(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)
I'm always curious to find new pocket notebooks that offer something unique and delightful to the otherwise crowded space. At first glance, you'd be right to assume that Back Pocket notebooks are just another 3.5 x 5.5 pocket notebook. But after trying out the paper inside, you'd be surprised.
Back Pocket offers a nice variety of covers, but the one I'm reviewing today is the lovely "The Night Sky" edition, which features two notebooks. The cover of each notebook is a dark gray with an constellation map of the northern or southern hemisphere. It looks fantastic and they make a great pair. The band that keeps the notebooks together during the retail phase of their journey are minimal, but they provide just the right amount of information about the product inside. According to the band:
- 36 inner cross grid 120gsm Conqueror High White pages
- Accent Antique Magnolia 300gsm cover
- 140 x 90mm
The size is very familiar, but this paper is something else. I didn't know exactly what to expect out of something so dense, but it's delightfully pleasing to use. The pages are thick and take gobs of ink without any problems. I haven't noticed any bleeding or feathering, and the show-through on the back of the page is also minimal. I tried to get a picture of the faint show-through that I can detect on the other side of the wet 1.5mm Opus 88 nib paired with KWZ Gummiberry, but I couldn't quite tease it out for the camera. Suffice to say, it's also fairly hard to detect by eye.
On top of being luxuriously thick, the paper is also quite smooth, with just a small amount of tooth to provide satisfying feedback while writing. The grid used on the pages is a light gray cross pattern, similar to a reticle grid style but a little smaller.
I can't tell you how much I've enjoyed writing on this paper. It really is a treat.
But, there's certainly a flip side to this equation. The thicker pages mean a thicker notebook, right? Well, since Back Pocket chose to decrease the number of pages in the book to 36, the notebook is still the same thickness as other pocket notebooks. The downside here is that the notebook doesn't go quite as far as you might be accustomed. 36 pages is still plenty for me, but the standard 48 is a dozen extra pages. When the pages are this small, that's an awful lot of blank space that's being cut to afford the premium paper.
I don't think this is a bad thing at all — it's just different. If thick, luxurious paper with a lovely cross grid is what you want in a pocket notebook, then this is perfect. If you want more pages, then there are many, many other options out there for you.
The rest of the notebook is also fairly standard. There are two staples that hold the notebook together, and they seem to be well-done. I haven't thrown this book into my back pocket every day for 12 weeks straight, but they feel like they could stand up to the challenge without falling apart. It would be a shame to wear out these covers, though, since they have these great constellation maps on them.
Another minor complaint I have is the choice to leave the outside corners of the books square. I really like my pocket notebooks to have rounded corners so they don't easily catch on other edges, such as your pockets when trying to stuff the notebook back in for storage. This is a design choice, and I respect it. It just annoys me slightly every time the corners catch on something, and I can only assume they'll be quite worn after a couple of weeks.
The Night Sky edition, which includes two notebooks, comes in at £8 (about $10.50 as of the publish date). This is a little pricey considering you get one less notebook compared to other pocket notebook packs, but these notebooks feature an extraordinary cover and some really, really nice paper that can handle almost any kind of pen/ink combo you throw at it. My hunch is that this notebook pack will speak to some people very strongly, while others will appreciate the design but politely pass on by.
As for me? I really enjoy the paper in these notebooks, but I won't be using them as my daily pocket notebooks. The paper seems too luxurious to be used for my chicken-scratch notes that happen when I'm away from my desk. But, these books will certainly be used around the house for certain specific purposes. They feel like a treat to use, so that's how I'll use them!
(Back Pocket provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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