Posts filed under Notebook Reviews

Midori MD Notebook Light A5 Grid Review

The Midori MD lineup of notebooks has been one of the most popular stationery products in the past couple of years, despite being around for much longer. Over Midori’s history, they have consistently made great goods, and are one of the companies I look to for innovation. In the case of the MD, stripping it down to the basics has done wonders for the brand.

These are simple notebooks, at least from an aesthetic standpoint. Clean, ivory-colored covers, with only a subtle debossed logo on the front. Pale blue lines or grids (or blank), depending on your ruling style. Binding that matches the overall look and feel of each product. These notebooks would look right at home in a Muji store.

Don’t let the simple looks fool you. These are high quality notebooks. We have reviewed several over the years, but I’ve never given my thoughts on them. Clearly I’ve been missing out on the fun!

I’m reviewing the Midori MD Notebook Light A5 Grid, which has several standout features for my personal use. First, and most importantly, the paper quality is elite. It handles all of my fountain pens - from extra fine to broad, from wet to dry - exceptionally well. It doesn’t offer Tomoe level shading and sheen, but it doesn’t need to. It offers enough to where I can enjoy the ink characteristics, and no inks or nibs I tested feathered or bled. There is also minimal ghosting. It’s there, but the back side of the page is completely usable, if that is your thing.

Second, I love the light blue grid. It doesn’t overwhelm the page, which is helped by an incomplete grid. If you look closely, the vertical line in each 5 mm grid section is only about 4 mm tall. That makes it easier on the eyes. We use a similar philosophy on our DotDash grid Nock Co. paper. It helps with the visuals.

Third, the size is perfect. 48 page A5 softcover notebooks are a sweet spot I didn’t know I had. It’s a great combination of size, format, usability, and portability - all things I want in the products I use. In fact, I’ve probably made mistakes in the past grabbing a 200-ish page A5 hardcover notebook for things like (ahem) journaling. The scope of that size notebook can be intimidating if you don’t have a gameplan on how to use it. 48 page books give a sense of completion, and allow you to cycle through different ones more regularly.

Fourth, the price is amazing. These notebooks are a good deal. I don’t know how to say it more plainly that that. A 3-pack of 48 page notebooks is $13. These are $18-$22 notebooks, at a minimum, based on quality and in comparison to the competition. Don’t tell Midori I said that though!

The only negative I see, and one which has honestly kept me from using them sooner, is the ivory page. It’s a darker shade than I prefer for daily use. I like a mostly white background, or if it is going to be ivory, something closer to what Maurman offers. Midori ivory is closer to yellow than white. But, the way every pen or pencil performs on it makes me want to use it.

That’s what I’m looking for in any stationery product: Be so good that I want to use it all the time. Midori MD paper has entered that realm.

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

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Posted on August 12, 2019 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Midori, Notebook Reviews.

Maruai Basic Notebooks Review

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

At this point, most people are familiar with pocket notebooks — pen addicts and non-addicts alike. The popularity of Field Notes in the last several years has opened the flood gates for lower quality, lower cost alternatives in big box retail stores, and it's because the pocket notebook is an invaluable tool. Well, I recently learned that there are pocket notebooks, and then there are pocket notebooks that can fit in the pockets of those aforementioned pocket notebooks.

The Maruai Basic Notebooks line is a selection of miniature notebooks that are even smaller than the standard 3.5" x 5.5" size with which we're all familiar. The "Mini" Notebook comes it at a whopping 3.2" x 2.2", while the "Pocket" Notebook is a much larger 4.1" x 2.4". While both notebooks are quite diminutive in size, they have a lot to offer in quality and easy-to-store-literally-anywhere-ility.

Let's start off with the common aspects of these two notebooks. Both share the same quality paper, which is a pleasant ivory color. I don't know the actual weight of the paper, but it performs about as well as the standard Field Notes paper. I wouldn't say it's fountain pen friendly, but it holds up pretty well. For gel, ballpoint, and hybrid ballpoint inks, it's fantastic. The paper is smooth with a small amount of texture, providing a pleasant level of feedback.

Both notebooks also come with the same color options — Black, Orange, Yellow, Green, Gray, and Navy. The colored covers are simply that — each color uses the same paper and line type, unlike other brands that use the color to indicate the line style on the paper.

The covers are also made of the same robust, textured material. They aren't smooth, and the subtle texture feels great in the hand. They're the weight of a very light cardstock, very similar to other pocket notebook brands.

