The Best 160 GSM Bullet Journal Notebooks: The Ultimate Comparison

Out of all Bullet Journal supplies, getting the right notebook is probably the most important thing to do.

Looking to invest in a 160 GSM notebook but not sure which one to choose? Don’t worry; I got you covered. With this review, we’ll find the best Bullet Journal notebook.

If you’re new to Bullet Journaling and not even sure what 160 GSM actually means – don’t worry, we will talk about that as well.

In this review, we will be looking into the 7 most popular journals on the market and see which one will be the perfect notebook for you.

I started Bullet Journaling in 2018, when the best you could dream of was a 120 GSM notebook. That was the same year Archer and Olive released their first 160 GSM notebook.

Just a few years later and the game has changed entirely with 160 GSM paper being the talk of the community and the top on every Bullet Journal junkie’s wishlist.

There are so many notebooks on the market, in fact, that it’s easy to get lost and buy something you might not enjoy that much.

That’s why I’m writing this post and why I did my research into 160 GSM notebooks.

But first things first, let’s talk about the paper.

Also, be sure to scroll until the end to get your free Ultimate Guide To Bullet Journal Supplies which will give you journal recommendations, as well as some other supplies you’ll love using in your BuJo.

This post may contain affiliate links. They will be of no extra expense for you, but I will receive a small credit. Please see my Disclosure for more details. Thank you for supporting Masha Plans!

What Does It Mean 160 GSM?

GSM stands for “grams per square meter” and that’s the way to measure the thickness of the paper if you will.

The official Bullet Journal notebooks (LT1917) are 80 GSM, which means that these pages are thinner and much lighter than the 160 GSM notebooks. This however also means that there are higher chances of bleeding or ghosting with some types of pens.

The paper used for watercolor and cardstock varies between 100 GSM and 400 GSM. This means the paper is much thicker and a bit heavier but also can withstand much more.

This is precisely why 160 GSM notebooks became so popular and desired. The paper can withstand so much more! These notebooks basically allow you to experiment with tons of different materials in your journal without ruining the pages.

Notebooks For This Review

I wanted to try as many 160 GSM notebooks as possible, and here are the ones I managed to get my hands on.

• Archer and Olive

I’m fortunate to actually be working as part of the Archer and Olive design team, so this is the only notebook I actually got for free.

I chose to work with them not only because I love their products, but also for the values and responsibilities they stand for. We will talk about it a bit more later.

In case you want to learn more about them, check out my detailed Archer and Olive Dot Grid Notebook Review.

• Scribbles That Matter

This brand has been one of the leaders of the 120 GSM notebook market, and when they released their new 160 GSM line, I was inquisitive to know how they did. So I’m happy to share my findings with you.

• Notebook Therapy

This notebook has been making some noise on the market so I have been wanting to give it a try.

I’ll give you more opinions on the notebook itself later on, but what I want to say here is that it took the notebook almost a month to get to the USA and their customer service didn’t give me any updates on the shipping.

• Owl Buke Notebook

This journal is on the budget side, and I’ve heard a lot about it, so I really just wanted to test what quality it offers for such a price.

• Smart Planner Dot Grid Journal

This company has been talking a lot about helping people to be productive with their journals, and it got me curious.

• Tumbitri Meri

This is a small woman-owned brand, and I thought it would be nice to support small businesses and see if their notebooks stand the test.

• Tekukor Journal

Never really heard about this one, but it seemed to have pretty good Amazon reviews, so I added it to the list as well.

There are, however, more journals on the market that I couldn’t get:

• SeQes
• Mindful Hookup
• Eclectic Scribbles 
• Amanda Rach Lee 
• Maisie Lane Co
• Wordsworth and Black
• Inprint 

How Is This Review Organized?

All the notebooks, of course, have some similar features: they all are 160 GSM dot grid notebooks with a sewn-in building. Moreover, they all have a 0.5 mm-sized dot grid.

However, there are also many differences between the journals, and as a complete stationery addict, I wanted to make sure I mark them all and evaluate the notebooks accordingly.

Here is my evaluation scale:

1. Company values and environmental responsibilities
2. Packaging
3. Quality (cover page, paper)
4. Numbered pages
5. Cost less than $20
6. More than 160 pages
7. Additional pre-made pages
8. Pen loop and back pocket
9. Pen test
10. Watercolor test

Therefore each of these 160 GSM notebooks can get a score from 1 to 10.

In this review we will walk through each notebook one by one, then if you’re interested you can see my review YouTube video, and finally, we will figure out the best 160 GSM notebook at the end of the post.

So be sure to scroll till the end of the post!

Pen Test Pens

One of the most important tests for today is a pen test and for this one, I picked some pretty juicy pens to put this paper to the actual test.

