Galen Leather A5 Folio

I have been using the Galen Leather A5 Folio for months now, so it’s time for a review! This is the Crazy Horse Smoky version. Thanks to Galen Leather for sending this Folio over for review!

The front is solid grey with lots of texture from use. It measures 7.3 x 9.2 inches with a zipper around three sides.

The back is solid grey with the Galen Leather logo embossed at the bottom. The back has just as much texture as the front does from heavy use.

The left has lots of pockets and pen loops while the right has a flap to hold a notebook. The center has a ring.

The left side:

There are two built-in pen loops, 4 removable pen loops and lots of pockets.

Pen Loops:

The pen loops hold fountain pens well, the Vanishing Point fits perfectly.

The right side:

The folio holds my Hobonichi Cousin, with a little bit of room for the tabs to fit as well.

My fountain pens have scratched up the leather quite a bit, but I don’t mind that. I enjoy the texture it gives to the leather.

Overall, I love using this folio. It holds my Hobonichi Cousin and has held up to daily use well. I’m probably going to need one in every color.

Disclaimer: This product was provided by Galen Leather for the purpose of this review. All photos and opinions are my own. This page does not contain affiliate links, and is not sponsored in any way.

Exceed Notebooks

Recently a friend recommended I try the Exceed notebooks from Walmart, so I went down to the closest one to see what I could find. On the left is the Exceed A5 Bullet Journal in black, and on the right is the Hard Cover Dotted Book in white.

Hard Cover Dotted Book:

The Hard Cover Dotted Book contains 78 gsm cream heavyweight paper, 2 page markers, 120 sheets, an inner pocket, and measures 5 by 8 1/4 inches. It retails for $6.64.

This paper handled all the fountain pens really well, even the flex nib. No bleeding or feathering, and the show through wasn’t bad either.

All gel pens and highlighters worked well on this paper, no issues there either.

A5 Bullet Journal:

The A5 Bullet Journal contains 100 gsm cream heavyweight paper, 2 page markers, 120 sheets, an inner pocket, and measures 5 3/4 by 8 1/4 inches. This notebook is 3/4 of an inch wider than the dotted journal and has heavier paper but my favorite difference is that the Bullet Journal has an index and page numbers! It retails for $8.64.

Just like the Dotted Notebook the paper handled all fountain pens really well, but because the Bullet Journal has a bit heavier paper, there’s even less show through.

For gel pens and highlighters there was virtually no show through, and zero bleeding and feathering.

I ended up taking the Bullet Journal to my local pen club last weekend, and tested a bunch of my friends’ pen and ink combinations on it. The paper handled everything perfectly until it came to the Noodler’s inks. Apache Sunset had dried completely but when I closed it it made an impression on the opposite page. X-Feather took a solid 5 minutes to dry and like Apache Sunset, bled a bit onto the opposite page. The Duke Fude nib full of Burma Road did feather and bleed just a little bit, but let’s face it that nib is like writing with a paint brush. I was impressed with how well it handled everything else.

Overall, I prefer the Bullet Journal over the Dotted Hardcover just because the pages are a bit wider, has less show through, and page numbers (which I’m obsessed with). It seems very similar to a Leuchtturm 1917 notebook, but is at a much cheaper price point. The only think I don’t like is the cream paper-I wish it was a bit less yellow. If you are in the market for affordable, fountain-pen friendly notebooks this ones are definitely worth a try!

Disclaimer: I purchased these products myself, and all photos and opinions are my own. There are no affiliate links on this page, and this post is not sponsored in any way.