I have always been a big fan of the Moleskine brand. Don’t get me wrong I know that the paper in the is not the best but you can’t deny that their notebooks feel good in the hand. And if you can find a ball point pen or gel that words with the paper then it is a match made in heaven.
I personally love their daily planners one page a day which I find perfect for bullet journaling. But when I stubbled upon the Art Collection and the Bullet Notebook with 120 gsm paper. I had to give it a go and I have to say that I am impressed! I am in no way saying it is perfect, I mean if they could bump the number of pages up that would be great but as it is… it is not a bad little notebook.
Shall we have a gander?
I was only able to find it in a black hard cover which I am not that fussed at because it will end up in a cover anyway. But having the black cover is a classic for a Moleskine notebook for me anyway.
It feels like any other hardbacks Moleskine. Perfectly tactile and solid with only a small amount of flex if you wiggle it, a technical term I know! It also has that distinct Moleskine smell.
First, you have the standard personal data page. Fill in what you want really. I haven’t really ever filled this page in I think it’s a bit too much info to have on you at any given time. For me, they could pass on this page.
Another page that really isn’t need for me, but I know that there are a lot of people that would use it so I can see why they keep it in. The next bit is where we get into the best section.
There are 5 index pages which when you think about it feels like a lot for a 148 pages really but if you really wanted to index every page I suppose you could.
Now the paper! It has a little bit of tooth to it but still feels very smooth! It is a 5 mm grid and the pages are numbered, thankfully! You also get two-page markers a black and grey. The paper is also 120 g/m² ivory-colored pages which I am happy to say takes a good amount of different pens. I will get into that towards the end.
A handy pen test page at the back is always a good thing! This way you don’t need to sacrifice a dotted page to the pen gods. This is nicely laid out as well you can test and then write the type of pen next to it. Which is handy if you want to go back to a different pen but can’t remember which one is which.
At the back of the notebook you get you standard pocket. But “Why is is dotted?” I here you cry well, there is in-fact an extra page and if you are use to the way bullet notebooks are set up you may have clocked that there was no key at the start of this notebook.
It’s because it is on this fold-out piece of paper that is at the back of your notebook as a handy reference. Which I think is genius of them to include in the Bullet Notebook. Okay, so the thing that you have been waiting for. Pentest time!
As you can see I went for a lot of the basic pens that a lot of people use mono drawing pens, Tombows, Artline, and g-2s. I even tried my R&K Dokumentus ink that is wet at times and permanent and has bled through pretty much everything except Tomoe river paper.
I have to say that I was really happy with the results. The only thing that bled was the Artline Stix and that’s because I went ham on the box. Highlighters fine gels fine, a very small amount of shadow but that doesn’t bother me because I like it, it makes the book feel used.
Over all I am really happy with this notebook and I can happily say that Moleskine has won me over with this and I am now just hoping that they bring it out in a few fund colours. Other wise I am happy with the new notebook! I can use my fancy fountain pen and fancy ink in it with no problems! Good work team!
Will you be grabbing one? Will you consider having one as your next journal?
Stay safe!
