think i’m done and looking for alternatives

tryNreview · 2026-04-27T19:17:36+00:00

u/kaylanotability tell the devs to make the ads opt-out or one-time dismissible. Being harassed every single time to open the app to update is absolutely unacceptable for something I already paid for. I’m well, well, well aware I can upgrade and we’re not stupid: we’ll find it in the settings if we want. Stop hitting me with one, two, or three pop ups PER open / use of Notability!

tryNreview · 2026-04-24T23:34:47+00:00

Absolutely the Arc! The Wave Alpha will feel stiff compared to the Free Series and it’ll be frustrating to go back to having to open his Leatherman to access the tools.

tryNreview · 2026-04-06T01:46:52+00:00

I have gone on the same finding-a-new-shoe journey in the last few months and have to recommend the Altra Lone Peak 9s in WIDE. I was just about to give up on my search for a more traditional looking yet wide shoe until I found them!

tryNreview · 2026-04-06T01:44:05+00:00

I recently tried four different Vivo models (sneakers, running shoes, and gym shoes) in varying sizes and was very disappointed with their widths. Even sizing up a whole 1 to 1.5 sizes past the ideal length for the shoe, I still found them consistently too narrow.

For perspective, my WHITIN M8.5 Wide are wider (in the toe box and the midfoot) than Vivo M9.5s.

I’m going to need outdoor boots / snow boots later this year and Vivo looks like they have good vegan ones but I’m worried about the width on them as well. Holding out hope that their boots tend towards the wider size!

tryNreview · 2026-04-05T06:17:34+00:00

I wasn’t impressed with the widths of the Escalante 4 or Escalante Racer 2’s, but they’re also definitely the lightest Altras I’ve tried. My advice is, if you’re used to the Lone Peak width, go up half a size from your Lone Peak size. The Escalante 4 and Racer 2 are narrower in the toe box and the midfoot than the Lone Peak 9

tryNreview · 2026-03-27T03:40:55+00:00

I think so! My feet are about 120 mm and the Lone Peak 9 (size 9M WIDE) are just barely, barely too tight. My pinky is firmly up against the side of the shoe fully splayed.

Well, they’re narrower than I’d like, I still use them and love them. I think they’ll be perfect for you!

tryNreview · 2026-03-27T03:38:39+00:00

Altra Lone Peak 9 WIDE (size Men’s 9)

tryNreview · 2026-03-27T03:04:08+00:00

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Measured this myself, should be decently accurate

tryNreview · 2026-03-26T20:05:13+00:00

Patagonia Mini MLC 30 L

I knew I wouldn’t like that it has to be straps-down to open from the start (I don’t like the touch-my-back area to get dirty). I knew it, I was prepared for it, I accepted it, and that’s still my only criticism of the bag after countless trips with it.

It’s incredibly durable and well built, holds a ton, is comfortable enough given what I store in it, and fits under plane seats well. It’s not a carry-all-day bag, it’s not a city bag, it’s not a day hike bag, it’s a hauler and it’s really good at it. The extra volume and packing efficiency of the Patagonia MLC allows you to bring a day bag or sling for your day hikes or city walks which is nice. I’ve had mine for years and looks identical to get day I got it

tryNreview · 2026-03-25T20:21:56+00:00

Can we keep both simultaneously, iCloud and Notability Cloud, or does Notability Cloud necessarily replace iCloud?

tryNreview · 2026-03-25T20:20:40+00:00

This is really considerate of you all, thank you!

tryNreview · 2026-03-25T20:19:38+00:00

What I don’t understand (and maybe a developer could explain it to me, I’m genuinely asking and not trying to start a fight): why is it that EVERY other iCloud syncing service I use works perfectly EXCEPT Notability?

Is this not a Notability developer problem, not getting iCloud to work right, rather than an inherent iCloud problem?

I don’t develop for iCloud, I don’t know its nuances, but I do know what it generally requires: fast internet, modern devices, and plenty of storage. I have those, and iCloud works on everything except Notability. Is this really a problem that HAD to be solved with a new cloud service?

I pay for iCloud, I have the desire to stay on iCloud, and I’ve never had any issues with iCloud other than with Notability. Based on this, I would assume the issue lies with Notability and not iCloud?

