Review: Notebook: A5 Honeycomb brand Dotted Notebooks

I found this on amazon for $4.49 usd and decided to try it as a backup in case my regular bujo didn't come in time.

Shipping was really fast. And even more impressive when I checked the back of the notebook.

The very day I ordered it, it was printed. That means this is a print-on-demand service and you should be guaranteed with a fresh book made just for you. Its also really cool cause if you start it as soon as you get it (2 days for me) its like your bujo's birthday is printed in there!

The cover is a thick cardstock at 220gsm. It has 110 pages, and the paper is listed at 90gsm, and has a really really hard to see 5mm dot grid on it.

It is also a vibrant white, and fully compatible with most standard white-out and corrective tape. I would say this page thickness is very similar to a regular paperback book. It has approximately the same texture as well, a smoother surface with very little texture, but not perfectly smooth. If you rub it hard between your fingers you get the slightest sensation of texture.

Something to note is that there is some ghosting, but overall this is really nice for the price I paid. My pigment pens are not showing through the back hardly at all. (which is why i like them!) I tested multiple layers of mildliner layering. since they're a water-based marker, i think its safe to say around 3 layers is the limit for this before it starts to ghost.

I did notice some feathering when I used my fountain pen, which I don't get from leuchtturm. This was pretty disappointing to me. As well, it seems the fudenosuke pens are a bit too juicy for this paper.

Watercolor took on this paper, and surprisingly picked up some weird dots and variations in the paper. it reminds me of a normal sketchbook (meant for pencil, pen, or charcoal) in this way. The good news is that if you don't oversaturate it with water, it will keep light washes of color fine. It does buckle and pucker a lot like the leuchtturm does, maybe a bit more noticably.

Overall, I would have to say this is a really cute notebook and I think it's a good budget bujo. It probably won't handle a lot of scrapbooking or watercolor, but it will handle light marker and a variety of pens. I'd say this would work great with a lot of minimalistic styles. Because of its lower page count, it could also be amazing for notes.

If you have any other questions, please let me know in the comments! I would be happy to test things for you.