Have had several thoughts about notebook size and brand recently, so I thought I would write them here. No pictures here — you can google the look and review of each item yourself.
Also this may be a half rant.
My thought on paper size
A4 & B5
I find these size to be too big for regular use, but they are godsend for studying. Personally, I find A4 notebook to be too large when you spread them on your table, so I prefer something that’s spiral bound. B5 notebook is good because it match the size of most textbook so they can be stored together neatly. They are still big when spread on the desk, but is still manageable.
Personally, in my coursework I use Mnemosyne A4 Lined notebook. They can be torn out to a perfect A4 paper size, and I sorted them in my clear file for each subject.
For B5, I have one Apica Premium CD which I used for my Kanji Studying. B5 size is also pretty good for lab-chart where you want a large amount of information on one page, but I tend to just use the A4 paper for those, so I don’t use B5 very much, especially now that I mostly moved all my studying to e-ink tablet.
Another thing people do is to doodle/draw. I don’t have a lot of experience on this so I won’t be commenting.
Purpose: Study, Doodle.
Recommendation (A4): MD Note, Mnemosyne, (Tsubame Fools1), (Life Noble1), (Nakabayashi1).
Recommendation (B5): Mnemosyne, (Apica CD1), (Tsubame Fools1), (Life Noble1), (Nakabayashi1).
A5/A5 Slim
This is the most common notebook size. And it’s actually the size I don’t like the most. I find A5 size to be the “compromise” size. It isn’t big like A4 or B5, but still plenty big. It is obviously popular, as almost every brand do A5 size.
To be honest the only thing I like about A5 size is then they open to A4 size, and that’s it. I do have several A5 notebook, because it is definitely a good compromise size, but it does not exist me.
A5 Slim is the Traveller’s Notebook standard size. Many people like them but I don’t. I prefer the Traveller’s Notebok Passport size, if I were to use them.
Purpose: General note-taking.
Recommendation: Pretty much everything has A5 size, including MD Note (+Cotton), Mnemosyne, Monokaki, (Stalogy, Apica CD, Tsubame Fools, Life Noble, Nakabayashi, + bespoke Tomoe River notebooks)1. Traveller’s Notebook Standard (A5 Slim)1.
B6/B6 Slim
I will be honest: B6 Slim is my favourite size of notebook. Small enough to be carried in my pocket if I wanted. Small enough to be used everywhere. Large enough to get some work done.
Regular B6 is good too, but they are a little to wide to fit in my pocket. They are nice as a table-note IMO. I like this size much more than the A5.
Purpose: General note-taking.
Recommendation: MD Note (B6 Slim), (Stalogy1), (Life Noble1), (Midori Yuru Log1).
A6
Another weird size IMO. It’s a little to be to put in pocket, but still pretty small. More like a purse notebook? It also works well as a desk notebook, and probably as a commonplace notebook too if you are into one. Hobonichi Techo, one of the most popular planners/journals, also come in A6 by default.
Purpose: Larger Pocket Notebook?
Recommendation: MD Note, (Stalogy1), (Apica CD1), (Life Noble1).
B7/Passport
Well, personally I prefer A7 more but they are really small so if you are looking for pocket notebook that’s a little bit bigger, this is for you. Also, get a Traveller’s Notebook Passport Size if you like this size. That’s it. No real competition in this space.
Purpose: Pocket Notebook
Recommendation: Traveller’s Notebook Passport, Monokaki Pocket2, (Yamamoto Ro-Biki1).
A7
I love A7 notebook. They fit everywhere, unlike B7/Passport where they can be a little to big sometimes. Heck, I wrote a whole post about my A7-sized planner. I love them. Especially now that MD Note has a new line-up of A7-size notebook.
I also use Midori Patto as my paperpad. They are taller than A7 but they come with MD Paper so that’s a tradeoff.
Purpose: Pocket Notebook
Recommendation: MD Note, Midori Patto, Mnemosyne, (Apica CD1), (LIFE Noble A71).
My Notebook/Paper Review
Here I will list the notebooks and/or papers I have used in the context of fountain pen, and my experience with them.
The Good
King of Paper: The Tomoe River
Tomoe River is considered the King of Paper in many fountain pen community, and rightly so. The feedback of the paper on the fountain pen nib, the way ink pooled on the paper and how it looks after the ink (eventually) dry. They are really great.
