REVIEW – If you are a regular visitor here at The Gadgeteer, you may recall that I recently reviewed the Baronfig 2025 Journal, so it made perfect sense to follow up with a review of the Baronfig Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case and the Squire Click Ballpoint Pen along with it.
⬇︎ Jump to summary (pros/cons)
Price:
Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case = $45
Squire Click Ballpoint Pen = $59
Where to buy: baronfig.com
What is it?
The Baronfig Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case is a zip-closure, multi-pocket case for protecting a Baronfig Confidant Notebook and a pen such as the Squire Click Ballpoint Pen which is a clicky-style, aluminum body ballpoint pen.
What’s included?
Note that the below items are sold separately by Baronfig, but where shipped together for this review:
- Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case
- Squire Click Ballpoint Pen
Tech specs
Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case:
Available colors = Forest Green (reviewed here), Fig Wine, Stone, Tangerine
Fabric = “water resistant materials”
Dimensions = Fits Baronfig Confidant or other notebooks in their “Flagship” size: 5.9″ X 8.2″
Squire Click Ballpoint Pen:
Available colors = Charcoal (reviewed here), Fig Wine
Mechanism type = Top pushbutton click
Refill type = Cartridge
Material = Aluminum body, Stainless steel tip with 1mm TC ball
Dimensions = 5″ X 0.35″
Weight = 0.7oz
Design and features
Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case
For a bit of background, I’ve been a fan of Baronfig going back a few years now. As mentioned above, I recently reviewed the Baronfig 2025 Journal as well as having previously reviewed several other Baronfig products, like the Baronfig Confidant Hardcover Notebook. I found each of them to be well designed and constructed, and I was expecting a similar result from the Baronfig Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case and the Baronfig Squire Click Ballpoint Pen.
First impressions
As soon as I removed the top of the Guardian Pro’s cardboard box, the very first thing I noticed about the Guardian Pro was that the front of the case was quite noticeably wrinkled. I wasn’t expecting to see anything like this, as all of the Baronfig products I’ve reviewed in the past have been essentially flawless right out of the package. The wrinkles made it look like a used item I’d bought at a thrift store. It was disappointing.
Setting aside from the very unsightly wrinkles, the Guardian Pro has a very simple, minimalist style. It has a single open-top slash pocket on the front. The product page on the Baronfig site vaguely states that the Guardian Pro is made from “Water resistant materials.” The exterior appears to be some sort of nylon fabric.
Exterior details
On the back of the Guardian Pro is a small “BARONFIG” logo near the bottom.
In keeping with its minimalist styling, the Guardian Pro has no logos inside, and only two logos on the outside. As mentioned above, one of these is a small “BARONFIG” logo, about an inch long, in simple block letters embroidered near the bottom center of the back of the Guardian Pro.
Interior features
The other logo on the exterior of the Guardian Pro is located on its zipper pull. This custom zipper pull appears to be made from metal with a matte enamel coating that feels very durable. The zipper itself appears to be a fairly standard type.
When fully unzipped, the Guardian Pro lays completely flat. The interior of the Guardian Pro appears to be made from a thin nylon fabric with a slight sheen. Inside are a four open pockets, three on the left and one on the right.
The left side of the Guardian Pro’s interior has a large vertical pocket that extends about 5/8 of the length of the case. This pocket can hold large, flat items, but they must be relatively thin or they tend to make the front of the Guardian Pro too thick to zip closed if others are inside it. On the front of this large pocket are two smaller vertical pockets that extend about half the height of the length of the case.
The right side of the Guardian Pro’s interior has a single, wide, horizontal pocket that opens to the center of the case and extends the entire length of the Guardian Pro. This pocket is designed specifically for you to slide the back cover of a Baronfig Confidant sized notebook into it to secure it in place (more on this below).
In the center of the Guardian Pro’s interior is a small elastic loop designed to hold a Squire Click Ballpoint Pen or just about any other writing implement.
The Baronfig 2025 Journal that I recently reviewed is in their “Flagship” size, meaning it is 5.9″ x 8.2″, so its back cover slides perfectly into the Guardian Pro’s right interior pocket.
I also placed the Baronfig Squire Click Ballpoint Pen into the Guardian Pro’s pen loop and it was a perfect fit as well. The elastic is tight enough to hold the Squire Click Pen firmly in place but it is still easy to insert and remove.
Overall size
The Baronfig Guardian Pro has a fairly tight footprint, so by itself it doesn’t add much bulk to a Confidant notebook that is placed inside it.
The Guardian Pro is about an inch thick with a Confidant sized notebook placed inside it.
