(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
Always on the lookout for new notebooks, I couldn't pass up the Itoya Profolio Oasis in Wintergreen and A5. It borrows some aesthetics from other Japanese paper brands, but how does it perform for the price?
The exterior of the notebook is clean and simple. The wintergreen color of mine provides a nice pop of color on an otherwise boring desk. The covers are thin and flexible, but I worry they won't provide much protection in a bag with other items. The corners are square, which are just begging to get bent over in no time, but it makes the notebook look really crispy and clean.
The notebook is stitched very cleanly and has black tape covering the spine for additional protection and strength. The notebook really resists laying flat at first, but it breaks in really quickly. Despite this, it also has no trouble staying closed when it's laying on a desk. This is somewhat unexpected for a notebook with a stiff spine and really lightweight covers, but I'll take it.
Moving inside the notebook, there's nothing extra included between the covers. There are 80 sheets of lightweight paper, and no extra pages for organization or labeling. The inside front cover has some marketing information, but it's incredibly difficult to read in my copy because the light gray ink disappears against the wintergreen cover. It provides some helpful hints on how to use the notebook and it's unique ruling system. Aside from that, the pages aren't numbered, but they do include a spot at the top for a title and date. The paper is really smooth and feels like 80gsm in weight.
Similar to the Lamy notebooks I've been using recently, the Oasis also features a unique ruling system that combines lines, grids, and even dots to create a lightweight "everything" rule that seems to work well. I'll admit, it looks busy when the page is blank, but the ink is light enough that it easily gets out of your way once you start writing. The additional structure is useful if you want to create neat sections on the page, but they easily disappear when writing. I know that this rule format won't appeal to everyone, and that's cool. It's a cool system and I'm glad to see more stationery makers try it out. As long as there are plenty of options available for everyone, I have no problem with creating notebooks with quirky, uncommon rule formats! If you happen to enjoy it or use it for a specific purpose, that's reason enough to manufacture and sell a product like this.
While the paper is smooth and lightweight, it doesn't stand up to wet fountain pens very well. The fountain pen marks easily showed through on the back of the page — making it unusable — but Waterman's Mysterious Blue bled through the back of the page and onto the front of the next page! I've never had any problems with Mysterious Blue in the past, so this definitely surprised me. In the future, I won't be using any fountain pens in this notebook without testing them out on a scrap page first.
Luckily, the paper handled other types of pens, ink, and graphite superbly. It's a smooth paper with just a slight amount of tooth to provide some feedback and friction for controlling your writing instrument, and I've really enjoyed using it.
If you're in the market to try a somewhat uncommon ruling in a sharp notebook, the Oasis is a fantastic option. At $9 for the A5 size, it's a pretty good value for what you get. It's utilitarian but still has some style and personality, but it does have some weaknesses with certain ink/nib combos you'll have to watch out for. The ruling format is interesting and well-executed. For the price, you can try one of these notebooks to see if you like the format — if it's not for you, you haven't lost much money to find out.
And if the Wintergreen cover or A5 isn't what you want, there are several other color and size options available as well. It's not for everyone, but if it's intriguing to you, don't hesitate to try it out!
(Goldspot provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
Enjoy reading The Pen Addict? Then consider becoming a member to receive additional weekly content, giveaways, and discounts in The Pen Addict shop. Plus, you support me and the site directly, for which I am very grateful.
Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!
