Mintra Talia Discbound notebook and planner review and comparison to Talia Discbound Notebook

A while ago, I came across the Talia Discbound notebooks on Amazon and I thought the idea was just what I needed. For a long time now I have been turning regular notebooks into personalised planners and printing my own stickers to match which has been working very well for me for years.

Last year, I tried using a dotted planner for the first time and I was instantly converted. So when I saw the Talia planner I thought it was a very nice idea to have both the versatility of the dotted pages, but the familiarity of a normal lined page as well as the yearly and monthly calendars.

The original Talia Notebook

After ordering the first planner from Amazon, I discovered that Mintra have issued them locally to Egypt and I went on a shopping spree on their website. After using both for a few months now here is my honest review and comparison notes that I have taken down:

The material

The material of the Mintra Talia discbound is very good, the cover is made of plastic which makes it easy to keep clean but protects the pages inside just as well. However, in comparison to the original Talia discbound notebook, or at least the one I bought, the cover was made of leather and is much more significant and also has pockets inside which makes it much more bulky but usable.

Mintra Talia Discbound

The style, size

I chose the A5 size because that’s what I am used to, but the next order I make from Mintra will definitely include an A4 one, only to try it out. As I mentioned, I am already used to this size, so it was not a problem for me to fit everything I need into a page without compromise. The original planner is a little bigger, which took me a little while to get used to, and ended up finding more room for my stickers on each page.

The stickers

Unfortunately, Mintra does not provide any stickers with the planner, unlike the original product where you get a full set for each month. Although they are quiet useful, I found myself gravitating towards my own printed ones and washi tapes instead leaving most of the stickers for each month unused.

The price and the refills

The price difference is significant between the two, yet I found the Mintra website much more flexible since you are able to order the notebook on its own which already comes lined for
(EGP 89.00) and then choose the refills that you want only. With the original (307.73 EGP on Amazon), I don’t have anything except the monthly and yearly pages in addition to the lined pages and dividers, which means I lost the privilege of choosing a dotted set up. That being said, the dotted option is available on the Talia website, but not on Amazon.

 

Overall, while the Mintra Talia notebook is a very nice alternative to the original Talia discbound notebooks, I still think there is room for improvement in terms of variety of colours and materials as well as offering more accessories such as stickers as well as restocking the refills on the website. Overall I would give the Mintra Talia Notebooks a 5 star rating for being a versatile and useful planner.

Check out more pictures and videos of the notebooks below!

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