Review: Rhodia Goal Book

So I got this as an incredible prize a wee while back and thought it was about time to review it. I would really like to use this soon – but will wait for January 2019 and you’ll see why below.

Cost: $21.90 USD from amazon and $39.95 NZD  online from Notes to self

From amazon you can get them here:

The cover is a soft cover and comes with a 2 ribbon bookmarks, and a matching elastic closure. The cover has embossed writing. When you open up the first cover it has the generic “this journal belongs to”. The journal apparently comes in 16 colours.

We then head into a whopping 6 pages of contents! Which is fair considering the book 224 Numbered pages.

The stats for dots are 0.5cm squared. There are 29 stars across and 41 stars down. It is an A5 Journal.

There is a fabric hybrid pocket in the back which seems to be somewhat robust.

There is an undated annual calendar and an undated monthly calendar upfront. I actually quite like this but means I can only start using it in January 2019. While I am sure I could use it sooner, it would feel a bit odd.

In the pen test I used my usual culprits and found there was some ghosting, but no bleed. The paper is a healthy 90gsm vellum with a pale ivory/creamy tinge to it.

The paper definitely didn’t love the watercolor! And pilled quite a bit :/

Lets talk pros and cons

Pros:

The paper feels fabulous and I think this is an excellent beginners journal. I also like that it comes in piles of colours.

The back envelop seems robust.

No serious pen bleed

Cons:

It doesn’t have a pen hook and the soft cover might get beaten around a little.

It didn’t fair well with watercolor.

Some ghosting on the paper.

Overall I like it. I think its a great starter journal and is offering a lot.

I think its a 3.5/5 for me. I would absolutely use it, and am looking forward to using it soon!