Spiral Notebook, 4 Subjects, 152 Sheets, 21x14.8 cm

A subject notebook is one book divided into separate sections by card dividers, so a student carries a single notebook instead of one per subject. The wire binding lets it open completely flat and fold back on itself, which is what you want on a crowded desk or a lecture bench with no elbow room.

Count the sections against your timetable rather than the sheet count. A book with more sections than you need wastes paper in the ones you never open, and a book with too few has you writing two subjects into one divider by November. The wire has a known weakness too: it catches and distorts if the book is forced into a full bag, and once a spiral is bent the pages stop turning cleanly — so it travels better in a flat compartment than loose.

Four sections in the smaller 21x14.8 cm format: the same subject count as the A4 version on a page you can hold in one hand, which suits note-taking more than working out.

• 4 subject sections divided by card
• 152 sheets
• Wire binding — opens completely flat and folds back
• Carry it flat; a bent spiral stops turning cleanly