When I first started looking for a notebook I was astonished by how much variety existed (especially in the world of graph paper), and consequently how much vitriol crappy notebooks generate. Everything from paper thickness to perforation was a potential sore spot. After field testing several varieties it was immediately clear that the Cambridge Quad was the winner.
Why this particular notebook? It has the perfect weight paper that doesn’t bleed when using a variety of pens (I’m partial to the previously reviewed Lamy Safari with Noodler’s Bulletproof Black Ink, and the Pentel Sharp Kerry mechanical pencil). Its perforations make for clean tearing, but are strong enough that they never unwittingly lose sheets. At 70-sheets per notebook, it’s not too big, and the wire spiral binding holds up throughout its life (which hasn’t been the case for other notebooks I’ve tried). Another benefit is that there are no delineated margins or hole punches which makes this notebook lefty friendly (being right-handed I only know this through hearsay). Finally, the paper in the Cambridge notebook has a warmer tone which provides for a nice contrast while also making it simple to distinguish any of my assignments in a pile.
While in the past I’ve used the previously reviewed Whitelines graph paper (which is excellent and offers low contrast quad lines for scanning) I found it too expensive for daily use (not to mention that availability was really spotty in certain sizes). At the end of the day these Cambridge notebooks are good enough that I’ve stocked up in case they decide to stop production.
— Oliver Hulland
Manufactured by Mead
Sample page:
Ignore my illegible scrawl, but instead take note of the warmer manila tone of the paper.
Know of a better tool, or have a recommendation? Submit a review or request!