LOCHBYA5 Notebook | Fountain Pen-Friendly 68gsm Tomoe River Paper | Soft Brown Cover | Field Journal Refill | For Travelers, Work, School, and Journaling (72 Pages)

I have been bullet journaling and handwriting notes since 2017. I have tried every boutique notebook brand Instagram has to offer - Leuchtturm1917, Moleskine, Rhodia, Baron Fig, Code&Quill, Northbooks, STM, Maruman and others. Nothing was truly perfect. Then I stumbled across Lochby. It ticks every box. Multiple layouts for multiple uses (I prefer dot grid but you're not limited), consistent dot grid pattern, grid is not too light, paper is bright white, takes WET fountain pen ink like a champ, and paper is not obnoxiously thick. The only thing I would ask Lochby for is a black cover option, and possibly a hardcover option with more sheets. Small complaints for how dreamily this stuff writes. Tomoe River paper bound and packaged this way is a dream come true. Hope to see even more format options in the future.

I use this to jot down my thoughts throughout the day and is very fountain pen friendly.

Well made with good paper.

Fountain pen users are particular about our paper. We have to be. Bleed, show through, spread, feathering. we're constantly worried about the ink staying where we put in on the page, and that it doesn't go through to the page below.Tomoe is the grail paper of fountain pen users. Thin, light, ink stays where it should and doesn't show through to the back of the page. It's simply wonderful paper. But it is expensive, which makes this book expensive as well. Writing on bad paper is like riding a bike with tires only partially inflated: it gets you there, but the experience, and result, are awful. This is why we tend to spend that just a bit more. sure we could go back to the everyday writing chisels of the everyday world, channeling our way through paper with our sub-millimeter ball. So even, so orderly. So Boring.We have our passion, fountain users do, for writing as an experience. The manner in which our words are recorded is as important as the words themselves. Great paper makes the ordianary feel extraordinary, just as Tomoe River paper is extraodrinary.Is it too much? Tell me what your passion costs, and what joy it derives. Then speak to me again of cost.

These have become one of my go-to notebook brands! I love that they are dot grid Tomoe River paper--it really is the perfect paper for my beloved fountain pens. These are a convenient size for a single project or subject and the blank covers are fun to customize with markers or paint pens.

If you write with fountain pens, you have hopefully heard of Tomoe River paper, the celebrated (and mourned) Japanese paper that resists feathering, bleeding, and shows ink sheen like you wouldn't believe. There aren't that many options journals out there made from this paper, so it's a delight to find this one. I'm not going to get into the long history of pre-2021 Tomoe River Paper, post-2021, Cosmic Air Light, and now the Sanzen-produced 52 gsm version of Tomoe River Paper. Let's just look at this as a stand-alone, shall we?This journal is designed to work with a field-journal type of case/holder, which I do not have, but you don't need the whole system to just have and love the notebook itself. The idea is that you have smaller journals held into a larger binder with an elastic securing each notebook for easy swap-out. This also to lets you organize by notebook for certain topics (maybe your bullet journal in one, sketchbook in another, and the draft for the next great American novel…). Mine will be for BuJo style work that I can toss into my bag without lots of weight.The paper is great, as I'd expect for Tomoe River, and that is why you should buy this. That's also why this isn't cheap. You want cheap, go take your chances on a no-name journal that may or may not work well with your pens and show off your gorgeous inks. If you want Tomoe River, though, this is a great A5 option. The rest of the journal is solid, but the paper is what makes it shine.What I love: • The ink sheen. Of course. Lovely. • Minimal ghosting, no feathering. See variety of pens/ inks tested, up to bold nibs, wetter inks. • dots are an option in addition to lined / blank. Dots rock! • The heavier 68 gsm over the older 52 gsm paper, hands down. The other stuff is just a bit too thin for me, though I know people love being able to have a million pages in a thinner notebook. • A5 is my preferred size for notebooks • Rounded corners • Sewn binding, not stapled, so more secureWhat's fine / just observations • Lies reasonably flatBranding is subtle and embossed, not just inked on. A nice tactile experience

The reason I gave 3 stars instead of 5 is because of the misleading title. Confusingly, it says both "field notes" and "A5". So, which is it? These are A5, they are NOT "field journal" size and cannot be used as refills in most or all field-journal-ready covers and wallets. I suggest Lochby actually produce some planner notebooks in that size because they are doing their reputation no favors by misrepresenting their products this way.

Lined pages, numbered 1 -31 and grid markings at top, bottom and lines 12 and 24 if you wanted to make it into a grid. 22 column markings total. Thin but decent paper with cardboard cover. Not the quality or thickness of field notes, but a usable notebook.