For the month of the July I trialled bullet journaling. There are tons of bullet journal notebooks on the market these days but I wanted to start with the original method of bullet journaling so purchased the Leuchtturm 1917 Bullet Journal Notebook.

Disclaimer: this post contains affiliate links. If you purchase this notebook using my affiliate link I’ll receive a small commission from the sale at no extra cost to you. I only affiliate with products I use and recommend.

Quick facts

• Size: 14.5cm wide x 21cm high (A5)
• Book / sewn binding
• This belongs to page in case your planner is lost
• Numbered pages
• Dot grid pages
• Key
• Index Pages
• Guide to bullet journaling
• 240 pages total

Let’s take a closer look!

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The Cover

The cover is that material that’s a cross between a hardcover but it’s still soft (sorry, hard to describe!)

The cover is very plain – just black with ‘bullet journal’ embossed into the cover (you can’t even really see it unless the notebook is in good lighting)

There are plenty of dot grid and numbered notebooks from Leuchtturm that come in lots of pretty colors, however this notebook is specifically designed for bullet journaling with the addition of a few important pages.

Approx 0.75″ thick (1.8cm)

Key & This Belongs To Page

Index

There are 4 index pages with plenty of room.

Tips on using the bullet journal system

The tip pages are a good idea, but they’re bound into the notebook so when you run out of space and buy a new one they’re going to be included in it as well. It’s basically all the same information you can find on the creator of the Bullet Journal, Ryder Carroll’s website.

Future Log

There are 4 of these pages.

2 built in ribbon page markers

240 grid dot pages

Numbered Pages

An essential for any bullet journal notebook – the pages are already numbered

The dots are approx 0.5cm apart.

Pocket Folder

Pen Testing

I tried various ballpoint, gel, fine tip and marker tip pens, plus highlighters and stamps. The paper felt super smooth to write on, however there was ghosting on the back side of the page – especially from the marker pens.

The Frixion stamps and highlighters weren’t too bad but the MAMBI stamps (which are ideal for list making) bled through the page (as always) ?

As you can see, there was quite bad ghosting (almost to the point of bleed through) on the paper. Paper in book / sewn / hardbound notebooks never seems to be as good quality as a spiral bound notebook. For the amount this notebook costs, I was disappointed there was so much ghosting from ballpoint, gel, marker pens and highlighters and stamps.

Pros of the Planner

• Portable size
• Lightweight
• 2 built in ribbon page markers
• 4 Index pages
• 4 Future log pages
• Bullet key and color code page
• Pocket folder
• Multiple cover colors to choose from

Cons of the Planner

• The pages near the stitching seam to lay flat but the ones between not so much. There’s already a hint that the stitching is going to come undone over time
• No option to personalise the cover
• Boring, plain cover design
• No pen loop
• The paper is too thin and had bad ghosting on all the pens I tried
• The instruction guide is bound into the planner, rather than a separate booklet
• Expensive

Would I use this planner?

This notebook ticks all the requirements for a bullet journal (key page, index, numbered pages, pen loop etc.), however, pens had bad ghosting and some bled through.

If you like this notebook, it’s available on Amazon (affiliate link)

I think this is a good notebook to start with, however if bullet journaling is something you’re going to stick with I encourage you to branch out and get some of the lesser known dot grid notebooks that are cheaper and have more colorful covers! Some others dot grid notebooks I’ve reviewed are listed below:

• Rhodia Goal Book
• Scribbles That Matter
• Scrivwell
• Officeworks Otto Dot Grid
• Minimalism Art
• Point Journal
• Letter Love Designs

Update: See how I’ve used this notebook in these posts

• Bullet journaling in the Leuchtturm dot grid notebook
• Travel planning in a bullet journal

More Bullet Journal:

• 100 things to put in your habit tracker of your planner or bullet journal (plus free printable habit tracker)
• Minimalist Planner Decorating: Title Ideas for your Bullet Journal 

More Planner Reviews:

• Review of the Point Journal (similar to the bullet journal) 
• After trying 52 planners, these were my top 7 favorite weekly planners
• After trying more than 20 pen brands, these are my top 5

Planning Tips:

• Week 15: Trying a freehand weekly planner inspired by bullet journalling
• Week 33: Colorful Bullet Journal Inspired Weekly Spread
• Week 37 (part 2): Planning using the daily plan bar method (bullet journal inspired) 

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