If you’re looking for a dupe to the popular Archer and Olive dot grid notebook, then you might be interested in the SeQes notebook.

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Quick facts

• Size: 5.75″ wide x 8.25″ high (14.5cm wide x 21cm high)
• Linen hardcover
• Various cover designs to choose from, in different colors and with different silver foil graphics
• Sewn binding
• 160 Numbered pages
• 160 GSM thick paper
• 5mm dot grid spacing
• 27 dots horizontally x 39 dots vertically
• Pen loop
• Pocket folder
• Mini Metal Stencil Bookmark
• 2 paper clips
  
• 2 sheets of stickers
• 2 ribbon bookmarks
• Comes in a gift box

Price: $19 – $22 USD (price varies depending on the cover design) on Amazon + shipping. Oddly more expensive on their own website (approximately $33 USD)

I chose the Ginkgo leaf design which was one of the cheapest versions ($19 USD), perhaps due to there being less foil required for the design on the cover.

Let’s take a closer look!

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The Cover

The cover is a very nice linen turquoise hardcover with the usual rounded corners that these notebooks have.

Approx 2.2cm / 0.86″ thick

The notebook includes a pen loop and it’s wide enough to fit the fattest pen I own (the Frixion erasable).

The pages lay flat on their own and there are 2 ribbon bookmarks.

Something I always check in a dot grid notebook: do the page numbers sit below the dot grid? I find it annoying when some notebooks embed the page numbers into the bottom of the dot grid, because then the numbers disappear when I rule up a spread. In this notebook, the numbers sit below the grid 🙂 

Most of the dot grid are placed the same but there are a few pages where they sit a little higher which may be due to the stitched binding. Look carefully at the top row of dots on either side – one page sits higher than the other. This happens in about 25% of the pages of the notebook.

Roomy pocket folder in the back.

Pen Testing

The all important pen testing…

No bleed through for the ballpoint, gel, fine tip and marker tip pens I tried, nor the highlighters or stamps. But there was some ghosting for the Uni Pi’s marker pens, dot markers and the MAMBI stamps.

Pros of the notebook

• Multiple cover designs to choose from
• 160 GSM, bright white paper
• Pen loop
• Pocket folder
• Comes with 2 paper clips and a small metal stencil
• Comparable price to other notebooks with 160GSM paper
• Numbered pages (and they sit below the dot grid)
• 2 ribbon bookmarks

Cons of the notebook

• The ribbon bookmarks are the same color
• Minor ghosting of the stamps, marker pens and dot markers
• Some uneven dot placement which may be due to the binding

Would I use the SeQes notebook?

The SeQes notebook has good quality paper, an affordable price point and numbered pages. As you can see from the short cons list (although I really do wish the dot placement was more consistent throughout the notebook), it’s still a yes from me. The notebook is a similar quality to the more well known Archer and Olive, but at a much cheaper price point, and I prefer the lighter color cover options of the SeQes notebook anyway.

More reviews of bullet journals with 160 GSM paper:

• Amanda Rach Lee (160 GSM paper)
• Slow Journal (160 GSM paper)
• Notebook Therapy Tsuki ‘Dolphin Days’ (160 GSM paper)

Planning Tips:

• 10 Quick planner hacks you need to try (planning tips & inspiration)
• How to color code your planner for school using pens 
• How to choose the right habit tracker for your planner

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