You already know this notebook cover is going to be a bit special, because our name is on it. So is Ruitertassen's, who, to be fair, know a lot more about leather than we do. We do know about the quality of their leather, from the pen cases they made for us, though they're usually best known for their beautiful quality bags and satchels.

We discussed with them what would make the perfect notebook covers for us, and tested prototypes. The result, we think, is a really great cover.

• The leather is top-quality, as you'd expect from Ruitertassen, and so is the workmanship. They work closely with a Belgian tannery, and they only make goods in their own workshop, so they can be sure of the quality of the whole process.
• They can be used for just one notebook, if that’s all you need. They work just as nicely with three or even four notebooks, though. Add an extra elastic loop, and five or more is quite possible, though it starts to get a bit bulky.
• Attaching multiple notebooks into a cover like this can be done in different ways. Some have a single length of elastic inside, and to attach multiple notebooks, you loop elastic between them. These Ruitertassen covers make things easier - there are three lengths of elastic in the spine, so you can fit up to three notebooks without any tricks. Four, really, as one is doubled-up.
• It’s nice if there’s some way of holding the cover closed, which is often done with a simple piece of elastic. Ruitertassen had a better idea, but it takes a lot of work. Fortunately, working on leather is kind of their thing. They’ve made a thick leather strip, attached to the back; and a place for it to tuck in at the front. It means two extra pieces of leather, attached strongly in three places, with the front piece attached such that it can accept the back piece pushed through, holding it firmly enough to stay put, but not too tight, or it would be too hard to close. They’re good at this stuff.
• Holding notebooks is the main purpose for these covers, but most people find it handy to keep a few other bits and pieces in there. Maybe some index cards, and some business cards or credit cards. Again, Ruitertassen have gone for the high-labour option here, and they’ve added a pocket to the inside of the front, with three card slots. You can tuck index cards, folded receipts, or other notes, into the pocket, all neatly held in the cover.
• The tempting part was when Ruitertassen said they could emboss our logo. Or deboss, if you’re feeling pedantic. Yes, we thought about having it huge on the front cover, but while that sounded nice to us, we thought you might prefer a bit more subtlety. So we took the option of having our logo alongside the Ruitertassen logo, on the pocket inside the front cover.

When you put all these touches together, the result is some rather special notebook covers. More than just a fold of leather with a couple of lengths of elastic, there’s some real craftsmanship gone into making them. Quality stitching, well thought out design, top quality leather with nicely finished edges, and more features than other covers we’ve seen and used.

There are two sizes - A5 and 90x140mm, for the sizes of notebooks they hold. 90x140mm is the common size of notebook, made by brands like Field Notes, Calepino, Rhodia, Clairefontaine, Fabriano and many others. A5 is a great size for carrying in a bag, and giving you a bit more space for your notes. Again, we have Rhodia, Clairefontaine and Fabriano notebooks that would be perfect. The A5 versions include a handy pen loop too, keeping everything you need together. For the pocket version, we’d recommend attaching a Leuchtturm pen loop to one of the notebooks inside, if you want one - we did test the idea of including a pen loop, but it felt like too much bulk in the smaller holder.

Both sizes are available in four colours:

• Black is the classic - goes with everything, and you can’t go wrong with black leather.
• Natural is Ruitertassen’s signature colour - an elegant pale brown.
• Red is a fairly strong red, with extra brightness in the edges and stitching.
• Ranger Brown is a slightly different finish, with a brushed texture to the leather. It’s made to pick up marks really easily, but they also rub away quite easily. A really rustic look that will age beautifully.

As with most leather, these should all age well, softening and looking even better with use, and can be treated gently with a little bit of leather wax for maintenance and protection. Note that wax will slightly darken the colour.

A beautiful way to carry your notebooks.