Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Tomoe River Kanso B5 Notebook Review

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

Tomoe River paper is something really special that took the stationery world by storm a few years back. It's extremely thin paper that is able to handle a ridiculous amount of ink without bleeding through or feathering across the page. It's a fantastic paper formula, and it's no wonder that everyone wants to get their hands on this stuff. In the beginning, it was difficult to come by, but that's a problem of the past for the most part.

The latest paper product that I've tried that uses Tomoe Paper is Tomoe's own Kanso Notebook. This is a plain B5 notebook with a clean thread binding and 30 sheets of beautiful 52gsm Tomoe River paper. You can also get this notebook in a cream color paper, but the one I have uses bright white paper.

As far as notebook specs go, this one is pretty plain. There is absolutely zero branding on this notebook. The covers are plain white with no words, graphics. or debossed logos. The binding tape is plain black, the corners of the notebook are squared, and the pages are entirely blank. If Tomoe River were competing in a minimalistic notebook contest, they've won it with the Kanso.

Honestly, I'm fine with the lack of branding on this notebook. It's all business, and I'm sure that knocks a few cents off the end price as well. What everyone really cares about in this notebook is the paper. It's fabulous. Writing on Tomoe River paper is a smooth experience. There's very little feedback on the nib, but just enough to let you control your strokes. I've never been able to make a pen or ink cause bleeding or feathering on Tomoe River paper. Show through is a problem, but that's due to the extreme thinness of this paper. It's the main downside of this paper, but I suspect everyone is already aware of that before they purchase any Tomoe River products. Dry time is fairly quick due to how quickly this paper absorbs the ink. But, you'll need to be careful and avoid shutting the notebook too quickly after writing, or you'll end up with ink ghosting on the opposite page.

In terms of durability, there's nothing special here. I don't expect the corners of this notebook to hold up very well after a few days of being carried in a bag. The sharp corners are begging to be bent and caught on all kinds of fabric and nearby objects. The cover material isn't very thick, either, so I expect the covers to tear and discolor rapidly. Since B5 is a fairly common notebook size, there are plenty of options for covering this notebook with a folio, case, or binder of some kind. My preferred cover is the Kokuyo Systemic, but there are plenty of other options if you look around.

Overall, I'm really pleased with the Kanso notebook! It's a no-frills worker of a notebook that showcases the wonderful Tomoe River paper. At $15, it's a good deal considering how much Tomoe River paper normally costs. This is a great introductory price and notebook format to try if you've never had the pleasure of using Tomoe River paper!

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

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Posted on April 15, 2020 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Tomoe River, Notebook Reviews.

Kamiterior Memoterior Colors Memo Pad Review

You know I’m a Japanese stationery junkie right? Ok, if this is your first time here, maybe not, but for those that have been around a while, you know that I love seeing products like the Kamiterior Memoterior Colors Memo Pad.

I unboxed the Sakura Momo pad on stream recently, and the first words out of my mouth were along the lines of “Oh yeah, this is awesome!” I genuinely do care about simple, unique stationery products like this one, and am happy to test them out whenever I can.

I first learned of the concept of “Paper Tasting” from Yamamoto Paper. In a nutshell, a maker will supply you with a sampling of various paper types in a single package, with the package having an overall theme. It could be color, paper texture, suggested ink usage, and more. Yamamoto goes as far as providing a fully-translated product sheet with each set, and the preferred media use for the paper included.

The Kamiterior Memoterior Colors Memo Pad doesn’t take things quite that far, but they do provide a fun take on the whole idea of paper tasting. Each pad consists of ten 3.6” x 5.0” sheets of ten different types of paper. The theme is color, as I chose the pink Sakura Momo, and there are three other sets featuring blue, brown, and black sheets.

What you will find between the cover of each memo pad is a range of styles, from light textures to heavy, light shades to bright, and absorbent to not so much. I was able to remove the first sheet of each paper type from the pad, which is lightly glue bound to hold the entire group together. It held together nicely, so don’t worry too much if you want to hop around from color to color.

The ten paper styles are listed on a sheet packaged with the memo pad, and I think I’ve found the proper translation of each sheet from the Kameterior product page (matched to my numbers):

1 - Libero (pink)

2 - Sagan GA (rose)

3 - Polka Reid (peach)

4 - Tanto (L-50)

5 - Minute GA (Airy Pink)

6 - Cotton Life S (Cherry)

7 - Eco Japan R (Sakuragi)

8 - Mofuru (Peché)

9 - New Atmos (Botan)

10 - OK Muse Cotton (Sakuragai)

None of that means much to me other than Eco or Cotton, but it is still a way to tell the different papers apart, especially if there is one you like more than the rest.

