As a fountain pen user, I would actually think that the ink would dry a lot faster than gel pen ink. Fountain pen ink is more water based and liquidy than gel pen ink or ink used for stamping or calligraphy, so on this paper I would think it would absorb better. For reference, I usually use Tomoe River Paper which is a super super coated paper that cannot take gel pen ink at all because it will never dries even after like 24 hrs
Thank you so much for sharing your fountain pen knowledge Karen, I didn't know that the composition of the ink would make such a difference! I personally don't use fountain pens so I really appreciate you sharing your insights and correcting what I said in the video!💕
I have been using this one since May and love the frame and grid and paper thickness. It’s not so thick you need a clip, just need to use the weight of your hands to flatten a new spread. I never used to divide things in columns but do now. The other features I don’t care for or even actively dislike. Didn’t know that the first version had lighter dots! A bummer that they changed that. Imho all bullet journal notebooks have too dark dots. Mine definitely have a normal dot darkness though. Before I had a notebook from Scribble & dot which has super light dots, but they changed the paper from a warm white to a blueish white and that’s probably my biggest dealbreaker. Warm paper gives a cosy feel like you say! My biggest pet peeve with this notebook is the dot grid spacing page, which counts the number of dots instead of spaces, which means it doesn’t line up with a metric ruler. So annoying. I’m still going to use it as my next notebook because of the frame and grid layout. It just makes spreads so easy to make. But I’m salty over paying so much extra for a few more dots lol. Btw, I mostly use a fine liner for writing with with this notebook now. Less smudging that way.
Oh yes, blue toned paper is not something I love either in this phase of my life! Coming from using pretty true white paper, it was really surprising how much I liked the warmer paper, I honestly don't know if I'd go back to using a true white for bullet journal bc as you said Ida, the cream is just SOOO cozy! I'm pretty picky about dot darkness too so I feel your pain with the new dots being darker, but part of me wonders if I find them dark bc I'm comparing them to my current notebook which has SUPER light dots. I didn't know that about the grid space guide, that's good to know! Yah, I think a fineliner or even a quick dry gel pen, like the Sarasa dry would really help with the smudging
Thank you for doing this; I've been eyeing the edition 2 online and that smeary paper aspect would have been a big displeasure for me. Such useful details from your real-use experience.
The gold accents and stickers are super tacky lol I wish they would have released a cream colored cover version. This color is very pretty, but it’s pink and not cream :(
I want this notebook so badly EXCEPT I know that the branding engraved on the cover will bug me every single day, haha-- ugh, but it's so good and thoughtful!
Leuchtturm offers the 120gsm in a non-bullet journal branding notebook. They only make them in A5 but you can choose square grid, dot grid and lined. Also, there are only 4 colors right now.
I want to try this book(for a long time now) but the paper Concerns me a bit. I hear that it is “waxy”. Are use a baron fix squire pen that uses a Schmidt refill along with a pigma micron archival ink. I don’t want it to smudge. That is a big concern. Have you use these inks on this? If so, how do they do? Do you know what the differences between the one labeled “bullet journal“ versus the new edition of the 1917 120 GSM notebook? Thanks, I know that was a lot of questions🙂
Hey! So I didn’t really a notice a difference in the paper texture and coating between the old and new edition 2. I would agree with the paper being deceived as waxy, it definitely needs time for gel pens to dry (but I doubt fine liners would be a problem) so if you ran your hand over your writing without giving it a good minute to dry there would definitely be smudging. I also find the ink will transfer to the adjacent page if you don’t let it dry down, so that another thing to consider!
I loved your review! I had almost the opposite experience with smudging, but maybe it's bc i'm usually in TRP so this paper felt like ink dried super fast. To be fair - the only gel pen i use is the pentel energel.
To prevent smudging I like using the Zebra Sarasa Mark On! It’s a lot better to highlight over and dried quickly. It also comes in smaller nib size like 0.4
Oh cool, I wonder how its different than the Sarasa dry? Maybe its the fact that you can highlight on it but regardless, very cool, thanks for the recommendation I can't wait to check it out!
I just realized that I missed your video last week!!! Ughhhh! I was busy but I will go back and watch it. Thanks for the nice review. I ended up loving the edition 2. At first, I sort of resisted because I’m one of those who like the regular 80gsm Leuchtturm paper. But after using the 120gsm paper I’m sold. I use fountain pens and do not have any issues with smearing but probably because I use waterproof ink and an extra fine nib. My experience is that the ink that I use dries very quickly. Also, I’m one who likes the slightly darker dots. I really like writing straight and I struggled with wonky lines because I could not see the dots unless my face was close to the page. I will be using it again as I have another one waiting in the wings. I bought a lined Leuchtturm with the 120gsm paper for my long form journaling and love the light lines! This is the first lined notebook where the lines fad into the background. I noticed you using a Midori MD notebook….what are you using that for? I love Midori paper too! And those notebooks really lay flat and are not too thick.
