Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Lamy A5 Hardbound Notebook Review

It’s pretty good!

I didn’t have high hopes for the new Lamy Notebook when I decided to pick one up during my visit to Dromgoole’s, but I figured why not? At a minimum, it looked great, and I’m sure if nothing else, pencils would work just fine in it. It’s better than that, without question.

In my first round of pen and inks tests, the Lamy Notebook held up admirably. Fountain pen inks in various nib sizes displayed no feathering or bleed, gel and ballpoint pens were easy to use, and even rollerball ink performed well. There is some ghosting, so the backside of the page may be out, but the paper handled everything I threw at it in respectable fashion.

That said, I could see those who enjoy wide, wet nibs having some issues with feathering. This is an uncoated page, similar to Leuchtturm1917. With that comes a faster dry time, but it displays less of the inks characteristics. For maximum shading and sheeting from your inks, you will want to look elsewhere.

For everyday writing? I think the Lamy Notebook is a good choice. Nib to my head, I’d still pick the aforementioned Leuchtturm for my own use, but it’s close.

There is only one ruling option for it at this time, appropriately called “Lamy ruling.” It’s a grid + lines combo, with a 4 mm grid and a line every two blocks, for an 8 mm spacing between lines. 4 mm is fine for my regular writing, but using every 4 mm line is too tight. I’d find 5 mm grid / 10 mm line, or 4 mm / 12 mm a more useful layout for me. As it currently stands, this is basically a lined notebook, albeit a great looking one.

I think there is something here. It is difficult to stand out in the notebook market, and while I personally like the Lamy Notebook, it’s only a middle of the pack option when it comes to A5 hardbound notebooks. It looks like they are putting some effort into it, and hopefully that commitment leads to growth in the product.

One final thought I had about this notebook as it relates to the bigger picture: Why don’t all pen companies have their own flagship notebook? I’m looking at you Japanese big three. Everybody has ink, why not notebooks?

(I purchased this product at a discount from Dromgooles.)

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Posted on December 16, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Lamy, Notebook Reviews.

Life Bank Paper Review

What is bank paper? According to Merriam-Webster:

“a thin strong paper similar to but lighter than bond paper and commonly used for business letterheads”

Bank paper products, such as this A5 Life Writing Paper, have begun to appear more frequently in our world, mainly because it lives up to the definition above. The paper is thin, durable, and can handle almost any ink or graphite well.

This Life Bank Paper pad has been recommended to me many times, and I took way too long to acquire it. It is downright excellent. It features a light ivory color page with the slightest bit of texture and feedback. The 100 pages are glue bound in an A5 size, which make it perfect for letter writing. This is a pad that will be empty when you are done with it, not kept like a spiral bound pad.

I mostly wanted to test fountain pen inks on it, and I’m happy to say they work well. There is no feathering or bleed to speak of, even when I laid down heavy swabs of ink on the page. All nibs feel smooth on it, even though you can feel the texture of the paper. It’s a very light texture, and I didn’t feel it was detrimental, even when using my finest nibs.

The dry time was also decent. This isn’t a glossy page like Rhodia, so I expected it to be quick, and it is. The only ink that took some time to dry was with the Montegrappa Miya Flex nib, due to the fact it was putting more ink down on the page. Even so, dry time was fine, and a pink blotting sheet is included if you so desire.

There is some ghosting, as you can tell by my picture of the pages when still attached to the pad. I personally wouldn’t use the back of the sheet to write a letter on, but it is workable.

All of my non-fountain pens performed well on this bank paper, with the lone exception being plastic tip drawing pens. The texture causes problems with this type of pen, leaving white space in the line, or sometimes skipping. It is at least usable, which is more than I can say for other textured papers and plastic tips.

All ballpoint, gel, and rollerball pens worked well - even my micro gel ink pens. Brush pens performed better than expected, and pencil graphite was an absolute standout. The texture allows the graphite a darkness and depth that smooth papers do not.

Being a bank paper, you might think there would be a watermark in the page, and you would be correct. It’s not that noticeable when writing in the pad, but it is more noticeable once you remove the page and more light surrounds it. It’s by no means a deal-breaker, or even a minor annoyance, but I thought I would point it out in case someone really dislikes watermarks.

