I suspect those people are in the minority. I have never received a free journal or money for my opinion. I just found out about this new company Scrivwell that looks super promising! Karolina: Im so sorry about your experience with the LT1917 I wish I could help more people before they made that mistake. I was just looking for a book in a brick and mortar shop, and I found many books that did not open fully. Thats the thing with people, you cant please everyone, and theres always one that goes against the stream, and with A&O, I struggled to find them. Thanks so much for checking out the site. As for the dot grid vs square grid vs graph confusion Im sure a lot of that has to do with language barriers. The Scribbles paper is very similar to Tekukor I think of them both as smooth, but not as silky as Rhodia. Its more cream than the Tekukor or Neo Dot and doesnt have the smoothness that Rhodia paper does (Ive tested their paper in one of the notepads I have).

Thanks for all the hard work on this! is derived from the French term jour meaning day. I purchased a soft cover Minimalism Art dot grid that I fell in love with and when I went back they said basically the same thing. Wow this is awesome! I think the thickness made it feel like it wasnt a journal anymore and more like flipping boards of wood (a slight exaggeration maybe, but I really like that book feeling). But there are people who are not paid for raving about the Leuchtturm and genuinely love it ? In fact, Id say that those three are equally smooth. So I dug in and did what I did best. I had a nice square/graph paper Lemome chosen and in my cart and before I could purchase it, it became unavailable. Amy oh yes! I just wanted to help others avoid that disappointment. Do you know of a 160 gsm journal that has a square grid? I appreciate the truly comprehensive collection of reviews. To be completely fair, I use my notebook a lot. Pamcould we be best friends and sit and play with pens and notebooks all day? Better than LT (although I do enjoy them) and better (for me anyway) than STM. Both Tekukor, Scribbles, and Rhodia are smooth compared to LT. Super smooth! I felt a couple inches shorter and wider might suit me better. Id like to address a couple of your points: I believe I may have unconsciously judged Leuchtturm more harshly than some other brands and most likely because the expectation had been set SO high by all those sponsored endorsements that I was expecting a product made from 24-carat gold plated magic. As someone who doesnt use fountain pens or wet ink (left handed + fountain pen = messy disaster), Rhodias hardbound dot grid webnotebook has become my go-to notebook for my quasi bullet journal. So yeah, if you love white paper thats similar to Rhodia and want a book-like feel then Neo Dot is the way to go. Notebooks with Tomoe River paper sound like they would work for what you're looking for. I am looking for a B6 journal with dots or grid, that doesnt ghost (160gsm) and has enough pages for an entire year (240+), and white pages so I can use white out. Personally, I like to use every inch I possibly can before I move onto my next volume. So now I need your final opinion- Im choosing between Dingbats (because I really love the green deer), Notebooks Neo Dot (looks like a Rhodia with white paper), Tekukor (because its your favorite, although the ghosting looks worse in the picture than the others mentioned), and the Ghost Grid. Comments like these (and the others here) demonstrate exactly the reason Ive started this website. I feel it looks more lived in, what I did in the past has consequences on my present/future ? We are all different! But youre in luck! Thats very strange. For 2018, I bought an Enigma from Taroko Design. I hate their paper. LT maximises the pages in a compact journal. Im very much a spreadsheet nerd (I have created so many in my google drive) and this was an invaluable reference to help pick my next journal as I get near the end of my first one, since I too was disappointed with the Leuchtturm1917 (especially the ghosting). I keep buying more and more notebooks! Just wanted to share that I tried to purchase a Dingbats journal, but ran into fulfillment issues with the company. In fact, I think Lemome books (suede and cork covers) get the top prize for that feature. I use it as a mix of journaling and memory collection. I ended up getting the Peter Pauper Press with the Blue Agate cover, which I have just started doing pen tests and Im pretty happy so far. Thank you so much for this detailed review! Thank you for the comment about enjoying my voice I totally get what you mean and its something Ive been working on over the years and feel like Ive finally found my groove. This all started when I started carrying a notebook with me everywhere about seven months ago. To put it into context, if you purchase a notebook that costs $15, I will earn about 58-cents or so. I really like notebooks with very thin paper; I absolutely love the way the pages in a Bible feel! Absolutely love it! Of the 48-ish notebooks here there are 4 journals that I did not purchase but rather they were sent to me for free from the company who sells them. Ive been stalking them to see when their new notebooks are ready. I already have that notebook in my hot little hands and my preliminary review is that I like it very much. But lets just say that its real. Pretty new though so maybe you