The paper has a bit of tooth to it, so it's a bit rugged. I've tested it with acrylic inks and paints with and without priming. The results are quite good. The paper takes a lot of water in. It buckles a bit when wet, but it recovers its flatness once dry. I've also tried it with the same materials, adding clear gesso and the inks and paints run more smoothly and I can work the paper harder.
The binding is excellent and I can open the pad almost flat without the stitching coming apart. However, the colour tends to bleed down through the stitches holes. That might not be a problem if you don't paint the full spread or just focus on motifs on each page, do zentangle or drawing. Painting an inks drip down. Yet, for the price, this is a fab mini sketchbook.
Due to slightly textured surface, the use of fine white markers and Posca pens is not the best, unless the paper is totally dry and they go over a very dark colour.
The cover has a fabric-like texture in a beautiful turquoise colour. I like my journals to have the cover in different colours as this helps me easily identify different journals. This is important to me because I use them to explore different colours or materials.
The elastic band is a must because, once you start using the pad, this won't close fully. Besides, once the whole pad is used, the band will help close the notebook properly.
Finally, the pad has a ribbon bookmark, something I really love.
