KJV Pitt Minion Reference Black Goatskin KJ446:XR Leather Bound – January 1, 2013

I purchased several Pitt Minions and sent them back before I finally settled on this Bible. The others I purchased were all black goatskin, and I was frustrated that each of them were sent to me with creases throughout several chapters or even several books. This Bible had no such flaws. I did have one gripe, however, so let me go ahead and get that out of the way.The Bible is supposed to have two page markers. However, mine arrived with only one. I thought it might have been a fluke, so I ordered another one. Same problem. I ended up contacting Cambridge and Baker (US Distributor of Cambridge Bibles), and one of them (can't remember which one) replied that this was a mistake made during the manufacturing process. They apparently manufactured thousands of these with only one page marker. So they said these Bibles wouldn't ship with two markers until they do another production run, which could be quite some time. This is a minor complaint, but worth noting. Now on to the good.Aesthetics:This Bible is beautiful and feels great in the hand. The inner lining of the cover, unlike Allan Bibles, is lined with thick paper rather than leather. Some mind find this disagreeable, but I actually prefer it as it gives the cover a slightly stiff feel which provides more stability when holding the bible. But be aware, this is not a floppy Bible like Allan or some of the other Cambridge Bibles. Nevertheless, the cover is splendid. Once I broke it in it was plenty soft for me, and I think it's a great balance between floppy and stiff. You can fold the cover back over itself or hold it flat. It handles perfectly. Additionally, if you're weird like me and you like to smell your books, you'll find the scent of this Bible a pleasant surprise. The brown goatskin, for whatever reason, smells much stronger than the black. I could smell it as soon as I opened the box, and it continues to have a pleasant aroma after several months of ownership. I think the pages smell good as well, but like I said, I'm weird.Readability:I admit the small font took a little getting used to, but after a week or two it just became normal to me. This is actually my primary Bible and the one I read every day. Even though the text is small, it is clear and crisp almost jumps off the page. I can read it for long periods without my eyes getting tired. However, I'm only 27, so older readers may have more of an issue. The pages are very thin, but they are still strong; and although there is some ghosting, it's minimized by how well they've lined the text up on the backside of each page. It's perfectly matched up on both sides.Marking/Notes:Since the pages are so thin you will see significant bleeding if you write on them. I tried various types of colored pencils, but found that the Prismacolor Verithin pencils are the only ones that are fine enough to write with in light of the small font. The down side here is that the lead has to be hard to obtain such a fine point. Therefore it leaves impressions on the underlying pages, and if you aren't careful you'll tear right through when writing. This may not be a concern if you don't write in your Bible, or if this is not your primary Bible.Durability/Binding:Here is where this Bible really shines. When I first became a believer in Jesus I went through a few Bibles very quickly because the binding was of such poor quality. So I was on the hunt for a Bible that could withstand lots of use (and abuse for that matter). This Bible was the answer to that problem. I tried pretty hard to damage the binding on this Bible when I first got it. I rolled it constantly, bent it, folded it back on itself, etc., and it is just as strong today as when I bought it. After all that rending it broke in very nicely and is now much more flexible (it was somewhat stiff when I first bought it). I've had it in extremely dry and extremely humid environments, and that hasn't affected it at all. I even left it on the dashboard in direct sunlight for a few hours, and even though the cover was curled and the pages seemed warped, it all returned to normal after a few days.Summary: This is a very nice, compact, durable Bible that should last for years and is well worth the price.

I'm not a huge fan of imitation leather most of the time, but this is nice. The printing and binding seems equal to my goatskin Pitt minion in another translation, so I really see no downsides. Buy without worry.

Simply don’t let the imitation leather stop you from buying this Bible if you want a nice portable compact Bible to throw in your bag or glove compartment of your car highly recommend it.

This is an outstanding Bible that feels absolutely marvelous in your hands. It is hard to believe that the cover is imitation leather - it feels amazingly like genuine, high quality leather. Another wonderful Cambridge Bible - highly portable and very readable. The product was exactly as advertised, was delivered quickly and in excellent condition. Very pleased - I will buy from this seller again.

I just purchased the 2nd edition of the Cambridge Pitt Minion KJV in brown goatskin leather. I must say I'm a fan of high quality Bibles. I have several in my collection but my favorites are all Cambridge Bibles. I purchased my first Pitt Minion Bible in 2002 - it was also the brown goatskin. I was very pleased with that little Bible and I still use it today. I wanted to get the new one because I was curious about some of the changes they made (not that I really needed a new Bible). Overall I am pleased with the 2nd edition. The goatskin leather remains basically unchanged which is good because it is beautiful! However, they added what they call a "Reader's Companion" and a set of very good maps - neither of which appeared in the earlier edition. Even with those additions the Bible remains the same thickness as before so that is definitely an improvement. The most notable improvement in the new edition is the quality of the lining inside of the cover. The old lining cracked very easily and did not stay glued down like it should have been. But they have completely addressed that problem and through the use of improvement manufacturing processes thankfully this is no longer an issue on their new Bibles (including the Cameo) so that is terrific! The only thing I'm not really a fan of is the readability of the font. This Bible has a more modern font and the text is presented in paragraph form. I like the text being presented in paragraphs (it helps keep verses in their proper context) but the overall readability is diminished in my opinion. My eyes tend to get tired more easily reading out of this Bible as opposed to my old one. So, at the end of the day, I'm happy with this Bible but maybe not as happy as I could have been. The Pitt Minions are terrific Bibles but if you're interested in a compact Bible I would also investigate the Cameo version because I still think it has the best combination of readability and portability. But, either way, you can't really go wrong with a Cambridge Bible!

Really well made. I like the paragraph format. Fonts is small but still very clear and easy to read. You can see other reviews for more detail. I wanted to mention that mine came with 2 ribbon markers, which of course I immediately cut off because I don’t like ribbon markers.

Of you can read a smaller font this bible is for you. Premium bible in hand size! You can’t beat the quality. Though the font is small at 6.5, it is extremely clear to read! You get what you pay for here and the value is worth it!

Excellent Bible! The best compact/travel KJV there is. Why? Because it is paragraph format with poetry set apart. Add to that the superb Cambridge quality so it will actually last traveling. Readability plus portability makes the best Bible for wanderers.