ClairefontaineRef 793432C - Age Bag Thread-Bound Notebook (192 Pages) - A5 Size, Dot Rulings, 90gsm Brushed Vellum Paper, Elastic Closure - Red Cover

Purchased for daily journaling and I used a fountain pen and so wanted to find a notebook that wouldn't bleed through the page. The paper is great, it doesn't feather is smooth to write on. I had heard great things about Clairefontaine paper and quite pleased with this purchase. My only slight complaint is that it doesn't sit open while writing so I have to hold it open when writing.

This will be my third notebook used for bullet journaling, each a different brand, all with dotted pages to make it easier to keep my writing from slanting, and to draw columns. I had thought the first was vellum when I ordered it, but must have gotten mixed up, as the description calls it French milled, and I found that it bled rather badly. Then I tried another brand with paper which was said not to bleed, and didn't find that it did, but could barely see the dots in artificial light, and found the paper annoyingly thick. I decided to order this early, thinking that would give me time to find something else if I didn't like it, but I do. For starters, it’s easy to open fully, so the pages flatten well for writing. I like the Table of Contents at the beginning; find the dots are easy to see in most artificial light, but unobtrusive; and the page numbers are easily legible. Despite the thinness of the cream colored vellum, the paper does not bleed with the pens I use, and it takes both water based and gel inks very nicely! It's a good weight and thickness overall. I believe that even if this isn't the journal I'll want to order over and over, I will at least enjoy using it, and think there's a very high probability, especially given how hard it is to find vellum notebooks, that it will be. The only way I think it could be improved would be if it had two bookmarks instead of one, but that's really minor.Edited to add that I had problems with the second of these notebooks almost from the start. Either the dots are printed lighter or my vision is worse (although I have new glasses), and I had difficulty seeing them, particularly under the led lighting in our travel trailer. Then the elastic strap suddenly came loose shortly after I started using it. (I was able to thread it back in with a long, "doll" needle, and superglue it in place, but it was rather unsightly.) To top it off, the cover started to tear where I clip my pen on. Granted, it was going everywhere, traveling halfway around the world and back, and getting tossed loose into a backpack, but it really seems to me that this was not was well printed or made as the first one – perhaps a combination of flukes, but I gave up on it not even halfway through, once we got home.Thank you for reading my review. I hope you found it helpful.

I finally switched, after years of writing in Moleskines, because I had some more complex inks with sheen and shading. No bleed-through at all on this paper. On the other hand, that comes with longer drying time, so more inks smudge on this than the thinner, more absorbent Moleskine paper.

This notebook is much more attractive in real life than in pictures online. It looks and feels luxe high quality. The paper is super smooth to the touch and fountain pen nibs glide over it beautifully. Perfect!

I really enjoyed writing on this page. I can tell it’s really high quality paper that’s super smooth and makes my Parker 45 vintage pen just glide through the page. I recommend this notebook to anyone that enjoys writing with a fountain pen.Also no bleed through.

I've always been a huge fan of Clairefontaine notebooks, primarily because of the hearty paper stock. It's delightful to write on with fountain pens and other markers/pens. Pens glide effortlessly and best of all, no ghosting! You can't go wrong with Clairefontaine. Great for bullet journaling, too (includes index, page numbers and nice pockets).

As with all Clairefontaine products this is real quality. But the description does not note that this has ivory pages, not white. Sent it back because I was looking for white. I wish Clairefontaine made this with white dot grid pages and more cover colors thank black and tan. Also, the tan cover with white pages is available for only $11.

I've always been a lover of lines, but I might stay with the dots. The dots are cool. Maybe less confining than lines? And of course if you plan to use a fountain pen, this paper LOVES fountain pens. And the notebook's binding is relaxed enough that it opens out almost flat. Well constructed little book. Definitely worth the $.