So in my experience, the green "light" paper is extremely thin, while the tan "buff" is thick enough that you can still see the lines through it, but it doesn't feel as prone to tearing. Here is an Amazon link, and here are some (admittedly poor) pictures that I just took of a pad I have lying around. Basically, you can't see the grid if it's just a single piece of paper, but I have no trouble seeing and using the gridlines when they're stacked up, like on a pad or in a notebook. So yes, it would be a deal breaker, but with the "buff" paper, it's not really an issue, at least for me.