Bull & Stash "The Stash" Notebook Review

Bull & Stash has been on my radar since their Kickstarter campaign in 2014, and they reached out to me recently to see if I wanted to check out their notebooks. My answer was undoubtedly yes.

Upon first opening the package from Bull & Stash and taking hold of the notebooks, I noticed immediately how soft the leather is. It feels thick enough to make a shoe upper from, but is flexible enough to fold the leather back on itself and not leave a mark. The logo stamp in the lower right is a nice touch.

On the inside, the cover is filled with 50 pages of 60# paper, hole punched to fit through the Chicago screws punched through the back of the cover. Bull and Stash markets the paper on their website as bleed resistant, and I think that is being too generous.

This paper is textured, so almost any water-based ink I tried instantly seeped into the page. Sometimes it didn’t bleed, like with the Schmidt P8127 rollerball, but almost any fountain pen nib and ink combo was a no go. You can see it with the drawing pens too, where if you aren’t moving your pen quickly across the page the ink starts to spread. Ballpoint, gel, and pencil were no issue. Pencil, in fact, was wonderful on this paper, and by far my favorite to use.

You could also solve any paper quality issues by punching your own.

The other issue I had is that the pages are not perforated. This would make a huge difference in functionality, allowing you to cleanly tear out pages while also solving the lay-flat issue. With two posts used to secure the paper, it tears out randomly. You can remove the pages cleanly by unscrewing the posts, but that will get old. If you don’t tear out or remove the pages, you end up with a huge bulk of sheets you have to hold down while working your way through the notebook.

Also, be careful tossing this notebook in a bag. The back side of the screws will rub up against and possibly scratch anything it comes in contact with. Like a MacBook Pro, for example.

This is a very divisive product for me, with almost no middle ground. I can see the leather and the layout being absolutely perfect for some people, while the paper quality and lay flat challenges being a non-starter for others. $50 for The Stash is completely reasonable, and $25 for the Travel Stash even more so. You will need to decide if and how this product fits into your arsenal before taking the plunge.

My thanks to Bull & Stash for sending me this products at no charge for the purposes of this review.

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The Chic Sparrow American Dream Deluxe Notebook Cover (Traveler's Notebook Size): A 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.)

A few weeks ago I did a review on the Camel Traveler's Notebook. Although I like the Traveler's brand notebook covers, I've always wanted a more substantive cover–one with pockets and more elastic bands. So, I ordered a Chic Sparrow notebook in narrow (which fits Traveler's Notebook refills).

Chic Sparrow offers all sorts of leather covers in different styles and colors. I opted for the American Dream Deluxe because I wanted blue leather (a color they call "Tranquility"). The deluxe version includes pockets. You can also opt for embossing, but I didn't want to pay extra for that.

My Chic Sparrow arrived seven business days after I ordered it. It came in a soft mailing package and was wrapped in brown paper tied with twine.

I must say the leather and craftsmanship on this cover are top notch, and I love the Tranquility blue color. The leather is thick and beautifully stitched.

The Chic Sparrow brand is embossed on the back, but the branding is subtle.

There are three card slots and one large pocket inside the front cover and one large pocket inside the back cover.

The notebook has four thick elastics, so you can easily include four (or more) notebooks. The elastic on my American Dream Tranquility is white, which will show every bit of dirt. Unfortunately, you don't get to pick the color of elastic when you order the notebook. I would have preferred a dark blue or turquoise.

The notebook has a leather pen holder stitched into the cover. It's a good size and will accommodate many pens (fountain or otherwise). I discovered my Faber-Castell Ambition in Blue Ocean (review here) is a perfect match for the Tranquility blue.

I've put four notebooks plus my plastic zip holder in the notebook. I'm sure that it could hold several more notebooks, but I don't want it to be too thick.

Chic Sparrow makes their notebooks in small batches. So, when you go to the site, you may discover that the notebook in the style and color you desire is not available. It's worth waiting for the one you want. Just fill out the "in stock reminder" to be emailed when the product is available again. Be sure to order it quickly, though, because they run out fast.

The American Dream Deluxe in Tranquility without embossing costs $89.99 plus shipping. I got 10% off with a coupon since I was a first-time buyer. As always, value is highly subjective. Some people wouldn't want to pay such a high price for a notebook cover. But, for me, the fact that it is handmade and its quality and craftsmanship justify the high price. This is a gorgeous notebook cover, and it is going to be my every-day carry notebook. So, it was well worth it to me because it is going to see lots of use and abuse.

