The last time I reviewed a notebook from Elemental Paper, the Nitrogen, I loved the thoughtful design but was disappointed by the quality of the paper. Since then, Elemental started using Tomoe River paper, my favorite! I loved the Proton and sold out Iodine and was excited to see new notebooks. Today, I’ll be reviewing the Uranium. It has interesting qualities that make it stand out among other A5 Tomoe River notebooks. It uses a lime green reticle grid that glows under black light! I’ll dive into this notebook more in the upcoming paragraphs.
Specs:
- 52gsm white Tomoe River paper
- $18
- bright green reticle grid (reticle means tiny crosses)
- 352 pages
- A5 size
- gray linen cover
- two bookmarks (one glows under black light)
The Uranium feels luxurious, with a gray cloth cover, green foil stamping on the spine, and the emission spectrum printed on the edges. It makes a great impression. It reminds me of the stylish design of my Baron Fig notebooks. Uranium comes in a sturdy slipcase that protected it from any damage in transit. The front shows the element from the periodic table while the back has more information on Uranium’s properties. The cloth feels nice to run my hand across. Of course, it is more susceptible to staining and dust than a plastic or paper cover. One negative for me is that the cloth is stretched unevenly across the notebook, which didn’t occur in my Iodine or Nitrogen. However, this might just be my notebook. Two bookmarks, one yellow and one green (it glows under backlight) extend from the cover. They are long enough to grasp easily, a positive compared to the stubby Baron Fig bookmark. The Uranium is a standard A5 size so it should fit into external covers.
The inside shows more thoughtful design! The endpapers are bright green and have a Bohr model one one side and a periodic table where you can fill in your name on the other. The back has a small logo and information about Elemental Paper. The Uranium lies completely flat, except for the first and last pages which are glued.
The paper is white 52gsm Tomoe River paper, which means it will handle any fountain pens you throw at it! I saw plenty of shading and sheen in Iroshizuko Kujaku. I see more sheen and shading on 52gsm than 68gsm, which is my usual go-to. I haven’t used 52gsm in a while, so I forgot how long it takes gel pens to dry on this paper. My Pilot Juice pen smeared all over! I don’t recommend using those. Papermate Inkjoy dried quickly but it actually bled through in spots. So did my rollerball Pilot Precise V5. So I’d stick to pencil, fast drying pens, or fountain pens on this paper.
I tried several different inks on this paper, and there was some clashing with the bright green reticle. Of course greens and blues blended in more while my Bungubox Sweet Love Pink looked a bit strange! However, I still love the idea of this colored grid and it doesn’t bother me too much. The reticle grid seems to be ink repellent but doesn’t stick out as badly as the large dots in a Baron Fig do.
The grid itself is a perfect size for me, large enough to guide my writing but not dominating the page. I compared the Uranium with my two Nanami Crossfield notebooks (the old edition had larger reticle crosses) and it was most similar to the old edition. The crosses on the new Crossfield are so small and dark that they look like dots. As a lover of the old edition, this is a great replacement for when I fill up that Crossfield.
One negative is that there’s a lot of show through. 52gsm white paper especially seems to have this effect. This is what turned me off from 52gsm in the first place. However, the ghosting becomes less prominent when you write on the backside, until it becomes less noticeable. If you hate show through, I’d recommend the 68gsm, but 52gsm is still great.
Overall, I love the Uranium notebook! It’s so delightfully nerdy that it makes me smile when I look at it. It’s also a good replacement for the old Crossfield if you loved a bigger reticle grid. This edition is selling fast, and there’s only 140 notebooks left! You can buy it on their website here. Sadly, this is one of the last notebooks Elemental Paper will be making, as they decided to close their business to focus on family. I’m very sad to hear that, and I wish the creators luck on their future ventures!
I bought this notebook with my own funds. I was not paid for this review.
Notebook Joy 