Window Shopping: Travelers Notebook Standard Size Notebooks

I have recently succumbed to the Traveler's Notebook style of notebook (though not the brand - more on that in a future entry), and I've been looking around for other styles of the Standard-sized notebooks. I thought I'd share some of my finds here!

Window shopping? When I am just looking around at items online, I call it "window shopping" - I am not really intending to buy anything right now, but I like to keep track of what I find for the future!

My favorite things I look for in a pocket/standard-sized notebook: stitched binding, squared corners (I don't know why this matters to me, but I like it!), sturdy cover, paper that can take fountain pen ink if I want, cream/off-white paper, dot, or grid lines (but I hate plain lines).

What are Standard-sized notebooks? Standard-sized notebooks are generally taller, skinnier style notebooks designed to fit in leather covers (like these). They're usually around 4.3 inches wide by 8.3 inches tall (with a little variation plus/minus, depending on who made it), and are sometimes called A5 narrow.

Standard Size Notebook Finds

The Classic: Travelers Notebook Standard Size is the classic for a reason. The MD paper is delightful (great with fountain pens, classic off-white), the grid is perfect, the corners are squared. The only drawback is that it is stapled, which I don't love, yet I keep buying them.

I wish I could forget ever seeing Sarica Studio's notebooks because they have gorgeous covers. The fern one is absolutely calling my name. Anyway! Sewn binding, squared edges, 50 sheets (100 pages), Tamoe River paper, gridded. Save me from myself.

Galen Leather has a 3-pack of standard-sized TN notebooks (along with many other sizes) with Tamoe River paper - mixed feelings in the reviews about the paper with fountain pens. I'm guessing the paper ran into similar issues as the 2025 Hobonichi planners, but I have no idea! These notebooks are out of stock, so I almost didn't include them, but I hope they come back one day. Stitched binding, 52 gsm Tamoe River paper, comes with a piece of blotter paper (nice!) and grid and line templates for under the paper.

NoriStudio (Etsy) has THE MOST adorable patterns for their handmade notebooks. Pick premium or eco paper - premium has 148 gsm but is bright white. Slightly rounded corners. Pick your paper design (blank, grid, dots). I can't tell their binding.

IrenaPaperShop (Etsy) has some very fun designs for Standard-sized TN! They have layouts in some of the notebooks, and most have designs inside the notebook too. The binding is stitched, and the listing says 90 gsm paper! This reading log is very cute! All of the planners are undated, so they could be started at any time. Everything seems to be available in 3-packs, and I do wish the notebooks were available separately - I don't use my TN-style for a calendar (yet), but I like the Notes designs.

TheDeskNook (Etsy) has a wide variety of different Standard-sized notebooks with cute, unique patterns. They have a great Book Review/Reading Log notebook (120 gsm, 48 pages), cute vintage images on blank notebooks, and more. These don't appear to be handmade, even though they are on Etsy!

PipSticks has a variety of very bright, fun designs for their Standard-sized TN notebooks - no info on their paper gsm, but this reddit thread says it handles fountain pens well and is a bright white paper color. The notebooks are stitched!

Yellow Paper House has maybe the widest variety of paper types and designs I've seen for inserts! If you thrive on chaos, this insert has a collection of different paper designs (dotted, lines, grids of different sizes, etc.) and colors. The listing says the paper is 89 gsm, and it is stapled. No idea how it functions with fountain pens!

There are a few bulk, more inexpensive ones on Amazon (or their own websites). Wanderings make surprisingly nice notebooks for the price - generally fountain pen friendly, sewn binding - but they have rounded corners, and reportedly the dots/grid are uneven from page to page (though I haven't seen any to confirm). I have some of their blank notebooks, and I only avoid using them because I don't love blank pages. They're listed as "30 double-sided pages," so it's 60 pages to write on, and all the covers are plain brown kraft covers.

I could keep going down this rabbit hole, but goodness, there are a lot of options. So far, I have stuck with the standard TN notebook insert (even though I have a Wanderings cover!), but as I grow more into the Traveler's notebook style, I may branch out into other types of notebooks.