Clairefontaine Triomphe A5 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 her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

Clairefontaine were my first introduction to good paper. I found them when I was a student in my freshman undergraduate year, and I used them all through school--though back in those ancient times, I had to order them from Europe. It was worth it. Now? I can get as much Clairefontaine as I want from JetPens. I am limited only by the volume of my house.

The Triomphe A5 Notebook is one of their fabulous middle-of-the-road books, as far as cost and quality go. You can get nicer ones for slightly higher cost, and less fancy ones for very low cost--but this one is the Goldilocks. It is A5 size, with lined, white, acid-free paper. There are 48 sheets at 90gsm, and the heavier weight minimizes ghosting, so you can easily use both sides of those sheets.

At 8mm, I do find the line spacing a bit wide for my comfort, but it's the perfect layout for testing broad, juicy fountain pen nibs, as this paper can happily handle it all. Every pen I tried felt great on this paper, and the medium nib I ultimately chose to write with felt like it was gliding across the page. Only the Sharpie, the laser of pens, dotted through at all.

The cover is cardstock, with minimal branding. The single signature is stitched with thread that runs the whole length of the spine, so the notebook lies flat without any worry about pages coming loose. It feels durable. My Clairefontaine notebooks from college, which were the less expensive staple-stitched ones, were tough enough to last an entire semester of daily use, and this one is considerably stronger than that. This nicer one is still only $12 at JetPens, which is a great price for the quality.

These notebooks are perfect for students, for commonplace books, work notebooks--any use where you need a moderate amount of fabulous paper. It almost makes me sad I don't have classes anymore. Almost.

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

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After Travels with the Traveler's Notebook

(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 her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

I knew there was going to be a lot of travel for me in 2023 and that I'd be attempting to travel light for a lot of it, so at the beginning of the year I set up a passport size Traveler's Notebook from Traveler's Company. I outfitted it with all the accessories and extras so that I could experiment and see what worked for me and what didn't. After the better part of the year using it in a lot of different contexts, I have a good idea of its pros and cons for my particular use.

As a notebook cover: Wonderful. It's simple, but good quality. It always felt good in my hand and the customization options are amazing. Its one weakness is the elastics, which wear out over time. They can be fairly easily replaced, though.

As a notebook: Pretty good. The paper quality on the inserts I used was great. I didn't love doing a lot of writing on the small pages, but it was good enough for trips where I didn't want or need to be carrying a large notebook. So, great for minimal travel. Not great for when I want to write a lot. I usually do want to write a lot, though. For me, this works better as portable scrap paper and not an actual journal/notebook. Great if I'm scribbling down a phone number or quick list; not great if I need to write a whole story.

As a planner: It didn't work for me. I wasn't able to use it as my solo planner for very long. Until May, when I was still in school, I needed a huge planner to plan huge amounts of plans, so there was no way the wee insert would work. I had lovely daydreams about post-school simplicity and only having small plans that would fit the diminutive stature of this monthly insert, but life does not work that way. I ran out of room constantly and had to move back to a full-sized planner. Maybe someday I'll lead that simple life! But I doubt it.

As a wallet: Effective, but annoying. The cardholder and zipper pouch accessories are great for carrying around the wallet essentials. They fit everything I need. It's just a bit of an extra step to get through the elastics and zips and flips to get to everything, and I often found myself not putting things back in their place when I was in a hurry.

As a complete package: As its name might suggest, it's perfect for travel. When I don't need my whole planner, but just a basic calendar, it's great. When I want all my wallet essentials and my planner and my notes--it really is everything I need in one compact, well-made package. For everyday use at home, it's not quite right for me. The place I need my planner most is when I'm out on the floor at work, and it frequently stays on the service desk while I run around. I don't want to leave my wallet sitting on a public service desk, so my wallet and my planner can't be the same thing. And when I need my wallet, I want an easy-access quick grab. So for now, the TN is on my desk and not in my bag. But next time I travel, I'll definitely be setting it back up to come along.

