Notebooks & Journals
LEUCHTTURM1917 Medium A5 Dotted: What You Actually Get
The default recommendation in every journaling forum, and the one notebook on this site whose maker publishes nearly everything. Here is what those numbers mean, and where the book is beaten.
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The short version
Buy it if you index what you write. Printed page numbers and a blank contents page are the whole argument, and no other mainstream hardcover at this size provides them. Buy something else if paper weight is your priority, because two books on this site publish 90 gsm against its 80.
Every published specification
| Specification | Published figure | What it buys you |
|---|---|---|
| Paper weight | 80 gsm | Gel and most fountain-pen ink stop marking through the sheet |
| Pages | 251, numbered | An index is possible without writing 251 numbers yourself |
| Contents page | Blank table of contents included | Somewhere to put the index without deciding where |
| Perforated sheets | 8, detachable | Pages you can hand over without tearing the book |
| Binding | Thread bound, opens flat | Writes across the gutter from page one |
| Size | A5, about 5.75" x 8.25" (145 x 210 mm) | Fits a bag beside a laptop; takes a weekly spread |
| Fittings | Two ribbons, elastic, gusseted rear pocket, archival stickers | Index and today both marked; loose paper has somewhere to go |
Quick picks
Ranked for the person doing the buying. Every pick names who it is wrong for.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  LEUCHTTURM1917 Medium A5 Dotted Hardcover Notebook 80 gsm paper, 251 numbered pages and a printed contents page, which is why this is the default recommendation in every journaling forum. | The bullet-journal standard | $25.50 - View on Amazon #ad Price as of September 21, 2026. How this is funded |
| 2 |  Rhodia Webnotebook A5, Dot 90 gsm Clairefontaine ivory vellum - the heaviest weight published anywhere on this site, in a book with a ribbon, an elastic and a pocket. | A fountain-pen user, without qualification | |
| 3 |  Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover The notebook everyone knows by sight, on 70 gsm paper that is lighter than its main rival and honest about it. | The recognizable one |
1. The bullet-journal standard
LEUCHTTURM1917 Medium A5 Dotted Hardcover Notebook
80 gsm paper, 251 numbered pages and a printed contents page, which is why this is the default recommendation in every journaling forum.
#ad Price as of September 21, 2026. How this is funded
Numbered pages plus a printed contents page is the whole reason bullet journaling settled on this book. An index needs page numbers, and printing them saves the user writing 251 of them.
80 gsm against the Moleskine Classic's published 70 gsm is a 14 percent difference in paper weight, and it is the difference most people notice as ghosting on the reverse of a page.
Two ribbons is not decoration in a journal that has an index. One marks the index, one marks today.
| Paper weight | 80 gsmSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
|---|---|
| Pages | 251 numbered pages, with 8 perforated detachable sheetsSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
| Size | A5, approximately 5.75" x 8.25" (145 x 210 mm)Source: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
| Fittings | Blank table of contents, two page markers, gusseted rear pocket, elastic band, archival stickersSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
| Binding | Thread bound, opens flatSource: Amazon listing - LEUCHTTURM1917 Notebook Hardcover Medium A5, Dotted |
What it does well
- 251 pre-numbered pages and a blank contents page, ready for an index.
- 80 gsm published, the heaviest of the three mainstream hardcovers here.
- Thread bound, so it lies flat from the first page.
What it does not
- Still not fountain-pen-proof; 80 gsm reduces show-through, it does not eliminate it.
- The dot grid is fainter than some users want for straight-line work.
Skip this: if the recipient has never mentioned journaling. A 251-page dotted notebook handed to a non-journaler is 251 blank pages of obligation. See how to pick a journal as a gift.
2. A fountain-pen user, without qualification
Rhodia Webnotebook A5, Dot
90 gsm Clairefontaine ivory vellum - the heaviest weight published anywhere on this site, in a book with a ribbon, an elastic and a pocket.
90 gsm is the number to buy this for. Against 70 gsm Moleskine paper that is roughly 29 percent more paper between one page and the next, and that is where fountain-pen show-through stops being a problem.
The trade is page count. 160 pages against 251 for the Leuchtturm1917 at a similar size - heavier paper in a book of the same thickness means fewer sheets. That is physics, not a cost saving.
Ivory rather than white is a real preference axis. It is easier on the eye under a desk lamp and it flattens the contrast of a photograph, which matters if anyone is posting pages.
| Paper weight | 90 gsm Clairefontaine brushed ivory vellum10 gsm above the Leuchtturm1917 and 20 above the Moleskine Classic.Source: Amazon listing - Rhodia A5 Webnotebook, Dot, Black |
|---|---|
| Pages | 160 (80 sheets)Source: Amazon listing - Rhodia Webnotebook, A5 |
| Size | A5, approximately 5.5" x 8.25"Source: Amazon listing - Rhodia Webnotebook - A5 |
| Fittings | Leatherette cover, inner pocket, ribbon page marker, elastic closureSource: Amazon listing - Rhodia Webnotebook, A5 |
| Page numbers | Not publishedNot numbered. Rhodia does not target the indexed-journal use case. |
What it does well
- 90 gsm Clairefontaine paper, the heaviest weight published here, and the safe choice for fountain-pen ink.
