Rocketbook Wave: a microwavable notepad - functional, not delicious

(on the phone) One sec, let me just write your number down. (hand held over receiver) Mate, can I borrow a pen and paper to write something down? Sure, here’s my Rocketbook Wave.

Er, thanks. Oh wait, it’s full. Ah, so it is. Let me go microwave it for you.

Why the dickens would you do that? I’m not going to eat it. That is very wise, the expression “eating through books” is merely metaphorical. No, this fancy notepad is reusable, and the microwave is part of that process.

Reusable you say, tell me more… Well, this age-old piece of technology is good for writing down your analogue doodlings, noodlings and ponderings like the many, many notepads you have probably used up over the years. But instead leaving your innermost thoughts to gather dust in a cupboard somewhere, when you have filled the last page you can wipe the Rocketbook Wave so that you, quite literally, have a clean slate to start again with.

Wouldn’t that also clear the notes you made for that best-selling first novel you’ve been meaning to write? Yes, but like other Rocketbooks you can use the accompanying app (yes, a notepad with an app) to upload whatever is on the page to whichever service you like. There are a number of symbols at the bottom of each page, like a diamond or a bell for example, and each of these you can set up with a specific service so that when you mark it and take a photo of the page in the app, it’ll rocket its way (see what I did there?) into the cloud for you to pick up later. All digitised and considerably less analogue.

And then for the microwaving? Yes - time to cook the books! This bit feels a bit weird, not going to lie. For it to work you have to use a special Pilot FriXion pen, presumably because you can rub the ink out like your bog-standard pencil, but handily you get given one in the sealed package the Rocketbook Wave comes in. Use the wrong pen and you lose the luxury of wiping the ink of the page when you microwave it, so unless you actually are intending to eat it (which I thoroughly advise you don’t), makes the process a bit pointless.

But of course I’d use the correct pen. Of course. Once you’ve filled your pages and synced the important bits (and not those scribbled pictures best left forgotten), fill three quarters of a mug of water and put the Rocketbook Wave on top of it in the middle of the microwave. Then cook that book until the logo goes from dark to light!

Prove to me this is real science, and not some inky voodoo. Well according to the bods at RocketBook “modern erasable pens work with what is called a ‘leuco dye’ which becomes clear under heat. Normally, the eraser on the pen generates friction with the page to make heat and transform the ink to clear. We capitalized on this characteristic to erase an entire notebook using your microwave. The Rocketbook Wave is a notebook forged from microwave safe materials including a proprietary paper which holds little moisture (preventing excessive heat in the microwave).”

Well I’ll be… So long as you keep checking the book every 30 seconds to make sure you don’t actually turn it into cinders, and then flip the book over and do the other side, leave for a few minutes to cool down, there it is, good as new.

That’s amazing! But wait, you mean I have to wait the best part of six minutes before I can write this number down? (checks phone) Bummer, they’re gone. Oh well.

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