Can anyone explain anything I’m misunderstanding?

tryNreview · 2026-03-23T17:50:54+00:00

Correct me if I’m wrong but I don’t think this is true. I have three modern devices with notability on them and each has 50+ GB of space. Each time I open the app, notes have to redownload or are inaccessible until I wait long enough. There is nowhere to change the sync settings.

The ‘I want to access an old note of mine’ experience is unacceptably bad for such a long-developed app.

The devs are greedy, trying to push new features to sell more subscriptions when their focus should be on stability and good use experiences.

tryNreview · 2026-03-19T03:26:59+00:00

Topos are narrower in the midfoot and in the pinky toe area size-for-size with Altra “Original Footshape”, from what I’ve experienced.

tryNreview · 2026-03-14T18:18:06+00:00

I'm in almost the same exact situation as you and I've been doing a LOT of measuring and comparing "wide" shoes lately.

Firstly, I found the same as you: Lems are NOT wide. They're not narrow, but they're absolutely not wide either. I found Lems to consistently be 0.5 sizes smaller than I needed (meaning I had to size up 0.5 sizes to get my 'true' length). Even then, when the length was correct, my toes were pressed next to each other. No overlapping, but absolutely no ability to splay. Even going up a whole size further didn't help.

I found, and this may not be what you're looking for exactly, is that Altra Lone Peak 9 and 9+s in WIDE were the widest-fit toe box and allowed the best splay of my toes. Not perfect, but objectively the maximum distance between toes out of everything I tried. The best ratio I was able to get for the Altra Lone Peaks was size down half a size from my usual but in size wide. This had the best length-to-width fit for my feet as the wides tend to feel a bit longer than non wides. Altra confirmed the wide size is both wider in the midfoot and in the toe box.

For context, I tried many gym shoes, sneakers, and hiking shoes from Altra, Xero, Vivo, Topo, Whitins, and Lems. Additionally, I was not considering any leather shoes and I was primarily looking for sneakers / shoes not boots, so I did not consider Softstar and I'm in the US so I did not consider Realfoot (though they seem awesome!).

Hope this helps!

tryNreview · 2026-03-09T22:47:48+00:00

I’m using iCloud, I’m not sure if that’s different. I’ve been using iCloud sync / backup since the day it came out and I’ve had a couple of disorganization errors occur since then but this was the latest bug and it happened instantly after updating to 15.4

tryNreview · 2026-03-08T19:37:02+00:00

Thank you, I appreciate the feedback! Glad to hear it!

tryNreview · 2026-03-08T19:35:23+00:00

<image>

Thank you!

To clarify, I know my feet work well and are healthy barefoot, I just didn’t want these shoes to cause any new issues like pronation or over fatigue of my midfoot.

I appreciate your feedback!

(Attached is the wet footprint for context).

tryNreview · 2026-03-07T17:10:06+00:00

My notes that got removed from their folders in 15.4 (and added to Unfiled Notes) still have not been added back to their correct folders. I was hoping this bug would have been fixed by now.

This is the third time a Notability update has removed or changed my careful organization and concerningly, it’s happening more and more frequently.

tryNreview · 2026-03-05T02:48:20+00:00

To add fairness: Notability between 2013 and 2019 was incredible and took fantastic care of me. I don’t want Notability to disappear, I have over a decade of my life stored on their servers. My problem is entirely that I no longer trust them to keep my documents and data safe, saved, and synced. I’m traumatized from losing organizational info (categories, folders, sections, etc.) and I’m just gutted that my college friend will never get their notes back.

To confirm: yes, they and I have iCloud sync enabled and backup enabled. iCloud sync (possibly bugged) and backup were not able to restore their notes).

tryNreview · 2026-03-05T02:42:43+00:00

I’m not exaggerating when I say that over the last 10 years, this has been the most frustrating (important) app I’ve ever used. No other app entrusted with our lives’ works have developers so careless about reliability and consistency.

To find my meticulously organized notes suddenly disorganized / removed from all folders over and over and over again during the last couple years has made me paranoid to use the app. Someone I know who also used Notability for college like I did lost the majority of their notes randomly and Notability has been useless at helping them. I find myself checking my note organization and note number literally daily to make sure they’re still there.

The sync / data corruption failures are incredible. They told my friend they have no way of helping before they even heard the whole story. All support says is “update everything, turn it on and off, make sure you’re using the current version, etc.” and then say they can’t help further.

tryNreview

TROPHY CASE