The accessories: The bulk of my setup was accessories! I had one monthly planner insert and one notebook insert, and the rest of the space was taken up by the folder, zip pouch, card slot, etc. I found all of the accessories useful. The brass clip, which I previously reviewed, is now moved to my daily carry notebook because it's so useful. The only accessory I don't love is the pen loop. The loop is too narrow for bigger pens, and the clip part itself is too bulky and isn't super secure. The clip slides around quite a bit, and it made me nervous that I might lose a pen. I plan to replace it with something else.

Overall, I still really love this setup and I wish it worked better for me for everyday! If my job wasn't running around in a public building all day--if I had an office job or even my own desk, it would still work fine for me, I think. Though I've switched to other setups, I think the TN is more elegant, and I prefer its compact minimalism. For now, I'll have to consider that simplicity aspirational.

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Blackwing Reporter Pad Review

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

Blackwing is pretty well known for their wood-case pencils, but it's easy to forget that they also dabble in paper products these days. I've tried a few of their notebooks and notepads over the years, so I was intrigued to take the Reporter Pad for a spin and see how the uncommon size worked in practice.

The reporter notebook isn't something I'd say is ubiquitous in the stationery realm. It's a unique format, but it also isn't standardized (not even a little) in size, binding type, or even whether or not it has an elastic band to keep it closed. I think the name for this notebook style comes from the idea of journalists taking notes on something that easily fits in one hand so that they can jot down notes while standing. If you've ever tried doing this, you'll know it's not convenient even with the perfectly sized notebook!

Times change, though, and I'm not sure how often these notebooks are used nowadays with digital recorders, cameras, smartphones, and computers. I remember visiting a news office once and seeing a few boxes of these notebooks on a shelf next to some other standard office supplies. I've always associated the reporters notebook to journalists just like many of us associate yellow legal pads to attorneys.

To me, a reporters notebook is just another small notebook that fits in the hand and is bound at the top. There are lots of notebooks and notepads that fit this description, so I guess the "reporter" nomenclature is mostly (totally?) meaningless. That being said, I do love a good top-bound notebook. I firmly believe that we need more of them in the world, so I'm happy to see new options regardless of what they're called.

The Blackwing Reporter Pad is a small, spiral top-bound notepad that features an on-brand black cardstock cover that has an elastic band to keep it closed. Interestingly, the cover is one big piece (as opposed to being two identical pieces — front and back) that folds back on itself while also being attached to the spiral binding. It's interesting, and I'm not sure I like it. When you fold the front cover back, it extends past the bottom of the notebook by an inch or more and tends to get in the way when writing. I wish it was flush to the bottom of the notebook when it's folded back. It's not a deal-breaker, but it is a frustration that I've felt several times while using this notepad.

The notepad measures in at 3 x 6.25 inches or 7.6 x 15.9 cm, so it's just a little taller and skinnier than a typical 3.5 x 5.5 notebook. The extra height means there's a few extra lines of space on each page, and the small difference in the width isn't really noticeable when writing. It does make the notebook easy to stow into smaller pockets, though. I like the size of this notepad and have enjoyed using it. I tend to write on the smaller side, so take that into consideration.

The dot grid pattern on the paper is perfect for how I like to use notebooks like this that are meant to be carried around. If I want to write, the dot grid pattern provides plenty of structure. If I want to sketch, the pattern can disappear. And if I want to draw up some rough designs, the grid pattern is really helpful for drawing measurements and estimating scale. If you prefer a ruled notebook, that's also an option!

There are 80 sheets (160 pages) in each notebook, and they're filled with 80 gsm ivory paper. The paper is smooth and works well with every ink or pencil I've tried with it so far. There is a bit of show-through on the back side of the page if you're using a gel or rollerball pen, but it's not that bad. The back of the page is completely usable. With the fountain pens I tried, there was no feathering to be seen, and the paper felt great when writing.

Overall, these are good notebooks that fit a small size category that really interests me. I'm not a huge fan of how the front cover hangs so far below the bottom of the notepad when you fold it over, but it's not that bad. There are plenty of other small, top-bound notebooks and notepads out there, but this is a unique and easy-to-use size that I think has a permanent spot in my notebook rotation.

A pack of two notepads is $12, and I encourage you to try them out if this size and format seems interesting.

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

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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.

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