havent seen them. It has 2 ribbons, with different colours and durable material. Also, the sizes of these books arent in line with normal A-sizes. I looooove the copper LT but dont think Ill ever buy one because of the ghosting and bleed through, that would drive me nuts. I dont know how they did it, but they made a thin paper that holds up to artist standard. I actually found that virtually all hardcover journals with a sewn binding opened flat and stayed put. Im curious to know if you read the whole thing or if you skipped around and only checked out the journals you were specifically interested in (drop me a comment below and let me know!). The Ultimate Comparison of 160gsm Bullet Journal Notebo Eclectic Scribbles 160gsm Mandala Notebook Review, Scribbles That Matter 160gsm Journal Review, Archer & Olive 160gsm Dotted Notebook Review, Green Inspired Chipboard Exposed Binding Journal, Alibabette Editions Paris La Vie Est Belle Journal, Clairefontaine Basic Cloth Bound Notebook, https://www.studioneat.com/products/markone, Bullet Journal Gift Wish List - Stationery Nerd, Tekukor my everyday carry bullet journal, Green Inspired my learning and notetaking notebook, Pentalic Travelers Notebook I think the lined journal will be my next handwritten diary, Daycraft my next bullet journal will be a lined journal, this might be the pick when Im done with the Tekukor, Lemome if I dont go with DayCraft for my next journal, it might be the Lemome Cork, Green Inspired Notebook available locally at Target (110gsm). I didnt want to order a notebook on amazon and I always like to order things from local shops and websites. They are a brand new company and ran out of their first run of notebooks but wanted to make some improvements before they manufactured a new batch. I have used both LT1917 and Clairefontaine Essentials, both gridded. LT and Nuuna and Victorias journal that I have used, are not glued to the back, but separated on the spine. No delivery surcharges for Northern Ireland, Highlands & Islands or anywhere else! Stephanie: I keep getting tempted by the Dingbats (I think Id go for the red kangaroo). Usually I prefer real white to ivory/cream colours but I find the creamy paper much more pleasing to the eye and not so harsh. Since I was spending my own money on these, I needed to be highly selective in the notebooks I purchased to test. Heavily coated paper wont let the ink soak into the fibers of the paper that would create feathering and bleeding. I watched review videos on YouTube, I read reviews on individual notebook listings on Amazon, and I even scoured all of the bullet journal guru websites to find out which journal they were using. It makes you look at certain items differently on Amazon. I plan to go back through in more depth later though! Loved your post and all the work that went into it! when the ink from your pen or marker soaks through the paper and appears on the following page or stains the next sheet in the notebook. I, too, got duped into getting LTs and I was so not impressed by the ghosting. (: Thanks!! Thanks so much for all your hard work on this. Hello! I already know that there are some popular notebook options that didnt make the list. Thanks guys. (Sorry if I made any mistakes in grammar and spelling :)). The classic sign pen, now available with a brush tip! A diary? I meant to subscribe to comments and forgot, so that is what this comment is for. im insanely satisfied. I read it all! I love the flexibility of disc system books. Im curious to know if you have ever used the black, soft-cover InTempo Firenze journal book before and what your thoughts are. I want a clean, fresh, unblemished page to write on. Each hardcover bullet journal notebook Ive purchased and reviewed is listed here just click on the picture and it will open a new window with the full review. While doing research on scrapbooking, I found plenty of content on journals (and was like WTH is bullet journaling?!) I read the whole thing. Heres my nerdy review. I havent seen anything like that happen to me before. Because I was duped by reviews that were not completely honest about the reviewers connection with the brands and I wasted a lot of money buying recommended journals that didnt live up to the hype those reviewers conveyed. It truly opens flat and stays open. International deliveries vary in cost, so you'll need to add the items you want to your basket, and enter the checkout to see the options for delivery. Thank you so much for your nice review and site! The paper is white, which became increasingly important to me over the years. Its gorgeous leather and such great craftsmanship. Okay? Its a million times better than LT. Ghosting is my worst enemy because Im an artist and I like to include that sometimes as well in my bullet journals. I came to this page because I was looking for a notebook that could stand the beating I plan to put it through. The Leuchtturn is one that kept coming back, but I dont like the design. But in the interest of supporting my stationery hoarding habit, some of the links in these reviews are actually affiliate links to Amazon or elsewhere. Even in the span of say 6-8 months as to what you actually get in the listing. So I took a closer look at the brand and specs of that notebook. For more information about sponsored content, affiliate links, and advertising on this website to read the full affiliate disclaimer policy.