Haha Karen I was waiting to hear your thoughts bc I know you have this notebook! Interesting, I know muji pens can be slow to dry so maybe that's the main cause of the smearing and not so much the paper... Ah yes, the Midori, right now I'm just testing it out so its being used as a regular notebook. The paper is so nice, I love the texture and find it really nice to write on, especially with sarasa 0.5 gel pens!
@@KaitlinGrey I like the texture too if the Midori paper. I’m thinking about changing notebooks for my long form journaling because there are so many good ones out there that I want to use and new ones to try out! For Bullet Journaling, I like the consistency of the same notebook, especially for archiving them on my shelf. Since, lots of work is in them, I do refer back to them. So, I need my older ones to sit nicely on my bookshelf! 😂
@@karencolum Yes, that is so key, I love notebook consistency and next year I really want to try to fit one year of bullet journalling in one book...we'll see what happens tho, that a lot of commitment for a stationery addict lol
@@KaitlinGrey totally hear you! Also I don’t mean to enable you but I read your other post about writing in cursive and I have to say that my handwriting has greatly improved in cursive by using my fountain pens. I especially love writing with the TWSBI Diamond 580 extra fine nib with Noodler’s black ink!
@@karencolum ahaha dw, no enabling here, I've actually tried fountain pens before and while I don't think they're for me (at least rn) I'm glad they helped improve your writing!
I’m so glad I came across this video! I had no idea that they improved the printing. That was the one thing that kept me from using it. I might have to repurchase the new one!
It’s a super big change and I didn’t find it discussed widely so I really wanted to include that information in this review! So glad you found it helpful!
This is the bullet journal i use daily. I’m about halfway through which is a record for me lol, i usually stop if i find i don’t like the notebook. I actually love the page texture as its a bit glossier than regular paper, i use inks for planning ahead so it can dry and a Parker ballpoint pen for everyday (It’s a mix between a gel and a ballpoint). I love the darker dots and the guide, i feel like the darker dots add to the spreads i make.
@@KaitlinGrey I love the thicker paper. Not so thick that you can’t turn the page but sturdy enough to hold up to pens. Very much enjoying the THREE ribbons. I flip through a few different collections at a time and it’s nice to be able to do that so quickly. I like the Bujo pocket guide that it comes with. I’m currently trying to keep it super simple and back to the basic bullet journal method. Now that you mention it, I am noticing the coating on the page. I had been wondering why my pen wasn’t working properly! Besides that I love it.
@@annsreallife The three bookmarks are such a convenient feature! I use one for my one line a day collection, one for my monthly spread and one for my daily log! I really need to reread the pocket guide and the book before setting up my 2022 bujo, I find it really helps reset my journal if that makes any sense!
I found this journal at my Barnes and nobles and I love it though even though I’m a left hander so it does smudge if I don’t wait but I still love it cause it has thicker paper
I didn't like it. I got the light dots, hated them. BTW, thank you for the info about the update! Also my handwriting is large, so I write in every other line, which means the uneven number of lines did drive me nuts. I couldn't care less about the paper being thicker, as the ghosting doesn't bother me with their regular books. When the backside has been written on, the text from the front won't shine through any longer anyway. My bullet journaling is extremely minimalist and I do a lot of diary style journaling in it. So the writing experience with a fountain pen is what is important for me and the regular books are far better suited for my use. In fact I hated the book so much, I filled it in six weeks, which is an unheard of personal record, just to be able to crack open a new one. ETA Forgot to say, nice review!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Y., notebooks are such a personal things and getting different perspective from people who liked and didn't like the notebook is SO important! Sorry to hear that you didn't like the notebook, are you liking the notebook your in right now better?? I really feel you with writing experience being important, I've found since getting into cursive this year, the texture of the paper makes a big difference in how enjoyable the notebook is for me! Also, I totally agree with ghosting not being a big deal once you write on both sides of the paper, it really doesn't bother me if both pages are filled!
