Clever Fox Dotted Journal Notebook Review (Pros, Cons, Video Walkthrough and Pen Test)
Clever Fox are one of the few sewn bound notebooks I’ve come across that have bright white paper. After reviewing their daily, weekly and budget planners, I wanted a copy of their dotted journal too!
This is not a sponsored post. I purchased the notebook myself and all opinions are my own. This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase after clicking one of these links I’ll receive a small commission in exchange for referring you.
Quick facts
- Size: 5.75″ wide x 8.5″ high
- Softcover
- Sewn Binding
- 5mm dot grid spacing
- Multiple cover colors to choose from
- Softcover
- Pocket folder
- 3 ribbon bookmarks
- 1 Sheet of rainbow stickers included
- 3 contents / index pages
- 1 symbol / color key page
- 155 dot grid pages
Price:
- I purchased is the dotted journal 2.0 – costs $17 USD.
- There is also the original dotted journal which is normally $15 USD (sometimes on sale for $10 USD).
The 2.0 version has the images indented in the cover. The original version does not.
Let’s take a closer look!
To enlarge the screen of the video, click the square icon in the bottom right hand corner of the video (it will say ‘full screen’ when you hover your mouse over the icon).
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Here is the link if you’d like to purchase the notebook from Amazon (affiliate link).
The Cover
Love this cover! Much more creative than the usual plain black cover most dot grid notebooks have. There’s plenty of colors to choose from – this is the rose gold cover.
It’s that vegan faux leather material you’ll found on most sewn bound notebooks – smooth, thin and bendy but still durable at the same time.
Approx 0.75″ thick
At the front is 1 reference / legend page and 3 contents pages:
After that, the dot grid pages start. There are 155 numbered pages.
5mm dot grid spacing (same as most dot grid notebooks).
The pages lay flat on their own, no matter where you open the notebook!
All pages are numbered which is great, but I don’t like how the page numbers are embedded into the dot grid, I prefer when the numbers sit below the dot grid because otherwise I end up ruling a line through them.
At the back is a pocket folder. 1 sheet of rainbow stickers is included. A nice extra but not sure I’d use those icons. There are 3 ribbon bookmarks in colors that coordinate with the cover color you choose.
Pen Testing
Clever fox is one of the few brands I’ve found that has decent paper in a sewn bound notebook. Bright white with only minor ghosting for marker pens and stamps.
Pros of the Notebook
- Portable size
- Lightweight
- Bright white paper with only minor ghosting
- Numbered pages
- Multiple cover colors to choose from
- 3 Ribbon bookmarks in different colors
- Pre-printed legend / key & contents pages
- Pen loop
Cons of the Notebook
- Page number sit within the dot grid, rather than below it
Would I use this notebook?
Yes. The paper quality is good for the price, I like the cover design and the pre-printed contents pages.
Here is the link if you’d like to purchase the notebook from Amazon (affiliate link).
More dot grid notebook reviews:
Planning Tips:
- 7 Bullet Journal Supplies I Don’t Use
- 7 Useful Bullet Journal Tips
- 7 Tips to keep your bullet journal neat
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Is it truly 5mm spacing. My original is not 5mm and doesn’t work for me
Hi Melissa,
Yes it is. The Clever Fox Weekly version that I got a year or 2 ago had some dot grid pages with the dots closer together (around 3 – 4mm) and the dots were a darker grey. I was not a fan! Other people must have told them the same thing as they’ve improved the dot grid (5mm and lighter grey dots).