"Premium" Writing Paper (Clairefontaine & Rhodia)

I think that I've completed the basic kit for a fountain pen newbie. Fountain pen: check. Converter: check. Ink samples: check. Another fountain pen: check. Bottle of ink: check. The last item in the fountain pen 101 kit? Fountain pen friendly writing paper! Really. I'm serious:

Left to right: Clairefontaine Triomphe writing pad; Rhodia Dot Pad (spiral bound); and Rhodia Dot Pad (staple bound). They are all A5 size, and they all contain really nice paper. Serious reviews of these writing pads can be found all over the Internet, and anything I try to write will be redundant. Personally, I like the feel of the Triomphe paper the best, but I don't like the way that the pages are glued at the top . . . tearing the pages away cleanly can be hit or miss. I prefer the micro perforations on the Dot Pads much better in this regard. The Triomphe paper has lavender or purple-ish colored lines, which are impossible to accurately show due to poor lighting, color balance, and bush league photography skills:

Clairefontaine Triomphe

The Dot Pad paper uses a grid of dots instead of lines. Official specs say that the dots are printed with a 5 mm pitch. I like the dots:

Rhodia Dot Pad

To be honest, my fountain pens work just fine on the standard office copy paper that I use. That said, they write smoother and produce higher quality ink lines on these premium paper products. Even if you don't write with fountain pens, you should try some of this paper just for the experience. You only live once.

By the way, I also acquired a tiny Rhodia pad (No. 10 size, 2 x 3 inches) and feel that it's just too small to be really useful. I also bought one in the No. 11 size, which is 3 x 4 inches. The No. 11 size is perfect for quick notes, to-do lists, reminders, and miniature paper airplanes. I use the No. 11 pad more than the A5 size pads shown in the pictures.

To summarize: I now have fountain pens, converters, ink, and good writing paper. I think my kit is complete. Too bad my handwriting sucks.