Earlier this year Hobonichi had a sale on drawer pouches, and introduced a couple of new sizes.

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If you saw my set up post, you’ll know I purchased a drawer pouch pocket.

At the same time as the pocket, I also purchased a large drawer pouch, as it was the one size I hadn’t tried before.

I ultimately didn’t end up keeping this pouch and sold it on. This was purchased to hold an A5 notebook and didn’t really do that well enough for me. I much prefer the two Delfonics pouches that I have that are A5 size – the medium and the B5.

As you may be considering purchasing a large drawer pouch for your 2021 planner I thought it would be good to do comparison between the Hobonichi and Delfonics to hopefully help you make the right choice. I’m going to be focusing on the Medium Delfonics as that is easier to get hold of, but I will reference the B5 in case you like the look of this pouch.

Price & availability

Depending on the material and colour of your pouch, the Hobonichi can vary from 5,060JPY to 7,260JPY (£36.78 to £52.77 based on today’s currency conversion). There’s also shipping and tax to be added onto that which is another 3760JPY (£36.78). This is if you purchase directly from Hobonichi. You can also find them on Etsy*. It generally works out the same price as ordering direct. The only difference is sometimes you’re luckier when it comes to getting hit by customs fees.

The Delfonics pouches are a little less straightforward to get and you have to go through Etsy or Ebay to find them. Sometimes they pop up on Amazon, too. My medium cost around £50 including shipping*. The B5 worked out at around £60 including shipping*. I didn’t get hit for customs on either of these, so they definitely worked out cheaper than the Hobonichi.

Colour/design choice

If you’re all about block colour and simple designs, then Delfonics is the pouch for you. If you’re looking for something a bit different in terms of beautiful fabrics and designs, the Hobonichi is definitely your best bet.

While it’s nice the selection Hobonichi have, they do have two simple colours – black and yellow – if you’re worried about them clashing with other things in your storage/bag collection.

The only thing I would say about these though, is that they are a simple, thin cotton fabric and are more prone to marks than the thick sturdy cotton of the Delfonics.

Pockets

You can’t talk about pouches without talking pockets!

There’s quite a big difference between the Delfonics and Hobonichi pouches that may end up being the reason why you decide to choose one brand over another. If you plan on carrying your pouch around in your bag then you may struggle with the amount of external pockets on the Delfonics.

The majority of the external pockets don’t have closures to unless you’re going to fill them with pens that have clips you run the risk of things falling out.

The Hobonichi pouches though only come with one external pocket.

One thing to point out about these pouches, when talking about carrying them out and about are the hoops that are on all Delfonics pouches. These are for straps* you can purchase separately so that you can turn your pouch into a handbag. If you’re wanting something you can easily use both in and out of the home and can carry independently, the Delfonics is a good solution.

When it comes to internal pockets, this is where the Hobonichi pouches win.

This is the case for all Hobonichi pouches, but especially so in the large size. One side has a whole heap of card pockets (although they’re larger than a card size) and some larger ones behind them. In the middle there is a zipped pocket and on the other side there is one pocket going the full length of the pouch.

There’s fewer pockets inside Delfonics pouches generally.

The medium actually is quite weak when it comes to internal pockets. The B5 size is much the same.

Size

The Medium Delfonics and the Large Hobonichi are both similar widths – 26.5cm and 27cm respectively. However, the large Hobinichi is 20cm; 2cm taller than the Delfonics Medium. The Delfonics B5 is larger overall, coming in at 28.5cm wide and 21cm tall.

If you’re wanting something to carry an A5 notebook (like a Hobonichi Cousin) all of these pouches will work. Where they differ is in depth. The Hobonichi pouch is relatively flat at just 2cm, but the Medium Delfonics is 6.5cm deep.

The main reason I sold on the Hobonichi large pouch was because of this. Once I’d put my A5 notebook in there, there wasn’t much room for anything else in there. All those internal pockets went to waste because I couldn’t really fill them. Whereas in my Delfonics medium, I can get in my Cousin plus a load of supplies. This was my travel set up when I went on holiday, and there was still so much room left.

There’s also not a lot of give in the Hobonichi pouch. It’s the same depth as the Delfonics B5 yet there’s a big difference between what I can fit in the B5 and what I could fit in the Hobonichi. So I stuck with my Delfonics.

I use this B5 for work and tried to move into the large Hobonichi instead but with everything in it from the B5 I struggled to even close it.

Which one should you buy?

If you want something simple to store your A5 size planner or notebook and some supplies, that you will carry around in larger bags, the Hobonichi is probably for you. Particularly if you want to choose from lots of different fabrics and designs.

If you need a pouch to primarily live on a desk and hold lots of supplies, the Medium Delfonics is the best option.

Do you use a pouch for carrying supplies? I’m always on the look out for new ones, so leave me some suggestions in the comments below!

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