Filtering by Author: Jeff Abbott

Maruman A5 150-Sheet Spiral Notebook Review

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

There's always room in my stationery stash for another basic, utilitarian notebook — especially when it has a large number of pages.

The Maruman A5 Spiral Note is a 150-sheet (300-page) thick notebook that uses the great paper that Maruman is known for. While I call this "basic," I only mean that in a positive way. Yes, the design is basic and minimal, but the quality is there where it counts. There's not much branding or fluff — just lots of pages.

On the outside, the covers of this notebook are thick craft cardstock that should provide plenty of protection against minor scuffs, but it won't hold up to moisture very well. The covers are plenty to protect the pages from other things inside a bag. Outside of the print on the front cover, there is zero marketing or printing on the inside or back covers. Inside, the first non-page is the only marketing material you'll find, and it's easy to remove if you don't want it.

The paper is the same as other paper I've used in Maruman notebooks. The 80 gsm paper has a 6.5mm ruled line, and there space at the top for a subject, topic, date, or other metadata that you can use or ignore. The pages are all perforated, making it easy to rip individual sheets out. The outer corners of the pages are also rounded off, so they won't easily get caught on things in your bag.

In my testing, all types of ink and graphite work well on this paper. It's mostly smooth with a little bit of feedback. It definitely feels like there's a coating on the paper, but it's light and doesn't keep ink from drying quickly. It's not the same paper that Maruman uses in their Mnemosyne line, but it's still a great paper that performs well.

The binding on this notebook is a stout wire spiral that has a brass finish. I don't think it's real brass, but the color/finish matches the craft aesthetic of the covers. The thick wire will bend if enough force or weight is applied, but it's sturdy enough to be resilient against the typical forces inside a crowded bag.

This is a fantastic line of notebooks from Maruman. I love their sleek black notebooks, but I've always got room for the craft paper style that these notebooks pull off so well. While you can choose from lined or dot grid in some of the notebooks, the large capacity 150-sheet versions only come in lined rule. And, they even come in A4 and B5 sizes too.

At $8.50 for this notebook, it's an incredible value. You get a lot of great paper for this price, and that makes it easy to recommend. This is great if you want a lot of capacity for a single purpose or just something that will last a long time provided you take care of the covers. The Maruman Spiral Note is now one of my top recommendations for no-frills, great quality notebooks available in A5, A4, and B5 sizes.

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

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Posted on May 21, 2025 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Maruman, Notebook Reviews.

Monteverde Ritma 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.)

Continuing in my personal quest to collect as many green things as I can this year, I've been using the Ritma from Monteverde as my pen for taking notes at my desk during the workday. The Ritma is a minimal design that looks great and is easy to use.

It doesn't matter how many amazing fountain pens I have in my collection — I always have room in my daily kit for a humble ballpoint pen. They don't write as well or produce anywhere near the level of beautiful and nuanced lines as my fountain pens, but they're so simple. They utilitarian in a way that fountain pens often struggle. They require little maintenance and can take a lot of punishment. What they gain in utilitarianism, they certainly lose in style and customization.

For a ballpoint to be comfortable for me to use, I'm looking for a few things: a good refill, a comfortable grip, and a balanced weight. At first glance, I didn't think the Ritma would be comfortable to use, but I let the pretty green color convince me to give it a try anyway — and I'm glad I did! It's actually a really comfortable pen to use.

The nose of the pen is shiny and looks like it would be a fingerprint magnet, but it doesn't actually attract a lot of fingerprints. And, when I see a shiny surface finish like this, I automatically assume that it will be slippery to handle and won't work well for writing more than a few words before I get annoyed with the unstable grip. This isn't the case with the Ritma. Whatever finish Monteverde used for the grip are is fantastic. It provides plenty of grip and friction even after writing for a while. This is good news because the nose/grip section is long enough that most people will only grip it by this area instead of the more textured barrel area.

