Moleskine Alternatives

Baron Fig Confidant

I spoke about Moleskine journals on the podcast this week and it generated a lot of spirited conversation on both sides of the ledger. I think it's pretty clear that I am not a fan of the brand, but I wanted to elaborate a little bit as to why.

When I say Moleskine as a general term I am talking about one specific model: the hardbound Classic Journal in 8.25" x 5". This is the ubiquitous Moleskine. The one that is fawned over by the press, and the one that doesn't fit my needs. That's the key here. My needs. If it fits your needs that's fantastic. You should definitely keep using them. But for me, Moleskine paper falls short of its competition.

For the most part, Moleskines work well with ballpoint pens, fine liquid ink pens, and pencils. I've traveled before with just a Moleskine and a Fisher Space Pen refill and been completely satisfied. But my two favorite pen types - micro tip gel ink pens and fountain pens - perform poorly on Moleskine paper. Luckily, we live in a world where other options are only a mouse click away. I've tested all of the notebooks below and would choose any of them over the standard Moleskine Journal.

Moleskine alternatives (Classic Journal, 8.25" x 5"), in no particular order:

Leuchtturm 1917 - The closest in look, style, feel, and price, but with better performing paper for a wider range of pen types.

Rhodia Webnotebook - My personal favorite, and the best for fountain pens. Longer dry time is the tradeoff.

Baron Fig Confidant - Great style and format, could work better with fountain pens but great with gel ink.

Quo Vadis Habana - Slightly bigger and more expensive but on par or better than Rhodia.

This list just scratches the surface. Don't even get me started on other sizes, such as pocket notebooks and top-bound pads. We could get into the hundreds on that list!

I just ask that you keep in mind one thing when reading this blog or listening to the podcast: You don't have to agree with everything I say. And you shouldn't. Disagreement is good and healthy. We all have specific needs that we are trying to solve for, and within that journey lies the fun. I'll keep having opinions, and you should too.

The Unintended Circumstance of Life with Only 4 Pens

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

At the end of May, our house was entirely packed up and we were ready to start our journey from Huntsville, Alabama to Berkeley, California. 2,700 miles, 35 hours, and several days of driving, not including stops.

The journey across several vast states was a welcome experience. When you grow up and stay in a particular part of the country for very long, everything around you becomes normal. A massive shake up is good for everyone, and I was excited about the imminent displaced feelings and excitement for the unknown.

As it happened, I packed everything but the essentials. Our storage container was picked up about 5 days before we left home, so we were mostly camping inside our house for that week. Included in the storage container was my collection of pens, inks, paper, as well as all of my camera equipment. I don't remember consciously making the decision to pack all of that stuff in the container, but that's where it ended up when the big push came.

What's a pen addict to do when the collection is taken away, along with the ability to order new stuff to a soon-to-be expired address? Well, in my case: I get to use whatever my absent-minded self forgot to pack in the container. Really, it's like a pen/paper/ink lottery.

When I collected the items that managed to escape the storage container, I was pretty pleased with the resulting limitations. Here's a list of what I currently have with me as we stay in hotels and look for permanent residences in California:

Pens

• Uniball Signo 207 extra fine with about 20% of the ink remaining
• Pilot Juice 0.5mm blue refill in a Tactile Turn Mover with about 20% of the ink remaining
• Zebra R-301 rollerball in black (still have no idea how this wasn't packed — I think my wife borrowed it)
• Kaweco Lilliput extra fine in the Eco Brass Wave model with a Kaweco blue cartridge

Paper

• Leuchtturm 1917 soft cover grid notebook in A5
• Nanami Seven Seas Writer
• Doane Paper Utility Notebook
• Nock Co DotDash Yellow notebook
• Nock Co DotDash Black notebook

Cases

• Nock Co. Fodderstack XL
• Nock Co. Hightower from the Pen Addict Podcast Kickstarter (I only have this with me because it literally came in the mail the day before we left town)

Not a bad roster to be stuck with, right? Still, it's so much less than I'm used to having within arm's reach at my desk (oh man, I'd love to have my desk back too). I don't have any of my fancy pens, none of my inks or refills, and none of my more niche-purpose notebooks.

It's not ideal, but when I look around and realize what's happening, pens and paper don't really seem important. My wife and I are starting a new chapter in a different part of the country and trying to settle down and start a new life. The fancy pens and paper are doing just fine in their storage container (I hope). There's so much in life that's far more important than writing instruments and stationery.

But, I miss the hobby — the pastime. People aren't very interesting without their interests, and pens/writing was a big part of that for me. I also miss having my nice camera with me, but my iPhone takes decent pictures. It's been fun living with the limitation of just a handful of pens and paper that I must use. When you remove the labor of choosing, it's so much easier to sit down and write.

So, fellow pen addicts, I challenge you to pick out a small set of pens and paper for a month and restrict yourself from changing it up. Did one of the pens run out of ink? Oops. If you can't replace it at Target or Staples, then you're out of luck! It's a fun exercise and one that I hope brings focus back to the point of these fun tools — writing.

The Pen Addict Podcast: Episode 159 - A Woodpecker Ate My Pencil

Myke and I talked about his travels to WWDC last week and my upcoming travels to the DC pen show. I also talk about the first Blackwing Volumes release, Moleskine's marketing, Sailor limited editions, and a ton of awesome #asktpa questions.

Show Notes & Download Links

This episode of The Pen Addict is sponsored by:

lynda.com: An easy and affordable way to help individuals and organizations learn. Free 10-day trial.

Karas Kustoms: Get 15% off anything in their store by using the code "penaddict" before you checkout.

Field Notes: Buy a year-long Colors subscription starting with the Workshop Companion, and use the code 'RELAY' and you’ll get 3 Carpenter Pencils and a 3-Pack of “Pitch Black” memo books free.