Numbers 1, 6, and 10 are definitely Cotton-type paper from the texture alone. 10 is hugely absorbent and one of my least favorites. In the notes I wrote as I tested these out I likened it to blotter paper. My notes also included “Ishime” next to numbers 2 and 4, meaning the paper has a texture similar to the bumpy nature of the Ishime fountain pen finish. It wasn’t particularly enjoyable outside of pencils.

I wish I knew what Minute GA is, or if the translation was correct, so I could avoid it in the future. It’s essentially like writing on textured vinyl, which is not the best experience. That said, all of the ink types stuck to this page shockingly well.

The standout paper for me was number three, Polka Reid (peach). I don’t know what that means, but I would take an entire pad of it. That’s what makes a set like this fun. Getting to play with different paper types, and deciding how they work for you.

And a lot of them won’t, as you can see from my notes. But that doesn’t mean I don’t like the product. In fact, I love it and would recommend it. It’s a relatively inexpensive way ($11 for 100 sheets) to test a wide range of paper types, and who knows what you will find when you test them out for yourself.

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

Posted on April 13, 2020 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Kamiterior, Notebook Reviews.

Kokuyo Campus Smart Ring Binder Review

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

Back in my grade school days, I was a big fan of three-ring binders. They were a great way to store paper, dividers, pouches, and other nifty paper tools, while also offering unlimited options in terms of sorting pages, adding more pages, reusing binders for other purposes, and just keeping schoolwork contained. I even remember keeping a pack of loose-leaf paper hole stickers handy in case a page ripped out by accident. Just throw a few stickers around the binder holes and it was almost as good as new! Obviously, the need for these O-shaped stickers were the result of a common problem: three-ring binder paper had a critical flaw. It's way too easy to accidentally rip a page out since there are only three rings to distribute the weight and wear. It's much hard to accidentally tear a page out of a spiral notebook, though.

That's the thinking behind Kokuyo's Campus Smart Ring binder notebook line. They're slim and light binder spines with translucent plastic covers that come in a variety of colors to keep your notes safe and secure. Just like with three-ring binders, you can re-arrange pages by opening the rings. The Smart Ring binders are also very small, which means they take up less space in your bag. The real product here is the B5-sized binder, but they do include 10 sheets of Kokuyo Campus Sarasara paper as a starter kit. You can purchase other kinds of paper separately, which is both convenient (to tailor to your preferences) and annoying (similar to buying a multi-pen and finding out it doesn't include any refills). The binder can hold a maximum of 60 sheets. In my experience, the paper is identical to what you find in other Kokuyo Campus notebooks.

And, just like the old three-ring binders, there's a combination of mechanical tabs and springs that control the opening and closing of the rings...sort of. Since there are 26 rings on this binder, you can imagine it's a bit more difficult to open and close, as well as insert and re-arrange pages. Still, it's not as fiddly as you might imagine.

So, how does it work? Luckily, Kokuyo includes an instruction sheet with pictures of how to operate the binder. The small tab at the top of the binder is a lock, so after unlocking the rings, just push down and the rings pop open. At least, that's what the instruction say. I've found it a bit more fiddly and mushy than I'd like. There isn't really a good place for your other hand to hold the binder while you apply force to the top part. It's very small, and the plastic does feel a bit fragile, and I was very worried that I'd just break the thing into a million pieces. But, I can say it can definitely withstand some abuse and it's stronger than it looks (and feels). Once you apply enough force, the teeth will start to open, and then you can simply pry them open with your fingers. Once a couple of rings start the spread the other couple dozen follow suite very quickly. To close the binder, just squeeze the rings shut and lock the binder.

This looks like a really cool system for picking and swapping out paper types, but I can't really recommend it after using it for a while. If you plan to buy a binder along with an assortment of paper that will fit your purposes exactly, and you also don't plan on opening the rings very often, it will work great. I find the binder to be too fiddly and frustrating to use, and I also do not like that the instructions tell me not to fold the notebook back onto itself. That's the whole point of a spiral notebook! I'd much rather use a traditional spiral notebook. Luckily, you can pick up Kokuyo Campus notebooks for a great price and still enjoy the great paper.

I may be alone in this viewpoint, but I find it very difficult to beat the old three-ring binder in terms of usability and convenience. Sure, the three hole system isn't as durable as others, but the convenience factor is just so high. You can find loose paper you love and quickly punch holes to fill notebooks. The possibilities really are endless.

I'm also a really big fan of the Levenger Circa products (and the great copycat version that Staples offers. These disc systems are really powerful and surprisingly sturdy. And of course, they offer their own proprietary hole punchers so you can use any paper you want.

At the end of the day, I can't really recommend the Kokuyo Campus Smart Ring binder system to anyone unless you already know it will fit your needs exactly. If you're looking to experiment with loose leaf binder systems, start with the options I listed above!

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

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