Review: @BureauDirect Academic Bundle - Pink @Leuchtturm1917 @LT1917UK @Leuchtturm1917c

Bureau Direct sent this Academic Bundle over for me to check out. Naturally, I selected the pink bundle, but there is also a black and blue bundle should you prefer.

The Academic Bundle (£29.95) contains the following goodies:

• Leuchtturm 1917 A5 Whitelines Link Notebook £13.50
• Leuchtturm Pen Loop £2.25
• Faber-Castell Grip Marker Textliner Highlighter £1.65
• Lamy Logo 204 Ballpoint Pen (black and blue) or Lamy Tipo Rollerball Pen (pink) £4.50
• Tombow Mini Glue Tape £2.95
• Brunnen Sharpener £1.99
• Brunnen Klick Eraser £1.60
• Set Square (I received a Brunnen Pocket Hole Punch instead of the set square) £1.79
• Brunnen 15cm Ruler £0.69

That's a pretty decent sent of goodies, and quite a few things to get you started in your new school year. At £29.95, that's not too shabby. You save about £1.00 buying the bundle, but it's more so the fun of getting a bundle, isn't it? You're set up with everything you need!

Leuchtturm 1917 A5 Whitelines Link Notebook £13.50

This is a very cool notebook. The Whitelines Link notebook has crossed with Leuchtturm 1917 (a notebook I like anyway) to make a very cool set up. It's my preferred size (A5), it has pretty decent paper, and combined with a smartphone, it can be turned into an instant scanner with some not too shabby quality. 

• Black hard cover book with 249 pages
• 80 GSM paper
• Lined and DOT grid versions
• Orange elastic closure and ribbon marker
• Thread-bound book opens flat
• Storage pocket (back cover)
• Acid-free, ink proof paper
• Numbered pages plus 8 detachable sheets
• Table of contents
• Sticker set for labelling and archiving
• Works with iPhone (minimum version 4) and Android (minimum version 4.0)

Things I love in this notebook: the Whitelines Link paper set up is really easy on the eyes. Light grey paper is not painful to look at. I like that. I also like the colour scheme with the orange highlights. I don't make use of the back pocket storage or the table of contents and detachable sheets, but I can see how that would be very useful.

Pencils and ballpoints work really well - they write really well and clear on the paper and they also scan really well through the app. Rollerballs work very well, too, but are more at risk for bleed through. I did not see any feathering though, which I really hate, so at least there wasn't that.

With fountain pens, there is show through and occasionally bleed through. However, it held up remarkably to very wet nibs and inks did not feather. That's pretty awesome. 

When scanned, it looked really good as well. Clear, clean, precise, and completely legible.

Fountain pens inks shaded really well and in the case of those inks that have sheens, I could see the sheen (my favourite thing!) so thumbs up for that. If you can't stand show through and/or bleed through, you won't like the paper. I don't care about show through or bleed through. Once there isn't feathering, I'm happy. Bonus points for being able to see the sheen. 

The Leuchtturm Pen Loop is handy. It has an adhesive back - just peel off the sticker and affix it to your notebook. I put mine on the front cover because I didn't want it attached to the inner pocket on the back cover, nor did I want it on the outside of the notebook on the back. Of course, this means it's technically upside down but that doesn't really matter. Also, I prefer it on the front cover because it's less in the way when I'm writing. It's decent and elastic so it accommodates a wide range of pens and pencils. Also, it's hot pink. Thumbs up.

The Faber-Castell Grip Marker Textliner Highlighter works well and is also pink, which I fancy. It's comfortable, light, and has a smooth tip. I also like to sniff it, not surprisingly. It glides well on the notebook's paper and is picked up fairly well by the app. It's a little bit on the larger side though, so it will take up some room in your pencil case. 

The Lamy Tipo Rollerball Pen surprised me. I forgot it was a roller ball at first and when I wrote with it, I was blown away by how smooth it was, especially in this notebook. It's lovely, very comfortable, light, and retractable. The tip is nice and broad and writes smoothly. This ink scans really well through the app!

The Tombow Mini Glue Tape is pretty cute and a convenient way to carry some adhesive around. It's a roll of glue tape that comes in a plastic housing. Application is very precise, except limited to places you can roll on to. It's quite sticky, but things can still be peeled off. Yep, I stuck a plaster in my notebook. I used it the next day, too, when I stuck a leather needle through my finger. Another great thing to toss in your pencil case.

The Brunnen Klick Eraser is pretty cool - it has a plastic housing with a little (very tempting to press) button that pops an eraser out with a very satisfying swing. If you're one of those people who has to press every button possible, this eraser is for you. It doesn't smell weird and it doesn't just smear writing around. It also doesn't leave behind a whole load of eraser dust, so as far as erasers go, it's pretty good. It's not huge and tucks well into a pencil case. Like most erasers, eventually it will get to a size that can't be used (which is the size that will remain in the plastic housing). 

The only thing I didn't really care for was the Brunnen Sharpener. The plastic housing had a big crack in it (although it didn't affect its performance), and while it did sharpen my pencils, it did so a little questionably. In a pinch though, it'll do the job.

The Brunnen Pocket Hole Punch is really cute. It can't be attached to anything in this bundle, obviously, but it could go in a binder otherwise. It's a two hole punch and punches one or two pages at a time. There's also a built-in ruler on it. Pretty cute, portable, useful, and lots of colours to pick from, which match the other Brunnen goodies in this bundle!

Last but not least, the Brunnen ruler. It's a simple, translucent pink plastic ruler. Does the job quite well. I really like it. One can never have too many straight rulers. Straight lines are key! The only downside is there are only centimeters on it - no inches.

The Whitelines Link app works really well and is simple to use. Write whatever you want on the page, then open up your app, line up your camera with the four squares in the four corners of the page - the app is pretty good at finding them. It'll help you if you need it. You can also retake images if you aren't satisfied with them. You can't miss those corners!

Left: Picture in progress. Right: After - you have the option to email, send to Evernote, or send to DropBox right away. 

The quality of the images is quite high, especially if you are just using pens. Fountain pen inks came across really clearly, both in clarity and colour, as did the rollerball and ballpoint ink. The pencil lead changed colour a little bit. The highlighter faded a little but for the most part, it's clear what was highlighted.

OVERALL

Overall, the Bureau Academic Bundle is a fun but also useful collection of things you can use around the home or office. My favourite things are definitely the Leuchtturm 1917 A5 Whitelines Link Notebook, the Leuchtturm Pen Loop, and the Tombow Mini Glue Tape. This bundle would make a really great gift though: everything someone would need off the bat!