Scout Books Review Keeper Notebook 3 Pack (3.5" x 5")

At a whopping half inch smaller than my typical go-to brand, Field Notes, these flexible kraft paper notebooks (made with recycled paper) weigh in at 3.5x5 with a mere 32 pages. Their featherweight stats promise they're even more pocket friendly than competitors. Streamlined for brevity.The brand offers this"Keeper" line that travels beyond the blank/lined/grid notebooks (which they also offer) with themes like "music keeper", "project keeper", etc., but the critic inside me chose the "review keeper" as I love the idea of tracking and reviewing purchases, cheese & beverages I've sampled, new restaurants....whatever can be documented and given, quite literally, a 1-5 star review.Atop each page (printed front and back) there's a thin rectangle shaped box to title your review, followed by the outline of five large stars that you can shade in/circle to reflect your pleasure or lack of, followed by 6 college-ruled lines. The bottom third of the page contains a large, bordered blank field for....well, not sure on that one. For the wordy amongst us (guilty) you may find yourself disappointed that there's so little of the ruled area. The space utilized by the star field is a bit wasted, and, for my purposes, so is the bottom third. I have decent handwriting but I NEED a lined rule or I go all crooked. Perhaps this box at the bottom is meant for a doodle, free form rant, maybe even a large sticker? The idea is you can do whatever you'd like in the space. And that's nice...especially if you're a person of few words or don't want to be limited by them. But I'd prefer more ruled lines.The binding is two staples; you can easily rip out pages but ripping out more than 3 or 4 can, and in my case, does, compromise the integrity of the entire notebook. The notebooks don't lie flat unless you really abuse them or remove pages, but at this price point I wouldn't expect them to. The thick chipboard cover can be ripped too, these aren't indestructible like a Field Notes "Expedition". This flexibility in a cover--roll it up if you want--is a boon in some situations but will discourage more rugged use. It does, however, accommodate a clipped pen w/o the cover rolling down or experiencing serious damage.The front cover is blank except for carrying over the outline of the 5 stars. Back cover provides a field for "belongs to; a contact field; start date/end date". The notebook has rounded edges for easily flipping through. The paper itself is pleasant to write upon, neither slick nor too pulpy. However...Unfortunately, my pen of choice is either a Le Pen or a Stabilo Point 88 and so there is considerable bleed through on the pages. Even tho both these pens are very fine tipped, the Scout books (and in fairness, most of their competitors too) can't handle anything even approaching a felt tip. Stick to a ballpoint and you'll be fine. The pages aren't as lush as Moleskine, obviously not as plasticky as an Expedition, but ultimately far, far superior to any drugstore notepad you'll ever encounter. I haven't tried Rhodia or Word or the handful of other popular pocket notebooks to compare.I have no true gripes and would buy again. (And have). I've enjoyed keeping track of odds and ends and these are fun companions to list lovers and will aid general jotter types who desire more organization or clarity of topic/theme. Sold in very reasonably priced 3-packs, the value is solid and definitely worth a try. Per their website sourced AND made in the USA!

These are sensational notebooks, and they work perfectly as refills for the Midori passport-size journal. The Scout Book paper is far superior to Midori notebook paper. It's thick with no ballpoint-rollerball bleed through. I can't speak to fountain pens. Buy a box of 12 and knock the price under $2 a notebook. Highly recommended.