Karst Reviews 22

As much as I love the idea of stone made paper that is more resistant to the elements; i have to say that when it comes to durability testing, unfortunately it just doesn't hold up to some of the main claims. Some examples are: yes it is waterproof, it is absolutely is not fireproof on the corners and will still catch fire. If burnt in the center is will just deform as described. It is smoother to write on than normal paper. It is most definitely not tear resistant as it does tear quite easily. The tear is a lot quieter than tearing most "tree made" paper. Also the ink will smear no matter the dry time . Overall id say the pros contrast the cons to an even 70/30 cons being more prevalent unfortunately. It does some of the things they say it can, and also doesn't do some of the things they say it can. I hope this helps anyone looking at getting this in the future.

I had such high hopes for the company and its product. While the product which finally arrived after a month appears fine, their customer journey just makes me sad.

They could have had a customer for life. Instead there was no part of the process that wasn't disappointing. They don't take responsibility for anything and that includes THEIR choice of delivery partner. I do not like companies that dodge accountability. To avoid disappointment don't buy from these guys. There are other companies with similar products, try them.

Really disappointed with this Karst Stone Paper Sketchbook. I was so looking forward to using it. It is lovely and smooth and I enjoyed drawing a pencil sketch on it. However when I had to erase part of it it made a horrible dark smudge. I then used waterproof ink which again unless you a super careful smudges really badly. Finally a watercolour which just caused my waterproof ink to move turning everything dirty. Totally bummed as I so wanted to like this

The paper is really nice and smooth, but I bought this to use my fountain pen on and it bleeds to the point of obscurity, so I feel like this defeats the purpose. I'll use them because they're nice, but you have to restrict your use to dry inks or pencil. Ballpoint is best. Felt tip pens bleed a little (depending on how 'juicy' it is), liquid gels bleed too, take a long while to dry and if you run highlighter over them, they run (although that's not uncommon with gel I think).

With the ink fountain pen, my pen takes quite a thin, liquid ink, so I imagine the 'wetter' the ink, the more it will run. It writes smoothly and doesn't feel like it's polishing the tip, nor does it catch, but the words just become blobs. I did find that the note pad ran further than the journals did.

So, gel pens will work if you leave them for a minute or two to dry, but your only smudge- and bleed-free experience will come from dry ballpoint pens and pencil. I'm disappointed because the reason I bought them was to write with my fountain pen on super smooth paper, but the paper itself is very nice, as long as you use the right pens.

I have read some of the reviews here, and was slightly worried, but my experience was great - ordered on Friday, the package was shipped on Monday and on my doorstep on Wednesday. Love the pencils as well as the weekly planner. The 'paper' is thick, and very smooth to touch, have no problems writing on it even with a regular gel pen, just needs a little longer to dry :).

Thank you to the team at Karst for donating hand sanitiser to our school during these unsettling times. Really appreciated the initiative.

This notebook damages fountain pens. That's it.

I ordered hand sanitiser almost 7 weeks ago and it still hasn't arrived. Unacceptable. it's back in the stores now!!!
Update: Karst replied immediately and refunded my money. Sounds like they are an otherwise good company that got overwhelmed with demand and had shipping issues during a very unusual time...

Ordered hand sanitiser “ready to deliver” 6 weeks ago. When I tried to cancel they said they couldn’t, they then provided a tracking number that didn’t work & I still don’t have it a week later. Avoid!!

We ordered a Pocket Journal and two A5 Notebooks in November and the money was withdrawn quickly but we didn’t hear anything until we contacted Karst in December. They answered quickly and assured the package would be arriving before Christmas. Late December they again reassured the package was about to be shipped and contrary to a strong sense that we might have been scammed we agreed to wait. In the beginning of January they proposed to change the order because of delivery problems, so we agreed on 3 pocket-journals and 1 notebook which they agreed to send right away. Few weeks later arrived both the original order from their Amsterdam warehouse and the exchanged order from their US warehouse, so 4 pocket journals and 3 notebooks, in one day. The long process, contrary information and false promises made it all seem shady but in the end it seems more likely that they have been overwhelmed by their own success. They always answered fast and were very compliant and customer friendly. The delivered products where in perfect conditions and great quality!

