August blanks FSC Approved Social Impact Five Subject Writing Notebook, Yellow (Yellow 5 subject notebook)

I bought *18* of these notebooks to use as bullet journals and yesterday was finally the day to begin setting one up -- only to find that the uniball pens I always use because they are the only pens that are dark enough for me to see easily -- smear all over if they get wet. This does not happen with Mead notebooks or any other journal/notebook I have so I was very surprised when this happened. And not the least bit happy. I've ordered some ballpoint pens that I hope will be dark enough because the few older ballpoint pens my husband has worked ok and didn't smear when they got wet but were too light for me to see.This may not be a problem for most people but because of injuries from a car accident and lack of feeling on the left side of my face I occasionally drool a bit when I'm really concentrating on my writing and that's how the ink gets wet. But even without this handicap, ink that smears after writing just isn't what anyone would want to use I don't think for something they want to keep for years and years.Other than that they're nice notebooks.

Much smaller than I thought it would be, but still cute!

The notebook is an odd size, but that's not a problem. The cover is very sturdy, the pages are standard thickness, and the spiral binding is secure.However, the dividers/pockets are flimsy and I'm not sure how well the pockets will hold up if I start sticking other papers in them. Nor are the a pages perforated, as advertised. Both of those failings brought my review down a star.I hate messing with the little scraps of paper when you pull a sheet out of a spiral binder, so perfs are important to me. Plus, I like the dividers to be sturdy enough that it's easy to find a section. I'm not even sure these will hold up if I put tabs on them.My manufacturing suggestions: Make the cover a little larger and little less thick. Thicken up the dividers/pockets and add small tabs so we can at least feel them. Keep the page size the same so the dividers stick out from the pages but not from the cover..... and add those perfs you promised!The price is pretty "stiff" and the average student on a budget won't be able to afford the book. I wouldn't pay full price for it.As for the tracking instructions on the Amazon page to track the free book are no good. Which website do I go to? I don't see any numbers in the book (looks like it would be on the inside back cover?) just the bar code number. I'm assuming that a blank book is what's given on my behalf? Which would explain the high price - I'm actually buying two books!I'll probably use this for journaling - I never rip pages out of my journaling books so I won't have to worry about the lack of perfs <g>. IWith 200 pages and ample room to write, it'll be a long time before I need another one and hopefully by then, the price will be lower.

This is not my favorite notebook. I like notebooks, I like paper and I like pens and pencils and how they write and feel and carry. This one has a bunch of features and ideas I was really hoping to love... but I just can't get excited. The cover is nice in that it's heavy weight and covered such that you aren't exposed to the cardboard core. That said it's pretty soft so it hasn't worn well in my bag with some tears and scratches that I wouldn't have expected and it's too big to clip a pen on and too small to put on a pen holder. I would have liked a denser, thinner cover. The book is wire bound but it's not really designed to tear pages out of. The pages aren't perforated so you end up with all the tails around. The pockets are a great idea, and they are slightly heavier than the pages but they don't hold up well either tearing (they are attached just like any other page) or the pocket giving out at the bottom. It's a perfectly good notebook, but it's not extraordinary and even with the feel good factor of someone is getting a book for free when I buy one I feel like I can do better elsewhere.

This is a nice, sturdy 6 x 9.5" wide ruled notebook. A couple of things make it a bit different from others (other than the slightly larger 9.5" length v. 9")A few things are particularly of interest: this began as a Kickstarter project and was actually brought to completion. The goal is that for every notebook sold, August Blanks will give a notebook free to an underprivileged child. You can use the code on your notebook to track this gift.Another good thing is that it is FSC, not included on the product page, but written in tiny letters on the back cover "The Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) logo identifies wood-based products from well managed forests independently certified in accordance with the rules of the FSC." I like this as every bit helps when it comes to our forests and to conservation.The basics: The cover--a deep turquoise with yellow "augustblanks" type (not the medium blue/orange type on my screen) --is a stiff cardboard that should hold up quite well. I like the rings, too, which are not the small, thin ones shown on the product page. These are about 3/4" wide, lock wire so the pages turn smoothly.There are 200 wide ruled pages, no margins so all space can be utilized. There are five colored pages dividers (just thin paper, but easy to see without opening the notebook and each one has a pocket for putting a few papers in. not very strudy, but potentially useful for notes, stickies, etc.So, it's a bit expensive for a 200 sheet 9 x 6" notebook, but it's FSC, your purchase means a child will also receive one (and the cheerful design should appeal cross-cultures) and its sturdy with good ring design.