The CSB Large Print Ultrathin Reference Bible Review
My church uses the CSB translation so I’ve been diving deeper into it. I started out with a cheaper thinline that I received as a promotion when the translation was new. Since then I’ve picked up a few study Bibles both in digital and physical formats and now I have the privilege to review what I think is the nicest CSB available on the market as of the time of writing this. The CSB Large Print Ultrathin Reference Bible is very nice at an incredible price.
First off, let’s just state that this is a premium Bible, but it’s still not the premium you’re going to find in a Schuyler, Cambridge, or even Crossway’s heirloom models. The good news is that it isn’t priced that way either. This Bible is incredibly nice for a great price. It features a smooth goatskin leather, smyth-sewn binding, interior leather in the cover, line-matched pages, a ribbed spine, 9.5 type, double-column format, center-column cross references, and it has great flexibility. If you’ve never owned a premium Bible, this would be a great introduction because the feel of the leather and the flexibility is there.
One way I feel that this Bible stands out is that it doesn’t really have a grain to the leather. The leather is smooth almost like what you’d find in Holman’s LeatherTouch except there are obvious differences when it comes to quality. The other stand out feature is the stitching on this Bible. On the outer cover, the stitching is black which blends in with the leather. On the interior edge, the stitching is a red that creates a really nice accent color. This was a bold choice from Holman, but I really like it. It matches the black and red bookmarks and creates a unique look that sets it apart from other Bibles. I’ll also mention that I loved the choice to go with a ribbed spine on this Bible. Many Bibles don’t have this feature, but it is a design choice that I personally really like and I’m always glad to see Bibles that have this.
The edge of the pages have a nice silver gilding, which I think goes well with the other color choices made in the design of this Bible. The pages themselves aren’t very thick, which helps with the ultrathin design. To combat this, it appears that line matching has been implemented to help avoid the text ghosting through the page. There is a little bit of ghosting in areas where there may not be text on the other side, but I don’t find it distracting. This is the large print edition so the font is a 9.5 type, which is a good size while still helping the Bible to remain thin and portable. Cross references are found in the middle between the columns while footnotes are on the bottom of the pages. One other nice feature of this Bible is that there is a concordance in the back, which I always think can be helpful. There are also full color maps and tables of weights and measures, which I personally never use, but I’m sure some people use them.
One poor design choice that I must mention is that somehow the spine of this Bible has been reinforced. When you open the front cover, you will notice near the spine a strip of what might be vinyl that creates a very stiff feeling. While the Bible itself is flexible, one of the nice things about premium Bibles is they will lay flat at the beginning and end of the book, which is very helpful if you’re teaching from it. This reinforcement makes that flat lay not possible. You may be able to break it in and achieve a flat lay all over, but I haven’t tried to do so.
Otherwise, as I stated in the beginning, you can’t beat the kind of quality this Bible brings for the price that Holman is selling it for. This Bible is currently selling on Amazon for around $55. Bibles that are just a little nicer come in at about triple that price. This truly is a great value and the nicest Bible currently available in the CSB translation. If you’ve never had a premium Bible, I think you will love this Bible and it is definitely a great introduction to that market. I expect even nicer CSB’s to come out in the future, but honestly, it will be hard to beat the value and the price of the CSB Large Print Ultrathin Reference Bible.
You can pick up your copy of the CSB Large Print Ultrathin Reference Bible on Amazon.
Disclaimer: I received a complimentary copy of this Bible from Holman in exchange for a fair and honest review.
