Word Notebooks Adventure Log Review

I'm a big fan of the movie Moonrise Kingdom, and when I first laid eyes on the Word Notebooks Adventure Log I thought this is totally a notebook Sam would use. The artwork and color choices of the Adventure Log are a throwback to a simpler time where we could capture our travels and dreams in the most analog way possible - with pencil and paper.

The Adventure Log is laid out so you can capture the highlights from your recent travels, a day trip, or even that fantasy camping trip you hope to have someday. There are fields for date, location, conditions, companions, and notes, all of which are not too big, and not too small. It's just right for capturing the most important details.

As with other Word Notebook products, the Adventure Log is made with quality Made in the USA materials. It screams "use pencil in here" to me, so that's exactly what I did, choosing my Metal Shop Bullet Pencil from Kickstarter. The royal blue anodized aluminum barrel loaded with a Blackwing 602 pencil nub are the perfect match.

Pens work well in the Adventure Log too, including fountain pens. This is a carryover from Word Notebooks other products. There is only minor bleed, feathering, and ghosting no matter the pen I used. Gel inks performed the best, which is to be expected, but don't hesitate to use almost any pen inside this notebook.

Is this a product I am going to use every day? Of course not. But it is a very cool item for those looking to capture bits of their travel, especially as we head into the summer months. In fact, I think my kids will get a real kick out of filling these up when they are out of school and bouncing around on vacation.

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

Kaweco Zequenz Notebook Review

I've said it before, and I'm going to say it once more — there really is a notebook out there for every niche purpose, and the Kaweco-branded Zequenz dual notebook is why I'm repeating myself.

So, what's so special about this notebook? Well, it's two notebooks in one. Where most notebooks that feature two types of paper figure out a way to fit both types into the same binding, Kaweco and Zequenz went in another direction. What we have here is a bizarre double-sided notebook. If you look at the book from the top, the covers seem to form an S shape, with binding inside both curves of the S. In theory, this seems like a pretty great idea. Want lined paper? Great — just open one side of the notebook. Ready to switch to plain paper? No problem — just flip that bad boy over and you're all set.

As much as I wished a novel idea like this was successful in practice, I just can't say so in this case. I was a big fan of the show Flight of the Conchords back in its day, and there's a scene in the show where Bret, while trying to be thoughtful, glues his buddy Jemaine's cell phone and camera together, dubbing it a "cameraphone." It was really sweet of Bret to go out of his way to upgrade Jemaine's phone and camera, but Jemaine later admits that he thinks Bret kind of ruined his phone and his camera. Yep, I feel the same way about this notebook.

The notebook looks interesting from the outside, but once you start using it, it quickly loses its appeal. And, bear in mind that I'm just one dude with his own picky preferences for writing instruments and stationery, so don't let that dissuade you if double-sided, thick notebooks are your bag.

Comfort

One of the big things that made it difficult for me to like this notebook was the thickness. When you put two notebooks back to back, it stands pretty tall when laid on a desk. It's probably an inch and a half or more in height. Also consider its small footprint, and you have a notebook that is difficult to write in. I might be alone this (I've never talked to other people about this preference), but I don't enjoy writing in notebooks or pads that are very tall. It just doesn't fit with my writing style and grip as I feel like there's nowhere for my hand to rest. If I put my hand on the table like I normally do, then my wrist is at an awkward angle due to the tall notebook. If I try to keep my hand off the table, I have to float my writing hand above the notebook, and this just produces unreadable scrawls.

Stiff binding

Another issue that I couldn't ignore was how stiff the binding is. It's impossible for this notebook to lie open without assistance from your other hand. Otherwise, it just snaps shut. It doesn't appear to get any better with use, either.

Paper quality

The paper quality — this is where I was truly disappointed. Why? Because Kaweco put their brand on the covers. If a fountain pen company places their logo on a paper product, one has reasonable cause to believe that the paper plays well with fountain pens, right? That was my assumption, and therefore you can understand my disappointment when I tried out a few pens on both sides of the notebook and discovered there was lots of bleeding, feathering, and show-through. These problems weren't isolated to wet, wide nibbed pens, but any fountain pen — even small nibbed Japanese pens. I was disappointed by the paper performance, and honestly I think Kaweco should be ashamed of putting their logo on it.

Apart from the feathering/bleeding issues, the paper has an unpleasant tooth that seemed to catch nibs at inopportune moments. Overall, definitely one of the worst papers I've tested.

The band closure

On another note, this notebook also includes an elastic band that you can use to keep the notebook closed. This band also includes a small pen loop that does a pretty awesome job at keeping your pen secured to the notebook. It's really tight, and can therefore require a bit of work, but it's also very secure and makes you feel like your pen is safe for your travels.

The downside to this elastic band is that it isn't attached to the notebook. It's a separate piece and requires two hands to operate both when removing or placing on the notebook. It's a nice feature, but I just wish it was as easy to use as your standard Rhodia/Leuchtturm/Moleskine band.

Conclusion

Basically, don't buy this notebook unless you want a double sided book that you intend to use with gel pens and ballpoints. The unique attribute of this notebook isn't enough to outweigh the fact that it just doesn't perform as a notebook. At the end of the day, notebooks are for writing in, and this one doesn't do a great job in that regard. I think notebooks that are branded by pen/pencil makers are a great idea, and I hope that Kaweco continues with this by selecting a better paper partner for their future products.

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

Midori Color Paper Notebook A5 Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

The Midori Color Paper Notebook is a 28-sheet (56 pages front and back) staple-bound, soft-cover notebook in A5 (8x6 inches). The series, which comes in several colors, including pink, blue-green, purple, yellow, brown, and yellow-green, is meant to evoke French macaron's, with darker colors on the outside and softer colors on the inside.

Each notebook has an oval heading area on the cover outlined in gold (this shape is based on the macaron). The pages inside are lined in gray ink with 6.5mm spacing. The paper weight is not indicated on the notebook, the JetPens website, or the Midori website, but it is heavy enough to handle fountain pens (see below).

The notebook offers plenty of lines per page for writing substantial thoughts, but it is small enough to fit in a larger notebook or a purse. These notebooks stand out from other Midori notebooks because of their bright covers and pastel interiors. They are well made, but they won't hold up to heavy abuse. The card stock cover is fairly light and bends easily. Pages are not perforated so if you want to remove one, you'll have to tear it out carefully. The notebook does not lie flat on its own, though you could probably bend the cover backwards to help it stay open.

The paper holds up well to different pens and inks. I tested it with most of my fountain pens, each with a different color of ink, as well as a few other kinds of pens.

Although in my first test, the Pelikan Jade ink in my Omas bled and feathered, I think this is because I had just refilled the pen.

When I re-tested that particular ink and pen, the paper handled it fine.

Even my broadest, wettest nib (a Nakaya music nib inked with Sailor Yama-Dori) did not bleed through or feather.

There was, however, some show-through with several of the inks. Thus, if you plan on using fountain pens, you might want to use only one side of the pages, which means you'll only get 28 pages per notebook.

Although the Midori Color Notebook is nicely made, it is not something I would likely use. For journaling, I prefer notebooks with more pages that can be put in a refillable cover. For people who like to have multiple notebooks for different tasks, however, these might be quite useful. For example, a student could use a different color notebook for each class (though he/she wouldn't be able to take copious notes). A person who keeps a gratitude journal could use a different color each month and rotate them. They would make beautiful guest books for baby or bridal showers. I suspect these notebooks will be popular with many people.

The Midori Color Notebook can be purchased at JetPens for $3.25 a piece.

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