My Karst notebook was delivered quickly and its quality exceeded my expectations. I love the sleek design, the notebook looks expensive. Also, the paper definitely allows for smooth writing. Order if you want to support an environmentally sustainable company that prioritizes style.

Ordered 02 Nov, paid, got paypal receipt, but no order confirmation from Karst.

Chased up a few times, but no response.

Eventual message from customer service in Dec saying that orders could take up to 3 weeks from the point of ordering (note this is at about 5 weeks).

Further chasers. Nothing.

07 Jan (2 months and 5 days on). Nothing. Initiated a claim via paypal - let's see whether anything comes back...

I have ordered a few products from karst over the past year or two. I really love the products and quality.

A few months ago, I preordered their new sketchbook. Had some shipping issues and still didn’t receive it for a few months. Worried I wouldn’t have the Christmas gift I wanted. However, Sophie Kerr, in their customer service department has been very helpful. They are sending me an extra softcover notebook with pencils so I have a Christmas gift still. And once they have the sketchbook back in stock, they will send me that too.

Since they are a growing company, there will be some minor issues. For example they didn’t update my new shipping address When I first requested and therefore the package was delayed in getting delivered. But they overcame that with their customer support.

Thanks Karst. I hope your company continues to grow as I know you are trying to do good in the world.

Just received the notebook, impressed with the quality of their paper. Awesome feeling when writing/sketching.

Really high quality products very happy I tried the soft covers this year.

One star for the worst customer service I have ever experienced.
I ordered 4 notebooks 2 weeks ago and the shipment still has not arrived. Customer service recommended I call customs to see if they know what has happened to the shipment.
They supposedly shipped it via a courier with tracking and have said they have not received an update so have no idea where the package is and cannot help me further!!!!
INSANE!

UPDATE: One more star for a great brand manager, who stepped in after this review, actually called the courier, provided me a proper update on my shipment, refunded my order and apologised for the poor customer service. Hopefully they train their customer service team better in the future.

I received a karst product as a gift, and have since reordered 4 times. I have never used a product that is seemingly ordinary but has so many benefits. All the environmental benefits you can see from their site, and they are great but not what make the product. Their paper is something else. My tendonitis makes it difficult to write by hand for long period of time, but i experience no hand cramping or fatigue on this paper, because the texture of the paper allows pens to glide smoothly without any resistance. Secondly, my graphite and colored pencils look more rich and vibrant on this paper, and I'm not sure why.

Lastly, the waterproof and easy-to clean nature of this notebook is the biggest thing for me. I drink cold drinks all day long, and hate when the condensation of my waterp bottle or cup ruins my notebooks. I've given up in the middle of a notebook many times because i ruin it with water. No such issue with Karst. Even when i wipe down my laptop and phone, i can also wipe down my notebook without worrying about damaging it.

Customer service, shipping and everything else was no issue whatsoever. I appreciate that they don't spam email with tons of sales, their emails contain useful info, obviously they want to sell product but I actually take the time to read their emails.

The product is great, fast delivery and good customer service; Chloe was very helpful with all of the questions I had. Very happy- will order again, soon! :)

This is the same company that started Hustle. They let all the backers from the kickstarter and went on to form Karst. Same thing different name, please be aware of their scams. They never send me the book as promised, emails never answered and just plain awful! They took all the money made all their marketing campaigns and claim their product is legit. I read someone from Karst claiming their books have close to 90% Calcium Carbonate compared to others.....really? Do they even know their own product? Buyer, save your money and look other options out there.

Bought product in October with the promise of delivery end of November/beginning of December 2017.
Did not arrive until January 2018 -therefore missing Christmas and had to repost (at my own expense) instead of giving gift by hand.
Very disappointed.
Company was very non-responsive when I complained and did not acknowledge their shortcomings, lied about or made up information and finally, in June 2018, agreed to refund the delivery charges.
Yet, it’s now September 2018 and I still have not received said promised refund and no one has responded to my last 3 emails concerning this.
Terrible customer service!