I have always been a fan of Midori MD products so when I saw the new MD A5 Notebook featuring Paper Thick ($23.50), I knew I needed to try it out. The MD Paper Thick is listed as 141gsm which puts it into the same category as a lot of the 120gsm (and up) bullet journaling notebooks that are quite popular right now.
I could not find specific information about the paper weight of the standard MD paper or the MD Light but they are both much thinner than the MD Thick.
The Thick notebook include 48 sheets/96 pages which is half the number of pages included in the the standard MD notebook ($15.50)(96 sheets/192 pages).
The binding and covers are the same as the standard notebooks from Midori MD with exposed stitching on the binding and simple, unadorned ivory covers. The only branding is a blind emboss on the cover with the Midori branding information. All other information is included on a slipsheet wrap included in the packaging. The covers are ivory cardstock and designed to fit into a Midori cover.
The paper is a similar creamy, ivory color like the other Midori notebooks. The MD Thick is only available in blank right now but can be purchased in A5 and A5-Square (which is actually 5.7″ square so its not really A5 anything, but I let it go).
In pen testing, I tested a page with my everyday fountain pens, a page with all sorts of felt tip, gel, rollerballs and brush pens and finally some of my highlighters and all of them performs beautifully. There was no feathering or bleeding. I can see the appeal of this paper for anyone who uses a lot of different types of tools and who may want to add lots of brush pens, maybe light ink washes and such.
From the Back:
When I turned the pages, there is almost NO showthrough at all– as I hoped. Which means you can easily use both the front and packs of every page. This means the book really does have 96 pages and not just 48 sheets since you can use both sides efficiently.
This paper is fascinating and extremely functional. It is Thick but that’s what it says “on the tin” so it lives up to its name. It is more expensive than the standard Midori MD notebook of the same size. Is it worth the extra cost? If you like doing 2-page spread layouts and other decorative treatments in a bullet journal or are inclined to add paint or other artistic tools, than it may be worth it to you.
Would you purchase a notebook with this paper? Are you curious?
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