Review: Paper Oh Notebooks @PaperOh

ABOUT

QUADRO: Black on Red
Size: B5 / 125 x 176 mm
Ruling: Lined
Sheet Count: 112 pages
Magnetic flap closure

PURO: Teal
Size: A5 / 148 x 210 mm
Ruling: Lined
Sheet Count: 112 pages
Pocket in back cover

CIRCULO: Blue on Grey
Size: A4 / 210 x 297 mm
Ruling: Lined
Sheet Count: 112 pages
Magnetic flap closure

Price: ~$10.95 - 12.95
Where to buy: Notegeist

APPEARANCE

B5 Quadro/A5 Circulo

These two notebooks have the same design, except one is much bigger. The Quadro has a red base with a black square top. The Circulo has a grey base and a blue circular top. Both have magnetic flap closures from the back cover, which fold over the right side of the notebook and secure on to the front cover.

A5 Puro

I think the Puro is much prettier. The cover is a deep, metallic teal with what looks like three long leaves on it. The Quadro and Circulo are cute but I like the shimmery cover of the Puro. I also prefer the notebook without the magnetic closure.

All three notebooks come with a small bookmark and a quirky little booklet. The booklet shows the two ways to use the bookmark, and it also talks about the notebooks. The paper in all three notebooks is lined with a fine, grey ruling. It is a nice ruling - not too narrow, or wide. It's not so light that it's hard to see, and it's not so dark that it obstructs reading and writing. The paper is a light cream color - it's easy on the eyes.

The notebooks are all fairly thin, which I like. Overall, they're quite similar except for the cover designs.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

The notebooks, as I mentioned, are fairly thin. I think it's a nice thickness - easy to write on. I like it for that reason, but also because it's convenient and portable, even in the A5 (it slips into a folio well). I don't care much for the magnetic closures because when the notebook is open, the extra flap takes up more space. It can lie flat, or be tucked under the notebook, but it gets in my way. I don't really benefit from it, so I prefer the Puro as it is without it. The Puro also has the little pocket in the back cover, which I find more useful.

The covers are firm and a little thick, but not too stiff, so they can bend a little. The binding is quite decent - I like that it allows the notebooks to open completely, and lie flat. This tidy binding contributes to the sleek, portable profile of the notebooks.

The paper is smooth to the touch and feels nice. It's not coated, so it doesn't look or feel slick. It performed well with pencils, ballpoints, gel pens, and roller balls. There was no feathering, but the roller balls and marker did show and bleed through  a little. Brush pens did not feather either, but the ink was quickly absorbed, giving high bleed through.

The paper barely tolerated fountain pens, even the finer nibs. Everything feathered, there was a lot of bleed through, low shading, no sheens, and because of the way the paper absorbed the ink, some inks appeared to be a different color. On the bright side, this means the drying times were really fast.

Not fountain pen friendly, really, so it's best to stick to pencils and ballpoints and such. I use fountain pens anyway. I use only one side of the page when I do, because of the bleed through, and I don't really care about the feathering that much.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL 

These are pretty, simple notebooks. I appreciate that they are printed on acid-free, sustainable paper, and the paper is unbleached. I think the amount of pages is just right - not too thick, not too thin. I love that it lies flat. That makes it really easy to write in, especially in the case of the A5 size. If you're a fountain pen user exclusively, these notebooks are probably not for you. If you use other writing instruments, they're a good option. There's a lot of designs/covers to choose from, which makes these extra fun.


I received this item free of charge for the purposes of this review. I was not compensated monetarily for my review. Everything you've read here is my own opinion.