Archer & Olive A5 Dot Grid Notebook: 160 gsm Paper

Drawing of the Archer & Olive A5 dot grid notebook to scale: a navy cloth hard cover with a silver fox design, 210 mm tall and 146 mm wide, with elastic, pen loop and ribbon, and opened flat on white 5 mm dot grid pages — The A5 in a navy cloth edition, closed and opened on its 5 mm dot grid (1 mm = 1 px).

Product facts

Product: Archer & Olive A5 Dot Grid Notebook (192 pages, 160 gsm)
Brand: Archer & Olive
Brand origin: United States
Made in: China^*
Material: Vegan leather or buckram cloth hard cover, 160 gsm white (or black) paper
Price range: $$$$20–75 per notebook

Notes on these facts

Made in China: Swedish retailer Tidformera's Swedish listing for the A5 dotted notebook (Apothecary Shelf edition) says "Tillverkad i Kina" (made in China) and notes the books are hand-bound. Archer & Olive's own product and FAQ pages call it a small business in the USA but don't name a country of manufacture. Source. Price: example listing.
Price bands are typical US retail, checked October 2026.

Key takeaways

Archer & Olive lists the A5 at 5.75 × 8.25 in (146 × 210 mm) with 192 pages, the same height as a Leuchtturm1917 Medium.
The paper is 160 gsm, twice the 80 g/m² of a Leuchtturm1917 Medium and more than twice the 70 g/m² of a Moleskine Classic.
Dots are 5 mm apart; because the books are hand-bound, a retailer warns the dots may not line up perfectly across some spreads.
Each A5 has an elastic closure, an elastic pen loop, a ribbon bookmark and a pocket inside the back cover.
Swedish retailer Tidformera says "Tillverkad i Kina" (made in China); Archer & Olive's own pages, which listed the A5 dot grid at US$37 on October 20, 2026, don't state a country.

What is the Archer & Olive A5 dot grid notebook?

It’s a hard-cover A5 bullet journal built around very thick paper: 192 pages of 160 gsm white paper with a 5 mm dot grid. Archer & Olive sells it in many printed and foil-stamped cover designs, in vegan leather or buckram cloth.

Bullet journal reviewers treat it as a benchmark. Masha Plans gives it a long review, and a GummySearch summary of Reddit reviews rates it 4.6 out of 5, level with Scribbles That Matter and Notebook Therapy.

Archer & Olive A5 specs

Spec	A5 dot grid notebook
Size	5.75 × 8.25 in (146 × 210 mm)
Pages	192
Paper	160 gsm; white, or black on some designs
Ruling	Dot grid, 5 mm
Binding	Thread-bound (hand-bound)
Cover	Hard; vegan leather or buckram cloth, by design
Extras	Elastic closure, elastic pen loop, ribbon bookmark, back pocket (Tidformera; Masha Plans counts two ribbons)
Other sizes	B5, B6, square, TN and PS, depending on the design
Item code / barcode	HWLP304 / 810208873197 (Apothecary Shelf A5, white dot grid)
Made in	China (per a European retailer)

Size, page count, paper and the other sizes come from Archer & Olive’s own listings; the dot spacing, thread binding and extras from Tidformera’s Swedish listing. On October 20, 2026 Archer & Olive listed the A5 dot grid at US$37 with white pages and US$39 with black pages.

To-scale drawing: Archer & Olive A5 at 146 × 210 mm with 192 pages of 160 gsm paper, beside the Leuchtturm1917 A5 at 145 × 210 mm with 80 g/m² paper and the Moleskine Large at 130 × 210 mm with 70 g/m² paper — Three 210 mm notebooks at the same scale (1 mm = 1.1 px); the Archer & Olive has the heaviest paper.

Why is the paper 160 gsm, and what does that mean?

160 gsm is about twice the weight of most premium notebook paper, so markers, brush pens and light washes are less likely to show through. Archer & Olive describes it as ultra-thick, no-bleed paper.