The downsides are: bad ghosting and that they wrinkle easily — sometimes even under the force of writing with fountain pen! They also have long ink drying time.
The main problem: they are discontinued. There is a replacement Tomoe River S paper, but they are not quite the same — I have tried them in a stationery store.
I don’t have a Tomoe River notebook, per se. I think the main reason is that Japan has many great notebooks that no one really bother to use Tomoe River except for the Hobonichi Techo. The Traveller’s Notebook Passport 005 Light Paper Notebook may be Tomoe River, but I don’t think so. The ink just doesn’t pool on the paper like other, genuine Tomoe River paper I have used.
What I have, however, is a lot of loose-leaf packages and paper pads, which is the official Tomoe River products. They are still available on Amazon Japan, and I am thinking of stocking up even though I don’t use them too much.
Colour: White or Cream
Weight: 52gsm
Ghosting: High
Feedback: Low
Softness: Medium
Smoothness: Very Smooth
My Favourite: Kokuyo CYO-BO
Ah. Another discontinued product. I first met the Kokuyo CYO-BO in my local stationery store (in Japan) when I see the Kokuyo Century Record Book (A5). After I wrote the first page on it, I went back and buy their entire stock. The writing feel in this notebook is superb.
The book has 100gsm Kokuyo CYO-BO paper, which is one of the best paper Kokuyo ever made. They are extremely fountain pen friendly, and with its thickness it has very minimal ghosting. It does not show off the ink properties as good as the Tomoe River, but it’s comparable with the rest of this list.
I have not seen this notebook and/or paper available anywhere in a while. I have 4 notebooks left in my collection, and I will miss them once I run out.
Colour: White
Weight: 100gsm
Ghosting: Minimal
Feedback: Low-Medium
Softness: Soft
Smoothness: Smooth
The General Usage: MD Note
This is bar far my favourite paper for general usage. I have tons of them in stock. They are nice, show off ink properties well, no too long drying time, and, best of all, minimalist looks. They also come in my favourite size: B6 slim — big enough for serious usage, and small enough to be put in my pants pockets.
They are relatively cheap in Japan but more expensive in other countries. They come in variety of size and formats, too. The only thing missing is that their general line-up don’t have dot grid — they are only available in the MD Diary line-up, which is A5 only.
Colour: Cream
Weight: 80gsm?
Ghosting: Medium
Feedback: Medium
Softness: Medium
Smoothness: Medium
MD Cotton
This is among the nicest paper to write on. It’s hard to explain, but it’s a luxury feeling, nearly comparable to the Kokuyo CYO-BO. The downsides are that they only come in blank (because they said it’s for sketching/painting), and nowadays only available in weird sizes.
Oh, and they don’t show off ink properties as good as the MD Note due to its more absorbent nature and has more ghosting. But did I mention the luxury writing feel?
Warning
I have only tried the 1st generation MD Cotton Paper. I have not used the renewed paper, which was released around 2020. I do have them in my stockpile though.
The first-generation MD Cotton were released in the same size as the regular MD Notes. I still have an A4 Cotton Notebook in my stockpile and B6 Slim in use.
Colour: White-ish Cream
Weight: 80gsm?
Ghosting: High
Feedback: Medium
Softness: Very Soft
Smoothness: Medium-Rough
Monokaki
I find Monokaki when I was trying to find a Tomoe River notebook in Japan. They come as recommended, and I like them a lot. Their paper is as light as the Tomoe River, but they behave better and don’t wrinkle easily. The delicious ghosting is still there (for those who like them), and they have less feedback than the Tomoe River. They don’t show ink properties as well as the Tomoe River, but I would say they are comparable to the MD Note.
They only come in Semi-B5, A5, B6, A6, and Pocket, though they are pretty hard to find out of Japan. They also don’t have dot grid.
Colour: Cream
Weight: 52gsm?
Ghosting: High
Feedback: Low
Softness: Medium
Smoothness: Very Smooth
Mnemosyne
Maruman Mnemosyne is what I considered to be the versatile line-up. It has pretty much any form factor you ever dreamt of, and probably more. It’s the only spiral-bound notebooks in this list, and it also has perforated line to nearly tear a paper out in a correct size.
