At TN5C, we're all up for buying new and/or affordable stationery but sometimes a brand is mentioned and we'll nod our heads and go 'yes, that's a good quality item'.
Maruman is one of those brands, I have many teenage memories of buying Maruman notebooks, sketchbooks and thinking that the quality was really good! So when I spotted their new notebook system on instagram, I decided I had to buy it to try it out.
Maruman is known for their 20 hole looseleaf refills, you can buy the notebooks/refills in 4 sizes and a variety of different paper types, colours and notebook covers. The Puo is the newest size addition to this line and is a slim A5, which is a size made popular by the Travelers Notebook.
The Puo lineup consists of different notebook cover, refills, pockets and pen holder elastics and so I purchased the basic cover (which comes with a few pages of lined paper and a plastic pocket), a grid refill, slider pocket and pen holder elastic.
The basic cover a little bit flimsy. It consists of a plastic cover and plastic rings. If you want something a bit more sturdy, the other models have metal rings, hard or faux leather covers, something for everyone and in different colours. The big difference between plastic and metal rings are the way they open, the plastic ones open to one side but the metal ones open out to the sides like regular metal rings.
Besides the cover and the elastic pen holder, which I found a bit awkward to use, everything else is really good Maruman quality. I think I would purchase a better quality cover in the future and it would make a good bullet journal or everyday notebook! It is possible to make your own refill pages by purchasing a 20 hole punch and the Puo website has it's own printable section so there is room for this notebook system to grow and become more popular!
For more info: see Maruman's Puo website (Japanese only)
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