[jonathanjong]

I just got my first Moleskine (large, unruled) today, and have mixed feelings. It's obviously a quality notebook. A hi-fi notebook. But still, I paid $16.50 for a notebook? What are your thoughts, Head-Fiers?

 

[Zodduska]

I got my first Moleskine this Monday and really like it, the paper could be better but the overall fit and finish is top notch. At MSRP I agree they are a bit pricey for a notebook but they can be found cheaper. Comparing it to a $9 Black&Red notebook of about the same size the Moleskine fit and finish blows it away while the B&R Paper seems a little better for fountain pen use it's construction (spiral binding and plastic cover) seem no better than cheap notebooks. (this may not be representative of all B&R as they do have some hardbound notebooks that may compete more favorably with Moleskine but I've not tried them.)

I'd say overall Moleskine is worth the cost of admission.

 

[hoosterw]

I am an addict! Absolutely.

I buy them but hardly ever use them. Like I buy 3 or 4 pieces a year and use hardly one a year.

I just like the historical and mythical atmosphere that surrounds them.

My eldest girl wanted one to use for her new school, it took her 3 weeks to convince me I should give her one of my stock.

Hans.

 

[Ender137]

I have two... a medium size one and a small one...

I'm not particularly enamored with the paper, but It is nice to have a moleskin if you are writing down things that you know is worthwhile (for me, it's sermon notes). Anyhow, it doesn't look out of place when you put in on a bookshelf next to nicer books, say.. a bible.

anyhow, the smaller one i write random things down on. I wouldn't say it's particularly useful to do that with, but it definitely has survived some accidents that i'm sure a cheaper notebook wouldn't have (such as floating... or sinking... down the River Narrows at Zion National Park). The pages are wrinkled now and ink ran in the places where I used a ball-point pen, but altogether considered, it doesn't look half bad for being so abused... as in, it looks the same when the moleskin is closed.

Pricey... yeah... but as long as you value what you're writing in it, it's worth it if you're writing in odd situations that if you mistakenly do something with it, would totally abuse paper. Otherwise, stick to the laptop.

 

[vagarach]

They're more about the fashion and the brand than anything else, I was shocked to see the mythical Moleskine at my uni bookshop (of all places!), and slightly disappointed, they looked rather ordinary for the price.

They really do look the business, however, like they are fit for inspired ramblings and insightful sketches, which I am not entirely sure I'm capable of

.

 

[jonathanjong]

It's weird that the paper isn't excellent, given all the hype... I'll see how it deal with my fountain pen, when that finally arrives. I do like the cover. I can write standing up, and propping it against the edge of a desk, which is cool. But once again...$16. Heh.

 

[jordanross]

I love mine. I use it for a journal, and just to jot down notes. I don't use it as often as I should though.

 

[vibin247]

Definitely don't use a fountain pen on Moleskine paper. I love my journal and I still have some of the larger journals for long ideas and drawings. Expensive, but hardback cover makes it tough.

 

[A<aA?]

i got a large diary one. use it everyday. every week, both pages end stacked in small writing.

 

[TheRobbStory]

I buy a new weekly one every year. It's always in my bag, so it gets pretty beat up. It takes the abuse, though, so I'm a believer. I usually have a small one laying around for notes and sketches. I'm a bit of an archivist, so I like knowing that my stuff will hold up over the years.

 

[tjkurita]

I am going with moleskine now that they have discontinued the notebooks I was using for years (these Canadian "blueline" books). The paper is indeed kind of slick and might not hold fountain pen ink very well. But I haven't noticed any smearing with this uniball that I use. I received 11 of the large size as a gift and I bought 4 of the small ones in softcover to carry around. Moleskine is one notebook that they won't discontinue, if you like to have everything in the same kind of notebook and you write a lot. I am in the middle of transcribing the important contents (to me of course, none of it is any use to anyone else) of my latest two blueline notebooks into these moleskines. If I have one complaint it is probably the paper. The binding seems good, not too tight, but not fragile either. The inner pocket is really nice as well. I wish the notebook was the right size to fit a 8 1/2 X 11 sheet folded in half. Still, the smaller size makes it easy to carry around in a bag.

 

[yashicaman]

I'm a moleskine junkie. I bought my first moleskine a few years ago and have a lot of them. I use them for travel mostly. I prefer the small. I got a few for my wife when she went to China. I even got the one for writing music--very cool. The binding is excellent, so it the bookmark, and the pocket. Love the pocket. There are some really innovative versions.

Cheers!

 

[jonathanjong]

Hey, there's an idea. Thread extension:

Original question: Do you think Moleskines are worth the price, and why?
New question: What do you use your Moleskines for?

 

[hempcamp]

I received a small one as a gift at work early this Summer and I love it. It's perfect for jotting down notes and such at meetings, sticking in my back pocket, and running off to the next thing. And after all that, it still looks good.

On long travels, I used to take a small rubberized notebook from Barnes & Noble (carried it throughout Africa & Sahara, Central America, etc). I think next time I'll take a Moleskine because, as was mentioned earlier in the thread, it looks better sitting on the shelf.

--Chris

 

[A<aA?]

i got mine with a voucher last christmas, seen em and always thought they were decent and high quality.

definitely premium quality, the page layout etc is much better compared to a filofax which is top end here.