Rollo London A6 Hardy Notebook Review

Thank you to Rollo London for sending this notebook for a review!

ABOUT

Size: A6 / 13.8 cm x 9.5 cm
Material: Faux Scotch Grain
Ruling: Narrow Lined
Paper Weight: 70 gsm
Paper color: Cream
Page Count: 96
Sheet Count: 192
Price: £ 16.75
Where to buy: Rollo London

PACKAGING & PRESENTATION

The Rollo London Hardy notebook was shipped in a plastic sleeve. The notebook had a black belly band around it with some notebook details printed on it. As usual, I would rather see a recycled and recyclable paper sleeve instead of plastic. The presentation and packaging are simple.

APPEARANCE

The Hardy is a pocket-sized notebook with hard covers. The covers are a faux Scotch Grain - it is hard and pebbled to the touch and is complete with a black bookmark, a blue elastic closure, and a small gold 3D dog charm on the bottom of the cover. The back cover has the Rollo logo debossed in it. The cutouts where the elastic closure is attached are larger than they should be and it looks a little messy and less refined than the notebook could look had this been tidier. The paper is cream colored with rounded corners and a narrow grey ruling on both sides. The notebook looks like a regular pocket notebook on the inside but the outer material looks unusual, especially as it is faux.

This color is not a color I would have selected for myself - I prefer green, yellow, tans, or something else but the blue is elegant and majestic. Overall, it's quite attractive.

PERFORMANCE & FEEL

The notebook is portable and handy. The elastic closure ensures the covers stay shut, even as I fill the pages. The bookmark is okay - a color-matching version may have made more sense. I rarely ever use the pockets on the back covers of notebooks so this feature is lost on me. I like the firm cover for on-the-go writing as it offers a hard surface.

The notebook opens easily and lies almost flat with minimal spine-bending required. The paper is just average. Definitely a step above a comparable pocket Motesline notebook but not really great. It is easy on the eyes and it has a little tooth. It works well with pencils. Dry, non-blobby ballpoint pens and fine-tipped gel pens were tolerated well. Any wet or inky writers bled, feathered, and/or showed through.

Fountain pens were only an option if I used fine, dry writers. Lighter colored inks showed through the least. I would not say it is horrible with fountain pens but your usage will be quite limited. Shading and sheen are minimal to non-existent. Particles did show up. It's not the kind of paper meant for showing off your inks! It is functional, however. Not my favorite paper but for a pocket notebook on the go, it pairs well with a pencil or ballpoint pen.

I also struggled with the narrow ruling - my ballpoints are not particularly fine-tipped so the 0.7 mm tips filled the lines quickly.

PROS & CONS

OVERALL

This is a pretty cute, good looking pocket notebook option with a few more good things than just another Moleskine. The dog charm is really cute and great if you love dogs - less interesting if you don't. It also sticks out on the inside of the notebook a bit more than I would like. When you write on the left side of the page, you can feel it. This may or may not bother you. Sometimes I noticed it, sometimes I did not. More charm options would be really neat. The paper is just ok if you're looking for a really nice writing experience; it is more so suited to be an attractive pocket notebook to keep in your bag. It's a step above Moleskine, for sure.

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