So today I get to review a notebook from new UK brand 'Wilder'.

"The perfect sized notebook for (bullet) journaling and meeting notes, without adding too much bulk and weight, while looking stylishly minimalist at the same time!"

We actually recently invited Rupert, one half of team Wilder to Nero's Notes onto the blog for some mildly intense questioning which you can read here.

A bit of info from Wilder and their products:

"All books are made using some of the finest paper the UK has to offer. Exquisite Colourplan covers and internal pages from one of the UK’s last mills - in Aberdeen, Scotland - who are renowned for their quality and consistency.

With 7mm spacing to the lined pages in these beautiful notebooks, their uses may tend toward the more long-form note-taking or journaling. In A5, with a threadbound spine, they will comfortably open flat, making them a delight to use with either pen or pencil due to the super-smooth pages.

Our manufacturing is FSC accredited, the inks are vegan, and the books are fully recyclable (but you’ll want to keep them once you’ve added your stamp, identity and thoughts and feelings to the pages and covers perhaps)!"

Sounds neat right!

Right back to the product at hand... The Wilder A5 Vol 1: Blank Pages.

Specs:

• 96 blank pages
• 15x21 cm
• Made in Great Britain
• 270gsm covers
• 80gsm fountain pen friendly pages
• Sold individually or in packs of 2
• Plastic-free packaging

Look and Feel

The thing you notice right off the bat is the simplicity of this notebook. There are no fancy patterns, ribbons or elastic closures in sight. It's a plain and simple green notebook with slightly curved corners and the Wilder branding on the front cover.

I like it, there's nothing to distract you from what it wants you to do... and that's to just write.

 

Performance

I honestly wasn't sure what to expect with this but it's always exciting to try a new brand of notebook for the first time. I like its no nonsense, aggressively simplistic approach which guides you to just getting stuck in.

I did however want to test the paper out and for the fountain pen users out there, this is where things may get interesting. Check it out...

 

 

I whipped out the ink-(iest 🤔) pens in my collection to test for bleeding and ghosting and I was pleasantly surprised. There was no bleeding from the Staedtler, the Stabilo PointVisco and the Lamy Joy but there was slight ghosting but nothing major.

What's more impressive is that the Lamy Joy is the pen that performed the best! So fountain pen lovers... definitely consider adding this to your notebook collection.

On a side note, do not, I repeat, DO NOT use a Sharpie in this thing. I mean who would, but it's cool to see how the paper holds up.

 

Does it lay flat?

Erm - not really but it's not a huge issue for me personally. The pages at the beginning or rear of the notebook do kind of lay flat once you push them down along the middle but there's no chance of it laying flat beyond the first 5-6 pages.

 

 

Final Thoughts...

 

The A5 Vol 1: Blank pages from Wilder really is striking in its simplicity and frees your mind from the burden of filling out contents/index pages and all that stuff.

It is a blank canvas to be creative as you like with your setups and allows you the freedom to dive right in. It's also super nice to hold, its pretty lightweight and that super thick cover is oh so smooth yet rugged.

The 80gsm paper is fountain-pen friendly and suitable for many different media. (minus a sharpie!) It's super smooth too so it's like a dream for me gliding my pencils across the page and doesn't grind down my nib as fast as a toothier paper would.

Make sure you pick one of these up - right here - and let us know how it fares for you.