Moleskines – As Good as Advertised?
I’ve long had a love for crisp, new office supplies and a good notebook was king amongst the common rabble of sticky pads and pen holders. The notebook has been an essential piece of my office setup ever since I got into the IT business.
But once my journeys through the far flung Internets brought me to the world of graphic and web design, as well as GTD, one notebook has dominated them all—Moleskine. Touted by pundits everywhere, they seem to be the paper tool of choice for people in the know.
And as I’ve been swept up in the current trend amongst productivity gurus to go back to paper, I’ve wanted to get first hand experience with some of the more popular brands of notebooks. Moleskine, Levenger, Rhodia—they will all be getting a trial here at the TWR head offices.
So I purchased my first batch of Moleskines recently: 1 squared notebook, 1 Squared pocket notebook and 1 squared soft cover pocket notebook. The intention was to use the pocket notebooks in the same manner as I’ve used my Field Notes—mostly to be used when out running errands or away from the desk. My current Field Notes in usage still has a lot of room left, so the pocket notebooks are still waiting for testing.
But the squared notebook was put to use immediately. It would get a run as my main notebook, always present when in front of a computer, at work and at home.
My first impression was … meh. The Moleskine is pricier than a lot of the notebooks I’ve used in the past, so in my mind it should be noticeably better in many ways. At first glance it was not.
But after two weeks of use, I’ve come around. The notebook is proving to be of better than average quality and one can understand why this brand is so popular. Here are a few of the things I really like:
- Paper—similar to Field Notes, the paper is good quality and stands up to rugged use. It’s thread-bound and doesn’t feel like it’s about to tear off.
- Rounded corners—Not sure exactly why I like this, but it looks good. It also most likely keeps the corners of the pages from getting bent.
- Cover—I like the harder cover. It gives the notebook a good feel and keeps it in better shape when lugged around with all the other junk in my backpack.
- Elastic Closure—used to keep the book closed when not in use, this gives a feel of security as well. Plus it looks cool (look at me, I’m wicked smart).
Here’s a shot of my daily usage, implementing Bill Westerman’s notebook technique with a few moderations.
I’m pleased with this purchase. It has been a joy to use, especially with the right writing tool (my favorite so far has been a uniball Signo RT 0.38). During the day, I look forward to opportunities to write something down—the same feeling I have for my favorite software. It’s worth the higher price when compared with the more common products that vendors such as Blueline or Mead have to offer.
I can see why the Moleskine brand has gotten such a sterling reputation.
