Best Stationery Finds of 2025: Our Favorite Planners, Pens, and Inks (Plus a Few Fails)

Introduction

After a full year of testing planners, pens, inks, and accessories, a short list of stationery genuinely earned its keep. This roundup covers the finds that stood out in 2025, along with an honest look at the items that did not work out. Every product here was used long enough to form a real opinion, not just a first impression.

Best Storage: Delde A5 Carrying Case

For anyone who overpacks, the Delde A5 carrying case is a quiet triumph. It swallows an impressive amount of stationery and miscellaneous extras while still staying a manageable size, thanks to a thoughtful spread of pockets and compartments. Even with heavy daily travel, the stitching and construction have held up perfectly, with nothing coming apart or wearing loose.

There are two trade-offs worth knowing. First, if you add straps and load it heavily, it can feel pretty heavy on the shoulders; most people will prefer carrying it inside a larger backpack. Second, the lighter canvas colorways attract pet hair and lint aggressively, so owners of dark-furred cats should expect to lint roll often.

Best Planner: Sterling Ink Common Planner B6

The B6 vertical Sterling Ink Common Planner in the full-year size is the standout planner of the year, especially for anyone who wants one book to carry them from January to December. The layout works like a planning funnel: big-picture year spreads up front, quarterly planning spreads next, monthly calendars after that, and vertical weeklies (with a horizontal option available if you prefer). The rest of the book is blank grid paper, which is perfect for deeper daily planning, journaling, brain dumps, brainstorming, or ink swatches when planning attention drifts.

After a full year of use, it is an easy repurchase recommendation. If you like seeing the whole year at a glance but still want room to zoom into months and weeks, this structure fits beautifully.

Best Fountain Pen for Everyday Comfort: BENU Talisman Edelweiss

The BENU Talisman Edelweiss in a medium nib is one of the most comfortable writers of the year. It uses a Schmidt stainless steel nib (believed to be a size six) that feels bouncy, soft, and smooth on the page, with zero scratchiness and zero hard starts even after sitting unused for a week, which speaks to a well-designed cap and sealing mechanism.

The resin is also a genuine highlight: black and turquoise with holographic flakes and a turquoise shimmer. The pen is very light, which surprised some reviewers at first purchase but turned out to be a blessing for anyone whose grip rests the pen higher on the hand, where heavier pens cause fatigue faster.

Best Value Demonstrator: TWSBI Diamond 580 Iris

The TWSBI Diamond 580 in the Iris colorway, also in a medium nib, is the second favorite fountain pen of the year. Its smaller size-four nib still writes plush and soft with no scratchiness, and the pen is only slightly heavier than the BENU, not enough to cause any discomfort. The rainbow accents paired with the clear demonstrator body look fantastic, and the piston filler remains one of the most interesting and satisfying mechanisms in fountain pens.

Quality is excellent without a luxury price tag, which makes this an easy recommendation for anyone curious about piston fillers. The one drawback: the pen cannot really be posted, which is only an issue if you are in the habit of posting your caps.

Best Ink Testing Tool: Kakimori Dip Pen

Once the fountain pen hobby deepened, ink swatching tools became essential. The Kakimori dip pen with the stainless steel nib and Sakura wood nib holder turned out to be the most versatile of the bunch. Held at a slight angle, it lays down thick, concentrated swatch lines; held closer to perpendicular, it produces a fine line perfect for writing samples. That flexibility replaced the two-tool routine of a traditional fountain-pen-style dip pen plus a glass pen, which says a lot about how well it works.

Favorite Inks: Shading Beauties and Muted Greens

Diamine Autumn Oak was the favorite ink discovery of the year. It has no shimmer but plenty of shading, ranging from a light warm yellow all the way to a rich, rusty brown. If heavy shading puts you off, skip it; if you love it, this is a must-try.

The other favorite is Wearingeul Tinker Bell, a muted light sage or rosemary green with gold shimmer inside. It is on the lighter side, so fans of dark inks may not love it, but paired with the right pen it performs beautifully, with no hard starts or clogging despite the glitter. Both inks reward anyone who leans toward soft, muted colors.

Best Accessory: Midori Index Clips

The Midori index clips are the unsung hero of the year. For tabbing sections in planners, journals, or books, especially books with very thin paper like Tomoe River stock, they slide on and off effortlessly without leaving dings or marks. Because they are so thin, they add almost no bulk, which makes them far better suited to slim planners than bulky magnetic bookmarks.

The Fails of 2025

Not everything earned a permanent spot. A pair of Ginhow pens lost favor because their sealing mechanisms dry out quickly and their heavyweight balance caused hand fatigue. Uni-ball One metallic and white gel pens felt dry and underwhelming compared to Sakura Gelly Roll metallics, though fans of very fine-point metallics might still enjoy them. The Hobonichi Deco Rush tape runner never worked smoothly, Diamine Sunset turned out to be far less appealing than Autumn Oak, and Noodler’s Georgia Peach bled and feathered terribly on every attempt. Beverly Marumie medium sticky notes are translucent, which makes them great as general sticky notes or recipe bookmarks but useless for covering sensitive information. Finally, the Journal Say envelope maker defied all instructions and remain a puzzle.

Overall Buying Advice

If you are buying just one thing from this list, the Sterling Ink Common Planner B6 is the safest bet for planning-focused buyers, while the TWSBI Diamond 580 Iris offers the best balance of quality and value for anyone entering fountain pens. Pair either with the Midori index clips and one of the muted inks for a setup that works all year.

Conclusion

The best stationery of 2025 shares a common thread: thoughtful design that solves a real problem, whether that is carrying more without bulk, funneling a year of plans into one book, or swatching ink without filling a pen. The fails, meanwhile, mostly came down to products fighting against how they were actually used. Choose the tools that match your habits and the rest takes care of itself.