Quo Vadis ABP1 day per page planner

Here is the day per page planner I will use for 2013:

I'm so sure, I even cancelled the poll asking which DPP planner I should use for 2013. The choices were between this one, my large Moleskine Star Wars day per page, or the Undercover UK day per page.  The Quo Vadis ABP1 is the clear winner, and I'll show you why.

The ABP1 is an A5 size (5 1/4 by 8 1/4 inches) day per page planner/ diary. Like all Quo Vadis products, it has the spectacularly smooth paper I love (in white, which I really really love). And it just keeps getting better. 

It came with the removable Quo Vadis bookmark/ elastic strap, which is now black and looks great. I like it much better than the brown and tan strap on the other QV bookmark I have. 

I ordered the Soho cover, which is a soft leather-like cover. It looks super-classy, and feels soft and is nice to hold. I'm very tactile, so a soft-feeling cover is very important to me.

The format is awesome: a timed column at the left that has a line for every half hour from 7 am to 10:30 pm, with two lines above 7am for early mornings. To the right is a large Notes area. At the bottom of the page is a section for phone calls and emails, and reference calendars.

I wasn't sure when I looked at the website if holidays were printed on the day spaces, so I was very happy to discover that all major holidays for the US, UK and Canada are printed on the day spaces as well as major religious holidays, solstices, equinoxes, and phases of the moon. I'm extremely happy about this!

I was also extremely happy to discover there is an anno-planner for all of 2013 at the front of the book, and another one for all of 2014 at the back of the book.  Fantastic!!

There are also reference calendars for all of 2013 and 2014.

There is a detailed and very useful time zones map, and maps of Canada and the US.

Address pages are bound-in, which I will definitely use for contacts, sticking in business cards, long-term notes and reference info.

Here is a view of what the two-page spread looks like. And look!  It stays open flat all by itself!!  Wonderful!!!

The ABP1 has the same page size as the large Moleskine day per page planner, but for me the ABP1 has several advantages over the Moleskine. All the features noted above: smooth white paper, soft-touch cover, holidays printed on the day spaces.  But there are a couple other things that really tipped this for me.

One is that the ABP1 has a refillable cover, which creates these pockets inside the front and back covers.  The Moleskine has a back pocket, but it's a full-width one so anything I put in there disappears. With these, any papers I put in the pockets are still visible, so I don't forget about them.

But the real deciding point was the weight. The ABP1 is noticeably slimmer and definitely lighter than the hard cover large Moleskine daily.

ABP1 at left, Large Moleskine daily at right

Moleskine on top, ABP1 on bottom

I chose the ABP1 over the Undercover UK one because they are about the same weight, but the ABP1 has a larger page size (not to mention the smooth white paper I love so much).

End of dilemma.  I get the full A5 size page in a lighter book with a soft cover, smooth white paper, holidays printed on the days, and front and back pockets. Not to mention I love the daily format.

Now the hard part will be waiting until January 1 to use this planner!  Does anyone know where I can get a 2012 ABP1???

As far as I know, the ABP1 is sold only in the US and Canada. I ordered mine from Alkos, click here for their product page.

You won't find this planner on the Quo Vadis website. I think it's endangered. It was discontinued for 2010 and brought back due to popular demand. In my opinion, this is the best day per page planner that Quo Vadis makes. I hope it's around for many years to come. I'll be asking my mom to bring one with her every year when she comes to visit!!

**Edited to add: reader Elsa very generously sent me her 2012 ABP1 that she didn't use this year, so I can start using this excellent size and format right away!  I am SO happy to have found this planner and am excited to use it right now!  As a trade for her ABP1 I sent her the 2013 ABP2 that I won't be using (because I'll be using the 2013 ABP1 instead).

So now I'm on a campaign begging Quo Vadis not to discontinue the ABP1! I love that it has this large page size and super smooth paper in such a lightweight book. It's a winner!!

**Update: This planner is hard to find, but you CAN get the 2014 ABP1 at Classic Office Products for US and international shipping, click here for the ordering page. If you are in Canada you can order the ABP1 from Quo Vadis Canada.  (Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Quo Vadis or Classic Office Products)