Nock Co. Dot Dash
Pocket Notebook Review

Specs:

Top-Stapled binding
3.50″ x 5.50″ pocket-friendly size
48 pages (24 sheets) of 50lb. white paper stock
Dot-Dash ruling (4.25mm grid spacing)
Blinding yellow 80lb. paper cover
$9 for a 3-pack

Notes: Further expanding their popular line of pen cases, Nock Co. has released the Dot-Dash pocket notebooks. Blindingly yellow covers and a unique ruling make these stand out from the pack. The top staple binding is an interesting touch that I ended up liking more than I had initially thought. Big thanks to my buddies over at Nock for sending me a three pack to check out!

The cover is very much yellow. This is well outside my comfort zone of muted, black, and grey, but I enjoy it. The 80lb. cover feels a bit thin to me for a pocket notebook. I don’t t know if it’s the coating, but it seems to get wrinkled much easier than others. It seems durable enough, so no real complaints. I like the subtle ‘n‘ branding on the front and the USA on the back.

The fact that the notebook is top staple bound makes it quite versatile. I find myself doodling in both orientations and it’s nice to have the extra room. Mr. Dudek over at Clicky Post said the same thing in his review, check it out! It’s also nice to be able to fold the top over the back (huh?) for some extra support when writing on the go.

The 50lb. paper inside does a reasonable job of holding up to ink. It’s nice and smooth, and I like how bright the white is. The ruling is in grey ink, making sure your writing is front and center, not the pre-printed lines. The paper holds up to gel, ballpoint and pencil with no problems, but rollerballs, fountain pens, and markers will bleed and feather a bit. I don’t mind this, as it means that the ink will dry faster. I wrote an entire article on what makes a pocket notebook fountain pen friendly, and I think it’s more of a pro than a con to have a quick dry time with a bit of bleed through.

You can see that the back side would be a bit annoying to write on, but that really depends on the pen, nib, and ink you’re using. If you absolutely must use a fountain pen, an extra fine nib and a low-feather ink should be more than sufficient.

The Dot Dash ruling is very unique. It’s not quite as intrusive as a graph, but gives you all of the benefits. The light grey is easy on the eyes, yet dark enough to see clearly. 4.25mm spacing is ideal for the 3.5×5.5″ book size, not too big and not too small. It’s a pet peeve of mine when the ruling is not proportionate to the size of the notebook.

Overall, the Nock Co. Dot Dash book is good to quite good. The top binding is useful and allows you to use the book in a different way than most pocket notebooks on the market. The paper isn’t Rhodia in terms of ink resistance, but it will get you by. I’d definitely say that I am a fan of the Nock Co. books. Once again, thanks for sending them over!