Nice journals. Basically they a smidgeon smaller than a regular (US) paper folded in half. Its a nice size (later Ill explain why I like this size). I have the September Leather Travelers journal and wondered about these notebooks. As with the Traveler's Journal I'm very pleased with them. They come in a 3 pack with 3 different colored covers (black, kraft and white). These are stitched rather than stapled. Pages are secure so they dont rip out, unless I want them out. (Id probably cut them out if I ever wanted to do that). No spiral wire to snag on my clothes or other things. The corners are rounded which keeps them from breaking down as I take this in and out of my purse. The inside pages are cream with faint dots on the pages which is probably why there is a reference to being perfect for bullet journaling. I dont do that but I like the dots to help keep my writing straight and they dont get in the way if I want to draw something. The pages are heavier than my normal paper weight which I appreciate as I carry these around with me. I dont like flimsy paper and it cant be too heavy/stiff either. This really is a nice weight. The cream is soothing to the eye, easy to read yet not harsh in contrast. I use various color inks in this and have no issue reading. The dots are 5 to an inch (at least in the white, I assume all are the same and the others are in my calendar sitting on my desk at work). The dimensions are a bit larger than I've used in the past but it's thinner because of the way it's made. I hesitated but now that I have it in my hands I really think this is going to be a good size. I like the way it's assembled. I didn't want a spiral for snagging nor did I want staples to come loose and/ or snag things. The glued back little journals I've used in the past don't lie flat and are thicker. I didn't like that part of those glued journals. This does lie flat because of the sewn binding. The thinner book has plenty of pages and will fit into my purse better. It slides in next to the side of my purse and not shift or get lost among the other things in there. It is fast to find it. If I wanted smaller I could have bought passport size journal refills. Why do I find this type of journal helpful? (the following isn't exactly a product review but how I use it and why that's important to me. I'd use such information as I shop but you might not desire it, feel free to stop reading) I dont bullet journal. I in the past couple of years Ive found that electronic calendar/notes/etc. didnt do everything I wanted. I added (not replaced) a hard copy planner which has some notes pages. Ive always carried something to write notes on in my purse. My purse is large so the A5 size fits in my purse but its not too thick and doesnt have a spiral like many other smaller notebooks would have and I dont want in my purse. I can find it quickly because it doesnt slide down to the bottom of my purse, the white is in my purse to be able to see it. I just jot notes, names, addresses, book references, directions, whatever I (or any of my family members) need to remember. There is no attempt to organize the information, I just thumb through and find it. This is something Ive done for many years and I like this as my newest book. The other two are in my planner. I use a good size planner (whole month at one time pages) that is spiral bound and it has some blank pages in it. I use those pages to take notes, jot reminders, to do's for me, etc. as Im in meetings. I then will (when I need to) transfer the information to whatever is appropriate usually by using this to jog my memory and creating the documents/emails I need when I'm back at my computer. I found using an IPad while in meetings was distracting, I wasnt getting everything that I can when I hand write notes. I wasn't as mentally present in the meetings as the technology actually took more attention than pencil/paper does. Sometimes meetings are impromptu as I run into folks but I need to have notes from that. I also found that the dates, times and participants in the conversations which I add as I jot notes to be helpful. (Kind of hard for someone to say that I have the date wrong on something when the notes were dated and in between notes about something else completely. Yes, thats saved me and someone else on a rather important issue as the date mattered.) There arent many pages in that planner so I now it's only June and I needed to add more but how with that spiral back? The travelers notebook is what triggered my thoughts to how I might do that. You may be aware but if not, travelers notebooks secure to the covers with elastic band system. Im doing that with the other 2 journals. I had "belly bands", AKA elastic bands for that planner. Ive banded the notebooks together and used a 2nd band to put them in my planner. Using that 2nd band Ive banded them to the laminated back cover page so the spiral isnt an issue. They are a bit smaller than the laminated cover so I think ...
