I also could never understand the appeal of the Wave. I’m a reasonably satisfied Rocketbook customer, but I use the Everlast, which is (supposedly) infinitely reusable.
So here’s a review of the Everlast, instead!
The Everlast comes with 32 polymer pages in either 8.5x11" (28x21.6cm) or 6x8.8" (15.25x22.35cm). The pages are reasonably sturdy, though if you* press hard enough, you’ll leave a permanent imprint.
There’s also a slight ghosting effect on pages. It’s not always present, and I’ve not been watching carefully enough to tell whether this is an attribute of the writing being left on the page for extended periods of time.
Pros
For me, the major selling point of the Everlast is that I only need to carry one notebook with me. It’s very rare that I would run out of 32 almost-A4-size pages in a single day. If I’m expecting to take notes on entirely unrelated projects, I’d be stuck carrying multiple notebooks. The Everlast solves this problem nicely.
I’m also a bit obsessive about neat notes, so I dislike having pages that are filled with crossed out bits. Again, not an issue with the Everlast.
Finally, there’s the ability to very easily create a permanent record of the page, with the companion smartphone app (more on that in a bit).
Cons
First of all, the app. It’s pretty good, but the UI could use some serious re-work. I could spend pages on just the app issues, and believe me, I’m tempted**. But here are the big ones.
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Colour pickup in the scans is weak to non-existent. Never mind distinguishing between blue and black; I can’t tell green apart from blue! This is at least partly a deliberate trade-off, because the pages come with an embedded dot pattern, which does not appear in the final scans. The lowered sensitivity also means that occasional smudges from dirty hands don’t show up in the scan for the most part, so that’s good. I was told by Rocketbook that they’re “working on” improving the colour pickup. Two months and some unknown number of app updates later, I’m still waiting for a noticeable improvement.
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The pages are processed as images only. This is hardly surprising, but I would love for there to be some handwriting-to-data processing. My main complaint is that the scans are tagged with the date of scan, and I don’t do that step every single day.
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Versioning is not supported at all – there’s no attempt to cross-check new scans against previously scanned pages, to see whether they’re identical. You can and will end up with multiple copies of a page without meaning to.
Anyway, enough about the app. Next complaint is writing on the go. I got the big notebook, and it’s noticeably floppy. The front cover is quite heavy and sturdy, but the back one is decidedly thin, flexible plastic. There’s not enough rigidity in the notebook to write without some sort of support. In fact, I find that even using both the front and back covers doesn’t do the job. I would’ve loved to see something significantly sturdier.
I’m also not exactly careful with my notebooks, and the Everlast pages are great for retaining any sort of oily mark or smudge. I just messaged the company to ask about cleaning the pages with something other than water, and will update once I’ve heard back.
Finally, as I mentioned earlier, pages retain some residue of the previous writing even after being wiped with water. It doesn’t seem to get worse over multiple reuses, so it’s only a minor irritant. And this is only on the written page; the ghosting doesn’t show on the scans.
Also, I take some issue with the pricing. I paid $72 for two notebooks and two (single) Frixion pens. Amazon has the notebooks for $34 apiece, with Prime shipping. $2/pen seems excessive, never mind any sort of backer perk or discount. (for reference, a 7-pack of Frixion pens is $10.65 on Amazon)
Verdict
So there you have it. Do I regret my purchase? Not really. Would I buy another one at the current price? Probably not. Would I buy one for $20? In a heartbeat. I’m also holding out a lot of hope for improvements in the app. Once full support of colours (or at least variable scan sensitivity) get implemented, I’ll be able to do so much more with it.
But really. Why on Earth would you ever consider the Wave when there’s a superior product from the very same company, for only slightly more money?
*or, to pick an entirely random example, your six-year-old who wants to practice writing numbers
**I’m also midway through an IxD training program, so I might be a tad oversensitized. Most people likely won’t even notice half of the problems that annoy me.
