Leuchtturm 145mm x 210mm A5 Medium Dots Notebook - Black

This is exactly what I wanted to draft a novel. It has a couple pages for a table of contents in the beginning, it's very light, and with pages suited for use with a fountain pen. They are numbered so you can see exactly how much progress you've made. The pages are also bright white with a nicely spaced grid pattern, and it makes writing with a fountain pen effortless and quite enjoyable for the smoothness of it. I'm not sure I need 2 bookmarks, but what it nice is that they give you labels to put on the cover and/or spine to mark the book, which helps if you have collection of them, which I intend to build. I have tried every single notebook on the market, and none work quite as well for my purposes. It's a combination of being portable and functional because of how slim and light it is, with a no frills design, but with the sense that you have a journal that you would be happy to write your best work in with you best pen. The sheer lack of any branding or silly quotes, even a logo, makes it better in my mind (obviously you need to remove the cardboard flap). There's just a simple, understated Leuchturm1917, on the inside flap, which makes it feel like grandfather's old journal. This should not be something to praise, but so many other companies screw this up.

For all today’s gadgets, there’s a great deal still to be said for pen and paper. It’s cheap, reliable and you don’t need to worry about the battery life. Setting those practicalities aside, I find great pleasure in a beautiful notebook and a fine fountain pen, though my handwriting still leaves much to be desired. I’m not a alone in this pleasure with a resurgence in paper notebooks and the legendary Moleskine has pushed to the fore. Is it the best? Here we have two lined notebooks, one from Leuchtturm1917 and the other from Moleskine – let’s take a look and find out. Both Moleskine and Leuchtturm draw on their heritage. Moleskine’s dates back into the early 20th Century name-checking Picasso, van Gogh and Hemingway. Although originally French, it died out in the 1980s, only to be resurrected in the late 90s by an Italian publisher. On the other hand, Leuchtturm goes back to 1917 (hence Leuchtturm1917) with roots in Hamburg, Germany and a reputation for stamp collecting albums, which continues today. These stories are laid out by both companies in small cream folded inserts that accompany each book. The message is clear; you aren’t buying only a notebook, you are continuing the traditions of culture, history and travel. Physically both notebooks are very similar but there are subtle and useful differences. I’d call them medium or A5-sized notebooks though strictly the Moleskine isn’t wide enough for A5. Both are 21 cm tall with hardcovers but the Moleskine is only 13 cm compared with the the Leuchtturm‘s 14.5 cm. Each has an elastic enclosure band, page marker and an expandable pocket inside the back cover. They also come in wide range of colours and pair well with 7″ tablets, such as the Nexus 7. Opening the notebooks shows that both have lined pages with the same line spacing, but with the Moleskine, that’s about it. Although both have an Owner page at the front, the Leuchtturm goes further with three Contents pages and each page is numbered for easy reference. In addition, there are eight perforated pages towards the back that can be removed, along with some stickers to assist with archiving once the notebook is full. The Leuchtturm1917 is for those who want to be organised! “Datum / Date” is printed at the top of each page too, which may put people off but suits me fine. Both notebooks have lovely paper which is a joy to write on with pencil and ballpoint. However, the Moleskine has a problem with pen ink bleeding from one side to the other, particularly with black ink, which makes the Leuchtturm a better choice for fountain pen writers. Overall, both the Moleskine and the Leuchtturm are stylish notebooks with a great feel both in the hand and under the pen. For me as a fountain pen owner, the Leuchtterm wins out by default, but the contents pages and page numbering make it my choice for those reasons too. Pencil owners and people looking for something a little neater may prefer the Moleskine. Whichever you choose, you’ll never go back.

This is my first Leuchtturm1917 - I got mine in A5 dot-grid (also a first for me) and I have to say I've fallen in love with it. The dot-grid takes a bit of getting used to, so if you've only ever used single ruled or blank paper before, give it a chance before you dismiss it! The paper isn't be-all-and-end-all quality despite many claims; you will absolutely still get ghosting unless you're using pencils or incredibly fine-nibbed pens, but even my XS Faber-Castell PITT artist pen at 0.1mm shows through. That pen is, however, intended to be permanent which could contribute to the ghosting. That being said, I've also used felt tip markers in it (going over some spots three or four times) and I've yet to see bleed-through. If you can live with ghosting, this is a fantastic notebook. There are two ribbon markers, one plain and one bi-coloured. The elastic matches the cover and is springy enough to make sure your Leuchtturm stays closed without threatening to snap at every movement. There is also a pocket on the inside of the back cover, which I am currently keeping the handily supplied Leuchtturm stickers (three square title stickers, two of which are lined and the other of which is blank, and a few spine stickers). The pages are numbered, barring the three index pages and single blank page at the beginning. The dot-grid is 5mm, which I find is pleasantly spaced for my handwriting but also means that I can fit a lot of that handwriting on one page - one of the things I dislike about cheaper ruled notebooks is that it always feels like the ruling is too far apart and I'm wasting space. All in all, if you don't mind ghosting, give this notebook a chance. It's fantastic for bullet journalers with its built-in index and page numbering, or if you're like me and want a notebook to jot down ideas as and when they appear while still being able to easily reference them, this could be worth a shot.

