Great Fountain Pocket Notebook Review: A Fountain Pen Friendly Notebook That Holds Up

Introduction

Great Fountain is a company that makes notebooks in Italy, and its pocket notebook is the kind of small, unassuming product that is easy to overlook until you actually write in it. It arrives with a glossy laminated cover and a simple paper wrapper, and the price sits at $5.27, though whether that is US or Canadian dollars depends on the store’s currency settings at the time. Either way, it stays comfortably under ten dollars for a notebook with genuinely good paper.

That last part matters, because the notebook claims to be fountain pen friendly, with the caveat that very wet inks may show some feathering. To verify that claim, this notebook went through a full writing test with six fountain pens and a range of inks. Here is how it held up.

Who This Notebook Is For

If you are looking for a small notebook that fits easily into a pocket and handles fountain pen ink without turning into a feathering disaster, this is squarely aimed at you. The size is 89 by 140 mm, which is 3.5 by 5.5 inches, essentially the familiar Field Notes format. If you already use notebooks in that size, this one will slot straight into your routine.

Buyers also get a few useful choices. You can pick plain paper or a 5 mm grid, and you can choose whether to have the cover laminated. The tested copy arrived laminated, giving it a very shiny finish that adds a bit of robustness. There is even an option to order custom size notebooks, which is a nice touch for anyone with a specific format in mind.

Main Strengths

Paper Quality and Specs

The notebook contains 52 pages of 100 gsm pure white paper, which is a fairly thick stock for a notebook at this price. The paper feels smooth and pleasant to write on, and the triple-stapled binding keeps it simple and flat-opening. Inside the front cover there is a Benjamin Franklin quote: “either write something worth reading or do something worth writing,” which is a nice bit of personality.

Writing Test With Six Fountain Pens

The real test of any fountain pen friendly notebook is how it handles ink, so six pens lined up against it: a Leonardo Momento Zero Grande with an extra fine flex nib and Pilot Iroshizuku Kon-Peki, a custom fine nib pen with a blue-black Kaweco cartridge, a Kilk Orient with a broad nib and Lamy Mango, a Magna Carta Magni in eyedropper mode with Waterman Purple, a Visconti Opera Master with an 18K broad nib, and a Montblanc Chopin with a double broad nib running Waterman Florida Blue.

The results were consistently good. With the extra fine and fine nibs there was essentially no feathering and very little show through. The broader, wetter nibs produced a little show through and possibly the tiniest hint of bleed through, but nothing concerning. The well-behaved Waterman inks behaved exactly as expected, and the broad 18K nib was similarly trouble-free.

The most demanding test came from flex writing with the extra fine flex nib and the notoriously wet Kon-Peki, pushing the nib hard with an ebonite feed flooding the page with ink. Some feathering did appear, but it was remarkably light given how wet that writing was. For a pocket notebook, most people are not doing dramatic flex writing in it anyway.

Verdict on the Fountain Pen Friendly Claim

The claim holds up. Outside of extremely wet, flex-heavy writing, there was little to no feathering at all. Even the worst-case sample showed only light feathering that is hard to find fault with given how much ink was on the page. This is genuinely fountain pen friendly paper, and the smoothness of the stock makes it a very pleasant writing experience.

Things to Consider Before Buying

A few trade-offs are worth knowing about. Very wet inks can show some feathering, and the company says as much in its own description, so if you plan to flood the page with ink regularly, expect a small amount of edge spread. Show through is minimal but present with the broadest nibs, which is normal for paper that is not fountain-pen-exclusive heavyweight stock.

The shiny laminated cover is a matter of taste. It adds a sense of robustness, but if you prefer a matte or kraft-style cover, you can order the notebook without lamination. Availability of other Great Fountain products, such as their Tomoe River notebooks, may be limited given the uncertain future of that paper, so those are worth checking on the store while they last.

Buying Advice

At $5.27, this is a fairly priced product for what you get: a small notebook with 52 pages of smooth, thick white paper that genuinely handles fountain pen ink. It is not the cheapest pocket notebook on the market, but the paper quality easily justifies the modest premium over generic alternatives.

The main decision points are simple. Choose the laminated cover if you want a bit more durability and do not mind the gloss, or skip lamination if you prefer a plainer feel. Pick the 5 mm grid if you like structure for notes or sketches, or stick with plain paper for maximum freedom. If you want a size outside the standard format, the custom size option is worth exploring.

Conclusion

The Great Fountain pocket notebook delivers exactly what it promises: a convenient Field Notes-sized notebook with smooth, fountain pen friendly paper at a fair price. There were no real complaints in testing. The paper performed well across a wide range of nibs and inks, the laminated finish adds a touch of durability, and the overall experience is simply pleasant. For anyone who carries a pocket notebook and writes with fountain pens, this is an easy recommendation.