The trade-off is page count. Thicker sheets mean a 192-page book, where a Leuchtturm1917 Medium has 251 pages of 80 g/m² paper. For daily logs that fill a book in months, that matters.

We haven’t tested bleed or ghosting ourselves yet. If you use fountain pens, also see our best notebooks for fountain pens.

Are the dots evenly spaced?

The dots are 5 mm apart, but because the books are hand-bound, a retailer warns they may not line up perfectly across some spreads. Tidformera adds that note to its listings.

That matters most if you draw tables or trackers across both pages of a spread. Check the centre of a spread before you plan a two-page layout.

How does it compare to Leuchtturm1917 and Moleskine?

The Archer & Olive has by far the heaviest paper; the Leuchtturm1917 has more pages, page numbers and an index; the Moleskine is the narrowest and lightest.

	Archer & Olive A5	Leuchtturm1917 Medium	Moleskine Classic Large
Size	146 × 210 mm	145 × 210 mm	130 × 210 mm
Pages	192	251, numbered	240, unnumbered
Paper	160 gsm	80 g/m²	70 g/m²
Dot grid	5 mm	5 mm	Yes (dotted layout)
Pen loop	Yes	No (sold separately)	No
Price band	$$$	$$$	$$$

Leuchtturm1917 and Moleskine figures come from our own guides to each. For a cheaper heavy-paper dot pad, see the Rhodia No. 16 dot pad.

Which should you choose?

Choose the Archer & Olive if you use markers, brush pens or paint and want pages that hold up to them. Its pen loop and back pocket make it a complete journal out of the box. For the same 160 gsm weight with numbered pages and a printed index, see the Scribbles That Matter Pro.

Choose a Leuchtturm1917 if you mostly write with gel pens or ballpoints and want more pages, page numbers and an index. For yearly planners, see our best 2027 journals roundup.

Where are Archer & Olive notebooks made?

Swedish retailer Tidformera’s listing says “Tillverkad i Kina”, made in China, and notes the books are hand-bound. Archer & Olive’s FAQ calls the company a small business in the USA, and its terms are governed by Texas law.

We found no country of manufacture on Archer & Olive’s pages, so check the label on your copy.

Frequently asked questions

What size is the Archer & Olive A5 notebook?

Archer & Olive lists it at 5.75 × 8.25 inches, which is about 146 × 210 mm. That is standard A5 height and within a few millimetres of A5 width (148 mm).

How many pages does an Archer & Olive A5 have?

The A5 dot grid notebook has 192 pages, per Archer & Olive's own listing and several retailers. That is fewer than a Leuchtturm1917 Medium because each sheet is much thicker.

What gsm is Archer & Olive paper?

160 gsm. Archer & Olive calls it ultra-thick, no-bleed paper, and some designs also come with black pages. That is twice the weight of Leuchtturm1917's 80 g/m² paper.

Do markers bleed through Archer & Olive paper?

Archer & Olive sells the 160 gsm paper as thick enough for heavy journaling, and bullet journal reviewers generally rate it highly for markers. We haven't run our own bleed test yet, so treat that as the maker's and reviewers' view.

What is the dot spacing in an Archer & Olive notebook?

The dots are 5 mm apart, the usual bullet journal spacing. One retailer notes that because the books are hand-bound, dots may be slightly out of line across some spreads.

Where are Archer & Olive notebooks made?

Swedish retailer Tidformera lists the A5 dotted notebook as made in China ("Tillverkad i Kina"). Archer & Olive, a US company, doesn't name a country of manufacture on its own pages.

Is Archer & Olive better than Leuchtturm1917 for bullet journaling?

It depends on your pens. The Archer & Olive has much heavier 160 gsm paper for markers and paint; the Leuchtturm1917 Medium has numbered pages, an index and 80 g/m² paper that keeps the book thinner.

Sources (8)

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