The other factor that makes this pen comfortable to use is the balanced weight. It's not a super lightweight pen — it has some heft, but not so much to cause fatigue after a short period. When holding the pen, it feels like the center of gravity is close to the grip area, with just enough weight at the top of the pen to provide a nice balance when writing so that you have excellent control of the tip. I was surprised by how well it balanced in my hand once I held in my normal writing grip. According to the specifications, the pen is a combination of steel and aluminum. I'm guessing the grip is steel, and the outside of the body is aluminum. The steel materials add an appropriate amount of weight in all the right spots.

To achieve a minimal look, the Ritma uses a twist mechanism to control the refill extension. A half rotation of the grip section is all it takes to extend or retract the refill. You can do this one-handed, but it requires you to do some minor hand gymnastics to shuffle the pen orientation back and forth to operate the twist mechanism and then return to writing position. I normally use both hands to open/close the pen, but I wish it was a bit easier to operate with one hand. This is where the click mechanism wins in use, but they don't look as sleek as this one!

Writing with the Ritma is a great experience. The balance is great for my standard three-finger grip, and I don't feel fatigue after writing a couple of pages non-stop. The refill that ships with the Ritma is a black Monteverde P1, but the pen will accept any Parker-style refill. There are many, many fantastic options in this format, which is another win for the Ritma. You can easily swap in another ballpoint refill (I prefer the Schmidt EasyFlow 9000) or even a gel refill. While the Monteverde refill is good and reliable, I prefer the Schmidt refill because it's smoother and darker. Again, it's great that the pen accepts such a ubiquitous refill so that you can swap in your favorite refill if you want.

Monteverde Ritma Ballpoint Pen Comparison

The Monteverde Ritma is $36, and this feels like a good price for what you get. It feels like a high-quality product when you handle it and write with it, and it looks great too. It's subtle enough to be at home in a professional setting, but it's also sturdy enough to be used in a portable setup with no problems. If you like the design, then this is a great ballpoint pen to pick up for yourself or as a gift. And, if you don't like the green there are several other colors to choose from too!

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

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Posted on May 14, 2025 by Jeff Abbott and filed under Monteverde, Ballpoint, Pen Reviews.

Robert Oster Jade Ink Review

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

Spring is finally making its way to the northern hemisphere, and I've found myself compulsively choosing green whenever it's available. There's something about the cheery green shade that really appeals to me at the moment, and I've decided to lean into it. This applies to all things in my sphere, not just stationery. For my 2025, whenever I buy something new (and assuming the option is there), I'm choosing green. That being said, fountain pen inks are a great place to dive in, because there are so many beautiful green inks out there.

This week, I'm looking at Robert Oster Jade — a lovely medium green with moderate shading and great performance. In terms of the namesake, I think it does a good job of matching the gemstone, though it makes me think of green leaves or blades of grass more often. To me, it seems like a great middle-of-the-range green hue, and the shading elevates from a basic green to something more.

The range of color that the ink exhibits isn't huge, but there's just enough differentiation that is easy to see when used with any nib. The range of greens in this ink is what makes it so life-like and dynamic on the page. Just like leaves, blades of grass, and mineral formations, there's a wide variation of color on the surface that can shift and change with the available light. The shading is what makes this ink so enjoyable to use. Jade is a simple ink that works exceptionally well.

Writing with the ink is on par with any other Robert Oster ink I've used. There's no bleeding or feathering, and the ink starts quickly and without any drama. The flow is good and it provides plenty of lubrication to the nib so that nibs feel smooth when they move across the page.

One thing that the ink doesn't do well is dry quickly. In most cases, the ink takes roughly 25-40 seconds to become fully smudge-proof. It's mostly dry after 20-30 seconds except for the areas where ink naturally pools where the nib changes direction and deposits a little extra ink. This isn't a terrible time for drying, but it won't suit anyone who needs a fast-drying ink.

When it comes to price, Jade is right in line with the rest of the standard Robert Oster lineup. A 50 ml bottle is $19, while a small 4 ml sample vial will set you back $3.75. For me, the bottle is a no-brainer because I know I'll use this ink a lot.

Within a few minutes of testing it out, I already knew that it was in my top tier of ink colors, and the great performance seals the deal. The world is a scary, dark place, and it helps to choose brightness where we can. For me, this ink helps transport me to a happier place when I need a little pick-me-up!

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

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