Nuuna Journal Review: A Notebook Like No Other

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Out of all Bullet Journal supplies, getting a perfect journal has been my top goal.

There are so many notebook brands out there, but I’ve always had an eye on the Nuuna journal, and boy oh boy!

I’m so happy to say I finally got my hands on one, and by the time I’m writing this journal I’ve been using it for 3 months. So here is my comprehensive review.

When I started my Bullet Journal in 2018, Nuuna was the best one can get. And generally, I think the market wasn’t really that saturated.

But as Bullet Journaling became more popular, more brands poped out, a lot of them coming out with some amazing journals.

In the end, I actually switched to using a different brand. But I still have a soft spot for Nuune journals. In my opinion, whatever the drawbacks, Nuuna is still a fantastic and very unique notebook.

So I really hope this post will help you figure out if this is the right notebook for you.

And if not – there are several blog posts linked at the end of the post with other options you might want to consider.

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Nuuna Journal Review: “The End of Boring Notebooks”

Nuuna journals are produced by a German company called Brandbook and position themselves as premium notebooks.

Are these notebooks that great? Are they worth the price? Well, keep reading to find out! Don’t you guys love a good mystery?

Well, I’m kind of lousy at writing mysteries, because if you read the name of the post, you already know how in love I am with my Nuuna (Nuunas actually, I use two on them). But I promise you! I’ll be as objective as possible and list not only the advantages but also the disadvantages this journal has in my opinion. After all – it’s a matter of preference.

So let’s look into it in detail. Probably, with any luck, you’ll find Nuuna as irresistible as I do.

General Journal Information

Nuuna notebooks come in many sizes and with different materials for their covers. Notebook covers are usually made of smooth bonded leather (recycled leather made from leather cuttings) or jeans label materials.

The notebooks come in S (1,60 × 10,80 × 15,00 cm), M (1,30 × 207,00 × 141,00 cm), L Light (1,60 × 16,50 × 22,00 cm), L (2,10 × 16,50 × 22,00 cm), XL (1,30 × 29,70 × 21,00 cm) sizes. None of these sizes are standard size, so it’s something to consider when buying yours.

They have different grids available, but here, I’ll be talking about dot grid notebooks. Now, there’s a seriously cool feature here – the dot grid comes in different colors! You can choose between grey, turquoise, and orange. How awesome is that?

I have an L light notebook with a smooth bonded leather cover, so all the information below will be based on this notebook. 

My Nuuna journal specifications:

• Smooth Bonded Leather
• Screen Print
• 165 x 220 mm
• 176 Numbered Pages
• 3,5 mm Dot Grid
• 120 GSM Premium Paper
• Edge Coloring

Journal Cover

Nuuna notebooks come in a variety of designs, and all of them are very unique. I personally have one completely black and one with a pink gradient effect.

Nuuna covers are soft covers that feel very nice to touch. I also love the feeling of texture they have. They add design by silk screen printing, and you can totally feel the quality when you hold the notebook in your hands.

You can see the name of the brand on the binding. And what I love the most – the page’s edges are colored to match the cover! This is a very nice detail which brings the notebook to the next level.

The notebook itself feels heavy and well-constructed. I hear from fellow Bullet Journalists (who have the journal with them at all times) that the cover gets a bit worn out. For me, that’s to be expected, since it’s a soft cover, and those get worn out a bit more than hardcover ones. My solution was to simply get an extra cover for my journal.

Journal Size

Like I mentioned a little earlier, Nuuna notebook sizes are not standard ones, so be careful when you choose one for yourself. I personally got myself an L Light size (1,60 × 16,50 × 22,00 cm), which is a bit bigger than A5.

I find the size to be a huge advantage. Why? Well, first of all, now I have more space to journal and doodle on my spreads. Second – this means I need to use less peges to set up my journal for the month.

For example, in A5 notebook I have 3 – 4 pages for my monthly setup. In Nuuna, on the other hand, just two is enough, since, on one page, I can now write much more. Take a look at my monthly spread, as an example.

Inside the Journal

Nuuna has nothing extra; once you open the journal – it’s just dot grid pages. The pages are numbered though, which is great. And moreover, the numbers are small enough to not be a nuisance when you do your designs.

Plus, the binding really allows the pages to lay flat.

Notebook Paper and Dot Grid

Nuuna uses 120 GSM Munken fine paper from Sweden for it’s notebooks. One thing you will notice at once is that the paper is extremely white! This is one of the reasons why I’ll stay with Nuuna for a long time – I’ve never seen a notebook with paper this white.

For me, it’s important to consider that if your paper isn’t perfectly white, your markers and brush pen colors will look different. To get the pure original color you need white paper. My advice to you, before buying a Nuuna, is to try out your pens on a white sheet of paper to see how you like the colors.

Now for the dot grid – in Nuuna it’s actually 3,5 mm, not the usual 5 mm of other journals. This is something that would take some time to get used to, but it has its own advantages. First of all – you will be able to do more on the page. Second, in my opinion, your handwriting will look cleaner.

Moreover, the grid I used was light grey, so it didn’t stand out It’s barely noticeable once you’ve completed your page setup. And I appreciate that! (Disclaimer: I didn’t try the other colors yet, so if you did, I’d love to read your opinion in the comments!).

Pen Test

I’ve tested my Nuuna with lots of different pens and markers, and you can see the result below. There is no bleeding, just some occasional ghosting. The only pen you can clearly see in Pentel Touch.

However, I was told that the paper quality went down a bit, and I can actually notice this sometimes. If I layer my Tombows a few times, I can feel the paper getting scrubbed and starting to bleed a little bit.

For me this is not a problem, I’m more of a doodling person so I’m not planning to go too artistic with my spreads. However, if you are an artist and plan to layer a lot and use watercolor – this might be a bit of a nuisance to you.

Pricing

Nuuna is a bit of a high-priced notebook. The average price would be around 30$, but, of course, it differs on design, and the size you chose.

Conclusion

For me, it’s a perfect journal, and I’m sticking to it for a white, although it might not be perfect for everyone.

If you’re looking for a spacious high-quality journal for easy everyday planning, notes, ideas, and such – this is a great choice. If you’re looking for an artistic outlet – maybe this won’t be a good fit for you.

But of course, you decide. Here is my list of pros and cons of Nuuna journal for reference:

Pros

• Premium product

• Extra white paper

• Smaller dot grid

• Lightly colored dot grid

• Eco friendly

• Lay flat binding

• Limited cover artwork
• Bigger notebook size

Cons

• Soft cover

• No strap

• No back pocket

• No pen-holding loop

• No bookmarks
• Paper can ghost and bleed through

What really sold Nuuna to me, if I’m being honest, are these 3 things: bigger size (but not as huge as A4) and good proportions; extra white paper; small, barely noticeable grey dot grid.

These 3 things, together with the general quality feeling from holding the notebook, convinced me completely that for me it was the right choice.

Be sure to check my post How To Choose A Perfect Notebook For You, so you know all the things to consider when buying your journal.

And here are a few posts with more notebook recommendations:

Archer and Olive Journal Review

Rhodium Mines Journal Review

Dingbats Journal Review

13 Best Notebooks For Your Next Bullet Journal

Ultimate Comparison Of 160 GSM Journals

Ths same brand also releases a Nuuna Thinker Journal which is a very fun combination of paper journaling and digital. So if it sounds like something you’re interested in, it might be an option for you.

What about you? What are you looking for in a notebook for your Bullet Journal? Let me know in the comments below!

Want to see some pages I’ve made in my Nuuna so far – head straight to my Instagram account!

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