Pelle Leather Journal - Rustic Saddle - Medium + 1 Plain Linen Paper Notebook (4.3" X 6.8") Insert - 64 Pages

I do like this Pelle journal and all. I bought it without the knowledge that Midori has a competing product called the Midori Traveller. So regarding this Pelle, the corners want to try to collapse due to the tension of the elastic cords. Keeping them from collapsing is next to impossible. I tried adjusting the tension but nothing helped. I saw another review where the user added two more notebooks and claims to have solved the collapsing of the corners problem. The leather is sort of 'flappy' and not very rigid on the Pelle, but it is still nice.

This got me curious, so I bought a large Midori at roughly 55, and this one (Pelle) is 39 is bit smaller. I found the Midori leather to be a bit heftier but supple and the corners do NOT collapse on the corners from the elastic bands (even with just one notebook). I think I'm sold on the outer cover of the Midori, but the linen paper in the Pelle is better and weightier than the Midori paper. Any way, either product will do the job and I like them both for different reasons.

I've owned a Midori Travelers Notebook for years - it's clear these folks have worked hard to copy every aspect of that product from the linen sleeve to the packaging to the dimensions of the notebook to the way inserts are held by the notebook. The same way I'm not going to by a Bolex watch, I'm really, really reluctant to endorse the Pelle, regardless of where it's made. A knockoff is a knockoff.

DO NOT BUY IF YOU USE FOUNTAIN PENS. The journal itself, with the various elastic cords, leather cover, and packaging is every bit as nice as the Midori Traveller's Notebook, which shares the same design. It is quite lovely. The paper refills are also quite smooth and perfectly acceptable for pencil, ballpoint, and gel/rollerball pens up to medium width. However, for most fountain pens this paper is terrible. It feathers with every ink I tried ( Sailor, Pilot, Diamine, Noodlers--except black--and Platinum. Even with a Sailor 1911 with a fine nib (0.30mm nib width) the paper feathered so much it looked as if I was writing with a bold nib. The ink also bled through the paper.

If one does not use fountain pens or bold-tipped gel pens, this would be a great notebook. For fountain pen users, my only recommendation is to replace the refilled with the original sized Midori traveller's notebook refills. They are the same size, and the paper is superior for use with fountain pens.

I needed a small journal to carry in my pants pocket. This one is the perfect size. The quality of the leather is nice and the price was resonable.
I got out my store of small journals to see if any would fit. Clairfontaine Life unplugged, one of my favorites, is too large! Smallest Rhodia notepad is too small. Moleskine Cahiers too large. Leuchtturm 1917 too large.

So, I see this is a unique size: 3 1/2" by 5". Like an old notecard.
I decided I'd better stock up on extra inserts. It came with one plain one, no lines.

Got out my pens to test how the combos of inks and nibs did.

This paper is good pretty much with very FINE nibs. My Sailor Prof. Gear fine did ok with Bad Black Mocassin.
A Pelikan 140 extra fine with Badger and Blade's 5 O'clock shadow was ok. Lamy 2000 ex fine with BB Mocassion ok.

The paper SUCKS up ink right out of the pens and leaves a "fuzzy" line with anything BUT a very fine nib.
#41 Brown from a .5 stub in Edison, was fuzzy. Baystate Blue from Pelikan ex fine was fuzzy.

What I mean by "fuzzy" is that it "Feathers." Most inks Feather on this paper.
The good news is that no inks showed BLEED through. Surprisingly, Diamine Green/Black from Estie 2556 wrote well and almost no feathering.

Conclusion: The leather journal is definitely worth the money! Very nice and antiquey! I'm not happy with the paper. I want a definite, clear line....I cannot say that this is possible without some feathering.

I see there is a pack of refills which includes a Sketch one that should be of better paper. I may try that one.

First of all, I'm tired of reading unhelpful reviews about how Pelle is a imitation and blah blah... I own the large Midori notebook, but I wanted a smaller version for EDC since I dont lug around a big bag with me anymore. I decided to go for the small pelle journal because of its price and similarities.

The leather:
I was torn between the brown and this rustic color. I like vintage and the Rustic Saddle color appealed to me more. What I didn't realize was that when I recieved my item, I discovered that the leather cover was actually a SUEDE type of leather. No biggie, I grew to like it the more and more I petted it. :) The leather feels very...buttery..and smooth. Its actually quite nice. Even though the cover seems to easily get marked up with my finger nails and such, it seems to be a bit more scratch resistant then my midori because it is suede. Pet it and the marks fade some. The insert in my notebook arrived upside down and upon correcting this I became VERY annoyed by how messy and tight the strings were in the middle. The leather kept on curling on me and that made me upset for a while. After I got 3 inserts fitted, things seemed to work out better.

The notebook insert:
Comes with a plain blank insert. The paper accepts my EF and F fountain pen nibs fine. When I tried my medium nib it feathered. The paper is a bit thicker than the midori inserts in the same size. What I don't like is that it won't lie flat when closed.

I fitted my pelle small journal with 2 more inserts (midori) and a zippered pocket. So far I really like it. I gave it 4 stars because of the trouble I had with the strings/bands in the middle. Other than that its awesome. My Pelle Journal ===> http://www.flickr.com/photos/holliesterr/8115335015/in/photostream