6 ms·

They're good quality notebooks. I've had a few. But you're right - at the end of the day they're just notebooks.

avtar 13y ago
"They're good quality notebooks." After having used their notebooks for a few years I can't help but feel, like the parent, that when it comes to Moleskine their popularity can be attributed more to brand recognition than quality. The paper they use is pretty substandard which causes ink to dry slower than other paper and if you use fountain pens you have to contend with considerable amounts of feathering and bleed-through. Based on experience Clairefontaine paper seems to be far superior and their notebooks make for a cheaper option if you don't need leather binding[0]. The Rhodia Webnotebooks[1] would be in the same product category as Moleskine notebooks except the former again has better quality paper. [0] http://www.gouletpens.com/Clairefontaine_s/56.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Clairefontaine_s/56.htm [1] http://www.gouletpens.com/Rhodia_Webnotebooks_s/54.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Rhodia_Webnotebooks_s/54.htm P.S. I'm not affiliated with any of these manufacturers or Goulet Pens.
- jamesbritt 13y ago
  What's frustrating is finding the right (i.e. pleases James) combination of features. Good-quality paper, unlined, white or slightly off-white, flexible cover, fits in back pocket. I'd heard good things about Clairefontaine, and the 1917 line in particular. http://www.gouletpens.com/Leuchtturm1917_Jottbook_s/1324.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Leuchtturm1917_Jottbook_s/1324.htm But, sadly for me, there's no option for unlined. Indeed, the dropdown for "Find by paper ruling" has no such choice. I've been pretty happy with these: http://www.amazon.com/Pen-Ink-Notebook-5-5X3-5Ls-Blank/dp/B006C5TFP8 http://www.amazon.com/Pen-Ink-Notebook-5-5X3-5Ls-Blank/dp/B0... though I have assorted other brands and forms I've been trying out.
  - avtar 13y ago
    Rhodia Webnotebooks use Clairefontaine paper so if you want blank paper you could try those. I really like the dot grid paper which I find to be a great balance between blank and regular graph paper http://rhodiapads.com/images/dotgrid2.jpg http://rhodiapads.com/images/dotgrid2.jpg
    - jamesbritt 13y ago
      Does Rhodia still stick their logo on every page?
      - avtar 13y ago
        I have three (all with the dot grid paper) and none of them have logos on every page, just on the cover.
  - deleted 13y ago
    [deleted]
  - phaus 13y ago
    If you go to the main paper page, you can filter for small notebooks (a5-a8) and for unlined (blank). Here's a link to them. http://www.gouletpens.com/Shop_All_Notebooks_s/890.htm?searching=Y&sort=7&cat=890&f-Blank%20Paper=73&show=30&page=1&f-Small%20%28A6-A8%29=80 http://www.gouletpens.com/Shop_All_Notebooks_s/890.htm?searc...
    - jamesbritt 13y ago
      Sweet. Thank you!
- to3m 13y ago
  I bought a cheap Moleskine diary - turns out diaries can be had for very little, if you buy them in July - and I've found fountain pen ink to dry on its pages quite quickly. There's loads of bleed through - but never any smearing. So perhaps it varies by product. Perhaps I will buy another of their diaries, I haven't decided yet, but for general note taking I much prefer something that's spiral bound. Looking at the prices (and perfect binding...) of ordinary Moleskine notebooks, I think these represent much better value: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pukka-Pad-Notebook-Wirebound-Jotta/dp/B001JYKVJQ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pukka-Pad-Notebook-Wirebound-Jotta/d... (the paper is not super premium, but feels weighty enough and doesn't suffer from bleed through too much)
  - phaus 13y ago
    Not all fountain pen ink is the same. Yours probably dries faster. I'm a left-handed fountain pen user, and there's a lot of really nice ink that I can't use because it doesn't dry fast enough to keep from smearing it all over the place.
    - voltagex_ 13y ago
      Oh my. I'm a left handed mechanical pencil user, because it's the only thing I don't smudge everywhere. Got any hints?
      - phaus 13y ago
        This page has some information and even a suggestion or two about ink. Whether its a fountain pen or a ballpoint, one tip I can give you is that a finer point will put less ink on the paper, thus it will dry faster. You might also like sharpie pens, they write pretty well, but they dry fast because its more like a marker as opposed to a ball point. http://www.nibs.com/Left-hand%20writers.htm http://www.nibs.com/Left-hand%20writers.htm

