The Kokuyo Campus notebook is a no-frills, fountain pen friendly notebook. Many people also consider it to be a great notebook for anyone who doesn’t want to spend a lot on nice paper. I found some for sale the last time I was in San Francisco’s Japantown and picked one up to try it out myself. Read on to hear my thoughts on the Kokuyo Campus notebook.
First Impressions
Due to the size (A5) and thickness (75 sheets), my first impression of the notebook was that it was a little flimsy. The cover material isn’t very stiff, so the notebook doesn’t have a lot of “substance” to it. It does seem to be well-made. The paper feels nice and the lines look thin and unobtrusive.
The Details
Let’s take a closer look at the notebook and go over a few of the more important details.
- Pages: 75 pages, 150 sheets (including contents page)
- Paper Weight: 70gsm
- Binding: Glue
- Page Style: Lined – 7mm
- Size: A5, B5
Ink-handling characteristics (A table with the following properties can be found at the bottom of this post)
- Sheen: Low
- Shading: High
- Bleeding: High
- Ghosting: Medium
- Feathering: Low
- Dry Time: Medium
Other features
- Contents page/index
- Top/bottom margins
- Page/Date lines at top of each page
- Available in multiple sizes and colors
Actual Use
In actual use, the notebook is solid. I can’t say that it gives an amazing writing experience, but it’s not a bad writing experience either. The paper, while smooth, is not luxurious. There are plenty of other notebooks I’d buy again before this one, but the price is what sets it apart. It truly is a budget notebook, even more so than the Black n’ Red or Clairefontaine Basic notebooks. About the only way you’ll find fountain pen friendly paper at a lower cost per sheet is to buy it loose leaf.
While it might not be very exciting to write on, the Campus notebook does perform well with fountain pens. It shows some sheen and has decent shading. I did experience more bleedthrough than I would prefer. Is it an unacceptable amount? That’s for you to decide.
Ghosting is a bit higher than I would prefer, but not high enough to make using both sides of a page impossible. I didn’t observe any feathering under normal use, but did notice some that was caused by the oils on my skin. You’ll want to be careful with this paper and avoid touching it too much while writing.
Conclusion
The Kokuyo Campus notebook would make a great notebook for a student or anyone who wants fountain pen friendly paper for taking notes or writing information. It handles fountain pen ink well and will show some shading and sheen. While I’d recommend you take precautions and protect the paper from skin oils in order to avoid feathering, the notebooks should offer a nice writing experience.
They are also great value and one of the few notebooks I’ve seen that I would truly consider to be a “budget” option. While I paid around $5 for my notebook ($0.07/sheet), they can be purchased individually online at Jetpens for $5.75 ($0.08/sheet) or, if you look around, can be purchased in multipacks on Amazon for under $0.06/sheet.
If you’d like a bit more information about how I test papers and notebooks, I wrote an article about my paper rating system.
Kokuyo Campus Notebook Review
Fountain Pen Love Overall Rating
Pros: Very inexpensive notebooks with fountain pen friendly paper
Cons: Flimsy cover makes it hard to use without a hard surface underneath, paper feathers with skin oils, bleedthrough
Value Rating: Stars: 3.00, Cost per A5 sheet: $0.08
Who this notebook is for: Students who want nice paper for taking notes
Upgrade to this notebook from: A regular, spiral-bound notebook
Upgrade from this notebook to: Clairefontaine Basic notebook
Comments 8
Thanks for this review.
I didn’t buy this version of Kokuyo but was looking at it last week as I love pink 🤷🏻♀️
I have other versions of this paper which I do like.
Author
You’re welcome! It comes in quite a few different sizes and colors, so there’s definitely something for everyone!
I can’t seem to find a review of the MIO paper and I don’t think I see the Kokuyo MIO high grade paper listed on your master list. Have you reviewed this paper yet?
Author
I’ve never tried it before. Where do you get it from?
Thanks for the information! I’m a student who’s trying to get into fountain pens, and I already have some Kokuyo Campus paper and love it. I’ll definitely be buying some more.
Author
You’re welcome, Finn! Glad to hear it’s working for you.
I agree, great with fountain pens. I use the notebook to take notes of a book I’m reading. It works well with my Aurora Optima inked with Apache Sunset.
Author
This would definitely make a good notebook for tracking the books you read. Glad to hear you enjoy it!