@@KaitlinGrey I am back to the normal Leuchtturm 1917 with the 80gsm paper now. It is my standard journal, because I live in Germany and can get it nearly everywhere. Yes, notebooks are very personal. My mom likes the cheap ones from China with a grid. She likes them because they don't feel precious. :-) Whereas one of my friends uses a very high end, large diary. Your getting back into cursive is very interesting. I always write cursive, but my handwriting has suffered a lot and I want to polish it up a bit. I bought the Spencerian books to practice and learn something new. I would very much like to know how you approach this endeavour.
@@y.sangare1238 I relate to your mom, I dont like my notebook to feel delicate bc I won't use them as much! Ah as for the handwriting, I started writing in cursive in July, so I haven't noticed a big difference in my hand writing, but right now I use my printing to date each daily log in my bullet journal so I guess I get some practice in that way? I found for improving my cursive, daily practice did wonders!
@@puneetdhindsa1094 OMG WAIT sorry, I thought you were asking about a different notebook, THIS ONE DOES NOT GHOST!! The paper is much much thicker than the LT 1917 original notebooks so you'd definitely like it :)
What did you guys think of the Bullet Journal Edition 2 Notebook??
It's so nice to see the space between the dots and the edge of notebook, I definitely want to try this notebook next year!
I'm glad that came across in the video, its such a key detail of the notebook!
As a fountain pen user, I would actually think that the ink would dry a lot faster than gel pen ink. Fountain pen ink is more water based and liquidy than gel pen ink or ink used for stamping or calligraphy, so on this paper I would think it would absorb better. For reference, I usually use Tomoe River Paper which is a super super coated paper that cannot take gel pen ink at all because it will never dries even after like 24 hrs
Thank you so much for sharing your fountain pen knowledge Karen, I didn't know that the composition of the ink would make such a difference! I personally don't use fountain pens so I really appreciate you sharing your insights and correcting what I said in the video!💕
I have been using this one since May and love the frame and grid and paper thickness. It’s not so thick you need a clip, just need to use the weight of your hands to flatten a new spread. I never used to divide things in columns but do now. The other features I don’t care for or even actively dislike. Didn’t know that the first version had lighter dots! A bummer that they changed that. Imho all bullet journal notebooks have too dark dots. Mine definitely have a normal dot darkness though. Before I had a notebook from Scribble & dot which has super light dots, but they changed the paper from a warm white to a blueish white and that’s probably my biggest dealbreaker. Warm paper gives a cosy feel like you say! My biggest pet peeve with this notebook is the dot grid spacing page, which counts the number of dots instead of spaces, which means it doesn’t line up with a metric ruler. So annoying. I’m still going to use it as my next notebook because of the frame and grid layout. It just makes spreads so easy to make. But I’m salty over paying so much extra for a few more dots lol. Btw, I mostly use a fine liner for writing with with this notebook now. Less smudging that way.
Oh yes, blue toned paper is not something I love either in this phase of my life! Coming from using pretty true white paper, it was really surprising how much I liked the warmer paper, I honestly don't know if I'd go back to using a true white for bullet journal bc as you said Ida, the cream is just SOOO cozy! I'm pretty picky about dot darkness too so I feel your pain with the new dots being darker, but part of me wonders if I find them dark bc I'm comparing them to my current notebook which has SUPER light dots. I didn't know that about the grid space guide, that's good to know! Yah, I think a fineliner or even a quick dry gel pen, like the Sarasa dry would really help with the smudging
Thank you for doing this; I've been eyeing the edition 2 online and that smeary paper aspect would have been a big displeasure for me. Such useful details from your real-use experience.
You’re welcome! Sometimes it’s hard to know if a notebook works for you until you use it, so I’m glad this was helpful!
The gold accents and stickers are super tacky lol
I wish they would have released a cream colored cover version. This color is very pretty, but it’s pink and not cream :(
I want this notebook so badly EXCEPT I know that the branding engraved on the cover will bug me every single day, haha-- ugh, but it's so good and thoughtful!
HA this is so relatable, my notebook dealbreaker is dot lightness so I totally get you.
Leuchtturm offers the 120gsm in a non-bullet journal branding notebook. They only make them in A5 but you can choose square grid, dot grid and lined. Also, there are only 4 colors right now.
I want to try this book(for a long time now) but the paper Concerns me a bit. I hear that it is “waxy”. Are use a baron fix squire pen that uses a Schmidt refill along with a pigma micron archival ink. I don’t want it to smudge. That is a big concern. Have you use these inks on this? If so, how do they do? Do you know what the differences between the one labeled “bullet journal“ versus the new edition of the 1917 120 GSM notebook? Thanks, I know that was a lot of questions🙂
Hey! So I didn’t really a notice a difference in the paper texture and coating between the old and new edition 2. I would agree with the paper being deceived as waxy, it definitely needs time for gel pens to dry (but I doubt fine liners would be a problem) so if you ran your hand over your writing without giving it a good minute to dry there would definitely be smudging. I also find the ink will transfer to the adjacent page if you don’t let it dry down, so that another thing to consider!
