Review on Brown Leather A5 Travelers Notebook - Refillable Travel Journal With 3 Lined Inserts For Men And Women, 90 Sheets Included by Hank Mistretta

Overall I'd give this journal a 4.5/5, with fairly good quality and excellent customer service. I bought this journal cover in hopes of keeping my bullet journal and my sketchbook in the same booklet, and it's been exactly the find for what I needed! I prefer the A5 size for the wider pages, and have found that the notebooks I use fit in my journal without issue. The elastic that holds the journal closed can double as a pen holder, so I love that. Plus, the journal came with an extra elastic for even more flexible formatting! And the simple design is just plain stylish, in my opinion.When I originally ordered this journal, I got the version that came with inserts, which only had one color option, and was surprised by how light of a brown the cover was compared to the photo on the listing. I brought this up with customer service, and they were quick to send me a replacement cover in the darker brown color- their service was amazing! Both colors are very pretty; I'd call the lighter one a saddle brown and the darker one a walnut brown- it's so dark it's almost purplish-black. I haven't had any issue with the dye lifting off either, though I've not had the darker journal for very long. I attached a picture of both, so you can see the comparison.The leather itself is nice and thick; it's stiff enough that I can still write holding the notebook up, rather than on a solid surface. But unfortunately, the leather does scuff up fairly easily. I've had my journal for about 2 weeks of regular use, and the cover, especially the back, is full of scuffs and scratches. That doesn't bother me too much, since I can likely just use some leather conditioner and it'll be fine, but it's good to know. It doesn't appear truly damaged, just worn. My journal also came with what appears to be a dark pencil mark on the inside cover, presumably from when it was being made, so just be aware they aren't completely mark free. I included photos of both the 2-weeks wear and the mark, so you can see if they're something you'd be annoyed by before purchasing.The inserts are of a decent quality, but definitely not my favorite notebooks I've ever used. I'd recommend buying them separately. The paper ghosts (I use ballpoint and fine felt-tipped pens, if that helps) and the number of dots per page is odd- literally, there's 27 across, so it's impossible to divide the page evenly in half using the dots. They also got a bit dinged up in shipping, but that's not the company's fault.