For juicy pens, I chose these ones: Ecoline Brush Pens, Zebra Clickart, Pentel Touch, and Karin Brushmarkers. These are the ones that have been giving some problems to my other journals that have less than 160 GSM paper.

I also included some pens that I often use: Tombow Fude, Zebra Mildliners, Tombow Dual Brush Pens, and Faber Castell fineliners.

Among some other pens are Crayola Super Tips, Stabilo Highlighters, and Acrylograph Pens.

Finally, we need to do a water test so I used my Amy Tangerine watercolors and Stabilo watercolor pencils.

Ok, let’s dive in!

Archer and Olive Dot Grid Journal

Final score: 7/10

When you get Archer and Olive journal you know you received the premium product. 

Opening up their boxes is like opening a Christmas present, you know inside you’ll find a unique and carefully crafted journal that will surprise you with its quality and amazingly cute designs.

Values and Responsibilities 

Archer and Olive pride themselves on their values and for a good reason. This woman-owned business stands for all the right things: inclusivity, appreciation of people’s work, mental health and so much more.

Apart from donating to a lot of causes, they also pay extra attention to everyone they work with, making sure that all creators are well compensated, healthy both medically and mentally, and have a family within Archer and Olive.

I’ll never forget when the quarantine in spring 2020 started, and I couldn’t come back home, was stuck in a new country on my first visit, living with people I didn’t know at all at that time, and basically not knowing when I’ll be able to go home and see my husband again.

It was a hard time and I remember Archer and Olive were the first to reach out and helped me so much to stay sane and live through these hard times.

Another core value this company has is its commitment to environmental responsibility. Their packaging is recyclable and covers are made of an ethically sourced fabric of vegan leather. 

They also pay extra attention to social accountability making sure that the manufacturers they use to pay their workers a fair rate.

I believe this adds a lot of value to the brand and as you’ll see now that many companies pay any attention to such things that can be vitally important for so many people involved and the planet as a whole.

Key Characteristics Of Archer and Olive 160 GSM Notebook

Buy here: Archer and Olive (use code MASHA10 to get 10% off your order)

Price: $36

Cover: Hard

Sizes: A5, B5, B6, Traveller’s

Paper: Pure White

Pages: 192

Pre-made pages: No

Numbered pages: No

Dots: Light grey, 0.5 mm

Grid: 26 x 38 boxes

Back Pocket:  Yes

Pen Loop: Yes

Bookmarks: Two

Extras: None

Pen Test

Archer and Olive aced their pen test with flying colors. I threw my juiciest pens and tons of water with watercolors and still, there was no bleeding or ghosting.

Moreover, it did great with my fountain pen – there was no feathering.

Notes

I love all the little cute details the notebook offers, such as a charm on one of the bookmarks, or holographic edges of their Halloween collection.

I’m also happy to see that now they are offering vegan leather covers.

I know this is a premium product and at a price tag of $36 it might be a bit too much. But thinking of how they do business and the values they stand for and actively support it seems like a worthy cause. 

Scribbles That Matter 160 GSM Journal

Final Score: 5.5

I expected a lot from this notebook, and in some ways, it met my expectations, and in some not.

First of all, I really like the cute packaging they have going, as well as the little doodles inside the journal. 

However, the notebook was mislabeled, which I found pretty strange. The cover page says the notebook is Starry Night, while this is actually Scribbles That Matter Pro. Plus the ribbon is so tight that it left an imprint on the cover.

Values And Responsibilities

There is nothing mentioned about their values anywhere I could find. They do have a lot of information on why they put so much emphasis on journaling.

There was recently a situation that made me want to not support this brand. Scribbles That Matter used the work of some of my friends without permission to create advertisements on Facebook.

To be transparent here – they ended up apologizing and compensating the artists, however, there are a few things.

First of all, they issued a statement about the situation only after a lot of people in the community called them out, and they issued a statement before actually talking to creators and agreeing on fair compensation.

Secondly, the situation took about a week to be resolved and was very stressful for the creators. They were not treated nicely.

Finally – this is not the first time Scribbles That Matter has used other people’s art without permission, so I’d expect that they would know that such behavior is unacceptable.

As a content creator, I understand the value of people’s work, and it really made me dislike that brand knowing that they thought that it’s ok to do such a thing. 

Knowing this situation, how they reacted, and how stressful it was for creators to fight for fair compensation, I say for myself that I will not be supporting this brand in the future.

Key Characteristics Of Scribbles That Matter 160 GSM Dot Grid Notebook

Buy here: Amazon

Price: $25.96

Cover: Hard

Sizes: A5, B5, B6

Paper: Pure White

Pages: 153

Pre-made pages: Key and Index

Numbered pages: Yes

Dots: Light grey, 0.5 mm

Grid: 26 x 38 boxes

Back Pocket:  Yes

Pen Loop: Yes

Bookmarks: Two

Extras: Pen test page, Mindfulness page, Scribbles That Matter fineliner

Pen Test

Since all the notebooks on this list have thick 160 GSM paper, I expect most of them to do pretty well, and so did this

If you look closely you can see Karin Brushmarkers pro ghost slightly, but other than that everything did pretty well.

