Clairefontaine Triomphe Stationery: A5 Tablet and Envelopes 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.)

I really wish I wrote more letters than I do. A few years ago, I signed up to be pen pals with several other pen addicts. It was actually really fun. I had an Australian, British, and several American pen friends, and we wrote back and forth for almost a year. But then I got overwhelmed at work and extremely depressed, and I just . . . stopped. I’m really sorry that I did.

Regardless, I still write to a few people occasionally. When I do write letters, I prefer using nice stationery, and Clairefontaine is one of the best brands. I’m reviewing the Clairefontaine A5 blank tablet and the small envelopes.

The A5 tablet has 50 sheets of 90g acid-free, pH neutral paper. The first page is lined so you can use it as a guide. The other pages are smooth-as-silk, pure white paper.

The paper is glued to form a tablet, but pages are easy to remove without tearing them.

I tested the paper with several fountain pens, a rollerball, some gel pens, and a Sharpie. All of them wrote beautifully on this paper.

Although some of the broader nibbed pens’ ink showed through slightly, the only bleed through came from the Sharpie. But I doubt most people would use Sharpie pens to write letters on nice stationery.

The only pen that bled through was the Sharpie (the last lines in green).

The Clairefontaine paper is super smooth, so I tested a few inks for dry times. As I suspected, if you use broad nibs and wet inks, the dry time on this paper is significant. The only ink that dried fairly quickly was Iroshizuku Shin-Kai, and it’s drier than my other Iroshizuku inks. In any case, just keep in mind that fountain pen ink will take some time to dry on this paper. Lefties may find this paper difficult to use.

Although I appeciate that Clairefontaine provides one sheet of lined paper as a guide, the lines aren’t dark enough for me. I love SketchyNotebook’s guides. They are dark and provide a smooth surface on which to write.

The Clairefontaine small envelopes (114mm x 162mm) come in a package of 25. They use the same lovely 90g paper, and they have a peel and stick closure. No licking necessary.

The envelopes hold up just as well as the paper, as you would expect.

I used a cool little template I got from JetPens to address the envelope. It’s called the Lettermate Companion Envelope Addressing Guide. It’s really nice to have something to keep the lines straight.

You can buy Clairefontaine stationery from Goulet Pens. The A5 tablet is just $5.00, and the set of 25 envelopes is also $5.00.

If you’re interested in the SketchyNotebook templates, you can find out more here. And you can get the Lettermate Companion Envelope Addressing Guide for $9.95 at JetPens.

And, hey, if you’re interested in being my pen pal, I’m really awful at it, but we can give it a go.

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

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Kaweco Ice Sport Fountain Pen 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.)

I love wee pens, and of my wee pens, my Kaweco Liliput is one of my favorites. So it's probably weird that I've never tried a Kaweco Sport until now. This delightful little thing is like pen candy. And while it's not for eating, I'd argue that it's perfect for filling a bowl on your coffee table with every color of the rainbow. There may or may not be a few in my JetPens cart right now.

The first thing I said to this pen was, "I'm probably going to break you". The plastic looks fairly meek, and I found myself in awe of all those who have said they eyedropper these pens. But I resolved to not go easy on the little thing. It's been tossed around in my purse, lost in my purse, stuck in folio pockets, and used (often) as a bookmark in my traveler's notebook while that notebook has (often) been stuffed into a bag that already contained too many notebooks. And it's just fine. It's not even scratched. Clearly this wee pen is made of stronger stuff than it looks, but I still won't eyedropper it.

As a pocket pen, it's tiny all over. It is a comfortable length when posted, but the diameter of the section is a bit narrow. It's nice for me, but I can imagine it might be a bit tricky for larger hands. I found it perfectly comfortable for long writing sessions and very handy for making quick notes. The cap screws on, but it only takes a single rotation to unscrew it. One downside is the fact that it's clipless. That's great for a pen that really does just live in a pocket, but less ideal for other uses. A separate clip is available, but it's friction-fit and has a tendency to slip.

It only takes a standard international short cartridge, so there are limited ink colors available unless you refill your cartridge with a syringe. Technically there are some tiny converters made for these pens, but they aren't great. I've been using the blue cartridge that came with it, and it's a pleasant performer, if a little boring.

