Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Itoya Oasis Line Friends A6 Notebook Review

(Sarah Read is an author, editor, yarn artist, and pen/paper/ink addict. You can find more about her at her website and on Twitter. And check out her latest book, Out of Water, now available where books are sold!)

I love it when adorable and practical collide. These Itoya Oasis A6 notebooks feature the iconic Korean cartoon characters from Line Friends, Brown the bear and Sally the duck. They wave at you from the cheery covers, and the inside covers are completely decorated in cuteness. These notebooks would be great even if they weren't so cute, though. The Oasis notebooks are fantastic, with great construction and good paper.

This A6 size is perfect for just about any project. There are 80 sheets of paper, or 160 pages, so you won't run out mid-project. The size is big enough that each page feels productive, but small enough to fit in just about any purse or bag pocket. The pages are printed with a pale grey ink in a unique pattern that combines the best features of lined, grid, and dot grid. Each page has space for the date and a header, and the margins contain subtle dots that can provide hour marks or other organization. It's ideal for a diary, commonplace book, bullet journal, or custom planner. Or it can be used as a simple notebook. It's versatile!

The paper itself is a coated Japanese paper that performs very well with most media. Sharpie did bleed through a small bit, and darker inks showed ghosting, but liquid inks and even a flex nib pen did not affect the other side of the paper. It would be easy to use both sides of the sheets--not just because the paper is so excellent, but also because the binding is designed for it.

The cardstock covers have sewn and taped binding over small signatures, so the notebook lies flat with no training, and the spine is strong enough to fold back on itself for easy handheld writing, if necessary.

This size of notebook, with this quality of paper and type of binding, is my favorite for on-the-go writing. It's portable, but not obnoxiously small, and I know that I'm not going to fill it up with one afternoon of writing. It's durable enough to hold up till you've finished all those pages. AND it's cute. AND it's only $11.99, which is a great price. It's inexpensive enough that it's useable and accessible. While I haven't completely used up one of these Line Friends editions yet, my last Oasis notebook was a treasured companion for months. It held up as my everything notebook, going everywhere--it was my external hard drive, my brain backup. I used every last page, and I highly recommend them. I'm looking forward to dragging my new Line Friends around on my next adventures.

(Goldspot provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Posted on August 31, 2023 by Sarah Read and filed under Itoya, Notebook Reviews.

Maruman Reccer B7 Memo Pad Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

No matter what my favorite notebook or paper is at any given point of time, I always need a small notepad or notebook on my desk or wherever I'm hanging out. The most recent memo pad I've kept at my desk is the Reccer from Maruman. This B7 memo pad is small enough to fit anywhere, but just large enough for jotting down quick notes or sketches.

B7 isn't one of the more common sizes, so here's some specs. At just 67x132mm or 2.6x5.2 inches, you can easily throw this little pad in a pocket or bag when you are on the go, but it can also fit in just about any small space on your workspace. The paper is typical Maruman quality and weighs in at 70gsm. The paper is lined with 5.5mm spacing, and the lines alternate between solid and dotted. There aren't any page numbers or spaces for dates, titles, etc. All 50 sheets (100 pages) are perforated for easy removal.

The main reason this little memo pad has been such a hit for me is the paper quality. It's not terribly thick, but it handles ink incredibly well. The paper is smooth and provides a little feedback. There's also minimal show-through on the back side of the page, so both sides are completely usable. I'm really surprised by how little show-through there is for 70gsm paper. It feels and acts more like 80 or 90gsm. Not bad!

The twin spiral top binding is petite, but still strong. The diameter is large enough to make flipping through the pages easy. The bottom corners are rounded off so there aren't any sharp corners to snag on fabric. Overall, this memo pad is an exceptional tool to keep on your workspace, in your bag, or even on your person. It's versatile and easy to carry while also being just big enough to remain functional.

At just $3, the Maruman Reccer is also a great value. Since picking one up, I've learned that I need a few more to stash in different places.

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

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Posted on August 23, 2023 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Maruman, Notebook Reviews.

Endless Explorer Refillable Journal Review

The Endless Explorer Refillable Journal is Endless's take on the classic modular notebook system. It's a minimal design, just a leather cover with a system of elastics to hold up to three notebook inserts. The inserts are Endless's Storyboard notebooks.

The inserts themselves are very nice. They have a sewn binding that holds 64 pages of dot-grid Tomoe River paper. The Explorer pack only comes with one insert, so others would have to be purchased separately to get the full benefit of the system. The set also has the option of adding a pen holder that is also an elastic band that wraps around the cover vertically. It can wrap around the whole cover and serve as a closure strap, or just around the front cover. Either way, I found it mostly got in the way, either acting as an obstacle to getting into the notebook, or as something bulky that made for a lumpy writing surface when using the back side of pages. If you don't write on the back side of pages, it may work well for you.

Tomoe River paper hardly needs further review; it's still the best out there, in my opinion. This is the 68 gsm weight, and it can handle anything, even Sharpie, with just some faint ghosting. Because it's so lightweight, the inserts look slim while still packing a generous number of pages.

The elastics that hold the inserts in place are nicely finished so there are no knots or frayed ends loose in the book, and the elastic has a nice amount of tension so that it holds the notebooks snugly, preventing them from wiggling or sliding out when you don't want them to.

The system comes in a very fancy presentation box with a drawer that pulls out from the side. The box can then be used as an archive for filled inserts, though it's a bit bulky for that purpose. An included paper provides instructions for how to insert multiple notebooks, as well as a way to register your notebook system. It all feels very high-end and snazzy.

The Endless Explorer Notebook system sells for between $40-$50, with inserts that cost around $10, depending on where you get them. That's a very fair price for the quality, and it's in line with similar notebook systems. And there are a lot of similar systems. Where this one differs is in finishing touches--especially those neatly finished elastics. It's also a good size. It's smaller than an A5, but wider than the Traveler's Company notebook, making it a nice middle ground as far as portability and writing comfort. There are a lot of options to choose from in this style these days, but I think this Endless version is a particularly nice one.

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

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