I loved your review! I had almost the opposite experience with smudging, but maybe it's bc i'm usually in TRP so this paper felt like ink dried super fast. To be fair - the only gel pen i use is the pentel energel.
Ahaha yes compared to TRP this would dry super fast!! Glad you liked the review friend, can’t wait to see more setups in this notebook for you 🤍🤍
To prevent smudging I like using the Zebra Sarasa Mark On! It’s a lot better to highlight over and dried quickly. It also comes in smaller nib size like 0.4
Oh cool, I wonder how its different than the Sarasa dry? Maybe its the fact that you can highlight on it but regardless, very cool, thanks for the recommendation I can't wait to check it out!
Right now I'm just in total amazement because of your handwriting 🤩❤
Ahhhhh wow, you're seriously too kind, thank you so so much!
I just realized that I missed your video last week!!! Ughhhh! I was busy but I will go back and watch it. Thanks for the nice review. I ended up loving the edition 2. At first, I sort of resisted because I’m one of those who like the regular 80gsm Leuchtturm paper. But after using the 120gsm paper I’m sold. I use fountain pens and do not have any issues with smearing but probably because I use waterproof ink and an extra fine nib. My experience is that the ink that I use dries very quickly. Also, I’m one who likes the slightly darker dots. I really like writing straight and I struggled with wonky lines because I could not see the dots unless my face was close to the page.
I will be using it again as I have another one waiting in the wings. I bought a lined Leuchtturm with the 120gsm paper for my long form journaling and love the light lines! This is the first lined notebook where the lines fad into the background.
I noticed you using a Midori MD notebook….what are you using that for? I love Midori paper too! And those notebooks really lay flat and are not too thick.
Haha Karen I was waiting to hear your thoughts bc I know you have this notebook! Interesting, I know muji pens can be slow to dry so maybe that's the main cause of the smearing and not so much the paper... Ah yes, the Midori, right now I'm just testing it out so its being used as a regular notebook. The paper is so nice, I love the texture and find it really nice to write on, especially with sarasa 0.5 gel pens!
@@KaitlinGrey I like the texture too if the Midori paper. I’m thinking about changing notebooks for my long form journaling because there are so many good ones out there that I want to use and new ones to try out! For Bullet Journaling, I like the consistency of the same notebook, especially for archiving them on my shelf. Since, lots of work is in them, I do refer back to them. So, I need my older ones to sit nicely on my bookshelf! 😂
@@karencolum Yes, that is so key, I love notebook consistency and next year I really want to try to fit one year of bullet journalling in one book...we'll see what happens tho, that a lot of commitment for a stationery addict lol
@@KaitlinGrey totally hear you! Also I don’t mean to enable you but I read your other post about writing in cursive and I have to say that my handwriting has greatly improved in cursive by using my fountain pens. I especially love writing with the TWSBI Diamond 580 extra fine nib with Noodler’s black ink!
@@karencolum ahaha dw, no enabling here, I've actually tried fountain pens before and while I don't think they're for me (at least rn) I'm glad they helped improve your writing!
I’m so glad I came across this video! I had no idea that they improved the printing. That was the one thing that kept me from using it. I might have to repurchase the new one!
It’s a super big change and I didn’t find it discussed widely so I really wanted to include that information in this review! So glad you found it helpful!
i love your handwriting !
Have you ever tried the pentel energel retractable pens? With the needle point tip. The ink dries very fast unlike the muji ones!
I have not! Thank you so much for the recommendation, I’ll have to check that one out, I didn’t even know they had a needle tip version 🤯
Woaaahhhh! Early morning upload!
EARLY MORNING UPLOADDDD 💪🏻
This is the bullet journal i use daily. I’m about halfway through which is a record for me lol, i usually stop if i find i don’t like the notebook. I actually love the page texture as its a bit glossier than regular paper, i use inks for planning ahead so it can dry and a Parker ballpoint pen for everyday (It’s a mix between a gel and a ballpoint). I love the darker dots and the guide, i feel like the darker dots add to the spreads i make.
I glad its working for you Lydia and wow, congrats on getting halfway that's a major achievement ahah!
