Hello everyone! I hope you’re doing well. Today, I’m doing a review of the Leuchtturm Weekly Planner. This is the horizontal version for 2024. So, let’s check it out.
Overview
This is a soft cover planner, but it is also available as a hardcover. The hardcover version comes with an address book, whereas this one does not.
First Impressions
One thing I’ve noticed right from the get-go is that in recent years they have updated their soft cover notebook. The actual cover is a lot softer and smoother now, which is a really pleasant surprise. I’m very happy with that.
I have a Leuchtturm notebook from about 10 years ago, and it’s hard to show this on camera, but the older one feels a lot more plasticky and rough. The new one is much smoother and is very similar now to the Moleskine soft covers, which I’m very happy about because that was always a little bit of a drawback for me with Leuchtturm. I didn’t like the feel of their soft covers as much, but now I absolutely love it.
Features
As I mentioned, this is the soft cover version. It comes with rounded edges and has two bookmarks – one black and one green. Here’s the spine; the notebook is stitched and bound. On the back, it has “Leuchtturm1917” embossed and comes with an elastic strap. The cover lines up perfectly with the paper. In the back, it has a pocket and also comes with archival stickers.
The size is A5, with dimensions of 5.7 inches by 8.25 inches (14 cm by 21 cm). It is also available in A6 as a soft cover, and in A4, A5, A6, pocket, and A7 (mini version) as a hardcover.
Inside the Planner
It comes with a little thank you card and a booklet. Here you can actually see the planners that are available from Leuchtturm. They have daily planners, weekly planners with the weekly overview on one side and notes on the other, horizontal weekly planners (which I have), and vertical weekly planners.
Opening it up, you can put your info on the first page. The paper is 80 GSM ivory-colored paper, which is really nice quality. I’ll show you a writing sample later.
In the beginning, you have a yearly overview for 2023, 2024, and 2025. Next, there is a monthly planner overview for 2024 and 2025, which is great for noting birthdays and important appointments in advance.
Additional Pages
There is one page with international holidays, which I don’t find very useful, but at least there’s only one.
What I absolutely love about this planner is the project planner for 2024. This is one of the main reasons I purchased this planner – I can track projects and use it as a habit tracker. You can track five habits per month and mark them off every day, which is fantastic.
Weekly Layout
The planner has a horizontal layout, with one week on a double page. It starts with Monday and goes through to Sunday. At the bottom, it tells you which week you’re in, and it shows the moon phases. Saturday and Sunday share a space, which gives you a little less room for the weekends.
Blank Pages
Another selling point for me was the 21 blank pages in the back, which is great for taking notes. The last 16 pages (8 sheets) are perforated, so you can tear them out easily without damaging the planner.
Writing Sample
Here’s my writing sample with several different pens – fountain pen, ballpoint pen, and gel pens. The 80 GSM paper holds up pretty well. There is no feathering with the fountain pen. On the back, there is quite a bit of ghosting, especially with thicker pens, but no bleed-through. So, it’s definitely fountain pen-friendly paper.
Minor Issues
One minor flaw I’ve noticed is that some of the pages slightly stick together where they are glued. This has happened in the past with Leuchtturm notebooks. For example, with the blank pages in the back, I had to pull them apart, which slightly tore the paper. It’s not a huge deal, but something to keep in mind.
Conclusion
One thing that surprised me is that the soft cover and the hardcover versions cost the same, yet the hardcover version comes with an address book, and this one does not. If you want an extra address book, go with the hardcover. I chose the soft cover because I love being able to put a pen in the planner and have it on the go, which is harder with a hardcover planner.
I’m excited to try this for 2024. I might make another video on my planner journey, but I’m not sure yet. We’ll see how I feel.