Bravo! I use Tops Docket and Tops Docket Gold, legal-sized 11" × 14". They're the best I've used, and I've tried a bunch. I buy the Tops Docket pads by the dozen, and live on them every day. I also use the Tops Docket yellow steno pad for portable carry, tasks, sketching and taking notes during calls. Something about yellow encourages ideas and creativity. I ♥ yellow legal pads!

I love this video. You are my spirit animal, dude.

i thought you were wearing a clerical collar. I thought you were a priest.

Can a pen make you feel more creative?? I would agree. Can a posh pen make you a better writer in the same way having a posh car makes you drive better?? Sadly i do not agree. If you're a good writer it doesn't matter what pen you have.😊

Great review btw. In fact watching your review made me realise that i could've saved myself a ton of money if i had went with the simple legal pad. Thanks😊

If you have the budget check out the Traveler's Notebook system. Made in Japan high quality versatile inserts etc.

I totally agree with you. I love Writing on legal pads because they are just so simple and practical no washi tape highlighter bs just my bic pen and a legal pad. it reallyy is like the work horse of notebooks

Well this is good, the Harry Potter movies would be terrible if done by Disney or Dreamworks!! Especially dreamworks ugh

Hi Sam, I have to say that this is the most honest and straightforward notebook / workshop review that I have ever seen. Kudos to you. You have addressed a lot of issues in regards to purchasing notebooks to meet our personal purpose, requirements and desires. You have made us stop and think and consider the KISS principle Keep It Simple Stupid. Does it really need to be fancy, lustrous and complicated? Thanks for this great video.

I do really love the legal pads too, I don’t know something about the yellow. That make creating and writing so easy and confident, inviting. the yellow color is just very comforting and different. I think it’s more soothing and relaxing than white.

“We buy them because we have to”. Truer words have never been spoken

I like rhodia pads. I am from india. They are crazy expensive here. Double of what you pay in us or europe. But amazon an. Other paper are shit. 😢😢

subbed

I’ve really been into pens with multiple colors for different tasks :) I use the Pilot 4 Colors Frixion at work, but use a Sarasa Multi or Pentel Vicuña C4 for other notes and sketching :) the classic Bic multi is also a personal favorite.

Nanami Seven Seas makes the best notebook. I have searched the world over for fifteen years. I’ve used Nanami for eight years or so and they’re just the best quality.

Here in the UK we generally use European standard paper sizes, measured in millimetres. A4 paper (210 x 297 mm) is the nearest size to that of a legal pad in the USA. I use an A4 pad for note-taking at home, but carry an A5 or A6 notepad (lighter and easier to stuff in a bag) for use around town. A Pilot V5 or V7 pen works well for me, or a V7 gel pen. I don't get on well with biros.

Good videos, same thing has happened with me, looking for the right book 😂😂😂. I found Hobonichi A6 match with my need, compact, light, thick, thin but sturdy papers.

Nice! I really love notebooks with quality paper, I love Kokuyo campus paper so that are my perfect Notebook

Legal Pads 8 1/2 X 14 but . . . and this is vital . . . heavyweight backing and heavyweight paper. No recycled pads. They are horrible. Also, the Uniball Vision Bold (1.0) is the best everyday pen on the market.

Ahh the legal pad. I use them for sketching because somehow the paper doesn't make me feel like I'm ruining a nice notebook. Once I'm happy with the sketch, I take a picture with my phone and I'm good to go with the digital process or by tracing over my drawing to work on a fancy sketchbook.

I've tried fancy notebooks, but I agree mostly with having a lot of cheap pads and notebooks, one for each project. For pens, though, I get more particular. These days, and for years now, mostly Lamy pens.

decomp + pentel energel

Comp notebook and a fountain pen worked great until the compbook paper got too cheap.

Watching at work. I’m crazy about rhodia but it’s to expensive

Pilot G2 🤬🤬 I seriously hate those pens, mostly because of how overhyped they are. They're way too inky for me. They smear and glob. Also, my advice (that no one asked for) would be to get a few better pens rather than the cheap BICs, if you can afford it. I hate those things. I know people just say you can scribble a bit to get them running again, but I've had too many frustrating experiences where I scribble for minutes on end and nothing comes out when there's plenty of ink. That's even happened with new pens. To me, the frustration is not worth the cheapness. That being said, no one should feel bad if that's all they can afford! One more piece of advice, if you're going cheap, stick with ballpoint. Cheap, unbranded gel pens are so terrible

I'm kinda of a notebook nerd too and own a gread deal of them (my personal favourite was moleskine before the paper quality dropped too much to be competitive for it's price) but, to be perfectly honest, a bog standard amazon basics notebook will work great 99% of the time, they are ultimately functional and extremely cheap.