The nib is lovely. Smooth, but with just the right touch of feedback. It's not super wet, but enough that it doesn't feel dry, either. The German EF nib writes similarly to a Japanese F, which is about what I'd expect. It's fine enough that I've had luck writing on cheaper paper without too much bleed-through. Kaweco nibs aren't always gems out of the box, according to reputation, but I've had good luck with all of mine. And the nibs are easily swapped out, so your favorite nib can travel between pens.

This pen is a tiny workhorse that can take a decent amount of abuse and it's at a price point where I'm not too afraid to take it out into the world with me. It's the perfect grocery-list-crossing, please-fill-out-this-form, jot-down-a-note pen for when you have too much to do and just need a pleasant writing experience to re-center yourself mid-errand. After playing with this pen for a few weeks, the aluminum model rocketed to the top of my "next pen" list. And maybe a few of the Skyline Sports, too.

It's definitely worth checking out if you're looking for a solid little travel buddy. There are tons of beautiful colors and finishes available. You're bound to love one or five of them.

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

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Zequenz Classic 360 Notebook Review

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

The Zequenz Classic 360 journal is one of those rare notebooks that's affordable, easy to find, and really well made. If you go through notebooks fairly quickly, want a range of sizes to choose from, and require good paper, then the Classic 360 is a great option.

The Zequenz Classic 360 notebooks come in a variety of sizes, from pocket (3.5" x 5.5") all the way to large (7.5" x 9.8") in grid, blank, or lined paper. Depending on the size you get, the sheet count is between 120 and 200, which is quite a lot. The model I'm using is called medium (5" x 7"), and I think it's a great size. At 200 sheets, it's a bit thick, but still manages to be roughly the same thickness as a Baron Fig Confidant. At 70gsm, the paper isn't going to win any awards with the fountain pen crowd, but it does handle fountain pen inks fairly well. In my use, some inks feather a tad, but it's not that bad. Also, almost all inks show through on the opposite page, save gel and ballpoint inks. So, if you plan on using these notebooks with a fountain pen or rollerball, you can effectively cut the page count in half since the back sides of pages aren't totally usable.

Despite the thinness of the paper, it's really smooth and enjoyable to use. Even though water-based inks show through, it's a delight to use. Leuchtturm1917 notebooks are similar in price and handle fountain pens and rollerballs with almost not show-through, but you also get about half the number of pages (~249 vs. 400) in the Zequenz notebook. It's a great value for the quality of paper inside, and you can also rest assured that the paper is acid free.

The Zequenz notebooks come in black or red and feature a polyurethane "leather-like" cover that looks and feels very nice. It's very pliable, and Zequenz touts that you can roll the book up. I'm not sure why you'd ever want to do this, but it is indeed possible.

The binding is unique on the Zequenz 360 notebooks in that it is curved. The pages are bound with a strong glue in a slightly curved fashion to improve the strength and usability of the notebook. In practice, this notebook feels well-made and sturdy. Even after bending it back and forth, throwing it in bags, holding it up for long periods, rolling it into a baton of sorts and throwing it back on the desk, it retains its shape and looks no worse for wear. Zequenz have done a great job on the binding for these books.

Unlike most of the competitors in this market, the Zequenz 360 notebooks do not have a fabric bookmark tail for marking your place. However, they do come outfitted with a handy magnetic bookmark so you can easily pick up where you left off. The magnet bookmark is a nice touch and is really easy to use. It's just strong enough to latch onto a single page, but it loses its grip when you put more than ~20 pages between its jaws. Overall, a great tool for the notebook.

Writing in the notebook is a great experience. The paper is smooth with a tiny amount of feedback, and the ruling is very light. Due to the thickness of the notebook, it can be a bit uncomfortable writing on something that's almost an inch tall, but this is true of any thick notebook as you get to the bottom of a page.

Unlike the competitors, the Zequenz notebooks do not feature any front pages for noting your name, email, phone number, etc., and there are no pockets included in the front or back covers. There also isn't an elastic closure band to keep the notebook shut, but I haven't had any problems with this book staying shut on its own.

Overall, the Zequenz Classic 360 notebook is a great value, and one that I've enjoyed carrying around using over the past few weeks. At 200 sheets, it's bound to stick with me for quite a while before it's time for a new one. Based on how it's held up to abuse so far, I have no worries that it will be in great shape when that 400th page is filled up.

(Papier Plume 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.

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!