“This is a very fine EDC (everyday carry) sketchbook, even more so when you consider that it costs less than $10. The paper is a good weight with a versatile cold-press texture that's friendly for ink pens as well as watercolour, and it responds well to traditional watercolour techniques. The pages lie flat and the hardcover binding makes it useful for sketching on location – it will be interesting to see how durable the binding is after a month or so of use, but it looks promising. It would be great to see this Watercolour Travel Journal made available in some additional size/orientation formats.
But in the meantime, if you're looking for a A5 sketchbook to carry around for daily practice or urban sketching, and you don't want an expensive book that will make you "seize up" creatively every time you realise that a "spread" is costing you more than a dollar, then this is one to consider.
One thing that isn't clear is the cotton content. My guess is that there's _some_ cotton content in the paper, if not necessarily 100%, especially since all the other Mont Marte "Premium" watercolour paper products (e.g. the 300gsm postcards and various pads) are marked 100% cotton. But the packaging of this "Premium" sketchbook doesn't give any indication.”