When paper has been coated by a polymer mixture to change the quality of the paper itself that impacts the weight, surface gloss, smoothness or reduced ink absorbency. Lets review it anyway. Thanks so much for doing this thorough review. Yes Tracy. I appreciate all the insights you gave for ALL the journals. Uncoated paper allows ink to soak in and dry quickly. Hi Pam, amazing post. The journal I was carrying was just one I already had in my stash and just pulled off the shelf and started using it (the Green Inspired Journal in the photo below also has a full review on the list). Have you had a chance to try it? In particular, I have made my maths (and you can double check) and the most cost effective notebook with Tomoe River are the Nanami Seven Seas notebooks. Why am I so passionate about this aspect of Stationery Nerd? Coated paper range from very glossy to only slightly glossy the level of coatedness (is that a word?) Ive made the decision to only buy journals with at least 100gsm paper since I hate ghosting so badly. This usually happens when you have uncoated (matte) paper. Yes, the Galen Leather A5 Journal Cover will take all of these notebooks. Definitely, give them a fair shake if you havent tried one of these yet. Anyways, Im very happy with my rhodia (very very minimal ghosting/no bleeding) but I may try one of these suggestions for my next one! Thanks! P.S. I want to chuck my Walmart notebook in the trash and get that gold pentalic beauty. Buying excessive amounts of stationery supplies can get expensive. I hadnt heard of Ghostly, so I will investigate that one. 90g paper is Clairefontaine. So the obsession began, and I started to read and watch all the reviews I could put my hand on.

I think Ill go for the Black Out one, once Ive had a go at a more artistic journal, but with white paper to start with. That still doesnt help me decide between Tekukor and Scribbles, but I guess you cant really make that decision for me. STM dosent appeal to me at all to be honest, I dont like the outside or the fonts in the inside. From here on out I was not going to try any notebook that had less than 100 GSM paper. Uncoated paper allows ink to soak in and dry quickly. Thank you so much for creating this little notebook tournament! STLOGY is now rethinking this evolutiona stationery design collaboration between Nitto Group and Manabu Mizuno, a leading creative director in Japanendeavoring to createstationerywith good design and function at a reasonable price, improving the "standard" level of stationery.. I too prefer Clairefontaine paper to all that I have tried. So I wanted a paper that had just a little bit a tooth to it. Im in love with the Dingbats cover, but the Neo Dot looks like the better version of Rhodia. Asking too much of a single notebook? I am a pen and paper nerd and have tried the L1917, the picadilly, Moleskine and the Exceed. (or at least, darker) but i dont think thats worth taking away from the quality I dont see the FREE A5 JOURNAL COMPARISON SPREADSHEET section. It's a well-made notebook, with lots of pages (368 pages, so one a day for a year, with a couple of spares). Look for paper thats heavy weight (100gsm) so your pen or markers dont bleed through. It seems on their sit they have different covers for different types ofmnotebooks. The only thing to be aware of us that because the paper isn't very absorbent, it might take longer for ink to dry. Also would love to see your review of rhodia sometime .

Ive been doing my own research as well and would be interested to hear about what you think of these brands: Archer and Olive have something ridiculous like 160gsm paper but only around 120 pages per book; Mossery cool customizable covers but mixed reviews on paper; and Compoco for those who are looking for a really eccentric cover. For my price point I think Ill try to Peter Pauper Press next. In the meantime, they said their etsy shop https://www.etsy.com/shop/Scrivwell would probably ship worldwide right now! Thank you! I chose a dotted notebook in size L and a square sketchbook. Think of newspaper as uncoated but a glossy magazine as coated. I know a lot of you struggle with finding the perfect journal. The list of requirements for my perfect notebook are: So now that the requirements were settled I started searching. They look so beautiful and their paper is ultra thick 160gsm!! I might need a journal intervention. After reading your post I ordered the SuperiorMaker thank you! we can totally be best friends! Each journal in this review was put through a pen test to find out how well the paper stood up to a variety of ink types. Which I love. Unfortunately, they do not have stiff covers, which makes it more difficult to write when hand-holding them. I was skeptical because the paperweight didnt seem to be good quality at 80 gsm. Thanks for the review yes I read it all the way. But I loved the paper; it is smooth and ghosting is minimal.

