Clever FoxDotted Journal 2.0 – Compact Planning and Sketching Dot Grid Notebook 120 GSM Thick, No-Bleed Paper – Planner with Pen Loop, Pocket, Ribbons, Stickers A5 - Rose Gold

If you're wondering "Will this work for a bullet journal?" Yes, very well actually. If you're wondering "Will my markers bleed through the paper?" Probably not. It's fairly thick paper, that doesn't crinkle or tear easily, and most felt tip marker pens shouldn't be an issue. I regularly use Sharpie felt tip pens without any trouble. (The ones with the AP black ink, and an all-black body and cap.) They fit perfectly in the journal's elastic pen loop.The hard cover is great for writing in it even when you don't have a nice desk or table to press on, and the A5 size is very convenient for carrying it around, while still having some privacy if you write in public spaces. There's already a dedicated table of contents at the start for you to fill out, and the pages are already numbered. (Not sure why some other journals don't do this. I've had a few misnumbering incidents.)Your milage may vary on the usefulness of the included stickers. It looks like Clever Fox tried to stick to some of the collections commonly mentioned in bullet journal guides, with stickers for budgets, fitness trackers, etc. More general stickers, like a music note or a person talking might be nice -- but it's hardly a deal-breaker.Probably the biggest selling point for me (and the reason why my next BuJo will probably be in a Clever Fox journal) is that they're durable. I've had mine for nearly a year, carrying it everywhere, and there's very little visible wear on it. It's still a very bright tangelo orange, with no fading -- and the elastic band the holds the journal closed is still fully intact. (Those elastic bands are usually the first thing to go on other journals.) Considering you *can* take the journal anywhere, the pocket in the back cover is extra useful for carrying things like photos, gift cards, holiday cards, et cetra, until you can find a more permanent place to put them.I will say that if you want to look back on your journal years later, it's important to use the appropriate pens. I still have old notebooks from school about 15 years ago, and already the ink is turning brown and faded. To avoid that happening with your journal, try using pens with archival ink. The big "AP" symbol is usually a good sign. I personally like to carry small stacks of sticky notes pressed into the back cover so I always have them handy, but I can't recommend sticking them in between pages or leaving the notes in for years, since the glue on the notes is *not* acid free and could affect the pages years down the road.

I love the cover and the pages. But some inks totally bleed through the pages.

I like the design, numbered pages and stickers offered with the journal

I actually bought this planner as a replacement for a leuchtturm dotted journal I had bought previously. I originally purchased the leuchtturm because it seemed to be highly recommended for bullet journaling, but when I started using it I found that the paper quality was not what I had expected and there was a lot of bleed through on the pages to the point where I had to skip every other page.I didn’t want to spend another $25-30 on a journal so I went with this one by Clever Fox and I’m SO glad I did! The difference in the paper quality is HUGE! I haven’t had any issues with bleed through - the paper is great quality, very thick and sturdy, and it erases well even after several attempts!I love the cover, it’s not quite hard bound but it’s sturdy and I really like that it’s flexible. I went with the rose gold color and it’s gorgeous! It opens completely to lay flat with is great, and has three ribbon bookmarks which make it easy if you need to create different sections.I love that it comes with index pages in the front AND a dedicated page for a journaling key - which is essential for color coding of course 🤩. My favorite feature though would have to be the attached pen holder - this comes in really handy for me since I’m forever losing my pen!I will definitely be purchasing more of these journals - the quality is great and a steal for the price!

