Stationery Gifts for Dads Who Plan: An Analog EDC Gift Guide

Most gift guides for dads are generic and full of things nobody uses day to day. This one focuses on the stationery and analog tools that make my personal life a lot better. I use every one of them every single day.

If you are shopping for a dad in your life, this is the list. If you are a dad yourself, you can send it to whoever is buying you a gift.

Watch the full video.

Paper, pens and highlighters

Rhodia No. 16 notepad

The Rhodia No. 16 is an A5 notepad with a really subtle dark grid.

I keep one on my desk for whenever I need to write or sketch something quickly, especially when my notebook is not with me.

Zebra Sarasa Clip, vintage colors

The Zebra Sarasa Clip gel pens in the vintage colors are great pens with really smooth ink.

The vintage colors are muted rather than super bright. That may not be for everyone, but I like them, and the set has a nice variety of colors for planning or journaling.

The clip is a favorite feature of mine because it works well even on a thicker notebook.

Zebra Mildliner highlighters

Zebra Mildliners are a great pick if the person in your life likes to plan, color code, and organize by color. They come in what feels like hundreds of colors.

They are dual-ended, with a chisel tip on one end and a fine tip on the other. Like the Sarasa vintage colors, the Mildliner colors are a little muted and maybe not for everyone, but they are a staple of the stationery world that a lot of people enjoy.

They can smear ink a little, but there are a few tricks, like highlighting before you write. I use them so much that I keep them in both my main kit and my full stationery kit.

Fountain pen ink

If the dad in your life loves fountain pens, there is a wide variety of inks to choose from. My pick is Diamine: the bottles are not expensive, and they come in almost every color you can imagine.

Diamine inks are very popular and very well reviewed. I own Diamine Oxford Blue and Diamine Red Dragon.

Best for color coding: the Mildliners.

Pens for someone already into stationery

The next picks are a little more premium. They suit a dad who already enjoys high-quality stationery, has some tools in his kit, and is always looking for new ones to improve it.

Field Notes Space Pen

I have carried a Space Pen for years. It comes with a pressurized refill that can write upside down, underwater, and in extreme temperatures, so it is great to bring outdoors.

I leave one in the car because I know it will write every single time, cold or hot. It is a reliable pen for a dad who spends time outdoors and needs something that always writes.

The Space Pen I carry every day is a black and brass two-tone I put together myself, with the cap from a brass Fisher Space Pen on a Field Notes edition body, and it is set up differently. I don't enjoy writing with the stock pressurized refill, so I replaced it with a Zebra gel refill trimmed to size.

The result is a really compact gel pen that goes with me everywhere.

Kaweco Sport

The Kaweco Sport was my first fountain pen. Mine has the plastic body and a fine nib, and it writes very smoothly. The fine nib is the one I keep coming back to.

The Kaweco Sport gets amazing reviews and is very portable, like the Space Pen. I liked it enough to buy a couple more for different kits.

It is not very expensive, which makes it a great gift for a dad who is starting to collect stationery but is not into fountain pens yet.

TWSBI Eco

The TWSBI Eco is another fountain pen that gets amazing reviews. It is a piston filler: you fill it straight from an ink bottle by twisting the knob at the end of the barrel.

That makes it a little more advanced than a cartridge pen like the Kaweco Sport, which is easier to handle. In exchange, the TWSBI Eco can use any bottled ink.

It is a demonstrator pen with a see-through body, so the ink color shows through. It also keeps its ink from drying out: I have left mine alone for six months, and it wrote immediately when I picked it back up.

It is a really reliable pen. For someone getting into fountain pens who is not sure what to get, either the Kaweco Sport or the TWSBI Eco is a great starter pen.

Best first fountain pen: the Kaweco Sport, or the TWSBI Eco if he wants to fill from a bottle.

Covers and cases

LOCHBY Voyager

The LOCHBY Voyager holds my 2026 planner and my project planning. It is a great waxed canvas cover in the Traveler's Notebook size, so it takes the same inserts.

Mine holds a monthly insert and a vertical weekly insert, both from Sterling Ink, plus a notebook for projects, ideas, and anything that needs action.

It also holds my work notebook, where I take meeting notes and anything else related to projects. A couple of pockets hold my rulers and some Traveler's Company folders.

A leather notebook cover

At the premium end, my favorite gift is a leather notebook cover. Mine is from Paper Republic, in olive green, and other companies such as Traveler's Company make great leather covers too.

I have had mine for about six months, and it is aging great. It is my on-the-go setup, with three Field Notes inside: a collections notebook for anything I need long term, a catch-all for random ideas, and a master index.

Leather covers are on the premium side, but they are totally worth checking out for a dad who loves stationery and tactile things.

If he is not into leather, LOCHBY's waxed canvas is a fantastic alternative. I usually prefer leather, though, because I want to see a cover age and mold to the pocket I carry it in.

All the stains and scratches it picks up give it a nice story and character.

ALPAKA tech case

My ALPAKA tech case is the X-Pac version in olive green, which ALPAKA sells as the Elements Tech Case Mini. I was looking for a case that could hold all my stationery, and this one really does the job.

It holds my full stationery kit, including the Sarasa pens, Mildliners, and Space Pen from this list. It goes with me around the house, and on trips where I know I want to do a lot of planning and journaling.

Best keepsake: the leather cover, for a dad who wants something he will carry for years.

The gear worth a look

• Rhodia No. 16 Notepad (A5): the subtle-grid desk notepad I grab for quick sketches.
• Zebra Sarasa Clip Gel Pen: smooth gel ink in muted vintage colors.
• Zebra Mildliner Highlighters: dual-ended, in my main kit and my full stationery kit.
• Field Notes Space Pen: the stock pressurized refill is the one I trust in the car; the one I carry runs a trimmed Zebra gel refill.
• TWSBI Eco: piston filler and demonstrator, a great starter pen.
• LOCHBY Voyager: my 2026 planner cover for Traveler's-size inserts.
• Paper Republic Grand Voyageur (Pocket): the leather cover that holds my Field Notes.
• Field Notes: collection, catch-all and master index.
• ALPAKA Elements Tech Case: the case my whole stationery kit lives in.

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Related reading

• What I Actually Carry My EDC Stationery In (And Why)
• Pocket Notebook Covers: 7 I Have Carried and What Each Is For
• My Everyday Carry Setup: Aer Day Sling 4 Max Review

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a good stationery gift for a dad who plans?

Zebra Mildliners for a dad who color codes his planning, or a Rhodia No. 16 notepad for the desk. Both are things I use every single day.

What is a good first fountain pen to give?

The Kaweco Sport or the TWSBI Eco. The Kaweco Sport was my first fountain pen, and it is inexpensive and easy to handle with cartridges. The TWSBI Eco is a piston filler that works with any bottled ink.

What is a good pen for the car or outdoors?

The Field Notes Space Pen with its stock pressurized refill. I keep one in my car because I know it will write every single time, cold or hot.

Is a leather notebook cover worth it as a gift?

Yes, for a dad who loves stationery and tactile things. A leather cover like my Paper Republic is on the premium side, but it ages with use and picks up character from every stain and scratch.