I want to note here that my fountain pen did feather a little bit.

Notes

There are a few things I liked about this journal – the cover page has a special section for when you started the journal and when you finished it.

Another thing I like is that each page has very very slight dots that help you to easily divide it into 4 equal parts. Super useful when you plan your weeklies.

Notebook Therapy Journal

Final Score: 3.5

The first thing I must notice is that the packaging is very similar to Archer and Olive.

Other than that, I simply must note how bad their customer service is. My notebook took a month to get to a USA address, and I got no feedback from them about where my notebook is and if it was sent at all.

I must say I did love the cover of the notebook with its velvety feel – that’s a really nice touch. I also like that the spine has a little wave embroidered there, such a sweet detail.

Values and Responsibilities

There is no information about any of these.

As far as I can tell their notebooks were made in China which usually entails low factory working compensations and no special efforts towards being environmentally friendly.

Key Characteristics Of Notebook Therapy 160 GSM Dot Grid Journal

Buy here: Notebook Therapy

Price: $25.98

Cover: Hard

Sizes: A5, B5, Original

Paper: Pure White

Pages: 128

Pre-made pages: No

Numbered pages: No

Dots: Light grey, 0.5 mm

Grid: 24 x 35 boxes

Back Pocket:  Yes

Pen Loop: No

Bookmarks: Two

Extras: Whale paperclip

Pen Test

It did pretty well with most of the pens, except for Karin Brushmarker pro that created some ghosting.

The fountain pen was also feathering a bit.

Notes

I must say that I was absolutely misled by their website. They offer notebooks size original, A5, and B5, however, it’s never stated directly how small the original size is.

From the picture on their website, it looked slightly smaller, so I decided to give it a try. However, upon receiving I saw that it was significantly smaller, almost a B6 size.

Honestly, they need to work on customer service and giving proper information about their products.

Owl Buke 160 GSM Bullet Journal

Final Score: 3

This notebook came with a little stencil, which is always a cute addon. The cover also has a rubbery feel to it that I quite like.

However, I must note that the notebook has the most unpleasant chemical smell to it. It’s not too strong, but strong enough to notice. And it seems like a bad sign if we are talking about the quality.

The billie band has excellent detail with measurements. Even though it’s not something I’d ever need or use, I appreciate them creating something extra to stand out.

Values and Responsibilities

The original shop is listed on Aliexpress, which makes them mass-produced with little to no ethical labor practices. No more to be said here.

Key Characteristics Of Owl 160 GSM Notebook

Buy here: Amazon

Price: $11.80

Cover: Hard

Sizes: A5

Paper: Light cream

Pages: 160

Pre-made pages: No

Numbered pages: No

Dots: Light grey, 0.5 mm

Grid: 26 x 39 boxes

Back Pocket:  Yes

Pen Loop: Yes

Bookmarks: One

Extras: Stencil

Pen Test

This notebook has probably the worst paper among all of these; however, it still has thick 160 GSM paper, so there was no bleeding.

But, most pens were ghosting, Ecoline brush pens lost their shape, and Karin Brush Markers looked weirdly textured on this paper.

On touch, you can also feel how water damaged the paper.

Notes

This notebook is quite ok for its price. It can be a good first notebook for beginners since the quality is quite acceptable and the paper is good for its price.

This is a great practice notebook for you to figure out what you want from your Bullet Journal and what things you wish to have in your future notebook.

However, if you’re looking for an upgrade and a high-quality Bullet Journal with thick paper – this might not be it.

Smart Planner 160 GSM Notebook

Final Score: 5.5

Didn’t really know what to expect from this journal, but I really liked that nice black inside of the journal, as well as some pre-made pages.

Values and Responsibilities

On their website, all they talk about helping people to be productive and organized, so it’s not very clear what values they have.

Key Characteristics Of Smart Planner 160 GSM Dit Grid Notebook

Buy here: Amazon

Price: $24.97

Cover: Hard

Sizes: A5

Paper: White

Pages: 170

Pre-made pages: Key and Index

Numbered pages: Yes

Dots: Dark grey, 0.5 mm

Grid: 26 x 39 boxes

Back Pocket:  Yes

Pen Loop: Yes

Bookmarks: Three

Extras: None

Pen Test

This notebook had so much promise and yet it failed so hard when it came to the pen test.

Karin Brushmarker Pro bled through pretty bad. Karin and Ecoline brush pens also ghosted, and watercolor and watercolor pencils did slight damage to the paper.

Notes

Not much to say about this journal; it’s pretty ok and I got very disappointed when the time came for a pen test.