As far as similarities go, that's the end of the road. The differences at this point aren't gigantic, but they might certainly sway your preference outside of the size option alone.

Starting with the (adorably) smaller Mini notebook, it offers 48 pages in a twin-staple binding. The paper on this size is all blank, so you don't have any decisions to make on that front.

At just over 3 inches tall and 2 inches wide, it shares the dimensions of a credit card. Sure, it's a lot thicker, but that's pretty impressive. Like JetPens claims, you can store this notebook in a credit card slot of a wallet. This shows just how many options you have when it comes to storing this little guy. In fact, it's so small that it becomes prone to being lost. It can easily slip into places other items can't, increasing the likelihood of misplacing it or mysteriously vanishing.

The binding (which is on the side of this notebook) and cover are well made, but once you start using this notebook, it will not stay closed.

Moving on to the larger cousin, the Pocket notebook is only slightly larger, but it also sports a sewn top binding, which completely changes the usage options (at least for me). I've always been a huge fan of top-bound notebooks, and this unique size has been interesting to use.

With 64 pages of 5mm grid paper, this notebook offers the structure many crave. While it won't fit in a credit card slot, it's still incredibly small and capable of fitting places other notebooks can never dream of. I've really enjoyed using this notebook over the Mini because it seems to be easier to use when writing and jotting down quick notes. That might be because it's larger, is top-bound, or a combination of both.

The Mini comes in at $4 and the Pocket is $5.75. This is a premium price considering how you can usually pick up a three-pack of notebooks for around $10 from other makers, and the paper quality isn't amazing by any stretch. To me, this is a niche notebook that fits a size criteria that other notebook makers simply aren't offering at large scale. If you have a specific use for these notebooks and their diminutive size, I'm sure they'll serve you well! As far as notebooks go, they perform quite well for jotting down notes and disappearing when not in use.

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

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Posted on July 3, 2019 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Maruai, Notebook Reviews.

Studio Neat Totebook Notebook Review

I’ve been testing out a new product from my friends Dan and Tom at Studio Neat over the past couple of weeks under the notation REDACTED in my stationery usage log. They gave me an early look and asked me not to share it until it is live, which I’m happy to do. I’m also happy to say that the product is now live!

The Studio Neat Totebook is the portable companion to the desk-bound Panobook and collaborator with the Mark One, their wonderful pen design. Studio Neat is taking over the stationery world!

I’m a big fan of the quality, style, and performance of the Panobook, so my expectations were high for the Totebook. Studio Neat’s design philosophy is present in this new product, with a clean, minimal design, and thoughtful add-ons to what looks like a basic notebook from the outside.

The paper looks, feels, and performs similarly to the Panobook, but spec-wise, it is different. The Totebook uses wood-free paper, which is made via a chemical process as opposed to a mechanical one as used for traditional paper. In use, I wouldn’t have known the difference - I just know that it works well with any pen and paper I threw at it.

My handwritten review was done with the Schmidt P8127 rollerball in blue, which is a wide, wet writer, and it worked flawlessly. The only feathering I saw was with the even wetter Tombow Brush Pen, and the notorious Sharpie Ultra Fine Permanent Marker wasn’t as tragic as I have seen in other notebooks.

I mentioned add-ons above, and the Totebook has a specific one I don’t normally see: The last 8 pages feature a perforation that splits the page into quadrants. I love this, as seen by my chat recap to Dan when I discovered it. I never want to rip pages out of any bound notebook, and this alleviates any hesitancy I have about tearing away. It also ships with spine stickers for help with archiving your notebook when complete.

I love what this notebook is, but I do have two minor quibbles with it. If you know me at all, the first one is easy to pin down: This notebook has no size. Call it smart-sized, right-sized, Neat-sized - whatever you want to call it, but it’s not normal-sized in the common A or B international standards. This is a me problem, and one of the hills I will apparently die on one day, but I like notebook sizing standards. The best I can come up with for this one is B6-ish.

Secondly, the paper “waves” near the spine. This happens to thicker softcover notebooks from time to time, although I don’t know exactly why. For me, I notice it mostly when I am not writing as opposed to when I am. It doesn’t affect usability, but I can’t help but notice it visually.

The Totebook is made to be small, portable, pliable, have really good paper, and a few bonus extras to boot. It is everything I have come to expect from the Studio Neat Stationery Department, including a more than reasonable $20 for two price tag. If this notebook fits your aesthetic and workflow then it is well worth grabbing a pack or two to add to your portable writing arsenal.

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

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