Musubi Cosmo Air Light 83 Notebook Review

In the conversation surrounding Tomoe River paper replacements, one name has stood out among the contenders: Cosmo Air Light. And thankfully, one of the premier notebook makers in the world has added it as an option to their popular paper notebook lineup.

The Musubi Cosmo Air Light 83 Notebook features 208 pages of this highly fountain pen friendly paper. The A5 sized, semi-rigid cover gives the notebook great protection, and you can choose from three different paper styles - blank, 7 mm lined, or 5 mm cross grid. The lined and cross grid rulings each have subtle added markings on the page to help you setup your page for planning, bullet journaling, note taking, meetings, and more. To top it off, these notebooks will only cost you around $25, making them one of Musubi’s lowest-priced offerings.

With all that said, the real question is this: How does the paper perform? I’ll let Daryl from Musubi start this section off:

“Originally designed as a lightly-coated paper for book printing, Cosmo Air Light's most unique quality is its surface texture, which feels a little like a velvety dry-erase board, and spreads ink out slightly instead of pooling it in a single spot. As a result, inks sheen vividly and shade vibrantly, bringing out elements of colour and contrast in ways often unrivaled even by papers like Tomoe River.”

Cosmo Air Light is great for fountain pens. The ink colors are bright on the page, and the dry time is moderate - giving the ink a chance to shade and sheen well. There is a softness to the page as the nib glides across it, with little to no feedback. It’s almost glossy, but not slick. It’s hard to explain, but it feels great with fountain pens.

One thing I definitely noticed, and Daryl mentioned above, is that my lines seemed wider on this paper than with other papers. For example, my fine nibs left more of a medium-width line. The finer I went, the more I noticed it. My fine cursive italic Nakaya nib was not as fine I am used to, nor was my Platinum 3776 UEF.

For standard pens and pencils, I found the Cosmo Air Light paper too glossy for enjoyable regular use. If you grab a ballpoint pen and go write on a thick magazine page, that is the feel you get. Glassy smooth, with no feedback. Same with pencils, which needs a page with texture to be enjoyable in my book. Rollerball and gel pens were passable, leaving rich-colored lines which would look great as sketches, but I’m not sure I would want to write page after page with either of those inks.

Fountain pens are the way to go with Cosmo Air Light. And may be the only way. That kind of sounds like Tomoe River paper, doesn’t it? This is a fountain pen only paper for the most part, and fortunately it does that part well. If you like big colors, big nibs, big ink, and big lines, then you are going to love Cosmo Air Light.

You are also going to love the construction, quality, and story of Musubi notebooks. They are the best in my book, and at around $25 for the Cosmo Air Light version, it is a great value.

(Musubi provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

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Musubi Oversize Two-Pen Case in Murasaki Seigaiha: A Review

(Susan M. Pigott is a fountain pen collector, pen and paperholic, photographer, and professor. You can find more from Susan on her blog Scribalishess.)

Musubi is a manufacturer of beautiful fabric-covered journals and pen cases. I’ve long coveted the Manekineko (“Fortune Cats”) journal in Ao, but I haven’t purchased one because, even though I love the craftsmanship of these hand bound journals, I would be intimidated to use them. I wish Musubi made A5 journal covers so I could reuse the cover with journals like the Seven Seas Writer.

While ogling Musubi’s journals, I discovered they also make pen cases. I decided to purchase their oversize case in the Murasaki Seigaiha (purple waves) pattern.

One reason I wanted to buy a product from Musubi is their commitment to helping women. The pen cases are made in Indonesia by abused women. According to their website:

In Indonesia, we train women from abusive family backgrounds in the same high-tech methods used to make our pen cases, providing them the skillset necessary to gain financial independence and escape their unfavourable circumstances. The end result: every Musubi creation directly and measurably benefits the least fortunate amongst us.

The Musubi case is made with an impact-resistant frame covered with a single piece of Japanese fabric. The case is rigid and retains its shape regardless of whether or not pens are inside.

There is a pull tab for the snap closure, which makes the case easy to open. Fabric covers the snap on the inside of the case so your pens aren’t in danger of being scratched.

I chose the oversize case (which is 150mm/6 inches long and 63mm/2.5 inches wide) especially for two pens I’d like to carry in my purse all the time: my 1970s Montblanc 149 (named “Walter” for reasons I’ll explain in a review someday) and my Nakaya Portable Cigar, which I reviewed last week.

These two are oversized pens, and the pen case fits them perfectly. You can see that they are easily accommodated with only the tops showing.

Musubi includes a removable matching fabric insert that keeps the two pens from touching while inside the case.

Although you can use the case without the insert, I would be worried that my two pens would scratch one another, so I keep it inside. At first I wished that the insert was permanently sewn inside, but I discovered that it’s actually better that it’s moveable. Walter is a bit larger in diameter than my Nakaya, so the pen insert adjusts to accommodate two pens of unequal size.

You can, of course, put smaller pens inside the case. I tried it with a Sailor 1911L and a Pilot Vanishing Point. Those pens have wiggle room inside the case, but the fabric protects them from any damage.

I hoped that maybe the Musubi case would be large enough to fit a pair of glasses so that it could perform double duty, but my glasses did not fit. I suppose a small pair of reading specs might fit inside, however.

I’m very happy with my Musubi pen case. The fabric is beautiful and the case is well constructed. I have no doubt that my two pens will be protected while they are inside my purse and on my desk. And, although I’m not going to do a drop test, the case is rigid enough that I’m confident my pens would not suffer damage.

You can purchase a pen case (either regular size or over size) from the Musubi website. Regular size (140mm in length) cases are about $65, and oversize cases are about $75. With shipping from Singapore, I spent around $92 total. My case arrived in less than a week. Although $92 is rather expensive for a two-pen case, you are getting a handmade product with beautiful fabric, and you are helping women escape abusive situations. That’s totally worth it to me!

If you aren’t interested in the pen cases, you might want to purchase Musubi journals, which are made by persons with physical and intellectual disabilities. I am so impressed with the mission of Musubi to employ people in difficult circumstances who make products of such beauty. Now if they would just make the pen cases in the Fortune Cats fabric!

Membership starts at just $5/month, with a discounted annual option available. To find out more about membership click here and join us!