Im sure you can understand the obsession. If you see any mistakes or oversights as youre reading through it, give me a shout and Ill take a look and make corrections. (Circle or highlight if you prefer - it's all very flexible!). Be aware, some random rambling is coming from this non-native English speaker. thats a different story. I have way too many interests and meetings. So a notebook is a blank book whereas a journal is a notebook that you write in each day. FREE First Class Royal Mail delivery for orders over 30, and just 2.95 for smaller orders. The only pen I had any bleed through was the staedtler The only thing I didnt like with the Rhodia was the fact that it didnt have numbered pages. I have a Nuuna as well, but definitely prefer Leuchtturm and will buy it again when the current bujo ends. Once again, thank you for the article. Many sellers on Amazon dont have English as their first language. honestly, its between a Rhodia or STM though I loved that Pentalic Metallic Journal, dismayed to find out the one I wanted (in copper) only came in blank. I bought the Lemome cork more by accident than anything else after finding it on a blog. You cant go wrong with Scribbles or Pentalic. Sometimes ghosting is minor and unobtrusive. Im actually curious if you have any leads on a leather a5 cover? Its not all that different than generic foods you get at the grocery store Peter Pan Peanut Butter and Walmart brand peanut butter are both made by the same factory, but when a label is put on the jar there are two different brand labels. I made a brief observation about them, and it looks like if the sewn papers are glued from the spine to the hard outer back of the book, it does not open flat. Does it exist? The 120 gsm Lemome sounds quite good but Ive got used to Nuunas 3.5 mm dot grid so the 5 mm grid looks too wide for me. I also use highlighters in my journal. But I decided to give it a try anyway. ", Press J to jump to the feed. I guess I imagine that paper being a written journal or diary rather than a full blown bullet journal. Thank you for this! So I went with a scribbles that matter instead and I love it! Again, they're easy to ignore when you don't need them, but if the day needs some planning, either the whole page, or just the left edge of it, can quickly become a visual summary of what you're doing and when. Bleeding is always bad. Thank you SO much for your in depth reviews and especially for this comprehensive post. My full review is below. True. Which one(s) would you recommend? I am glad you included the information about the gsm. Well, I do once in awhile, but not often. I soon found out that Im a big fan of rollerball in general and the Schmidt P8126 rollerball cartridge in general. Im taking the opposite approach with this series of reviews (and the entire website in general). The pages are thin basically see through when you write on them. this whole post is amazing. So, for someone who only uses rollerball ink pens for writing it is great. I must admit that LTs are very well made notebooks but the paper is atrocious. Have you tried Notebook Therapys Tsuki 160 gsm bullet journals? DaycraftJournals Bullet Journal Notebook Review Inspiro | Pentalic Art Traveler Pocket Journal Bullet Journal Notebook Alibabette Editions Paris La Vie Est BelleJournal Bullet Clairefontaine Basic Cloth Bound Notebook Bullet Journal Whew! I also appreciate the humor you included. I hope that at some point youll take a look at other kinds of notebooks. Archer & Olive TR paper, handmade, hand sewn, and with a price to prove it -- $140 depending on exchange rate. Im glad you like it though! Thank you sooo much! I didnt see it in your list but for my first official bujo its a perfect a5 for me. After a couple unhappy starts to my notebook hunt I decided to get serious about specs. I just finished using a Rhodia Webnotebook and started a Leuchtturm. Thank you again for sharing your thoughts. Rollerballs use similar ink to fountain pens (water-based) as far as Ive understood it. I am one of the few who is on the hunt for paper with a little less smoothness to it. I thought I was the only one who had the problem errhobby of collecting multiple journal books; the majority of which are still blank. Absolutely love it! Julia: Youre going to LOVE LOVE LOVE that Pentalic Gold. You can read the all of the reviews in their epicness, or you can take the road of sanity and only jump to a specific brand youre considering. Just look at this notebook cover. And yes, Ive got more coming.

We live over in Grand Rapids. Definitely check out the Stalogy 365 notebooks. xD. Ready? And the winners are . I will tell you if I paid for it with my own money or if the notebook was sent to me for free. Thank you so much for mentioning that. Do you think the Scribbles paper and the Tekukor paper are smoother than the Leuchtturm paper? Like many of us I have tried hundreds of journals, but nothing comes close to Yoshino's work. Hardcover notebooks and soft cover notebooks. All the Sizes: A5 B5 A6 B6 and more. The paper is quite thin, with a lovely But they were out of stock so I couldnt exactly recommend a notebook that nobody could buy. They are my current favorite and a bit more affordable than Tomoe River. But it could be that the people who love it, keep writing to their books happily ever after, not posting to social media about it. Let me know how you like it once you get started. Both are high quality and always a good choice. Besides the actual journal reviews below, Im also going to cover my method for reviewing and choosing my favorites as well as a list of the pens I used and also a little vocabulary lesson. But you made clear in so many instances that this is your subjective analysis and open up your reasoning in a transparent way, so that is more than fine. I will tell you if I paid for it with my own money or if the notebook was sent to me for free. PS my blog at journallings.com is still a bit under contruction, but will definitely put you blog to my blog roll once I figure out how to do it in WordPress. I think Tekukor is my last choice. So they write very smooth, more so than even gel pens. I am a research and cannot avoid that nature in me even with my hobbies. I love white paper as well. Ill be checking out QiHeng and Tekukor based on tour thorough work. Later, I discovered that Barnes & Noble also has that particular journal in stock. Hi Pam, great review youve covered some great notebooks, a good chunk of which Ive got sat on my shelf at home :-). Here are a few that I already know youve asked for and why they arent on this list. So all of these notebooks fit your Galen leather cover? I am just finishing with my first bullet journal, the Leuchtturm1917 and am wanting so much more out of my next journal.