- Ivory stock is comfortable under artificial light.
- Soft leatherette cover, pocket, ribbon and elastic as standard.
What it does not
- 160 pages, roughly two thirds of the Leuchtturm1917's count.
- No page numbers or contents page.
- Less recognizable as a brand than the other two, which matters in a gift.
Skip this: if the recipient keeps an indexed bullet journal. No page numbers means hand-numbering, and at 160 pages they will run out sooner than they expect.
3. The recognizable one
Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover
The notebook everyone knows by sight, on 70 gsm paper that is lighter than its main rival and honest about it.
70 gsm versus 80 is the entire technical argument between this and the Leuchtturm1917, and it is a real one: lighter paper shows more of what is on the reverse. Whether that matters depends entirely on what the recipient writes with.
What Moleskine has that its rival does not is recognition. For a gift that is worth something concrete - the recipient knows what it is before they open the card.
No page numbers and no contents page. For freeform notes that is irrelevant; for an indexed journal it is 240 numbers to write by hand.
| Paper weight | 70 gsmMoleskine publishes this, and it is 10 gsm under the Leuchtturm1917.Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover |
|---|---|
| Pages | 240Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover |
| Size | Large, 5" x 8.25"Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover |
| Paper stock | FSC certified, acid free (pH neutral)Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover |
| Page numbers | Not publishedPages are not numbered and there is no printed contents page. A bullet journal user will number them by hand. |
What it does well
- Universally recognized, which does real work in a gift.
- FSC certified, acid-free paper with a published weight.
- Slightly thinner block than the Leuchtturm for the same page count, so it carries better.
What it does not
- 70 gsm ghosts more than 80 gsm with gel and fountain pens.
- No pre-numbered pages or contents page.
Skip this: if you know they use a fountain pen. Buy the Rhodia at 90 gsm instead and spend the difference on ink. See Leuchtturm1917 versus Moleskine.
The numbering is the product
Strip away the ribbons and the elastic and the thing this notebook has that its rivals do not is 251 printed page numbers and a blank contents page at the front. That is a manufacturing decision worth a few cents that changes what the book can be used for.
If you keep a running index - of meetings, of projects, of recipes, of anything you might need to find again - the numbers are the feature and everything else is packaging. If you never look back at what you wrote, they are worth nothing, and this is an expensive notebook to buy for its elastic.
Eighty grams: what it does and does not fix
Eighty gsm is the threshold where ordinary gel and fountain-pen ink stop coming through the page as a wet mark. Against the 70 gsm Moleskine that is roughly 14 percent more paper between one side and the other, and it is the difference most people notice as ghosting on the reverse.
It is not fountain-pen-proof. A broad wet nib will still show, and a highlighter dragged over a heading can still mark through. The two 90 gsm books on this site handle both better, and they publish it. What gsm means is the mechanism; notebooks for fountain pens is the ranking on ink alone.
Thread binding, and why it matters daily
LEUCHTTURM1917 publishes that the book is thread bound and opens flat. That is a small phrase covering an everyday irritation: a notebook that will not stay open needs a hand, a mug or a spine crack to hold it, and you notice it on page one rather than page fifty.
The eight perforated sheets are the other quiet feature. Handing somebody a page from a sewn notebook usually means tearing it and ruining the opposite page; eight of these come out cleanly. Both are the kind of detail that shows the book was designed by people who use notebooks.
Where it is beaten
- On paper weight, by the Rhodia Webnotebook and the Clairefontaine clothbound, both at 90 gsm. If ink is your only concern, buy one of those and accept no numbering.
- On page count per dollar, by almost everything. 251 pages is generous, but this is a premium hardcover and there are cheaper ways to buy paper - are expensive notebooks worth it prices the trade.
- On recognition, by the Moleskine. As a gift for somebody outside the hobby, the more famous book lands better even though it publishes worse numbers. Leuchtturm1917 vs Moleskine has that argument.
- On being a plain notebook. If you want somewhere to write and nothing else, you are paying for an index system you will not use.
Who should buy it
Bullet journalers first, because the method needs an index and this is the book that provides one - notebooks for bullet journaling ranks the field on exactly that. Then anybody who takes meeting or project notes they later need to retrieve.
Everybody else is choosing between paper weight, recognition and price, and this notebook does not win any of those three outright. That is not a criticism of the book; it is what happens when a product is designed around one specific feature.
Questions people actually ask
Is the LEUCHTTURM1917 worth it?
If you index what you write, yes - printed page numbers and a contents page are the feature and nothing mainstream at this size matches them. If you just want paper, two books on this site publish heavier paper for less.
What paper weight is a LEUCHTTURM1917?
80 gsm, published by the maker. That is the point where gel and most fountain-pen ink stop marking through the page, though a broad wet nib will still show.
How many pages does the A5 have?
251 numbered pages, with eight perforated sheets that detach cleanly and a blank table of contents at the front.
Does it lie flat?
The maker publishes thread binding and states that it opens flat, which is unusual to see stated and is the kind of thing you notice on the first page rather than the fiftieth.
LEUCHTTURM1917 or Rhodia?
Leuchtturm if you index; Rhodia if you write with a fountain pen, because it publishes 90 gsm against 80. See Leuchtturm1917 vs Rhodia.