Etchr Sketchbook Review - The Paper of my Dreams!

I have wanted to try these sketchbooks from Etchr for awhile, and I was so excited to get them for Christmas from my lovely husband!  These are the Etchr Cold Press Mixed Media Sketchbooks in A4, A5 and A6. 

2 of the 3 Sketchbooks

These sketchbooks are thinner than traditional watercolor paper at 230gsm, BUT they are 100% cotton watercolor paper and claim to be double-sided!  This all seemed too good to be true, 100% thin cotton paper that lays flat and was ALSO double sided?  Could it be true?  

So, my first test was to see how flat the book lays.  I must say, for a hard-bound sketchbook that the paper does lay *very* flat.  It's not as flat as a wire-bound sketchbook, but with binder clips or washi tape I don't have any problem working in these sketchbooks.

My second test was to see how well the 100% cotton paper performed with wet on wet techniques and blending.  Succulents are my comfort zone when it comes to watercolor painting, and so I used this succulent picture as my test.  I was IMMEDIATELY in LOVE. This paper stays wet a long time for beautiful blending, and doesn't unexpectedly lift or pill under multiple layers.  I had two more tests to check the paper's abilities, but so far I was SUPER impressed!  

My third test was to see how well this paper did with a full background wash.  I did not hold back to wet the background.  I also had the edges taped like I would for any wet technique in a sketchbook, but the warping was minimal considering the thinness of the paper.   The washes went on beautifully and create beautiful gradients.  The second picture took 5 layers, all washes and there was no pilling or unexpected lifting.  The more I use this paper, the more I LOVE it!!!  

My final test of the paper was to use both sides.  I specifically wanted to use two pages with serious washes on both of them to see what would happen. As you can see in this video below, there was absolutely NO ghosting, bleeding, anything!!!  IT IS MAGIC. I mean, HOW they managed to make this paper has to be sorcery!  Also - this video shows a small sneak peak of a few other pieces I haven't shared yet!  

So the question becomes, is it worth the price?  In my opinion, they are ABSOLUTELY worth the price!  Per book, they aren't much more than the Bee Creative books that I buy, AND they are hard bound and the paper is double-sided!  Also, Etchr now sells individual books on Amazon so you don't have to buy 3 at a time!  For a long time, having to buy 3 books deterred me from buying them for myself, but now being able to buy 1 to try I wouldn't hesitate AND I feel they are definitely worth the money!  

Needless to say, this paper has 10/10 stars from me.  It will most likely be my primary watercolor sketchbook going forward.  I love working on paper that works like Arches or Bee in a beautiful, bound, easy to carry sketchbook.  I *have* seen that Etchr has paper blocks, but to my knowledge those blocks are only 50% cotton. I'm really hoping they will make 100% cotton cold press blocks in the future - I would DEFINITELY trust this company to make quality 100% cotton blocks!!!  

I hope this review was helpful to anyone that is thinking about trying this product!  Have you tried any Etchr products?  Let me know your thoughts in the comments!