Honestly, I wouldn’t recommend this one.

Tumbitri Meri Journal

Final Score: 6.5

I really liked the packaging and of course, the fact that it comes with such an amazing stencil.

The journal gave me a high-quality feel, I loved the design and the rubbery feel of the cover. A sweet little detail was the fact that inside of the notebook they had a little pocket for that stencil that came with the notebook.

It’s also a small woman-owned business so it’s always nice to show them some support.

Values and Responsibilities

Unfortunately, once again, I must say that there is no information about their values and ecological responsibilities.

Key Characteristics Of Tumbitri Meri 160 GSM Journal

Buy here: Amazon

Price: $23.95

Cover: Hard

Sizes: A5

Paper: Bright White

Pages: 220

Pre-made pages: Index

Numbered pages: Yes

Dots: Dark grey, 0.5 mm

Grid: 26 x 38 boxes

Back Pocket:  Yes

Pen Loop: Yes

Bookmarks: Three

Extras: Stencil

Pen Test

Mostly it did ok, especially with the watercolor. And there was no feathering from my fountain pen.

However, there was some ghosting from Karin Brushmarkers, Ecoline Brush pens, and Zebra Click art. Karin ones were ghosting the most, bordering with bleeding.

Notes

This is a pretty good notebook and I love that it has so many pages. Even though it makes it a bit bulky it also means that it will last you for much longer.

However, a few things I didn’t like are the pen test and the index page – it looked kind of weird to me.

My final thoughts – this is a great starting notebook.

Tekukor Dot Grid Journal

Final Score: 5

Ok what’s happening with the band on this notebook, I never saw one that big! But this doesn’t really matter.

The notebook comes in a pretty package and looks like a sturdy pretty thick journal.

Values and Responsibilities

There is no information in any official sources on what are their values, however, there are a few things I wanted to note.

It says that their paper is from Japan and the notebook is made in China, which seems like a lot of unnecessary carbon footprint.

Another thing is that the notebook was covered in twice the plastic you actually need – both the box and the notebook were wrapped, which seems a bit excessive to me.

Key Characteristics Of Tekukor 160 GSM Notebook

Buy here: Amazon

Price: $20.97

Cover: Hard

Sizes: A5

Paper: Off white

Pages: 192

Pre-made pages: No

Numbered pages: Yes

Dots: Dark grey, 0.5 mm

Grid: 26 x 38 boxes

Back Pocket:  Yes

Pen Loop: No

Bookmarks: Three

Extras: No

Pen Test

This notebook did pretty well on the pen test. The only betrayal was by Karin Brushmarker pro that did ghost quite a bit.

There was also a slight feathering of my fountain pen.

Notes

I liked this notebook, and the three ribbons were a great addition. I also really enjoyed how light the page numbers were.

Video review

Want to see these notebooks and pen tests in action – check out my review below.

Final Score

So, who are our winners? Which notebook can be called the best 160 GSM notebook for Bullet Journaling?

Well, here they are!

The best notebook overall is Archer and Olive journal!

No surprise here, they are really the standard of what a good notebook should be. If you want to learn more be sure to check my Archer and Olive Dot Grid Notebook Review.

The best 160 GSM notebook for beginners is Tumbitri Meri!

I really love this journal, the way it feels in your hand and it does have everything one might need – a pre-made index, numbered pages, and a pen holder.

Three bookmarks are also very useful; that way you will be able to easily navigate between your future log, monthly log, and current weekly.

Some heavy-duty markers might ghost, like Karin or Ecoline, but the paper is still pretty good and considering I really advise it for beginners – you probably won’t have such stationery in your collection yet.

Finally, the best notebook for your buck is Tekukor.

If you’re looking to upgrade your paper but don’t have much of a budget – this notebook will be perfect for you.

For $20.92 you’ll be getting a good quality journal with such useful features as a back pocket, numbered pages, and three bookmarks. And, of course, a pretty good paper.

And if you’re not ready to invest into a 160 GSM paper journal, you can always check my post with 13 Best Bullet Journal Notebooks which has some more options.

And remember to think of all the other characteristics you might want from your Bullet Journal. If you’re not sure what I’m talking about, just check my post How To Choose A Perfect Bullet Journal Notebook For You.

Free Stationery Guide

Before you head out to buy your perfect journal, don’t forget to get your freebie.

The stationery world is vast, and there is an overwhelming amount of stationery available out there.

That’s why I created this guide, which condensed it all into a few pages and has the best recommendations for all types of stationery for all your journaling needs.

Sign up in the form below, and once you confirm your subscription, the Ultimate Guide To Bullet Journal Supplies will be on the way to your inbox.

What notebooks did I miss out on? Which journals are your favorites? 

Share with us in the comments!

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And remember: Keep Bullet Journaling, and Don’t Be A Blob.