So, how will I be using this pad? You are going to make me write letters, aren’t you? I think that’s what this pad is tailor made for. The glue binding comes off so cleanly you would think these were loose sheets. I’ve even punched them for my William Hannah notebook.

At $20 for 100 pages it isn’t cheap by any stretch, but the A5 Life Writing Paper Pad is purpose built, meaning you should have a purpose in mind when buying and using it. It’s not a desk pad, work pad, or a scratch pad. It’s more than that, and should be used as such.

(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on November 25, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Life Notebooks, Notebook Reviews.

Coal Creek Bainbridge A5 Leather Cover Review

I do love a well-dressed notebook. And I definitely need a sturdy containment center for my notes on the go. A good A5 case is an essential for me--I carry one with me everywhere I go, literally from room to room. As such, I've tried a lot of different types and styles, some of which have worked for me and I've used them till they fell apart, and some of which don't work for me at all. This Coal Creek Bainbridge A5 cover lands somewhere in the middle of that spectrum, leaning toward the great end.

To begin with what I think is its best feature: holy cats, this is well made, from really fine materials. The construction is precise, and the leather is by far the sturdiest I've ever encountered in a notebook cover. I'm pretty sure you could throw this cover over the back of a horse and use it as a saddle.* The layers of leather on the front and back will give any notebook you put inside a lifetime of protection. Maybe several. This thing will probably outlive me. A single layer of leather forms the spine, allowing it to be more flexible and accommodate a variety of notebook inserts. The Coal Creek website has the Bainbridge listed by insert brand, so if you have a specific favorite notebook, you could select the cover by that and be sure to get a proper fit. I'm not certain, however, if there is really any difference between all the A5 size covers--is there actually a difference between the covers for the A5 Leuchtturm and the A5 Rhodia? I'm not sure. I have tried my cover on a wide variety of A5 notebooks, and they've all fit well. In fact, I have three A5 notebooks in there now, plus a few extras.

Coal Creek describes their design aesthetic as minimalist, and this cover does fit that definition. That's not how I use my covers, though. I have maximal things to do, and my cover needs to somehow contain all that chaos. This one does a decent job of that. The intended use is for one A5 notebook to be used, with its back cover inserted into the right-inside folder pocket of the cover. Right now, I have the Midori A5 planner in that spot. There's also a slit in this pocket that will allow an elastic band to come through, so if you're using a notebook with a band closure, it won't block that feature. On the left inside, there's another folder-style pocket, a 1/2 size pocket, and a card slot. That other folder is meant to hold a device or additional papers. Right now, that spot holds the covers of two slim A5 card-cover notebooks (a Midori MD and an Apica monthly schedule book), a Field Notes Dime Novel edition, and about 20 pages of printer paper folded in half. In the 1/2 pocket, I keep important scratch paper notes, and I have about 10 business cards in the card slot. I might be abusing the generous space of this cover a little bit, but it does successfully hold all of these things. The monthly schedule will be phased out at the end of this month, as I transition fully to the 2020 planner, but there's a good chance another notebook will take its place.

I also have a pen in the elastic loop that is positioned so that it sits in the spine of the case. In the online photos, that loop is on the outside edge. I'm not sure why mine is in a different spot, but I prefer it where it is. It doesn't interfere with my layered notebook sandwich, and it keeps my pen safe.

My notebook cover is a lovely chocolate brown, but you can custom order your case from a wide selection of colors, and even choose your stitching color. The pen loop is optional, and there is also an option for a snap closure. They also provide monogramming if you want to personalize your cover further.

Overall, I think this is a very good cover. I've been using it for months and I don't have any legitimate complaints. Because of how I use it, and what I need my covers to do, it's not ideal for my purposes. I need a reliable closure of some kind to help make sure all those extra bits and bobs don't fall out as I run around my library or home. I need room for more pens or accessories. Basically, I need something that is not minimal. The maximal covers, though, tend to clock in at a maximal price, whereas this Coal Creek Bainbridge is quite reasonably priced at $85. I would honestly have expected a price over $100 for something that feels this finished. And a good saddle costs thousands.

*Please don't actually do this.

(Coal Creek Leather provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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