Lamy is kind of like the gateway drug. If you get hooked, then you will try a Waterman, TWSBI, Monteverde, Sailor, Montblanc. Sometimes it even turns back to the Lamy as in Lamy 2000 that I had delivered to me by 'accident'. Then there is the ink. Soon you will have syringes hidden in your drawer, special inks that look a lot like blood, and become that pen snob because no one else understands and looks at you funny. Fine paper is imported regularly, stacks of really, really expensive paper is stacking up. My wife is looking up twelve step programs for me. It all started with a Lamy Safari

I look at the Traveler’s Notebook and Hobbonichi and I just don’t find the need to buy them (yet). It doesn’t go to the style of my current season too. Maybe in the future, but not now. :)

“I need to set some rules for myself(before buying a new one)” haha yes, I do this or else ai will not finish a notebook because I find another cute one.

I love spiral notebooks for work because I can flip it to be one page wide and keep notes during meetings with clients. So thank you for including that section in this video. They often get overlooked.

Robert oster inks are solid all around no matter what color or type of ink you want to try out. (For an ink brand to try out!)

That lamy blue is like my all time favorite blue ink and I am truly NOT a blue ink person atttt all. That lamy blue though is so freakin nice!

Yeah!

Ballpoint pen user here. Basic BIC 4-color and Cristal are both fine. My favorite is Ballograf Epoca. I like the way ballpoints dent the paper and make it crinkle (esp Mead 5-Star paper). 😊

Me too, all of it. I have the same stack (and then some), use them all for different reasons, notes are scattered everywhere, and I'm always shopping for more or dreaming of how to design the best system. Sigh...

My favorite pen used to be the pentel energel, but i recently tried the uni jetstream and i can't decide which is better!

I enjoyed this very much. You have finally chilled me out. I have a hundred unfilled notebooks everywhere. You saved me. Subscribed.

I love your videos. Thank you for keeping it real.

I was againts Roterfaden bt finally got one - SO_20 in olive. Very smooth and soft. Added Filofax Notebook init and its perfect. Also like William Hannah notebooks with Disk system. For me to be able to move pages in out back and forth is absolute must. As for Roterfaden - I would recommend to go with suede inside as the felt is very thick and with the lather it can get very heavy. THE GENTLEMAN STATIONER ahas big selection of them.

I like how this sounds like a hostage message by the end of the video. If you think you're deep into the notebook life now, wait until you hit your Zettelkasten phase. I thankfully survived mine and am now back to the large softcover Moleskine life.

Thanks Sam for doing this. I've had similar issues. I did use a Traveler's notebook for a couple of years for my BUJO and Journal, but I didn't like the fact that it didn't lay flat. And I had other A5 notebooks - one for each research project I was doing at the time. And I am a fountain pen user and wanted good paper. Anyway, I ended up carrying around 3-4 notebooks all the time. And because I had to have a separate notebook for each research project, many of those notebooks would end up with a lot of unused pages. I considered disc and ring bound notebooks but I knew I could not used them because my research notes need to be in a bound notebook. Recently, I heard about the Rotorfaden Taschenbeigleiter notebook system. So I bought one and am using that with several A5 notebooks. So now, I only care the Rotorfaden notebook and my journal insteadall of those other notebooks. Hopefully this will be the answer to my situation.

I have gotten into pens lately as well. I agree on the Zebra Sarasa pen. Very smooth pen and a joy to write with. Still haven't pulled the trigger on a fountain pen, seems like a little too much work.

I love a brain dump section/page. I like your columns for sifting out the important stuff too, I’m gonna start using that! I would love to see a flip through once you fill up your bujo or even past bujos (like what stuff worked, what didn’t, etc)❤

Pelikans are honestly a little out there in lala land with their price points, but they do make a unique nib, which is part of what sets them apart. Just always remember though, there is no pen/nib/ink combo out there, that will suddenly turn us all into master calligraphers. A $40 pen can do everything a $400 pen can do 100%. BUT I don’t want to deter you from fountain pens bc they’re honestly fucking awesome for ppl who write a lot! They require 0 pressure to produce ink flow while writing, so you will never experience hand cramps again once you make the switch! Also it’s fun to commune with ppl into stationery, and to try out endless samples of inks and on different types of paper… it’s all just fun! And the twsbi diamond is so awesome btw, such a good pen, super reliable, and holds a butt ton of ink, which will seemingly never dry out; it’d be a solid buy at ANY point in your pen journey. So I completely second that pen rec! Also, I recommend you get a notebook w/ Tomoe River Paper, bc it’s the shiz. 😬my god..my comment is like a freaking novel. So sorry🙏 lovin your channel so far!

I could literally watch someone research niche items for days. Loving your channel!

Getting into pens? New sub here!

I think you're the first person I've seen on the internet who fills up their BUJO before moving on to a new one. I thought I was the only one. 😀

As a notebook geek I totally understand you. Have been trying to find that preverbal "Paper/Notebook peace"... And guess what, I haven't found it because it's a myth. Every notebook has limitations. The biggest thing to find something that is close to that peace is to understand "What is not!" When you understand what each notebook is NOT, it will be way easier to calm down and find a solution that works for you.

Nice video, this echo the same sentiment I have with notebooks. Subbed

I’ve never been to a party but this sounds like much of what I hear in todays world 🤣