Your Moleskine (or other Notebook) of Choice?

[KarlJ]

Plain, Ruled, or Squared?

Personally, I have them all, but lean toward squared as my first choice. Just curious where everyone's notetaking weapon of choice was.

Last night the cashier at Barnes & Noble engaged me in a discussion over the merits of each type... as she rang up my purchase: pocket squared hardcovers.

[Jenne]

Squared! 8X5 sized. Moleskine hard cover.

When I go to Italy at the end of the month, I'll be in squared-paper heaven! I'm definitely going to buy notebooks!

[maverick]

hi!

i've used moleskine notebooks - the pocket sized lined and squared, as well as the lined large sized lined.

i've also kept the really small soft back ones that fit well into the pockets inside of the side effect. they have tear out sheets if you need to hand a note off to someone.

i've used rhodia pads, and like the feel of the paper. but i haven't used any of their journals.

while the moleskines worked well, after i fill the large one i'm using now, i would like to try something else. ideally, i'd like to make my own and wrap the binding with cayenne 500d cordura. but there are only so many hours in a day . i'm looking forward to seeing the soon to be released field journal from tom bihn!

[KarlJ]

...i've used rhodia pads, and like the feel of the paper. but i haven't used any of their journals.

I found out about Rhodia pads while shopping for Moleskines. The store I was in had a dismal inventory, but had a few Rhodia so I bought a handful of them for about $1.25 each. I have them all over the place: bags, backpacks, car glovebox, etc. Love the vellum paper in those Rhodia pads. So I got a couple extras, plus the No. 08 for my shopping/grocery list. I understand Rhodia has a Moleskine-esque notebook now, but it reportedly uses a different paper.

... i'm looking forward to seeing the soon to be released field journal from tom bihn!

Yep, same here... though I'm probably pretty well-stocked for now. Still, will be interested to see the Tom Bihn product.

[Radio bug]

Although I have squared, lined, and unlined Moleskines that I use, I prefer the squared ones. Most of mine are the pocket size.

[Shiva]

I also like the Levenger paper pads. These come in a larger Junior and Letter size; but I find them the most versatile for managing my gazillion projects at the University. It is ideal for taking notes and moving them between notebooks cos of the circa system. For bags and such: I too tend to use the softback moleskins. I also use the Levenger cards--both the standard 3 x5 and the wallet sized cards quite a bit.

[Frank II]

I've tried all types of Moleskines but they just don't work for me. I like a ruled book but it needs to be wide ruled. I hate writing in between the small lines of the Moleskine and the plain ones make my horrible writing even more disorganized.

Does anyone know of a Moleskine sized notebook that is wide ruled?

[savoyard]

I try to like Moleskines, but..

.. the paper just does not work well with fountain pen ink. Too much bleed through to the other side, and $10 is too much for a notebook whose page count is effectively cut in half.

Any fountain pen users out there who can recommend another brand of notebook in the Moleskine form factor??

[maverick]

.. the paper just does not work well with fountain pen ink. Too much bleed through to the other side, and $10 is too much for a notebook whose page count is effectively cut in half.

Any fountain pen users out there who can recommend another brand of notebook in the Moleskine form factor??

hey darcy,

can you advise what kind of paper the field journal will take? will it play well with fountain pens?

thanks!

[Darcy]

hey darcy,

can you advise what kind of paper the field journal will take? will it play well with fountain pens?

I think sketch paper would work for a fountain pen. We'd like to offer sketch paper as an option with the Field Journal Notebook, but so far that is proving to be surprisingly difficult. If we aren't able to offer sketch paper, one could always buy 8-1/2 x 11 sketch paper, cut it in half, use a hole punch on it, and then insert it into the Field Journal Notebook.

[yeti]

I've had good luck using fountain pens with Rhodia, Clairefontaine, and a number of Japanese notebooks. The paper is smooth enough that the ink doesn't feather, but it does take a little longer to dry. I also haven't had good luck using my fountain pens with Moleskine, so I no longer buy them. Clairefontaine seems to sell a variety of formats (vertical, horizontal, ruled, squared, spiral-bound), so I tend to stick with that brand.

[MtnMan]

I'd like to learn more about portable, refillable notebook-type portable tablets like the ones mentioned here. I want to make sure that if I get something like this, it will be a brand-name, high-quality setup that will be easy to find paper refills for. Where do I begin?

[MagicTiki]

I have carried a hardbound sketchbook forever for keeping notes, jotting ideas, rough sketching, and the like. Several manufacturers make similar styles, but Pro-Art art the ones I have been using lately:

http://www.dickblick.com/products/proart-hardbound-sketchbooks/

I like the 5-1/2" by 8" myself. The 65 lb acid free paper will pretty much take any writing substance without bleeding/soaking (ink, marker, pencil, charcoal, etc.), and the hard bound backing makes it extremely durable.

I have yet to find a replacement, but I am anxiously awaiting the Field Journal Notebook to see if it presents a worthy competitor.

[savoyard]

Yeti - thanks for the tip on Clairefontaine. Know of any bricks & mortar stores that carry them??

[yeti]

I'm able to get a good selection of Clairefontaine notebooks at the University student store -- I've seen them at both UCLA and UC Davis. A shop that carries a decent selection of fountain pens and stationery would likely have them also.