I loaded up the Guardian Pro with a few items to test out its capacity. On the left side, in the large back pocket, I slid a Molestkine Cahier Pocket Journal (3.5″ x 5.5″). In the larger of the two front pockets, I slide a naked iPhone 14 Plus,. In the smaller of the two pockets, I slide a thin plastic ruler. Of course, in the center I place the Baronfig Squire Click Ballpoint Pen and on the right I secured the Baronfig 2025 Journal.
In the exterior I slide an other 3.5″ x 5.5″ softcover notebook, and it was a tight fit.
With all of the above items loaded into the Guardian Pro, it obviously added some thing, but it also barely zipped closed.
Squire Click Ballpoint Pen
Let’s change gears and take a look at the Baronfig Squire Click Ballpoint Pen. I’ve previous reviewed the original Baronfig Squire Rollerball Pen, and more recently the Baronfig Squire Hex Rollerball Pen, and both pens were well designed and built.
Packaging
The Baronfig Squire Click Ballpoint Pen arrived in a similar type of package to its predecessors, which is a simple but sturdy cardboard tube.
The tube separates in half and inside its lower half is a piece of foam that holds provides a snug hold on the Squire Click Ballpoint pen inside.
First impressions
The Squire Click Ballpoint pen has a satin finish very similar to the original Baronfig Squire pen that feels soft and satisfying to the touch. As with the other Baronfig writing instruments, the Squire Click Ballpoint pen has a minimalist style. There is a small “BARONFIG” logo printed on one side near the clicky end.
On the opposite side of the pen from Baronfig logo is the classic sword logo that appears on all Baronfig writing instruments, which symbolizes the Squire pen series tagline, “The pen is a mighty sword.”
Components
Above is an exploded view of the components of the Squire Click Ballpoint pen. It consists of four parts: the main body, the threaded click pushbutton top, the ink cartridge and a spring. Accessing the ink cartridge is simple: just twist the top to the left and unscrew it, then remove the cartridge and spring. Reverse the order to replace the cartridge. The Squire Click pen’s ink cartridge is a standard ballpoint type. It writes smoothly but didn’t seem to be particularly unique or special.
Performance
As mentioned above, the Squire Click Ballpoint pen’s satin finish give it a soft and adds just a tiny bit of grip to prevent slipping. The entire pen is also well balanced, which helps make writing with it a pleasant experience. I found myself wanting to pick it up and jot notes with it. However, I noticed one problem with the Squire Click Ballpoint Pen–it doesn’t actually “click.” When I press the pushbutton on a “clicky” pen, I expect the result to be an audible and tactile CLICK when the ink cartridge tip is deployed. Instead of clicking, the Squire Click Ballpoint pen makes a sort of metallic sliding sound. That’s it. No click. I was a bit disappointed by this. Considering that Baronfig seems to be very thoughtful about the design and manufacture of their projects, I can imagine that this may have been a purposeful design element; however, when you decide to name your product a “click” style pen, I think it should at least attempt to click.
The Squire Click Ballpoint pen, like its fellow Baronfig writing instruments, is a bit shorter than most other pens at 5″ long, which makes it a perfect length to be a sturdy, low-profile, EDC pen for your pocket or bag that also feels great to write with.
Final thoughts
Based on previous reviews of Baronfig products, I went into this review with fairly high expectations for both the Baronfig Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case and the Baronfig Squire Click Ballpoint Pen. Both products follow the characteristic Baronfig minimalist style and functional design and the overall quality of both products is good. The Guardian Pro is slim, simple way to protect your notebook and a few other items, while the Squire Click Pen is a great little pen for EDC or your fancy desk setup. That said, I was disappointed in the wrinkles on the front of the Guardian Pro and the fact that the Squire Click Pen didn’t actually “click.”
What I like about the Baronfig Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case
- Minimalist styling
- Slim and low profile
What needs to be improved?
- The wrinkles on the front of this review sample were very noticeable and quite detracted from the Guardian Pro’s appearance
What I like about the Baronfig Squire Click Ballpoint Pen
- Satin finish feels great to the touch
- Well balanced in the hand
- Good length and size for EDC
What needs to be improved?
- A “click” style pen needs to actually produce an audible and tactile CLICK, but the Squire Click pen does neither
Price:
Guardian Pro Notebook & Pen Case = $45
Squire Click Ballpoint Pen = $59
Where to buy: baronfig.com
Source: The samples of these products were provided for free by Baronfig. Baronfig did not have a final say on the review and did not preview the review before it was published.
Check out these other pen and notebook related reviews!
- Parafernalia Falter 2D Pen Kit review
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$43.99 (as of March 16, 2025 19:57 GMT -07:00 - More infoProduct prices and availability are accurate as of the date/time indicated and are subject to change. Any price and availability information displayed on [relevant Amazon Site(s), as applicable] at the time of purchase will apply to the purchase of this product.)
