Review: Miro Journal Series

[moonglum]

In which I give my personal opinion on the Miro Premium journal series of notebooks/journals.

 

Like the Miro Journal series mirrors the Moleskine cahier line, the Miro journal series follows the pattern set by the traditional hardcover Moleskine-Leuchtturm-so-on-esque notebook/journal. And like the Miro utility series, the Miro Journals come in three sizes, (3.5x5.5, 5x8, 7x10). They have the option of black or white covers and the page edges are died with one of five colors (red shown here) and come in lined and plain/blank versions (plain/blank version reviewed here).

 

http://i.imgur.com/5QA0oyys.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/26Xx5JRs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/QgclrUQs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/ajvaooMs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/E6ACyBLs.jpg

 

 

Pricing is $17.99 for the 7x10 and $13.99 for 5x8.

 

All three sizes of journal come with a faux leather/vinyl/pvc-esque cover, the name Miro stamped on the spine and with the Miro logo at the bottom left, an elastic strap, and a fabric bookmark.

 

http://i.imgur.com/e7KvWuvs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/JZjAlNCs.jpg

 

The sewn binding appears strong/resilient, and both sizes of the books reviewed here will open and lay flat almost from the get-go.

 

http://i.imgur.com/r0lvcRSs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/9TfRNEOs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/TJiV3Oks.jpg

 

In the front the Miro logo again appears and at the bottom of the page the words 'property of' followed by a few lines for the owner's name and other such trivialities. The rear pocket is a basic, glued, paper flap.

 

http://i.imgur.com/vD0i6R6s.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/X3btD5Zs.jpg

 

The covers are quite rigid and have little no no flex to them.

 

 

Inside, the pages are an off-white, maybe a kind of ivory but far less yellowish than the Rhodia Webnotebook.

 

On remembermiro.com, these books are listed as using 90gsm paper. But the labelling on the journals themselves states 100gsm. Believe what you will.

 

Both the 5x8 and 7x18 come with 160 pages.

 

The writing tests come out quite well. My wettest nibs fail to feather or bleed. Only the Sharpie manages to get through to the other side. And there is almost no ghosting. While it's by no means Rhodia or Clairfontaine, my xxxf nib manages to ride along without any major toothy-ness.

 

http://i.imgur.com/iiYFE7vs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/1dpFN8qs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/k5Ty2tzs.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/gKYV0YQs.jpg

 

My greatest concern would be the consistency of the paper, especially when taking into account the utility series offerings. However, both the 5x8 and 7x10 here perform acceptably.

 

The overall finish of the product, however, reflects its price, and it is not as refined as say the Webnotebook or the Habana in terms of cover construction and how the cover attaches to the end pages. Glue points were apparent, especially around the paper pocket in the back, and on the 7x10 the end pages were ragged from a bad trim. The pages are also set into the cover of the 7x10 off center, so they come all the way to the bottom of the journal, leaving too wide a gap at the top and too narrow a one at the bottom. Also on both--although not uncommon in my experience among notebooks with elastic straps--the strap had impressed grooves at the top and bottom of the notebook. (Although, any of these things could the general one-off issues experienced with any mass-produced product.)

 

In summation, if they were to be placed on a continuum (Moleskine being bleh and Rhodia/Clairfontaine being the top) these journals, in my personal opinion, would fall about 1/3rd of the way down the spectrum. For their price, and if the paper can remain consistent, they are a better value, in my opinion, than their Moleskine equivalents and make a decent, fountain pen compatible notebook for the price.

[Danchin]

I just found a bunch of these at TJ MAxx for $3 for the small and $5 for the large ones. Go get 'em!

[Behike54]

I just found a bunch of these at TJ MAxx for $3 for the small and $5 for the large ones. Go get 'em!

 

I got VERY LUCKY today and found a LARGE for $3.50.

 

 

Lets see how it holds up!

 

@Moonglum, while I have not taken this for a spin yet, I find your aesthetic observations to be detailed, thorough, and SPOT-ON!

[LindaM]

You can also get them at Daedalus Books online for quite cheap:

 

http://search.daedalusbooks.com/search/Media-Book--image1_x-0--image1_y-0--keywords-%22miro_notebooks%22--res_per_page-32

 

Small - $1.98 for 2, medium - $2.98 for 2, large - $3.98 for 2.

 

Not to mention remaindered books, music, movies, reading glasses, bookmarks, cards, on and on and on. I've bought from Daedalus for years with no problems.