In my last post, I was talking about my search for Tomoe River pocket notebooks. Another great option is from Pebble Stationery Co! They Kickstarted their first pocket notebooks in 2018 and have since expanded to A5 Cahiers and leather covers. Today, I’ll be reviewing the Midnight limited edition.
Specs:
- 2-pack for $12.99
- 52gsm white Tomoe River paper
- 4mm dot grid
- 80 pages
- pocket size, 3.5” x 5.5”
- covered stitched spine
- 350gsm cardstock cover
- black edged pages!
The Midnight is a very appealing notebook to me, because of its superior paper and the “stealthy” design. The cover is made of a thick cardstock with embedded sparkles in it, making it look like a starry night sky! Pebble Stationery Co. is printed in metallic black in the bottom right of the cover. The edges are covered in a matte black ink, further adding to the stealthiness. The binding is stitched with blue thread. The overall effect of the notebook is sleek and beautiful! It reminds me of the long-gone Field Notes Night Sky, which had foiled starry back covers. I love how the sparkle is subtle and most obvious under direct light. Compared to the Elemental Paper Electron I just reviewed, the cover is thinner and lighter but should still hold up.
There’s a thin belly band keeping the two notebooks together. Inside the cover is a place to write your name, contact information, dates, location, and content. The inside is a pleasing icy blue, matching the stitching. Inside the back cover is more information about the Midnight Edition. The notebook lays relatively flat once I press down on it but the cover springs up afterwards.
Inside is 80 pages of 52gsm Tomoe River paper! Because of its slimness, the Midnight packs in more paper than the average Field Notes. The ruling is 4mm dot grid, smaller than the 5mm that I’m used to. Because of this, my handwriting skewed smaller in this notebook than in a Field Notes or Story Supply Co. The dots themselves are light gray and inconspicuous. They’re much more subtle compared to the large Baron Fig dots and most comparable to the dots in Leuchtturm1917 notebooks.
There’s lot’s of shading and sheen as always in the 52gsm TR paper. I didn’t even try the gel pens this time, they would smear everywhere! Dry time is very long, from 30 seconds to a minute for fountain pens. I tried hard not to rub my hand across the paper this time. Show through was heavy. It’s still not the most practical paper in a pocket notebook. But if you want the best paper, Tomoe River is it.
Compared to the Electron, the Midnight feels a bit more fragile. I would be more careful with how I store this notebook. Before the pandemic, I carried notebooks in a zippered pocket in my backpack. The Midnight would do well there, but I’d be careful storing it in a pants pocket. Both of them are more expensive than the average Field Notes but that is because of the great paper. The Midnight only comes in a 2-pack which is a bit low but there’s almost enough paper inside for two more notebooks if they had the same page count as Field Notes! My other issue is that the company is situated in Australia so it took about two weeks for my notebooks to arrive but I was expecting delays anyways.
If you’re looking for a well-designed pocket notebook with quality Tomoe River, Pebble Stationery Co. has you covered! I love the unique elements like the black edges and the starry cover. The Midnight is a limited edition and will run out eventually so get it while you can. Pebble Stationery Co. also donates a pencil to a child in need for each notebook pack you buy, which is wonderful!
I bought this notebook with my own funds. I was not paid for this review.
Notebook Joy 