Thursday, May 27, 2021

Notebook Review: LeStallion Ariegeois Ashgray Black A5 Notebook

Ariegeois Ashgray Black A5 Notebook from LeStallion's Equine Collection

"I was always fascinated by the fact that you could take paper and ink and create worlds, images, characters. It seemed like magic."  ~ Carlos Ruiz Zafon

One of my favorite authors said it best. Like him, I have always loved paper and paper products, notebooks, and stationery. I have always been fascinated by paper and how people use it in their daily lives. To me, paper and notebooks are the keepers of my ideas, plans, and activities. They are the guardians of my innermost, most intimate thoughts. 

Again, as a fountain pen user, it's always a happy surprise when I find notebooks with fountain pen-friendly paper. I prefer pads and notebooks with high-quality paper that will stand up to the wetness of my fountain pens' medium, broad, and stub nibs. I like to write on either side of the page, so the paper must be resistant to feathering and bleeding. Nowadays, searching for such products is not a tall order anymore. One of the new notebook brands that I met through Instagram is LeStallion from Sydney, Australia. LeStallion notebooks are equine-inspired, and their Equine Collection has four beautiful, study, well-made notebooks that can also be used for bullet journaling.

The notebooks in the Equine Collection have soft textured faux leather. They are velvety and smooth to touch. LeStallion's logo is imprinted on the lower right corner of the front cover.
LeStallion is imprinted on the notebbok's lower back cover.

LeStallion's Equine Collection has four premium A5 notebooks. They are Ariegeois (Ashgray Black), Galloway (Khaki White), Henson (Desert Brown), and Garrano (Cocoa Brown). These notebooks have 216 numbered pages of 120gsm wood-free ivory paper that handles the juiciest and wettest nibs that I have tested on it with minimal ghosting and bleed. 

The Ariegeois looks sharp with the stylish faux leather cover. It's well-made and sturdy with extra leather thickness, tight string binding, and improved gluing.
I love the color page edging that LeStallion uses in their premium notebooks. I don't see this technique often, and it adds beauty to this notebook's character.

The Ariegeois notebook and its equine paper siblings have all the features that make it the perfect notebook. It has an elegant inside front cover with space for the owner to write their contact details, a built-in Table of Contents to keep track of important contents, a metallic page marker, and a rear folder storage pocket. 

The inside cover page of LeStallion notebooks has space for the owner's personal details.
I like the built-in Table of Contents in this notebook. It's a useful feature for bullet journaling or to simply keep track of the notebook's contents.
The Ariegeois has a brown ribbon marker with a shiny metallic charm.
The rear folder storage pocket is useful in keeping bits and pieces of paper, cards, receipts, and other ephemera.

I tested LeStallion's 120gsm paper in this Ariegeois notebook using a whole page for most of my inked pens. The ivory paper showed the shading in some of my inked pens, and my pens wrote smoothly. There wasn't any feathering or bleeding in my medium and broad nibs except for the board nib in my BENU Europhoria fountain pen.

Pen and ink tests in LeStallion Ariegeois notebook. All pens—except for the bottom one—wrote smoothly and did not feather or bleed.
Here's the back page of the pen and ink test. Except for the bottom pen, all of the other pens did not feather or bleed.

I love this notebook! I love LeStallion's premium notebooks, their overall look, and the fountain pen-friendly paper. I will use it for some serious journaling and this notebook's pages will hold some precious contents. Do you want to write on smooth paper and never worry about bleeding and feathering? Get a LeStallion notebook now!


Rants of The Archer thanks LeStallion for providing the Ariegeois Ashgray Black A5 Notebook in this review. Visit their website and Amazon store to learn more about their products and new brand offerings. LeStallion offers worldwide shipping through Amazon where the Ariegeois sells for US$19.95. For more updates, follow LeStallion on social media:

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