That's the one I have and I love it!
Yay! Using a notebook you love is so satisfying! If you don't mind sharing Ann, what do you like about it?
@@KaitlinGrey I love the thicker paper. Not so thick that you can’t turn the page but sturdy enough to hold up to pens. Very much enjoying the THREE ribbons. I flip through a few different collections at a time and it’s nice to be able to do that so quickly. I like the Bujo pocket guide that it comes with. I’m currently trying to keep it super simple and back to the basic bullet journal method.
Now that you mention it, I am noticing the coating on the page. I had been wondering why my pen wasn’t working properly! Besides that I love it.
@@annsreallife The three bookmarks are such a convenient feature! I use one for my one line a day collection, one for my monthly spread and one for my daily log! I really need to reread the pocket guide and the book before setting up my 2022 bujo, I find it really helps reset my journal if that makes any sense!
I found this journal at my Barnes and nobles and I love it though even though I’m a left hander so it does smudge if I don’t wait but I still love it cause it has thicker paper
Isn't the best when you can find awesome journals locally?! Ahhh yes the thicker pages are such a nice bonus!
This was so helpful! Thank you
Thanks Sabrina, glad it was helpful 🤗
Im using Micron 03 pen and it works fine.
Good to know! Thanks for sharing Gabriela 🤗
I didn't like it. I got the light dots, hated them. BTW, thank you for the info about the update! Also my handwriting is large, so I write in every other line, which means the uneven number of lines did drive me nuts. I couldn't care less about the paper being thicker, as the ghosting doesn't bother me with their regular books. When the backside has been written on, the text from the front won't shine through any longer anyway. My bullet journaling is extremely minimalist and I do a lot of diary style journaling in it. So the writing experience with a fountain pen is what is important for me and the regular books are far better suited for my use. In fact I hated the book so much, I filled it in six weeks, which is an unheard of personal record, just to be able to crack open a new one. ETA Forgot to say, nice review!
Thanks for sharing your thoughts Y., notebooks are such a personal things and getting different perspective from people who liked and didn't like the notebook is SO important! Sorry to hear that you didn't like the notebook, are you liking the notebook your in right now better?? I really feel you with writing experience being important, I've found since getting into cursive this year, the texture of the paper makes a big difference in how enjoyable the notebook is for me! Also, I totally agree with ghosting not being a big deal once you write on both sides of the paper, it really doesn't bother me if both pages are filled!
@@KaitlinGrey I am back to the normal Leuchtturm 1917 with the 80gsm paper now. It is my standard journal, because I live in Germany and can get it nearly everywhere. Yes, notebooks are very personal. My mom likes the cheap ones from China with a grid. She likes them because they don't feel precious. :-) Whereas one of my friends uses a very high end, large diary.
Your getting back into cursive is very interesting. I always write cursive, but my handwriting has suffered a lot and I want to polish it up a bit. I bought the Spencerian books to practice and learn something new. I would very much like to know how you approach this endeavour.
@@y.sangare1238 I relate to your mom, I dont like my notebook to feel delicate bc I won't use them as much! Ah as for the handwriting, I started writing in cursive in July, so I haven't noticed a big difference in my hand writing, but right now I use my printing to date each daily log in my bullet journal so I guess I get some practice in that way? I found for improving my cursive, daily practice did wonders!
I bought this notebook and the book, haven’t opened either yet.
I LOVE the book! Its a really great read, especially before a new year!
Thanks girl ⚡️📖😊🥰
Aww, thanks Girl.
I love your CZcams chanel 🥰🎬🏆🎨📖
Does the cover get dirty easily? Thanks.
After 6 months of use, the notebook didn’t show any dirt for me!
how long was the delivery for the bullet journal?
I ordered mine off the Canadian website and it arrived in two days!
I want this so badly but does the paper ghost a lot just like the original Leuchtturm books?
Yes, yes it does! I would not recommend this notebook if you don’t like ghosting 🙃
@@KaitlinGrey Aww man, thanks for the info
@@puneetdhindsa1094 OMG WAIT sorry, I thought you were asking about a different notebook, THIS ONE DOES NOT GHOST!! The paper is much much thicker than the LT 1917 original notebooks so you'd definitely like it :)
@@KaitlinGrey OMG YAY!!! Thanks so much!
@@KaitlinGrey Oh! Just one more question, I just bought it but how long did it take to arrive?
use blotting paper and you don't have to wait.
Oh cool, I’ve never heard of blotting paper for pens only oily foreheads haha! I’ll have to check it out, thanks!