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Review: Hustler's Classic Notebook

For so many of us the search for the "perfect" bullet journal is a never ending endeavor. The Hustler's Classic Notebook offers a very good hardcover dotted notebook currently rated at 4.5 stars over at Amazon.com. I've been using one since September 2020 and this is my take on it.

Product review: Hustler's Classic Notebook

(this post includes affiliate links)

First, some details. On Amazon the title of this journal mentions:
  • Thick Dotted Journal
  • A5 Hardcover
  • Premium 120 GSM Ink-Proof Paper
  • 5mm Dot Grid
  • Numbered Pages
  • Pen Holder
  • Pocket and Ruler
I would add the following details:
  • 160 off-white pages
  • built-in ribbon

Paper

The pages are thick enough to handle my normal use. I don't typically use markers of any kind, only ball point pen and pencil and I have a fairly light touch. With the Hustler's Classic I don't see any bleed through with ballpoint pens or pencil.

But I did use gel pens and highlighters for testing just for this post. Here is a comparison of the page where I marked for testing, and the reverse side of that same page to show minimal bleed through. The black word (TESTING) was written with a Sharpie pen, so of course it bleeds through a bit.

Hustler's Classic Notebook

On the back of that page you can see a slight bleed from the highlighters and the gel pans, and a more conspicuous bleed from the Sharpie.

Hustler's Classic Notebook

Cover

The cover is nice and durable. I haven't had any problems over these six months. I plan to try different journals just for experimentation but I hope the next journal has a cover as sturdy as this one.

Dot grid

The 5mm grid is a nice size, not too small. I wouldn't mind a slightly larger grid but this size is perfectly adequate for my needs.

Pen holder

The pen loop on the spine is in a convenient position. It's a natural place to keep the pen without getting in the way so I don't need anything extra to store writing implements. I'm a minimalist and my pen is the Evolt 2+1 so I get 3 pens in one device.

One thing I would caution you on is opening the notebook with anything in the pen loop. I think I stretched the spine a bit too much when I did that so I make sure to remove the pen before opening the journal now. That's my fault. Misusing anything can cause it to perform at less than optimum.

Pocket

The pocket is large and durable and the included straight edge is a nice touch. I try not to use straight edges in the Universal Journal ultra-streamlined style but for those who might want to use a ruler this is a good addition.

The description on Amazon includes something about laying flat. This notebook does lay out flat (enough) for me but it would nice if it laid perfectly flat. It could be the damage I did (mentioned above with the pen holder) prevents it from laying flatter.

Over all

Over all I think this is a well made notebook. In fact this may become the standard by which I compare all other journals I try in the future. I'm not really picky with journals since the ultra-streamlined style doesn't require much to work with. It will definitely make onto my favorites list. You can find the Hustler's Classic Notebook at Amazon.com.


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