They are good for fountain pen. Good, not great. But their varieties made them great all-around notebooks. I used this notebook for all my coursework in my graduate school and I have no complaint at all.
Colour: White
Weight: 80gsm
Ghosting: Medium
Feedback: Low
Softness: Medium
Smoothness: Medium
Bonus: a piece of paper
This is a Thai brand I come across after I returned to Thailand. They make a cute A7-size planner which I describe in my previous post. The paper is pretty good, no feather, no bleed-through, no ghosting, and show reasonable amount of ink sheen/shade. I don’t think they ship internationally though.
The Bad
These are some really disappointing notebooks. That I didn’t expect them to perform this bad.
MUJI Notebook
I bought a 5-book set of B5 lined notebooks from MUJI for 216 yen in 2017. MUJI is generally known for good quality products. But it behaves terribly with fountain pen. My limited research indicate that it depend on the batch: some is good, some is bad. It’s cheap though (at least in Japan), but I wouldn’t buy it. Those notebooks still remain mostly empty to this day.
Verdict: Avoid
Moleskine
As with many people, Moleskine was my introduction to a “nicer” notebooks. As you probably have known already, they are terrible for fountain pen. I wouldn’t touch it, especially with its price.
Verdict: Avoid.
The Ugly
These are probably fine depend on your preference.
Rhodia
Rhodia was my first purchase that I intentionally aimed to buy a fountain-pen friendly paper. It was the Rhodia Pad No.16 Lined A5. To summarise, I hate it. I find the surface too glossy, which make me feel not in control when writing on it. Many people like it though.
Verdict: YMMV.
Apica CD Premium
I have an Apica Premium CD Notebook in B5 Dot Grid that I used primarily for Kanji practising. It is also the only B5 notebook I currently owned. I like it. It’s white and smooth, and do well with fountain pen. In fact, it’s the smoothest of all the notebooks I owned.
However, upon researching on the internet, it seems that people have bad experience with this notebook. Apparently it is only fountain pen friendly up to Fine or Medium nib. I only used Fine or Extra-Fine on this notebook, so I didn’t know about it. It seems to be very well-behaved with marker and gel pen though.
Verdict: YMMV.
The Leftover
I currently have a Stalogy B6 356-days Black (External review) and Life Noble A7 Lined (External review)notebooks in my stockpile. I have not got to them yet, but both Stalogy and Life Noble notebooks are pretty well-received in general. Based on my current information, I would not hesitate to recommend both notebooks.
The No-Idea
There are a bunch of other notebooks I have no idea about and have absolutely no interest to figure out either. I’d just list them here, along with my recommendation based on information I have gathered on the internet. I’d say all of these are in the “Probably Okay” group.
Those I Might Try Someday
- Nakabayashi: This Japanese-brand has many notebook line-ups, all of them seems promising: Yu-sari (B5, A5), Logical Prime (A4, B5, A5), Logical Air Swing (A4, B5), Logical Prime W Ring (A4, B5, A5, A7), among others.
- Apica CD notebook: The regular books seems better-received than the premium version for fountain pen. External review.
- Tsubame Fools: Another big Japanese brand and is pretty famous. External review.
- Yamamoto: They are known for their A5-slim and passport-sized Ro-Biki notebooks. External review.
- Other Midori and Kokuyo Notebooks: Honestly these two brands have so many notebooks that I don’t know about them all.
Those I Would Not Try
- Hobonichi Techo: It previously used the Tomoe River Paper, but some of the new books use the new Tomoe River S, which seems problematic. It generally is good, but I just don’t see myself using any of the dated planner any time. I just like undated planner a lot more.
- Kokuyo Sokuryo Yacho: Interesting little notebooks, but I don’t think it would be a good fit for me. Also not that fountain-pen friendly. External review..
- Field Notes: a popular pocket notebook. Most review tend to point out that it doesn’t work that well with fountain pen. They are cute notebooks though.
- Leuchtturm, Clairefontaine: Probably fine. After being spoiled by Japanese papers and being disappointed in Rhodia, I have no interest in western papers any more.
Final thought
Do you think the list is too Japanese-biased? Too bad; I lived in Japan/live in Thailand and the Japanese notebooks are much easier to find.
But if you checked the fountain pen community — they mostly use Japanese brands too.