[Fountain Pen-Friendly Notebook] Banditapple Carnet 4G (1)

Banditapple Carnet may be a lesser-known notebook brand for fountain pen users worldwide, but in South Korea (where the Banditapple Company is based), it's hugely popular among local paper enthusiasts.  They say, “there are people who've never had a Banditapple Carnet, but there is no one who has used only one.”

As an avid user myself, I can say from experience that Banditapple has matured in quality over generations.

Banditapple Carnet has launced four generations to date.  They come in three sizes; from the smallest “Peewee” to the biggest, “Tablet”.  The middle size, “Handy” has the same demensions as Midori Traveler’s Notebook refills. 

This is a review on Banditapple Carnet 4G Tablet.  If you are considering Banditapple as an alternative for Midori, I’ve done a comparison of the two as well. 

Disclosure:  I was not compensated for this review in any manner.  I purchased all of the notebooks shown here on my own.  

Interesting Facts about Banditapple

• Founded in 2008 in South Korea by Arnold “Arnie” Young-jo Kim
• Brand mission is “to create a notebook in its simplest form and provide the best writing experience"
• Arnie works at his orchard during spring/summer and spends the other half of the year in Vietnam making notebooks with local craftspeople
• Homepage & Blog (where Arnie often posts about his notebook-making) : https://www.banditapple.net/

Product Description

• Product Name: Banditapple Carnet 4G
• Size: Tablet (13 × 21 cm/ 5.125 x 8.25 in)
• Content: 64 pages
• Weight: 90g
• Paper: 80gsm, acid-free paper
• Binding: Stitch
• Page Type: Lined(soy ink)/Blank
• Color: Raspberry/Blueberry

Design

The packaging is minimalistic; a plastic envelope with a product description sticker.  Arnie mentions in his blog that he plans to replace the plastic with biodegradable material, or go completely package-less.

The colver is plain and simple; no logos, nothing.  I like it that way since it allows the user to decorate as one pleases. 

The notebooks are designed to fit multiple volumes into the cover.  I usually carry two notebooks or as many as three.  (Note: The cover is custom-made for the Tablet-size Banditapple).  

 The spine is neatly stitched with a matching-color thread.

Banditapple Carnet 4G(top) compared with Midori Traveler’s Notebook(bottom)

The stitching is one of the features that differentiates Banditapple from Midori (which has just two staples holding the paper).

Here's what Arnie writes in his blog : 

"The stitching is done manually by a group of highly-skilled craftspeople in Vietnam.  They have worked with me for many years.  As the group is growing old, we are currently training a second-generation talent."

Here’s another comparison of Banditapple and Midori.  Bandiapple’s paper is more creamier(but not too yellow), which I personally prefer for daily use.  The lines on Banditapple are considerably darker than on Midori.  Line spacing is the same for both brands; 6.5mm.

My writing experience on Banditapple Carnet 4G will continue in the next post!

#banditapple #banditapplecarnet #midori #midoritravelers #fountainpen #fountainpenfriendlypaper #fountainpennotebook