Like several other reviewers, I've become disappointed with Moleskine products because the weight of their paper is starting resemble the pages of my mum's 1950s school bible. I'm stuck with my 2018 page-a-day pocket diary for now, but having just filled a Rhodia A5 dot notebook (which I use for my bullet journals), I thought I'd try a Leuchtturm. This is a first impressions review, but I don't see why my opinion might change over time, so here we go. The notebook is well made with a sturdy cover that's got a *little* bit of flex; nowhere near enough to call it rigid, but certainly protective and of good quality. The product description from Leuchtturm states that there are 8 removable pages in the book -- you wouldn't know without studying them really hard because the perforations are very fine, but they're the last 8 sheets in the book and part of the set that are numbered. However, the very last one of those 8 (the last page in the book) is actually not detachable because it's glued at the spine to the inside back cover. There are two page markers, one patterned and one plain. Quite handy for a bullet journal to have more than one of these. I tested a range of pens on the (second to) last removable page of my notebook. (read: I sacrificed a page, for SCIENCE!) My go-to pen for my bullet journal is a Pigma Micron 05 and I was NOT disappointed at how this notebook stood up to it. There's virtually no show through at all when you turn the page, and holding the page outside of the book after it's detached, you can barely see the ink at all. I found this to also be the case under several other pen types, including roller gel pens, fountain pens, highlighters and markers. So, if you're fussy about show-through, gel pens and fine markers are both viable options -- unlike the pages of Moleskine books which, in my experience, show quite badly under gel pens. I also found that gel dried slightly faster that it does on Moleskine pages -- less ghosting on the opposite page when you close your notebook quickly after scribbling something down and far more lefty-friendly! The only thing I did notice in the minus column for gel pens was that the paper "gave" more under them. What I mean is that there was a mild indentation when I used a gel pen. The Pigma Micron was "silent" on the reverse of the page. The only two pens I experimented with that bled through the paper were a Sharpie marker and a Letraset Promarker, but those suckers bleed through (almost) EVERYTHING! The pages handle fountain pen ink admirably. I tried two kinds and neither showed through. The paper did buckle temporarily in one case (Diamine Shimmering), but it smoothed out again after the ink had properly dried. Of course the quality of your fountain pen's nib will be a factor, but my experience of writing with both a 1940s Parker 45 Flighter (fine nib) and a 2017 TWSBI 580AL (stub) was smooth and virtually drag-free. A 2B pencil showed up well on the page. A Rotring Isograph (0.4) dragged HORRIBLY, no matter how lightly I tried to use it. I've attached a couple of photos of the front and back of the sacrificed page of my notebook, so you can see for yourself the level of show through. Bonus photos of an attachment-free way of letting your notebook keep your pen handy. I don't know yet if I like it enough to switch permanently from Rhodia dot grid notebooks but, overall, I'm very pleased with this notebook. (Note to Amazon: why are some colours of this notebook more expensive than others? Are you punishing people for buying books that aren't muck-coloured?)

Very high quality notebook. The dot grid is perfect for notes, sketching and bullet journaling. The paper handles most inks perfectly - I use gel ink and there is little to no bleed across the pages. Offers many stylish colour options all with a premium feel hard cover.

Dreadful prices in my local stores drove me to search the Internet for something better. Most posts and most reviews pointed to Lechtturm as the golden standard. That wasn't a lie. The product is slick and crisp. It seems like there has been given a lot of thought into each and every detail. The result being that when you grab this notebook from your backpack you feel special -- like what you're doing is special. That's a rare feeling, for sure. The size is standard, and works good as a notebook. I use mine for my studies, and it works perfect for that. I bought a version with dots (because I felt crazy that day), and was pleased. An other reviewer somewhere wrote that you don't notice these dots when you've written on that page - that is true. The dots are spaced comfortably, but with a denseness that allows you to write in a compact format (ot not), which I love. With the notebook there followed some stickers, which can be used to write your name on the front of the notebook, or the spine of it. Which is a neat idea. The elastic band that wraps the notebook together is just that; an elastic band. Most of my former notebooks had some sort of thread which was static, and would often break. I've gotten the feeling that this is more robust. All in all a gorgeous product. I bought it because it was not much more expensive than what I can buy in my local stores. I also wanted some luxury when I write (which I do most days for hours on end), and I feel like the Leuchtturm Notebook is just that: A symbiosis of luxury, practicality and quality. Which is why, for the first time I've bought anything from the Internet - I'm finding myself writing a review no one will ever read. But if you do, and you're on the fence whether or not you should buy this: give it a try.

