Simply the best binder ever made - Mead Flex
Written: Dec 18 '06
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Product Rating:
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Pros: No hard spine; useful pockets; flexible cover
Cons: Each ring must be opened and closed individually
The Bottom Line: I bought four of these for my son, two for myself, one for my husband, and convinced friends they had to have it too. That says a lot.
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| pearannoyed's Full Review: Mead Five Star Flex Hybrid Note Binder 29104 - Lar... |
Each fall creates a new challenge for parents with school-aged children. Figuring out what school supplies will best equip your offspring for their classes without going broke in the process can be aggravating if not downright overwhelming. One thing I've learned over the years is that cheaper isn't necessarily the way to go - if you have to replace everything in a few months you really haven't saved yourself any money.
This year, instead of trying to use one big binder for all his classes, we decided my son should have a separate folder for each of his academic subjects. Our hope was that it would help our ADD boy to stay a little more organized than he has in the past. While browsing the school supplies aisles, we came across a new kind of binder that has turned out to be everything we could have hoped for. The Mead Flex Hybrid Note Binder is now the portable filing system of choice for my son and myself.
FEATURES
Basically, the Flex is just like a regular 3-ring binder, only better. It holds standard 8-1/2 x 11" notebook paper and even comes equipped with 60 sheets of college-ruled paper and 20 sheets of graphing paper. Also included with this binder are two note pockets which can easily hold 20-30 sheets of paper, have a tab on top to keep things from sliding out, and have a pocket on the front that can hold a couple of pencils, some index card, or other small supplies. It also comes with three note protectors which can safely hold about 8-10 sheets of paper. Both the note pockets and note protectors are made from see-through grey plastic which is both flexible and durable, and they each have a tab along the right-hand side so they can double as subject or project dividers within the notebook. 5 self-adhesive labels are provided so the tabs can be marked. The D-shaped rings give this the same effective capacity as a standard 1" binder. (A smaller version with a ½" capacity and fewer inserts is also available.)
My favorite features of this binder are what make it so unique. Rather than the usual vinyl-covered cardboard cover that gets beat-up, torn, split-open and destroyed, this binder has a cover made from the same flexible, textured plastic as their higher-end spiral notebooks. Add to that a soft fabric spine that covers flexible, individually-locking rings, and this notebook beats it's competition hands-down. Because of the lightweight materials it's made from, it's not as heavy as other binders with similar capacity. Because of its flexible construction, this binder can be turned inside-out like a spiral notebook and still lie flat on the desk (and the smaller rings may cause less of a problem for left-handed writers than a traditional 3-ring binder). It lies flat and is easily stackable when closed. And it has no sharp corners or hard edges to dig into your skin when carrying an armload of books.
There are only two possible drawbacks to this binder. Because it has a flexible cover instead of a hard one, it doesn't make as useful a writing surface as a hard binder. And, because each ring opens individually instead of with a single locking mechanism, some may find it less convenient to add or remove papers. Both small complaints as far as I'm concerned.
Overall, I'm very pleased with these binders. In addition to the four that my son bought for school, I purchased two for my own notes and projects, one for my husband, and one for a friend. I've also become an unofficial salesperson for the company, convincing several other people that this is THE binder they need to have. So maybe I'm a wee-bit obsessed with the Mead Flex, but it really is a giant step forward in school supplies and even at $8-$10 each (MSRP is $12.99, but I've found them cheaper at most stores that carry them), I think they're well worth the money.
Recommended:
Yes
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pearannoyed
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Member: Amy Padgett
Location: CA Dreamin' ~ TX reality
Reviews written: 197
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Mean people suck.
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