Yeah, I'd never use one for journaling. Maruman Mnemosyne is great for work meeting notes for me, and I'm still working through a ten-pack of their A7 notepads for "tuck into pen case" on the go. I've used their non-premium ones too, like this B5 (turned on side). vanness1938.com/products/mar...
The non-premium paper is decent, but thinner and enough ghosting to be touch and go using both sides -- but spiral bound means I just flip everything over reporter pad style, and now I have a desk pad I can use for tracking work projects. But wouldn't say any of that is for enjoyment of using it.