I've been using Moleskine notebooks the last few years, but when I wanted a squared book, I didn't like the Moleskine ones so much, and nor did they usually stock any in my local bookshop, and a short web search later, I found this, which appears in most ways to be superior. I've known Leuchtturm since the early 80's when I was encouraged to collect stamps, and most of the best quality albums and stockbooks available on the market seemed to be from this one quality German brand. As I have started spending more time on stamps again, I am still finding Leuchtturm's products top quality in both materials and binding. So, when I needed a squared notebook and I found this, I had no doubt that what I would get was top notch. I have not been disappointed. The shape, size and binding all appear identical to Moleskine's books, but it has a nice space for contents in the beginning, the lines of the squares are all lighter, making even pencil marks along the lines easy to see, and each page has a spot at the top for date and other info, as well as having page numbers at the bottom – instead of just the page filled with squares. The paper is also feels a bit nicer than Moleskine's. It is slightly thicker, and a more ideal weight, I think. In short, when it comes to all the little details, I prefer this to Moleskine, and when it comes to the major things, such as the colour of the lines and the paper quality, I also find Leuchtturm superior. It simply ticks every single box. Being basically the same price as Moleskine, it's a simple choice, and I know which one I would want to buy again next time I need one.

Well - its right there, im my review title. Gird up your loins for some seriously nerdy stationary pillow talk. Having been a Moleskine one-man preaching band for over a decade, sidling up to other users and stroking their Moleskine, then exchanging knowing glances because we alone were in that exclusive stationary club - the Happy Nerdy Moleskine User Club. That's us. Happy to be apart because we would shun the cheap stationary isles and happily shell out hard earned cash for superior quality as used by Picasso and Hemingway, and then live with the fact that the books weren't quite A4 or A5 and inserted loose leaf papers would get scruffed up corners if they lived in the notebook for any length of time. Well - I'm in a new club now. I will still talk to Moleskiners, but this notebook is just superior on every level, it is a mille feuille of greatness. The printed dots are unobtrusive, and spaced so you get the same mileage out of your notebook as the narrowly lined Moleskine. They are still visible in candle light, but once you change focus, you see your writing, in neat and precise lines, NOT the dots. The paper is smooth and lovely, thick enough to endure fountain pen ink, the book is satisfyingly fat (249 numbered pages), and mine is YELLOW, glorious and happy yellow. All the basic good notebook stables are there - elastic band holding the book together, the silk divider ribbon, durable leather-feel hard cover. But the index, the perfection of the colour used for the dots versus the bleached beigeness of the page, the numbered pages, the smoothnes of the paper, the pull out pages at the back, the page thickness all conspires to make for an inspired writing experience. I also have the A4 for work. Just as brilliant, but in navy blue, just to add colourful insult on top of intrigue for the Moleskiners...

Very impressed with the quality of this notebook.

J’adore cet article que j’achète chaque année pour réaliser mon bullet journal

LEUCHTTURM1917 est une marque que j’ai découverte en octobre dernier. Je désirais m’initier au bullet journal. 6 mois après mon premier journal Leuchtturm, je reste fidèle à la marque. Le papier est solide, des pages permettant de démarrer son BUJO y sont clairement organisées. Les pages sont numérotées et les pointillés visibles et discrets à la fois. Et la couleur est juste sublime, juste ce qu'il faut pour co-créer ma vision d'une relation de couple 6 étoiles. Tout en y calant ma semaine d’actions prioritaires, le tracking mensuel de mes choix et nouveaux rituels, les points clés des lectures de livres que je lisais, les citations qui challengent le mental et la revue de la vision que j’ai pour ma vie, j'ai fait 4 mois avec le premier journal LEUCHTTURM1917. C’est à mes yeux le meilleur investissement pour se transformer et se réinventer avec confiance et en toute introspection. Cette liberté de personnaliser le contenu de son BUJO est unique. Et puis, écrire sur un bel objet vous fait voir la vie du beau côté. Avec optimisme, un jour à la fois. Parce que votre âme le vaut bien.

Trop beau, bonne qualité

To help me reach my end of year targets, this meets the requirements