JetPens ScoutBooks Notebook Review

One of the coolest items to show up recently at JetPens isn’t a pen or a pencil but rather JetPens own branded ScoutBooks Notebook. The “Pentown” design was done by JetPens very own Shu Yao and I think it turned out wonderfully. I would be happy to live in a place like that!

The notebook features a sturdy chipboard cover and the pages feature a unique box plus grid pattern. The entire notebook is made from 100% recycled paper and vegetable-based inks. What I liked most about this particular notebook is that the pages themselves are very thick (70# white according to the specs). This gives the notebook a nice, sturdy feel that works equally as well in your backpack or back pocket.

Gel inks fared very well on this paper but fountain pen ink and other liquid inks did not. There was some bleed and some show through on the back of the page. You can line up the samples pretty easily in the photos. I’d stick with gel, ballpoint, and pencil if you want to get the most out of your notebook.

I am excited to see JetPens-only products showing up and hopefully there are more to come soon. I’ll keep my eyes peeled!

Maruman Eco Spiral Notebook Review

I am a big fan of all things Maruman. In fact, when I am not using my favorite Doane Paper product at my desk, I usually have the Maruman Inspiration or Imagination in use. Great care has gone into the design of these products and the paper quality is second to none. The Maruman Eco Spiral Notebook is a much different product than either the Inspiration or Imagination. Can it live up to its big brothers in the Maruman product line?

The selling point of the Eco Spiral is right there in the name. It is designed as an eco-friendly notebook alternative. Maruman doesn’t just phone it in with recycled paper either. The paper is FSC certified, which means it comes from responsibly harvested and managed forests. Maruman also uses eco-friendly ink to print the lines on the page and even the coating on the spiral binding is biodegradable.

What concerns me when I see eco-friendly products is the possibility of the quality suffering. That is not the case at all with the Eco Spiral. The paper is very smooth and handled every ink I threw at it with ease. There was no bleed or feathering with the exception of the TUL Permanent Marker, which is to be expected. An impressive performance for a very thin page.

Each Eco Spiral contains just 30 sheets, so that is somewhat of a downside. Students will enjoy the size and portability, and they make great project notebooks, but for any large scale or long term needs you might want a bigger notebook. But, if you are looking for a high quality eco-friendly notebook, I haven’t used any better.

Milan P1 Touch Ballpoint and Guerrero Notebook Review

I am very lucky to have made some great friends over the years here at The Pen Addict. This review includes products from two of my favorite world-travelers: Carmen sent me the blue Milan P1 Touch she picked up while in Spain last year, and Hen from Rad and Hungry sent me the black Milan P1 plus a Guerrero Notebook from the STMT X Spain Kit, the final kit from last year’s world tour. Hooray for Spain!

The Milan ballpoints are very nice to write with. The barrel is coated in a very thin rubber which provides a good gripping surface and the entire pen feels solidly constructed. I thought I was going to prefer writing with the blue ink more than the black, but the opposite was actually the case.

Both inks are smooth, but when compared to each other the blue comes out looking very streaky. The black is one of the darker ballpoint inks I have used, almost making me think it is a hybrid ink like the Pentel Vicuna. It is that dark.

The Guerrero Notebook is a nice paperback that looks ideal for schoolwork. Do any of you remember the blue books from school that you had to take your essay exams in? They are a lot like that. The paper is nice and smooth and is set up well for note taking or writing practice.

I don’t travel to Spain very often (ok, never) but these pens and notebooks would be worth picking up if I did. You should give them a try if you ever have the opportunity. Milan does have a small presence in the US so some of you might be able to find their products locally.