I may tend to use a lot of Moleskines and similar pocket hardcover notebooks, but I’m still a sucker for a nice wire-o binding on a notebook, especially one with some interesting design details. I was very happy when Goldspot Pens gave me the opportunity to review a free sample of the Nebula Casual Note, made in Korea by Colorverse.

I chose the dotted paper with an orange cover. The color is great, and I love the subtle space motif: there’s a cute little astronaut on the label, and there are tiny stars stamped in silver foil on the cover. When you remove the labeled shrinkwrap, you’re left with a very minimalist design. Just those stars on the front, subtle branding and specs on the back cover, and the company web address on each page right near the rings.

Size is a pretty true A5, 145 x 208mm, with 120 pages (60 sheets). It’s about 8mm thick.

The pages inside are all perforated so they can be easily detached. (It’s nice that the brand name is left on the strip that remains with the rings.) The dots are all perfectly aligned on every page, which adds to the overall impression of attention to detail. The paper feels a little more toothy than I was expecting– it’s not the silky smoothness of a Clairefontaine or Rhodia, or the fine, thin Tomoe River paper. It didn’t feel especially thick either, though the packaging says it is 90gsm.

I worried that it might not do well with some of my pens… but I was very wrong! This paper has some of the best performance I’ve encountered in terms of avoiding bleed-through, and it’s better than average on show-through. Fountain pens worked great, with no feathering, and the bright white color allowed my colored inks to look vibrant.

I’m trying to find something not to like about this notebook, but there isn’t much! It would have been nice if they’d used a slightly heavier cardboard for the covers, to make the notebook a little sturdier and more durable. And it would be nice if they offered a broader range of sizes.

I’ll definitely be using this notebook on my desk for work notes. A wire-o binding that I can flip over works really well for that purpose, and while the size is a bit smaller than what I’ve tended to use for work notes in the past, I think it will work fine for me.

Goldspot Pens offers the Nebula Casual Note in lined, dotted and plain versions, in several colors. (They also sell hardcover Nebula notebooks with an elastic closure if you prefer that format. I haven’t tried one but it sounds like it has the same 90 gsm paper.) At $15, the Nebula Casual Note may be a little higher in price than some of the competition– Clairefontaine and Rhodia notebooks in this size can be quite a bit less. But if you prefer a more subtle design and a different paper texture, the Nebula Casual Note may be a great pick for you!

Thanks again to Goldspot Pens for offering this sample for review. I have not received any other compensation for this post and all opinions are my own.