Pros

• This is a beautifully-crafted, handmade notebook cover with excellent-quality leather and precision-stitching.
• Unlike the Traveler's Notebook brand covers, the deluxe ChicSparrow cover comes with four elastic bands and pockets inside the front and back covers.
• The deluxe version also has a leather pen holder that is stitched into the cover and is quite sturdy.
• The Chic Sparrow comes in all sorts of colors, not just brown and black.
• This cover can accommodate at least four notebooks (and plenty more, depending on how thick you're willing to go).

Cons

• The Chic Sparrow notebook cover is more expensive than the Traveler's Notebook brand covers, but you get more bang for your buck.
• You can't choose the elastic color for your notebook. It would be great if they would offer that as an option.
• Because notebooks are made in small batches, you may have to wait a while before you can order the style you desire.

**I purchased the Chic Sparrow American Dream Deluxe in Tranquility with my own funds and was not compensated for this review.

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Clairefontaine Basics Staplebound Pocket Notebook Review

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

For a product that has such a long name, the Clairefontaine Basics Life Unplugged Staplebound Notebooks Duo are a pocket-friendly notebook worthy of respect. I've long been a fan of Clairefontaine paper, and this newest addition to my collection is a new favorite. A 3.5" x 5.5" notebook filled with creamy, white Clairefontaine 90gsm paper is hard to beat.

When I picked up these notebooks to try, my goal was to find something in the pocket notebook category that could handle fountain pens with ease. Well, these notebooks hit the mark perfectly. Let's take a look at the specifics and then look at how they perform in real life.

These notebooks share the same measurements as Field Notes, but their about the same thickness as two Field Notes books. This is good and bad: It's good because you have plenty of paper to use, but it's bad because it means you can pack one less notebook in pockets and sleeves that normally accept two notebooks. Not a big drawback, but just be aware that it might require you to change your carry a bit.

The covers are a thick material that have a textured exterior. It's a strong material, and I'm not worried at all about these things falling apart after daily pocket abuse. The front has a subtle Clairefontaine logo embossed in the lower right corner, and the back cover has a SKU and barcode, as well as some info about the book. Apart from that, there are no other markings on this book — just 96 empty lined pages.

The notebooks are assembled with two staples. I have my doubts about the longevity of this binding system, but time will tell. They feel strong, but I know that Field Notes can get a bit weak at the staple areas, and they have one additional staple over the Clairefontaines. Either way, they seem strong enough for normal use.

As I mentioned briefly before, the paper in these notebooks is exactly like the paper you'll find in any Clairefontaine notebook. That's something I love about their notebooks. Once you've tried their paper in one format, you've tried it all. It's predictable, and it's dependable. Now, if you don't like lined paper, you're out of luck because it's all they make.

As for the paper, it's splendid. It handles inks so well, and it's always been a favorite of mine from day one. The lines are spaced at 7mm, which is similar to a "college rule" in the U.S. The lines are a faded light blue color that's easy enough to ignore if you want to draw or think outside the lines. It's 90gsm paper, so it's bound to handle most pens with ease. It isn't sketching paper, so anything else (like markers, watercolors, etc.) will probably be out of bounds. For writing, it's fantastic.

The paper does a very good job of minimizing show-through on the opposite page. The only way I was able to make it show up in the pictures was by putting the notebook between my camera and a bright light source. Under normal conditions, it's nearly impossible to detect any show through unless you're using an extremely wet nib.

Overall, I'm extremely happy with this notebook. It's a familiar size, familiar paper, and excellent price. At less than $7 for a pair, it's quite a good deal considering how much paper is included. It's become a favorite for me when paired with a Fodderstack XL and a favorite pen. This makes a great mobile writing kit.

These notebooks are available from JetPens in a variety of sizes and colors. For this review, I used the 3.5" x 5.5" Red/Green combo, but you can also get them in Black/Tan. Or, if you want something a little larger, there's always the 5.75" x 8.25" versions in the same colors. Those cost a few dollars more (still less than $10) and are an equally excellent deal.

These are currently my favorite "disposable" journaling notebooks. They don't break the bank, but they still feature some stellar paper inside. Now all we need are some more color options!

(JetPens provided this product at no charge 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, which I am very grateful for.

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