Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Midori MD Notebooks

I love a nice notebook and I really do love Midori based products as I do have a Midori Travelers Notebook before it became just the Travelers Notebook. As a fountain pen user, it can be interesting as well as challenging to find a notebook that meets different nib widths and inks without issue. This Japanese offering excels at all of it.




This notebook is only A5 based sizing. It comes in either blank, lined or graph based styles and since I prefer the grid/graph style, that is what I purchased.
This is a great minimalist notebook as branding and coloring goes. There is an embossed MD Notebooks on the right center side of the cover but I could not get it to photograph. Otherwise, it is a plain notebook on the outside but the real fun is the paper on the inside.




This has 192 pages of off-white colored paper that feels nice to the touch but not silky smooth like Rhodia does since this paper does not have a ceramic based coating. This paper is lovely to use and write on. It handled all my nib widths up to 1.5mm and I even took a brush to it with some ink. It took a bit to dry, which is expected with fountain pen friendly paper but astonishingly, there was no bleed through.




Sheen and shading are present on this high-quality paper, much like the Japanese voodoo paper known as Tomoe River but this is more substantial in the hand. When writing, it has some feedback to the paper on the nib but it really isn’t to the point where it is a deterrent. I generally am not a fan of feedback but I have noticed that this is the only notebook I have been using this month. I am choosing to use this book over my Clairefontaine and Leuchtturm books. That is saying something.




The binding on the book is interesting. I read that it was glued in place but when I open mine, I do see stitching so I am inclined to say this is sewn together. What is different, however, is this linen-like mesh that is on the exterior of the binding. Usually this is hidden but it is out in the open on these books. I believe it is there for added strength and support. The book has no issue with lying flat on my table and the binding has had no issues.




There are also these dots that appear every 10 lines in the margins here. I am assuming these are for easy measuring for bullet journaling and that sort of application which is different but not distracting. 


It is a great notebook. I purchased this from Amazon for approx $9.50 and I have seen it elsewhere for approx $13 which is still a nice value for the price. Try one out. 


This review is based off of my experience and opinion. I do not represent Midori nor am I being compensated in any way.

2 comments:

  1. I love these notebooks!! I had no idea they were on Amazon.. will take a look, thanks!

    ReplyDelete
  2. My pleasure to help out. Thanks for reading!

    ReplyDelete