For many of us, dated planners and bound notebooks are just a bit too rigid for our purposes. So if you’re someone who likes to start with blank (or lined?) pages and rearrange them as you wish, then this review is for you. Today I’m going to talk about Kokuyo Campus A5 Biz Loose Leaf paper ($5 for 120 sheets).
This paper fits the Kokuyo A5 Campus Binder ($12) and likely a variety of other A5 binders with its 20 hole format. I didn’t purchase a binder, however; I just review the loose leaf paper.
The paper is white and 70gsm so it feels sturdier than the ultra-thin Tomoe River paper. It comes in either grid or dotted lines (6mm ruled and 30 lines per page), which is actually a solid line, with tiny dots, allowing you to use it as regular lined paper OR a bit like dot grid.
I tried a variety of fountain pen inks, gel pens, pencils, rollerballs and fine liners and this paper is great! Check out that ink swatch I did with Q-tip and how NOTHING feathered or bled through. I could easily use the backs of each page, which is normally my complaint about most papers – the ghosting that makes it difficult for front and back use.
I haven’t tried too many other Kokuyo paper products, but I have to say I’m really impressed and it’s notebook paper at a really great price point!
DISCLAIMER: Some items included in this review were provided free of charge for the purpose of review. Please see the About page for more details.
How well did it show shading or sheen?
Both!! Love this paper. It’s my favorite sheen is a little weak compared to tomoe but it’s there
Kokuyu is my go-to paper! I have a ton of their soft ring notebooks that I use for journaling (great for lefties), and I’m consistently impressed by how well it handles and shows off fountain pen inks, especially for notebooks that are usually about $5 a pop. It’s not Tomoe River, but I find it way more usable—things dry quickly on it, but somehow manage to maintain a lot of their shading and sheening. It doesn’t seem like an especially well-known brand—you rarely see reviews or even mentions of it—but imo it’s one of the most underrated papers out there. I’m delighted to see it here, and am off to investigate if I have a 20-hole binder somewhere.
Sigh, and of course, the immediate, inevitable typo. Kokuyo, obviously. I’ve just got up and am not finished my tea yet, and apparently we’re all to suffer for that. Sorry!