Walmart Notebook - No Kidding!

[globetrotterjon]

So...I'm a notebook snob. I'll admit it. I love me my Rhodia Webnotebooks, my Moleskines, my Clairfontaines. Give me a good notebook and a cup of coffee and I'll spend a few hours with my fountain pens journaling away. Ah joy. For whatever reason, I didn't pick up any new notebooks at the Washington DC Super Show this past weekend, mostly because I was focusing my limited time on writing instruments....and headed right to the airport to catch a flight out west to OKC. I found myself in OKC with a new Franklin Christoph 02 and nothing to write in. Rather than go to the nearest upscale stationer's to invest in a Moleskine, I went to.....WALMART...where I found a nice, sturdy looking 8x10 book with a stiff blue cover and what appeared to be really nice pages for the rather unprincely sum of $4.67. I must say, I have been very pleasantly surprised....the no-name Chinese made book has paper that really takes to the cursive italic nib of my F-C very well - not a hint of tooth, no catches, no scratches. Moreover, the pages take the ink well - smooth as silk - but without any bleeding or feathering. The ink dries quickly and densely. More importantly, unlike my Moleskine experience, the ink does not bleed through to the other side of the page, allowing me to write on 160 pages with no difficulty.

 

For $4.67 you also get a ribbon page marker and elastic closure band. Pretty snazzy.

 

Downsides? The cover is a tad stiff - and doesn't have the "pleather" feel of the Moleskine or the "flubber" feel of the Rhodia webbies....but a pretty small sacrifice to pay for a nice, larger book, filled with really high quality paper. The book comes in a number of colors - none of which were particularly appealing to me - blue was the best. Unfortunately, no black or orange, but blue's not much of a sacrifice to make.

 

I would definitely rank this book above the Red n' Blacks I've always had smearing issues with, and certainly with the two "big name" notebooks. Will your cool card get pulled scribbling in a Walmart book in the local cafe? Dunno.

 

Would be interested to see if others have had similar experiences with this bargain basement book.

[da vinci]

I have a couple of A5 moleskine lookalikes from ASDA who are owned by Walmart. About £3 each but excellent quality, and the paper is fantastic with fountain pens.

[Inga]

I feel the need for this:

[TMac]

Can you post a pic of the notebook? I love the 8x10 size as a work journal and this sounds worth exploring.

[Zookie]

I've found some composition notebooks at the local Dollar Tree that are made in India. For a buck of course.

The paper is smooooooooth, no bleed through, and no scratchiness, they are a joy to write in. The covers are nicely designed.

Laugh if you want, I don't care. I've been buying up all of them I can find

[Sailor Kenshin]

I've found some composition notebooks at the local Dollar Tree that are made in India. For a buck of course.

The paper is smooooooooth, no bleed through, and no scratchiness, they are a joy to write in. The covers are nicely designed.

Laugh if you want, I don't care. I've been buying up all of them I can find

 

Ditto...the only down side for me is that some of the newer ones have darker lines. Yes. It's a quirk. I know.

[Jared]

Some of my favorite cheap paper comes from the 100 Yen (US Dollar) store in Japan. Great paper for really cheap.

[wikeh2004]

Can you post a pic of the notebook? I love the 8x10 size as a work journal and this sounds worth exploring.

 

Ditto. Need to see what it looks like so I can look for it too. :-)

[globetrotterjon]

hmmmm, trying to add the photos via my chromebook.....any suggestions?

[Angela]

I think I have this notebook. But mine has a nice pleather cover and the pages are a lovely cream color. The ones I found were in the back to school isle, so I don't know if they will have them again. I think I have a red, green, lavender and yellow. I love my Walmart notebooks.

[apkayle]

I've come across so many phenomenal budget papers that equal the quality of my Kokuyo Campus notebooks. Sadly, I've never come across consistency in the quality of these notebooks.

[Kosmic-kowgirl]

gonna hunt some of these down, thanks for the heads up!

[figment7]

I will be in WalMart tomorrow!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! The Hunt for Red, Blue, Green, September........ Sounds better than the Eco brand at Staples!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Oranges and Apples]

Pictures please. I would love to see how they perform and what the cover looks like. I would love to give them a go.

[penrivers]

 

 

 

 

Would be interested to see if others have had similar experiences with this bargain basement book.

You are absolutely right, at least sombady finally understood.

[oshizemi]

I too bought a couple of them, thinking if they wouldn't work for FPs they're cute anyways. They take my wet Konrads well, with minimal shadowing and my drier Lamy pens with absolutely NO show through or shadowing. I bought a neon green in medium and neon pink in large. Really wonderful if you can find them! They were in the back to school section, near the planners, and I've seen them at 2 of the 3 WalMarts I've visited in my city.

[flexnib]

I too bought a couple of them, thinking if they wouldn't work for FPs they're cute anyways. They take my wet Konrads well, with minimal shadowing and my drier Lamy pens with absolutely NO show through or shadowing. I bought a neon green in medium and neon pink in large. Really wonderful if you can find them! They were in the back to school section, near the planners, and I've seen them at 2 of the 3 WalMarts I've visited in my city.

Is there a label on the notebook to help with finding them?

[oshizemi]

They just say Leatherette Journal, ruled pages ribbon bookmark, 80 sheets 160 pages. All of this also en español in small print under the english.

 

 

Bar code 4 897014 081479 for the large

N0126003 for the large (above bar code)

 

 

Bar code 4 897014 081486 for the medium

N0126002 for the medium (above bar code)

 

Not sure if color would change the bar codes or what I assume is the item number.