I decided to try something a little different than the trusty Leuchtturm1917 Dotted Journal that is $3 more. This one is more money than the $9 version of Clever Fox Dotted Journal, but it looks the same thing - just minor differences.Here's my first look as I haven't used it yet or used it heavily. My main purpose of this is for Bullet Journaling using the following media - Tombow Markers, Washi tape, glue, watercoloring, Stabilo pens, UniPin and others.COVER: I got the purple cover, and I really like it actually. The doodles are subtle enough that it won't be annoying, but it does give a few ideas of doodles that you may want to do inside the pages. Compared to the Leuchtturm, the cover is much more softer and pliable, which is a small negative for me. Since I will be using this daily, and I'm not exactly super careful, I'm slightly worried about how the cover will hold up for a year.PAPER: There is less pages in the Clever Fox. 155 compared to 249 for the Leuchtturm. The Clever Fox has 120 GSM paper compared to 80 for Leuchtturm. This was more of a winning point for me, because I really want to do more watercoloring, and even though it is okay, it does warp the pages in Leuchtturm. For Clever Fox, it will be much better I believe. Less ghosting potentially. The number of pages may deter some people if they want to keep a full year journal within one book, especially those that does multiple layouts for the month. For Clever Fox, it leaves 6 pages (front and back) per month, while for Leuchtturm allows about 10. For my personal Bullet Journaling, I average about 6-7. I will need to get a new one in 6 months because I do use a few pages for Book log, Month at Glance, Hiking Log, etc. It's slightly a bummer, but I think I will be okay with that because of 120 GSM. However, if I buy two, I would end up paying more in the end. If you got the $9 version, then it pretty much comes out even with Leuchtturm.COLOR: The paper is WHITE. A bit of a negative for some people as slightly beige/off white is easier on the eyes than white. However, since I will be doing marker work/watercoloring, the colors may pop a little more on white. I've heard people aren't much of a fan of Leuchtturm paper color because it looks a little too beige.LAYOUT: The first few pages is the Content pages. 1 Page with Reference with Symbol and color. I do not get this. 3 pages with Content - Topic and page number. I personally don't use it, so I probably will use these pages as scrap anyways. I like the layout of Clever Fox Content pages better. The font is more clearer, wider ruled. The number of lines is 2 less than Leuchtturm. 24 vs 26 (not sure if that matters, but some people are nitpicks!). Clever Fox Journal 2.0 lays FLAT when pushed down. Leuchtturm does lay mostly flat, but not as well as Clever Fox. This is a huge bonus for me because I do watercolors, and having it flat can really make a huge difference on how the watercolors are puddled.The dotted pages - It has the same amount of dots as Leuchtturm. In this version of Clever Fox, there is one EXTRA lines of dots on the bottom of the page more than Leuchtturm, but one line less than the cheaper version of Clever Fox Dotted Journal. This may be helpful for some people that like to really do edge work on the layouts. The dots themselves are more clearer than Leuchtturm and tiny bit larger, which is a bonus for me because on the Leuchtturm, I do struggle with counting the dots due to how light they are. I think it also has to do with the color of the pages as well. I'm not sure if the dots will show through for watercolors, markers and such. This is something I'll have to edit in 6 months and see how it performed.The pagination has a really nice clear font. In the Leuchtturm, the page numbers are a little harder to see, but that may be because I'm getting on my years, so I can't see as well. The very odd thing is the odd pages are on the left side, while the even numbers are on the right. I don't exactly pay attention to page numbers, but this slightly threw me off.EXTRAS: The three ribbon markers is actually a really big bonus for me, while the Leuchtturm has 2. It is more stiffer than Leuchtturm's ribbons, and I like it a lot better. The ribbons sticks out a little shorter than Leuchtturm. It sticks out 1.5 inches or 3 cm. For the Leuchtturm, the ribbons sticks out twice as much. The pen loop is a negative for me. I use my Stabilo fine liners of various colors for daily journaling, and it will not hold those as there's no clip, and it's pretty narrow liner. My UniPin is a little thicker, and it will be annoying to put it in there. I could do without this, and I think after a while, I will cut it out. The elastic band is similar as Leuchtturm, but slightly more stiffer, which means it is more durable long term. My Leuchtturm's elastic has started to get too stretched out. Clever Fox Journal 2.0 comes with stickers. It's a little extra thing, it a meh for me. Will I use it? Most likely not. The back pocket is something Clever Fox can improve on. The pocket is basically the same 120 GSM page, folded with satin finished bellows (whatever that is called!). I feel like this is way too flimsy compared to Leuchtturm. The Leuchtturm back pocket is more of a card stock. I personally do not use the back pocket. The Clever Fox Journal 2.0 has shorter opening of back pocket than the Leuchtturm, but who wants to fill the back pocket so full that it isn't worth it.I think if Clever Fox made the back pockets a little more durable, more pages (I think another 50 pages will be good without the whole journal being too thick), proper pagination, slightly off white color. This will be a winner.See you in 6 months when I make my edit!!

I've used bullet journals for several years and this is a nice journal. I like the design on cover. It has three ribbons for bookmarks - I don't use them much but they are ok. It has a pocket in the back, the pages are thick enough that you can colour and stamp with them.

Just like all the other notebooks I have bought from Clever Fox, this one is really beautiful. I don't do a general search now - I go straight to the Clever Fox store and they haven't let me down yet. Absolutely first rate.

Not only does it look cool but the paper is really good quality, it's thick enough that you can't see pen marks on the next page. I love the different colours too

Repeat purchase! I've bought the wine red one for 2024 to supercede my blue 2023 journal which is almost full (it's not dated). It has key and contents pages, both of which I use. The elastic band that holds it closed is still working. I like that the dotted (and numbered) pages do not constrain my writing. This is my fourth bullet journal but had no complaints about my previous Lemome journal - I like to have a different colour each year.

I love these notebooks. They’re such good quality. The colours of the covers are amazing!