Not long ago, I was alerted to the fact that there were nice, fountain pen friendly notebooks at, of all places, Walmart. Of course, I had to investigate, so I stepped into a Walmart for what was probably the first time in many years. Once I found my way back to the office supplies I was greeted by box after box of what I was looking for: Exceed Journals. Rumor had it that these notebooks were not only inexpensive, but also had great paper. Wanting to put them to the test, I bought one and headed home to play.
I purchased the Exceed 100gsm A5 Bullet Journal. I should point out that, while there are other sizes available, this is the only standard notebook size. There are also two different paper options, a 100gsm and a 78gsm option. From what I’ve read, the 78gsm is the same as the 100gsm, but I haven’t tested it yet, so for the rest of this review my findings only relate to the 100gsm paper.
The notebooks with this logo are newer and are the ones you’ll want to look for.
First Impressions
I unwrapped the 100gsm A5 Bullet Journal and was immediately impressed with how well-made it felt. The cover, while not necessarily made out of a luxurious material, has a nice feel to it. It is stiff enough to be a solid hardcover and the binding feels nice and tight. The blue color of the notebook is bright. It has a matching blue elastic closure and ribbon marker.
The cover is a very bright color and has the logo debossed on the back.
Opening it up, I was greeted by numerous index pages. It turns out this notebook has numbered pages, which makes it perfect for a bullet journal! The paper has a very creamy-yellow color, enough that it stands out as not being white. We’ll have to see how ink looks on it. The paper feels very smooth and seems like it will handle ink quite well.
Here is one of the five (!) index pages in this notebook.
The Details
Let’s take a look at the Exceed notebook and see what it’s all about
- Pages: 240 (120 sheets), not counting index pages
- Paper Weight: 100gsm
- Binding: Stitch
- Page Style: Lined, Dot
- Size: A5
Ink-handling characteristics (A table with the following properties can be found at the bottom of this post)
- Sheen: Low
- Shading: Low
- Bleeding: Very Low
- Ghosting: Very Low
- Feathering: Very Low
- Dry Time: Medium
Other features
- Page numbers
- Index pages
- Elastic closure
- Double ribbon page marker
- Expandable rear pocket
Page numbers make this notebook perfect for bullet journaling.
This notebook comes with an expandable rear pocket.
Actual Use
I have to admit, when I purchased this notebook I didn’t have high hopes for it. Even though I’d seen a good review for it, I was still skeptical. How could a notebook that was so inexpensive, made by a company that no one had heard of before, be any good? At the most, I expected it to be fountain pen friendly, but nothing special.
Things got off to a good start as soon as I opened the notebook. The color, the cover material, the extras and the paper all make a great first impression. I don’t think anyone is going to mistake this for a luxury notebook, but if I didn’t know what I paid for it I would never imagine it costs less the $10. In short, it makes a great first impression.
Let’s take a quick look at the various extras before talking about the paper. The elastic closure is nice and snug and feels like it will keep the notebook closed up tight. The ribbon markers are just the right length, but are a little crimped from being stuck inside of the book. The index has more than enough pages and the line for each entry is large enough for a good description. The expandable rear pocket feels sturdy and should hold a good number of items.
Double ribbon markers help keep your place in this notebook.
The notebook appears to be well-made. The stitch binding allows it to lay completely flat, but the cover material is a little stiff, so you might need to flex the binding a bit when you first get it.
Now on to the paper. In short, it’s fantastic. It feels very nice to write on, fairly smooth but with some texture for just a bit of feedback. While it doesn’t show a lot of sheen or shading, it does show some, so your fun inks won’t be boring! The dry times are fairly average, which means you won’t have to spend a ton of time waiting for ink to dry before you turn the page or close the notebook.
Where the paper in this notebook really shines is how well it handles ink. I did my regular testing and also wrote with some wetter pens that lay down a lot more ink. I didn’t see a single instance of feathering or bleed-through, even with heavy ink applications. Additionally, the was virtually zero ghosting. In fact, many times I couldn’t even tell if I had written on the other side of a page and had to turn it over to check. Part of the reason is that this is thick (100gsm) paper, but it also just handles ink really well.
Exceed 100gsm A5 notebook paper test: Front
Exceed 100gsm A5 notebook paper test: Back
One more thing to note about the naming of these notebooks… although this notebook is named a bullet journal, the other notebooks are also available with a dot grid (in addition to lined pages) and the bullet journal comes in lined. I guess the name just refers to the size? Doesn’t make a lot of sense to me, but I suppose it doesn’t have to.
Here you can see the number of signatures used in this notebook.
Conclusion
When I first heard that Walmart had a line of notebooks with quality paper, I was skeptical to say the least. In general, I’m wary of any paper that is not made specifically for use with fountain pens, but especially when that paper comes from a large retail store. Now that I’ve tried it, though, I’m a believer. I’ll even go so far as to say that at this price point, it’s some of the best paper you’ll find in a notebook. If you want a notebook that has just about every option, as well as paper that you won’t have to worry about extreme dry times and behaves well with pretty much every pen/ink combination, this is one that should not be missed.
Inside the cover there is space to write some information.
If you’d like a bit more information about how I test papers and notebooks, I wrote an article about my paper rating system.
