooks – Review and Giveaway

I don’t know if all writers feel this way, but I am totally in love with stationery. My house is full of it. I probably have way too much. One item in particular that I completely obsess over is notebooks. You can never have enough in my opinion and I’ve tried so many different kinds, from the budget ones, to cutesy fashion notebooks to expensive artisan types. They’re all good in my opinion. Since becoming a student and starting to take blogging seriously, I’ve been looking for notebooks that offer a little more than just a piece of paper to write on. I’ve tried some smart notebooks before and been quite impressed, so when I was given the chance to try the Rocketbook I was intrigued. This is a post reviewing an item I was gifted in exchange for an honest review. I’ve also been given a Rocketbook to share with one reader of my blog as part of a giveaway. I haven’t been paid any money for this post and all opinions are my own.

So, firstly I think I should explain a little bit about what the Rocketbook is. It’s a Smart, Cloud connected, reusable notebook. Yes, you read that right. It’s reusable, which ultimately saves you from buying dozens of notebooks in the future and therefore, saves the environment. So, that’s that box ticked. I’ll take you through how to use it based on my own experience.

First, you have to download the app. It’s available from the Apple App Store and Google Play. Once it’s on your smartphone or tablet, you set up your destinations. You’ll see what I mean in a minute. The notebook itself is fairly thin with 36 pages of really smooth, shiny paper that almost feels like plastic. There are grey dots on the pages and a QR code in the bottom left hand corner of each page. At the very front of the book, on the inside of the cover, there are seven symbols. A tree, a diamond, an apple, a bell, a four-leafed-clover, a star and a horseshoe. Each of these symbols can be set up to lead to a different destination. So, for example, the tree can lead to Team Meetings folder in Google Drive and the star can lead to Conference Notes in Dropbox. An apple could mean it is an email to your other half. You can set it up to mean anything you like. It’s totally personalised.

Once you’ve done that, you get cracking with writing things in your notebook with your Frixion Ball Clicker Erasable Pen, which comes with the notebook. When you’re done, you mark the symbol at the bottom of the page with the special pen, scan it with your smartphone and send. Rocketbook then automatically stores those notes in the right place for you to retrieve later. You can then use the cloth to wipe the notebook clean. You have to dampen it first, but when it is dampened, it works a treat. The pages aren’t spoiled because they’re made of that plastic-ish material that I talked about earlier. Voila! You’re ready to go again.

What I liked about this was that the notebooks look really slick and well-presented. They are really easy to use and the instructions that come with the book are clear. It’s easy to set up and connects to all the relevant apps without any hassle. The uploads themselves are clear. I also like that it’s possible to wipe the pages clean and re-use them. This notebook could last for ages. Plus, because you’re scanning everything and wiping it ready to go again straight away, you’re not having to carry around several notebooks, or even a huge heavy notebook.

If there are any negatives to this, I’d say that the notebooks have quite soft and bendy covers. I wouldn’t say they’re flimsy but a hard-backed option would be great. Could it also do with having more pages? I initially thought so when I opened it up but now that I’ve seen it working and used it a few times, I don’t think so. The number of pages in it already seems fine to me.

Another thing that I wanted to mention is that I’d use the pens again even without the notebooks. I’ve actually just purchased a pack. They come with a special eraser on the end that completely rubs out the ink from the pens, without a trace. That’s going to come in really handy because I’m always doodling over things when I shouldn’t be! However, you shouldn’t use the eraser on the Rocketbook because it takes off the special coating apparently. So, keep the eraser for regular paper use.

If you want to find out more about the Rocketbook, you can check out their website. You can also purchase the Rockbook or the pens on Amazon where they are priced at £34.95 for the Rocketbook and £10.39 for a pack of 6 pens.

If you want to be in with a chance of winning a Rocketbook, pen and cloth so you can try them for yourself, simply comment below with the word WIN. Remember to enter your email address, otherwise I can’t contact you if you win! This giveaway closes at midnight on 4th July 2019 UK time and the winner will be selected at random and contacted on the 5th of July.