Nuuna is a new brand of notebooks made in Germany by Brandbook. (I’ve reviewed some of Brandbook’s products designed for custom promotional uses, but this is their entry into products for the retail market.) The kind folks at Notebook Maniac (who have a great selection of other notebooks too) sent me a couple of samples to check out.

These notebooks make a great first impression. I love the design and colors. The notebook I tested has an off-white cloth cover with contrasting orange details, and fairly subtle branding. The notebook seems very tight and compact, and at about 3 1/2 x 5 1/4″ is slightly smaller than most comparable pocket size notebooks (shown below next to a pocket Moleskine). The corners are square, but cover overhang is kept pretty minimal. Some other points of differentiation: the ribbon bookmark is quite long, and the branding info on a cardboard strip under the shrinkwrap doubles as a bookmark. The accordion pocket in the back isn’t as deep as on most notebooks, which makes it easier to see what’s inside (but also perhaps easier for it to fall out). The binding opens nice and flat. My only complaint about the construction of the notebook is that the elastic is quite tight– if you just tuck it around the back cover, it is tight enough to start to bow the cover.

Inside, the paper is very smooth and fine, a pleasure to write on with fine tip gel ink pens. The notebook I tested had dot grid paper, with small dots not going all the way to the edges of the page. Show-through was about average, in line with the paper weight, and bleed-through was also about the same as I’ve experienced with other papers of this weight, with only the Accu-liner and Super Sharpie really soaking through.

Other colors and sizes are available, as well as other cover materials, such as on this black version with yellow-edged blank pages:

All in all, I think Nuuna is an exciting addition to the notebook landscape– very pocketable, cool-looking, and nice to write in. The price is pretty steep though– $20 for the small linen notebook, and $18 for the black covered one. I guess that is the price you pay for a quality notebook made in Germany, not China. (Notebook Maniac does offer free shipping on orders over $40 within the continental US.)

And if you want one for free, you can enter my giveaway! I will send the black notebook to  a lucky winner selected from entries received in the following ways:
On Twitter, tweet something containing “Nuuna”, “@notebookmaniac” and “@NotebookStories, and follow “@notebookmaniac” and “@NotebookStories.”

On Facebook, “like” the  Notebook Stories page  and the Notebook Maniac page, and post something containing the words “Nuuna notebook from Notebook Maniac” on the Notebook Stories wall.

On your blog, post something containing the words “Nuuna notebook from Notebook Maniac” and “Notebook Stories” and link back to this blog.

The deadline for entry is August 16 at 11:59PM, EST. Good luck everyone!
And please remember to check my posts on Facebook and Twitter for an announcement of the winner.