avtar 13y ago

"They're good quality notebooks." After having used their notebooks for a few years I can't help but feel, like the parent, that when it comes to Moleskine their popularity can be attributed more to brand recognition than quality. The paper they use is pretty substandard which causes ink to dry slower than other paper and if you use fountain pens you have to contend with considerable amounts of feathering and bleed-through. Based on experience Clairefontaine paper seems to be far superior and their notebooks make for a cheaper option if you don't need leather binding[0]. The Rhodia Webnotebooks[1] would be in the same product category as Moleskine notebooks except the former again has better quality paper. [0] http://www.gouletpens.com/Clairefontaine_s/56.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Clairefontaine_s/56.htm [1] http://www.gouletpens.com/Rhodia_Webnotebooks_s/54.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Rhodia_Webnotebooks_s/54.htm P.S. I'm not affiliated with any of these manufacturers or Goulet Pens.

jamesbritt 13y ago
What's frustrating is finding the right (i.e. pleases James) combination of features. Good-quality paper, unlined, white or slightly off-white, flexible cover, fits in back pocket. I'd heard good things about Clairefontaine, and the 1917 line in particular. http://www.gouletpens.com/Leuchtturm1917_Jottbook_s/1324.htm http://www.gouletpens.com/Leuchtturm1917_Jottbook_s/1324.htm But, sadly for me, there's no option for unlined. Indeed, the dropdown for "Find by paper ruling" has no such choice. I've been pretty happy with these: http://www.amazon.com/Pen-Ink-Notebook-5-5X3-5Ls-Blank/dp/B006C5TFP8 http://www.amazon.com/Pen-Ink-Notebook-5-5X3-5Ls-Blank/dp/B0... though I have assorted other brands and forms I've been trying out.
- avtar 13y ago
  Rhodia Webnotebooks use Clairefontaine paper so if you want blank paper you could try those. I really like the dot grid paper which I find to be a great balance between blank and regular graph paper http://rhodiapads.com/images/dotgrid2.jpg http://rhodiapads.com/images/dotgrid2.jpg
  - jamesbritt 13y ago
    Does Rhodia still stick their logo on every page?
    - avtar 13y ago
      I have three (all with the dot grid paper) and none of them have logos on every page, just on the cover.
- deleted 13y ago
  [deleted]
- phaus 13y ago
  If you go to the main paper page, you can filter for small notebooks (a5-a8) and for unlined (blank). Here's a link to them. http://www.gouletpens.com/Shop_All_Notebooks_s/890.htm?searching=Y&sort=7&cat=890&f-Blank%20Paper=73&show=30&page=1&f-Small%20%28A6-A8%29=80 http://www.gouletpens.com/Shop_All_Notebooks_s/890.htm?searc...
  - jamesbritt 13y ago
    Sweet. Thank you!
to3m 13y ago
I bought a cheap Moleskine diary - turns out diaries can be had for very little, if you buy them in July - and I've found fountain pen ink to dry on its pages quite quickly. There's loads of bleed through - but never any smearing. So perhaps it varies by product. Perhaps I will buy another of their diaries, I haven't decided yet, but for general note taking I much prefer something that's spiral bound. Looking at the prices (and perfect binding...) of ordinary Moleskine notebooks, I think these represent much better value: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pukka-Pad-Notebook-Wirebound-Jotta/dp/B001JYKVJQ http://www.amazon.co.uk/Pukka-Pad-Notebook-Wirebound-Jotta/d... (the paper is not super premium, but feels weighty enough and doesn't suffer from bleed through too much)
- phaus 13y ago
  Not all fountain pen ink is the same. Yours probably dries faster. I'm a left-handed fountain pen user, and there's a lot of really nice ink that I can't use because it doesn't dry fast enough to keep from smearing it all over the place.
  - voltagex_ 13y ago
    Oh my. I'm a left handed mechanical pencil user, because it's the only thing I don't smudge everywhere. Got any hints?
    - phaus 13y ago
      This page has some information and even a suggestion or two about ink. Whether its a fountain pen or a ballpoint, one tip I can give you is that a finer point will put less ink on the paper, thus it will dry faster. You might also like sharpie pens, they write pretty well, but they dry fast because its more like a marker as opposed to a ball point. http://www.nibs.com/Left-hand%20writers.htm http://www.nibs.com/Left-hand%20writers.htm