Review: Moleskine Notebook
Posted by Jon Lee in Personal, Reviews, tags: fisher-space-pen, hipster-pda, moleskine, review
How much does a notebook cost? A dollar? Two dollars? Maybe even 5 dollars? Try $15. Yes fifteen dollars for a Moleskine notebook. The Moleskine notebook is a legendary brand notebook used by famous writers and artists like Chatwin and Picasso. The cover is not actually made of mole skin; modern covers are a synthetic material made in Italy.
Moleskines come in many flavors, there’s something for everyone. Everything from different opening styles (reporter, fold-out), different layouts (plain, city guides, grided, music, calendars) and different kinds of paper (watercolour, acid-free)
There is a large cult following of people that swear by the Moleskine so I decided to pick up a couple to see what all the hype is about. 
I bought a pocket ruled notebook and a regular ruled notebook. When you pick it up, the first thing you’ll notice is the elastic strap that holds the notebook closed. It’s very handy and many cheaper notebooks have copied this feature. The second thing you’ll notice is the bookmark. It’s useful as well: to keep track of what page you’ve written up to, to divide sections etc. The third feature is the little folder in the back of the notebook that is used to hold whatever small sheet of paper or receipts you might have. It is also perfect for index cards just in case you have to draw someone a map or as part of your Getting Things Done system.
The notebook itself writes very well; the pages all open relatively flat and the size is perfect. The elastic is the perfect place to hold your Fisher Bullet Space Pen (on pocket sized Moleskines) or a G2 Pilot (on regular sized Moleskines).
Personally, I carry my pocket Moleskine (w/Fisher Bullet) around with me at all times. I use it as my blogging notebook – a place where I handwrite all my posts while I’m on the road or on public transit to and from work (if road conditions aren’t too bumpy and I get a seat). I use my regular sized notebook as a place to brainstorm, to draw a lot of webpage designs, UML diagrams, logo ideas and database designs.
With the pocket version at $15 and the regular size at $20 (in Canada at least), I think it is well worth the cost. It’s very high quality and a joy to write in. At $15, it really makes you cherish and use it. Although, I think a spiral notebook may be better since it can open completely flat. The Little Black Notebook has an elastic and might make for a better choice at $8.
Ultimately it’s up to you to decide whether it is worth the premium cost for the extra features and “brand name”. If money were no object, I would buy a whole box of them – don’t they look sexy all lined up?
P.S. The Moleskine Memo Pockets looks like a very good organizer for a GTD system!
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In the end, it’s still just paper. $15 is a lot for a notebook. I carry around a post-it pad in my purse in case I need to jot down ideas. It’s cheaper.
Appearances are everything and a Moleskine notebook is just classy cool. I’ve got a stack of them myself (smaller stack than that picture…) for keeping blog notes and on my nightstand just in case I have some genius idea when I wake up from dreams.
All you lucky Americans, amazon.com has the pocket one for only $8!
sounds like a lot though.. unless of course you have tons of money to blow.. then maybe its too cheep
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I’m gonna get one now!
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[...] The Moleskine notebook is a brand of legendary notebooks used by the famous artists and authors like Van Gogh, Chatwin, Hemingway, Matisse and Céline. It is now the notebook of choice of many modern writers and artists. Although a little more expensive than your dollar store variety, it turns the everyday act of writing into an experience. It isn’t only for writers, Web Development guru Jon Lee has a great Moleskine notebook review and discusses how he uses it in his Getting Things Done system as part of …. [...]
[...] No, I’m not talking about a laptop, I’m talking about good old fashioned pen and paper. If you’ve never heard of a Moleskine, you’re in for a treat. The Moleskine notebook is a brand of legendary notebooks used by the famous artists and authors like Van Gogh, Chatwin, Hemingway, Matisse and Céline. It is now the notebook of choice of many modern writers and artists. Although a little more expensive than your dollar store variety, it turns the everyday act of writing into an experience. It isn’t only for writers; Web Development guru Jon Lee has a great Moleskine notebook review and discusses how he uses it in his Getting Things Done system as part of …. [...]
Hey: I like the Idea of a Moleskine Notebook. I haven’t bought one yet, but I’m planning to. I’d like to initially get the City Guide for NY Notebook. (I’m going with my daughter next spring with her class. We never had cool trips like that when I was in high school) Did’ja review those and I just didn’t see it?
A.T. Morel
Easily distracted by Mustangs
Actually, I’ve never tried a City Planner notebook seeing as I don’t get to travel much. However I hear they’re nice to use (as long as you’re in that city for a while).
You have got to be kidding. A Post it pad?15 dollars too much for a notebook?
I don’t get people like yourself I’m afraid. I buy journals and notebooks for their beauty and quality, I have more than I’ll ever need and I don’t even look at the price. Buy the best. Buy cheap and it costs more in the end.
Taste, unfortunately cannot be bought. But it can be learned.
I just got a Moleskine from my boyfriend for Christmas and in all honesty its by far the BEST sketch book I have received!! Though they are pricey but even still the quality is by far way WAY up there compared to others.
I agree with Kelly Cho, it’s really just an overpriced post it note pad. To pricey, way to expensive.
I had bad luck with Moleskines. They look good, but the binding quality is poor and split at the glued seams within the first day of using it. Their customer service seems to be good and responded quickly to my issue, but the second book split just like the first one. If I am paying $15 for a notebook, I would expect it to be of better quality.
First I shocked to see the price that its too costly but when I came across its advantages and benefits ,I realized that its not so costly against its qualities.So I’ll say that it is best. I think it is more for its fame that it is used by the genius artist named Picaso.
I’ve had one of these notebooks knocking around in my purse for about six months and it looks brand new. So the person who said their’s started to come apart after a day must have got a knock-off or a rare dud. They are beautiful books. Comparing them to a dollar store notebook or a pad of post-its is pointless. All paper is NOT created equal. These are a joy to use and write or draw in. $15 for a notebook you might use for a year is too expensive? Probably written by someone who downs a $4 latte every morning!
Im an aspiring artist/ fashion designer and i have asked for one of these from my parents for my birthday (yes, i still ask my parents for gifts and im only 15! well 16 on my bday, anyway) i want a book that has good quality paper for my sketches, as i use paints on each page, and the one i have now runs through,so i have to draw it on watercolour paper, then stick it in. as sad as it sounds, i cant wait for my bday for this!