Review: Versanote Journal @mobolifestyle

ABOUT

Size: Medium
Color: Pink & Ivory
Ruling: See below - grid, lined, combo
Page Count: 160
Price: $16.00USD
Where to buy: MoboLifestyle

APPEARANCE

The Versanote is a simple notebook. Mine is the Raspberry Pink journal, with a raspberry pink cover, obviously. The cover is firm, with a matching pink elastic closure and bookmark. The bookmark is satiny and thin. The cover has rounded edges and is debossed with VERSA NOTE. The paper inside is hand-stitched in signatures, also with rounded corners.

The inside cover has a spot to write your name, info, etc. There is a page with note-taking tips, which I think was quite useful and gave me some great ideas.

Then the notebook starts! The paper is ivory with a very interesting ruling. At the back of the notebook, there is a pocket. That's all there is to it.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

I love the feeling and texture of the cover. It's a faux leather that resists water. It's not squishy (for you squishy hardcover haters!), but is soft to the touch. It's held up really well to much use - being tossed in my bag, having keys and machined pens gouge it, and being dropped. It still looks pretty good; not pristine, but classy and used. I really like that.

The notebook is hand made (hand stitched). The paper it came with says this, and that it may not be error-free. If you find an error, Mobo requests you let them know. I think that's pretty cool. I have scoured my notebook thoroughly for errors that may bug me, but I haven't found any actual errors.

The paper feels smooth but not slick. It's advertised to be fountain pen resistant and blotch proof - smart choice of words, because it's not completely fountain pen-friendly. More on that soon.

Pencils were great - it felt like I was actually sketching. The paper isn't so slick that the pencil just glides across the paper. My pencils, even the ones with light lead, gave solid, legible lines. Ballpoints, gel pens, marker pens, a nd artist pens were great as well. Even roller balls worked. Show through was almost non existent, and only wet roller balls showed a little. Brush pens were a lot of fun because they dried fast, did not feather, and didn't bleed.

Fountain pens are fun to use because the paper gives some feedback (since it's not really slick), and I actually enjoy that when I'm practicing my handwriting. It also helps me keep my writing consistent. I experienced almost no feathering with normal writing, but a little bit of ghosting with wet writers. There was some bleed through though - so the paper is fountain pen resistant, but not ink proof.

Particles were visible, shading was toned down, and sheen was toned down either completely or quite a bit. Flex nibs seem to be too wet to use - bleed through and ghosting became too frequent. Drying times were pretty fast.

I can't really draw, but I love the idea that you can use this notebook/paper either in portrait or landscape. The grid ruling has three sections and a regular lined ruling. Once you decide what you want to do with the paper, the ruling you want becomes clear. That sounds weird, but it works! If you want to write, the sections divide as you write. If you want to sketch, you can start and the grid is obvious. It's neat.

Image credit: Mobolifestyle

The perforated pages tore out easily and it was really clean, and the notebook opened completely and it lies flat. Great stuff.

PROS

CONS  

OVERALL 

I'd pick this over a Moleskine any day. I love the ruling, I love that it lies flat, I love that all the pages are perforated, and I have filled up half the notebook already because I enjoy writing in it so much. (Also, trying to draw in it.) Fantastic. More colors and special covers like what Moleskine offers could knock Moleskine out!

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.