Exceed 100gsm A5 Bullet Journal
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Sheen (higher is better)
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Shading (higher is better)
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Bleeding (higher is better)
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Ghosting (higher is better)
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Feathering (higher is better)
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Dry Time (higher is better)
Fountain Pen Love Overall Rating
Pros: Great price, great paper, page numbers
Cons: Only available at Walmart, thick due to heavier paper
Value Rating: 3.71 Stars, Cost per A5 sheet: $0.07
Who this notebook is for: Anyone who wants a reasonably-priced notebook with good paper, especially for bullet journaling.
Upgrade to this notebook from: Leuchtturm1917
Upgrade from this notebook to: Midori MD
Comments 18
Because I live in the UK I miss out on some bargains like this one, but I can go to Home Bargains (a chain of shops selling a low prices but so much better quality than poundshops) and buy 200 pages/100 sheets pads double spiral bound A4, ruled with plastic front and back and elastic closing. £1.50. or £1.25 with card covers. I have a shelf full of them in case of drought. Shopkeepers go to the shop and stock up so there is a buying limit of 15 per visit. Not everyone’s taste, but I love A4 and I want ruled and spiral bound because I write poems and lyrics – half the time in bed. It has 80gsm yet out of my hundreds of fountain pens only one bleeds so that I see it the other side of the sheet – it’s a Senator, and has a heavy flow. Give me a Jinhao or Platinum any day.
Walmart bought a UK retailer called Asda. I shall investigate and find out if they have good stationery.
Author
That’s the thing. There are deals out there, you just have to be willing to take a risk once in a while and hope you can find some good paper. Glad you have a source in a size you enjoy using!
Stop making me want to go to Walmart!
Author
I know, right? I’m sure you don’t really need another notebook, do you?
Stacy Hills, so much yes. There’s one just a few blocks away from me, & I’ve managed to stay away for years. Now they stock Glass Plus (other stores have stopped carrying it, but it’s so great for people with allergies) AND GOOD NOTEBOOKS! Cry for me; I’m going 😢
I recently found your website – I really like it! I’ve been picking these journals up for months now, and I was surprised to see so few people talking about them! I just wish they came in a wire bound format so I could write on a flat surface.
Author
I’m glad you like my site, Acadia! These journals are definitely a hidden gem that more people should know about. Happy writing!
Hello! What a lovely review! I recently bought an Exceed A5 Dotted Journal, the exact same one. I do have a question though, I understand the page size is A5 but that’s only considering the dotted area. Each page is framed with blank space and I was wondering what is the paper size as a whole (considering the dotted area and blank frame)? I’m trying to print photos that will cover the whole page but I just can’t seem to get the right sizing. Have a wonderful day!
Author
Glad you enjoyed it, Tai! I think the measurements actually refer to the cover size, as the paper is smaller than the official measurements for A5. Pulling out my measuring device and measuring a page, it looks like each page is 8.25 inches tall and 5.625 inches wide. Good luck!
I do Ink Profiles so White paper is important to me since ivory or cream change the real appreciation of the inks properties. Do you know what color are these notebooks? Thank you
A pale cream. At first I was as you wanting white for my inks. Now, after using this Exceed the cream-ish color is acceptable, as is its dot grid. Compared to numerous planner papers I have used, the Exceed’s paper quality is much better by far. Because of Exceed’s paper quality I stopped using a planner. Though I am not into Bullet Journaling (and all that gaudy fluff) I do keep a daily journal of my activities, upcoming ToDo list, and the like.
Is it me or there aren’t many Fountain Pens Friendly white papers for a fair price. I’ll try the Exceed paper. Thank you and Merry Christmas🙏🏻🎄
Author
Hi Monica, as RicD said, it is a creamy color, so not the best for color accuracy.
It’s hard to find white fountain pen friendly notebooks. Many have less than 60 pages and not cheap. The People interested in Bullet Journal are pushing manufacturers for more pages and higher gsm paper, flat,hardcover and softcover but they don’t really care about the color of the pages. Anyways, I learn a lot in your website as well as from the nice people who write and share. I’ll post my findings, maybe help each other. Thank you and Merry Christmas🎄🎅🏻🤶🏻🙏🏻🌟
Author
It’s true! Paper color is one of those things that most people don’t attention to. I’m glad to hear you learn a lot from my site! What are your favorite papers to use that are white?
Pentalic, Archer and Olive, Stillman Birn, Scribbles that matter, Zequenz 360 and Black n’red all are Notebooks with White paper color and Fountain Pen Friendly so far.
I am also using Baron Fig Confidant Ivory, Dingbalts cream, Minimalist Art Ivory/cream all notebooks.
I haven’t checked others like Clairfontain,Rhodia,Day Craft,Muji,Apica,Scrivwell,CVS Caliber,Cafe Note,Endless Recorded,The Author Notebook,Quo Vadis Habana,Elia Notebook,Lamy Notebooks,VDS Notebook,Stifflexible Notebooks,Hobonichi Techo, Hippo Noto notebooks and Bond Travel Gear Field Notebook.
I am far from being able to distinguish the types and manufacturers so many of these may be using common types of papers like Tomoa River,etc but these are, so far, what I am currently working on.
I have a few of these Exceed notebooks in different colors and sizes. The soft cover is also *really* nice. A shout out to the Exceed binders! One-touch open, smooth operation, no tugging to open the rings with two hands. Really nice products overall.
Author
I have to agree that the cover on the soft cover is quite nice. I don’t find I have a need for binders very often, but when I do, I’ll keep these in mind!