Freak369's Full Review: Mead Spiral Bound Single-Subject Wide Rule Noteboo...
Well, it’s that time again, the back to school sales have started so it’s only a matter of time before parents and care givers hit the aisles looking for bargains. Being a homeschooler, I am always on the lookout for deals and steals when it comes to school supplies. Pens, markers, notebooks and loose-leaf paper are always things that you can stock up because you know that they’ll eventually be used. My boys have started to get picky when it comes to the notebooks that they use, they either go for the five subject notebooks with the storage pockets or the wire bound single subject ones. Lucky for me they aren’t brand specific [but I am sure that is on the horizon] and I can pick up which ever is on sale. The Mead Single Subject Notebook is about as bare bones as you can get – but who ever said that the plain and simple things are bad?
So what makes this notebook a great pick? Several things. The pages are clearly lined, front and back, with a nice solid blue ink and have red margins at the right edge and top. They feature a three hole punch so they can easily be stored in most binders or school organizers – this makes up for the thin cardboard back that offers almost no protection against bending or warping. This particular notebook is labeled as “wide rule” but that is a little misleading to some people. Wide rule is the same as standard rule, the most common sized line for educational purposes. This is a single subject notebook with no dividers, pockets or breaks so if you are looking for something with perks, look elsewhere.
The newer versions of the Mead Single Subject Notebook come with a metal spine that is coated with plastic. It’s not a very thick coating, but it does make the spine a little safer for the younger kids. The ends of the spine are rolled over and tucked into the top and bottom of the spiral to keep the notebook from falling apart as well as to keep the edges from cutting skin and clothing. All of the ones that I’ve seen at our local stores are the newer version but I am sure that as the sales drag on, they will start pulling out the older stock – the ones with the plain old silver metal spine. The price is the cincher, if you can get these on sale at the beginning of the school year, you can stock up on them and save yourself some money. Before you do so, make sure that these will be notebooks that your child will be able to use, if your school issues a list of supplies, be sure to check and see if there are any specifics that need to be addressed before you go crazy tossing these in the cart.
Prices
You can pick these up for about .40 cents a piece during the back to school sales but places like Wal-Mart and Target usually offer then at the ridiculous price of 4 for $1.00 to get people into the store. The normal price ranges from .69 cents to .99 cents depending on where you purchase them. As I said, some stores really push these in their ads to try and get people in the stores and into the school supply aisles. Are they worth it? At the sale price, you bet. At the regular price? Not really. If they were perforated or came with a thicker cardboard backing then I could justify the suggested retail price but I’d rather purchase 30 or 40 of them when they are on sale and have them sitting on the shelf for a few months than to pay full price at a later date because I didn’t stock up when I had the chance.
Things To Know
These notebooks do not have perforated pages. This means when you tear out a page you are going to have to deal with all the loose pieces of paper floating all over the place as well as the strips that are left in the metal binding. Some schools that have specific lists of school supplies might list perforated notebooks as a ‘must have’. If that’s the case, you are out of luck with this notebook. Mead does offer perforated pages in other notebooks but you will end up paying a few cents extra for the convenience. In regards to the metal spine, this is something that you should check on a regular basis. Even though the ends are bound into the spine, they can pull away and present a real danger to kids clothing, skin and backpacks. If you spot one of the ends starting to come apart or stick out, your best bet is to use a pair of needle nose pliers to twist the end back into place. If you are really concerned, you can purchase eraser refills, poke a small hole in one end of them, insert a drop of Super Glue and push the eraser tips onto the ends. It might take a few minutes to do this but its better than having a sharp edge cut your child.
The Bottom Line
For the price, these are a great deal if you don’t need pockets, dividers, schedules or other extras. The pages are thick enough to accommodate pens, pencils and some markers so they can be used for more than just school work and note taking. I could toss fifty of these in the cart and a few months later find the supply seriously dwindling and I consider them to be a true school supply necessity. These can be used by kids of any age due to the “wide rule” of the lines but older kids won’t frown on this because there are side and top margins. Have a kid that has to be color coordinated? Don’t worry, these come in a variety of colors such as red, black, green red, blue and yellow. To get the best pick of colors, hit the sales early or be prepared to dig through tons of boxes to get the colors you want or need.
Spiral Bound Single-Subject Wide Rule Notebook, 10-12 x 8 Size, 70 SheetsSpiralreg Bound NotebooksAssorted color covers.Single-Subject NotebookThree-h...More at Global Industrial
Epinions.com periodically updates pricing and product information from third-party sources, so some information may be slightly out-of-date. You should confirm all information before relying on it.
- Add to My Yahoo!: 
- Add to Google Homepage: 
© 1999-2009 Shopping.com, Inc.