Review: Pukka Pad — perfect notebook for students?

The Pukka Pad Project Book (Bloom version) is a spiral notebook that captivated me with its beautiful cover. I snatched it up at Walmart, loudly declaring it was for science. I still don’t know what it will be used for, but it will certainly be a delight to look at. And isn’t that part of the point?

A few words about Pukka Pad

Pukka Pad is a British brand with a manufacturing facility in Bingley, West Yorkshire, that has been in business for almost 30 years. Founded in 1998, the company has been producing wire-bound notebooks almost from its beginnings, for which it is currently best known. Their product range includes planners, notebooks, pens, highlighters, envelopes, as well as binders and document folders.

They have been available worldwide with ease, usually spotted in big stores like Walmart as well as book stores and stationery stores

Notebook itself

My Pukka Pad notebook is a Project Book, divided into five sections by four colorful dividers. Interestingly, these dividers can be removed and repositioned by hooking them onto the spiral rings. They’re made of a quite sturdy plastic, so we don’t have to worry about them falling out without warning.

The notebook has 200 pages (100 sheets), is B5-sized, and has lined ruling (dark gray) spaced 7 millimeters apart. Each sheet is perforated (great!) and printed from edge to edge, with a margin only at the top.

The spine features 19 pairs of metal rings that hold together 100 pages packaged in a hardcover with shiny details. The whole thing is secured with an elastic band, in my case in a dark, dusty pink color.

Paper test

According to the internet, the paper in Pukka Pad notebooks is ivory. In my opinion, it’s a slightly grayish white, far from the yellowish hue of Leuchtturm or Paperblanks notebooks (also described as ivory).

Let’s be honest, Pukka Pad notebooks are designed with students and on-the-go note-taking in mind. So it’s important that the notebook works well with ballpoint pens (which is quite easy to achieve) and highlighters. Of course, I also tested it with fountain pen inks.

Time to test:

1. Freshly Squeezed Sunshine (FWP) – Kaweco Sport M
2. Edward’s Gardens – Ferris Wheel Press The Brush M
3. Lantern Crossing – TWSBI Eco M
4. Furry Frostbite – FWP The Bijou M
5. Glasswing Butterfly Twinkle – glass pen
6. Tiger Lily – glass pen
7. Toponium Twinkle – Simplpens F
8. Tesla Coil – Simplpens M
9. Pilot G-2 0.7 mm
10. Stabilo Point 88
11. Tattler’s Teal – the Scribe (ballpoint)
12. Faber Castell Trilux 032 M (ballpoint)
13. Zig Clean Color Dot (marker)
14. Lamy Tipo (rollerball)
15. Brush Pen
16. Marker 2-in-1
17. Fineliner 2-in-1
18. Sharpie Snote (highlighter)
19. Stabilo Boss (highlighter)
20. Zebra Mildliner (highlighter)
21. Retro Color (highlighter)
22. Monami EssentiSoft (highlighter)

Ferris Wheel Press inks performed very well here. There’s no feathering or bleeding, and the ghosting is barely noticeable, even with the navy blue of one of the newest Ferritales shades. However, the nightmare begins with Birmingham Pen Company inks. Although it’s not the most popular brand, it’s a warning that not every pen and ink will work well with this paper. Bleeding when trying to write with a glass pen is visible on the other side of the next page! This is truly a terrible result.

The Stabilo Point 88, our classic yellow-barreled fineliner, was a huge surprise to me. It bled through the painted square and is still on the edge even when writing normally. This is very disappointing, as Stabilo fineliners are almost a given for note-taking.

Another problematic medium is the rollerball pen, as well as the Sharpie S-note highlighter. The latter is still relatively new, especially in Europe, but I’ll tell you more about them soon, testing them on a variety of papers.

I’m happy to report, however, that oil-based pens and highlighters (most of them!) handle this paper very well. Or rather, the paper handles them just fine. Handwritten notes will be easily highlighted without worrying about the other side of the paper.

Best usage?

Divided into five sections, the Pukka Pad spiral notebook is perfect as a project notebook. Whether you’re carrying it with you to college, jotting down information from several subjects, or keeping it on your desk to track various aspects of your life, it will be a great companion.

If it had grid ruling, it would definitely be a bit easier for me to find a use for it, but as it is… I’m still wondering. The lines usually suggest writing longer forms rather than mixing sketches or numbers. Will it work for writing letters? I’ll have to check! Although, in my opinion, the 7-millimeter line is better suited to ballpoint pens (with a thick writing line, of course) than fountain pens. Hmm.

But returning to typical uses – it will be perfect for studies or other activities.

And before you ask, the Pukka Pad exists with grid and dot grid ruling, although you can only choose from very basic covers. The beauties are only available with lines.

Details

Price	~$10 USD
Format	B5
Paper	white, 80gsm
Weight	~380 g
Page count	200
Ruling	7mm lined ruling
Closing	rubber band
Cover materials	thick cardboard covered with foil
Backpocket	no
Ribbons	no (but has 4 dividers)
Numbered pages	no

Summary

Pukka Pad is one of the few companies on the market that has been offering good quality at a very good price for years. These affordable and readily available notebooks are ideal for their intended purpose.

I doubt anyone buying a Pukka Pad wire-bound notebook will be disappointed. The paper may be rough and not perfectly white, but that still doesn’t detract from its functionality. In fact, I’m pleasantly surprised by how well this notebook performed with Ferris Wheel Press inks. As you may know, I use them most often.

Where to buy?

You can try your local book store or a bigger store like Walmart. They are easy to find online worldwide as well, with a lot of options available on Amazon. In Ireland I can get them in Easons!