Clairefontaine Triomphe A5 Notebook 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. And her latest book, Root Rot, is now available for pre-order!)

Clairefontaine were my first introduction to good paper. I found them when I was a student in my freshman undergraduate year, and I used them all through school--though back in those ancient times, I had to order them from Europe. It was worth it. Now? I can get as much Clairefontaine as I want from JetPens. I am limited only by the volume of my house.

The Triomphe A5 Notebook is one of their fabulous middle-of-the-road books, as far as cost and quality go. You can get nicer ones for slightly higher cost, and less fancy ones for very low cost--but this one is the Goldilocks. It is A5 size, with lined, white, acid-free paper. There are 48 sheets at 90gsm, and the heavier weight minimizes ghosting, so you can easily use both sides of those sheets.

At 8mm, I do find the line spacing a bit wide for my comfort, but it's the perfect layout for testing broad, juicy fountain pen nibs, as this paper can happily handle it all. Every pen I tried felt great on this paper, and the medium nib I ultimately chose to write with felt like it was gliding across the page. Only the Sharpie, the laser of pens, dotted through at all.

The cover is cardstock, with minimal branding. The single signature is stitched with thread that runs the whole length of the spine, so the notebook lies flat without any worry about pages coming loose. It feels durable. My Clairefontaine notebooks from college, which were the less expensive staple-stitched ones, were tough enough to last an entire semester of daily use, and this one is considerably stronger than that. This nicer one is still only $12 at JetPens, which is a great price for the quality.

These notebooks are perfect for students, for commonplace books, work notebooks--any use where you need a moderate amount of fabulous paper. It almost makes me sad I don't have classes anymore. Almost.

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

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Posted on September 28, 2023 by Sarah Read and filed under Clairefontaine, Notebook Reviews.

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 593 - The Soft Stuff

Myke is out of town, so who better than Mike to fill in? Mike Matteson joins me this week to discuss all things Inkdependence, including his new YouTube milestone, and some of his current favorite inks. We also discuss pen shows, and what we would like to see to make the experience better.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

Squarespace: Save 10% off your first purchase of a website or domain using code PENADDICT.

Factor: Healthy, fully-prepared food delivered to your door.

Posted on September 27, 2023 by Brad Dowdy and filed under Podcast.

Faber-Castell GRIP 2011 Mistletoe Ballpoint Pen Review

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

The thing I love most about ballpoint pens that use the Parker style refill is that I can pick a pen that I like and know that I have a whole lot of options when it comes to what refill I use. This makes a pen much more versatile and useful.

The Faber-Castell GRIP 2011 Mistletoe is a ballpoint pen that features a unique three facet body and round grip dots all over the body and grip. It looks visually interesting due to the odd shape of the barrel and the grid pattern of dots that extend from grip to clip.

The Mistletoe variant of this pen is what gives it the rich metallic color. It's a "Teal Black," but it looks like a dark gray with blue-ish tint in every light I've put it under. Under a high power flash, the blues and greens of the teal come out a bit, but they're still soft. Still, the metallic bits in the paint add a lot of character to the color and work well together with the grip dots and clip colors. Regardless of what the color is called, it's a nice-looking color that I enjoy.

The knock mechanism on this pen is very satisfying to click. It doesn't require a lot of pressure to operate, but it makes a fantastic click sound and crisp feel that reminds me of a clicky mechanical keyboard switch. If you're familiar with the Parker Jotter knock, you might know how heavy duty and noisy it is. It's also satisfying, but in a different way. The GRIP 2011 click is much gentler and refined, and I absolutely enjoy clicking it.

The clip on this pen is incredibly strong. It's difficult to lift with your finger, but it has no problem sliding over a pocket or bit of fabric. The clip strength means this pen is secure when attached to something. I really appreciate how strong the grip is while also being incredibly easy to use. In my book, a weak clip that causes you to lose a pen is as bad as a clip that is too strong and stubborn and requires two hands to remove.

The nose of the pen unscrews from the grip section so you can replace the refill. The seam for the cone can be hard to spot because it blends in really well with the body. Since this is a Parker-style refill, you can roll with any number of excellent refill options. The included refill is really great, though. It's a blue 1.0 mm refill that is really smooth and consistent. The blue ink is on the darker side, but still easy to distinguish.

Combine the smooth refill with the three-facet body, and you've got a really comfortable pen. I like the grip provided by the three sides and the grippy dots, and I think the shape should work with many styles of grip, not just the three-finger grip that is considered "standard."

The Faber-Castell GRIP 2011 is a little longer than most pens that use a Parker-style refill. One of the perks of this refill is that it's short but still packs a lot of ink supply. But, there's no reason the pen has to be shorter — in the case of the GRIP 2011, the extra centimeters of length give the pen a great balance when writing. Whether the length is functional or aesthetic, I like the balance of the finished product.

At $25, the Faber-Castell GRIP 2011 is a unique and well made ballpoint pen option. The pretty color and unique style doesn't look like anything you can buy off the shelf at an office supply store, and you're guaranteed to continue using for (hopefully) the rest of your life given the accessibility of the refill size.

(Vaness Pens provided this product at a discount to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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