Customer Reviews

Moleskine Pocket Journal - Plain Pages

5 star:		(12)
4 star:		(4)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Great notebook, very convenient. My only complaint would be the paper type used. It is a slick and thin paper, which does add to the utility at the expense of luxury. If you're used to Journals that use heavy rag paper, you'll be disappointed. The other downside to the thin and slick paper is that Gel Inks and Fountain Inks will smear and bleed through. I have switched to Ballpoint with mine, I found my Cross Ion and nicer fountain pens useless with this journal.

For men, this will be a bit too big to fit in a jean pocket. Yes, it fits in the back pocket, but you don't want to sit on that lump all day. I recommend the Cahiers, which are small and light and easily fit in the same pocket as your wallet. I use a Nintendo DS case, which holds two notebooks and a pen.

Quite handy for sketching and doodling anywhere. Sturdy pages accept some light watercolor washes, ink, and dry media. Pages lay flat thanks to the style of binding, so it's easy to work a two-page spread of 5 1/2" X 7 1/2". The expanding pocket in the back cover is handy for storing train ticket stubs, show tickets, receipts, and business cards (the phone numbers and addresses of good restaurants or shops discovered while exploring during trips sometimes come in well-desinged colorful formats that can be used to make collages or decorate journals). A bit pricey, but they are the just right size to fit on any pocket and strongly bound to preserve notes and sketches through the rigors of travel.

Okay, you're thinking, "Ten bucks is a lot of money for a pocket notebook." Well, if you're the kind who can survive with a lined pocket memo pad, this notebook's not for you. If, however, you need a durable, elegant, pocket-sized way to record your ideas, observations, sketches, and anything else you can put on paper, this is it.

I work on the news for a local highschool, and i am always about writing things down. I keep 4 new molskine notebooks in my desk at all times. I uasualy keep them in my back pocket, and sitting in classes all day with the notebook in my pocket can basicly destroy it. And i have killed quite a few of them this way. But thats my fault. They are the perfect size for your back pocket and dont get in the way too much. It would be nice if they had a stronger version of the book, for thoes who are a bit tougher on their stuff, something like riveted pages to the cover. I rebind mine all of the time, but keep in mind they get thrown down staircases, dropped on the street, and chucked into trash cans by some crazy student. Basicly because im always on the move, taping events, filming movies, and everything i have so much going on i dont have time to worry about how my notebook is going to hold up, and the Moleskine line does a good job at putting up with everything i can throw at it. I use them to record my daily notes, and use them for story boarding. The cover is tough, and the elastic extremely helpful. The back pocket is very good for keeping business cards in, i can pull out a card at the same time i write a note down! :D

The notebook, made by Modo & Modo, a firm created in the 1990's, is fine overall. But the paper quality could be higher-I can clearly see the writing on the other side, no matter what pen I use. I find the elastic band unnecessary and an annoyance upon closing the notebook. The binding and cover are sturdy though. So overall, it's a fine notebook, but nothing exceptional, and thus overpriced. There are other notebooks of similar format with equal or superior quality.

So my friend's enthusiasm for it perplexed me. To hear him, the "notebook" had just been invented; a new tool was available. As if no one had used a notebook before. I soon discovered the trigger for this attitude was the proclaimed "legendary" character of the notebook, with past users apparently including Hemingway, Picasso, Matisse, Van Gogh, and others. The thought of using the same notebook as such intellectual giants was exciting to him, and unconsciously made him unduly pleased with his notebook.

This claim perplexed me, as years ago I saw Picasso and Hemingway notebooks, and my recollection of them was different. Hemingway was well-known for writing on notepads or in "blue French notebooks" and you can find several references to this on the Internet. On the John F. Kennedy Library and Museum web site, you can also see a picture of Hemingway's notebooks, which look just the way I remembered them, and nothing like the Moleskine notebook.

Another claim by Modo and Modo is appearances by its notebooks in various movies. It claims the Grail Diary in "Indiana Jones and The Last Crusade" is a Moleskine. In fact, the diary is a prop made for the movie. You can see pictures and descriptions of it on the Indygear Web site. It has a soft, brown leather cover. The elastic band is loose, sometimes used horizontally, sometimes vertically. So the diary has nothing in common with a Moleskine.

The Modo & Modo claim of legendary history is thus deceptive. Their trademark of the word moleskine is also suspicious. Years ago, many notebooks had an oilcloth, moleskine cover, then the cheaper alternative to leather for a durable cover. These notebooks were not superior to what we have today; it was just what was available then. But there are many instances of people in the past, famous or not, using a moleskine-covered notebook. The trademark is a clear intention to be the exclusive beneficiary of this history. It's akin to getting a trademark on the word "leather", making notebooks, and claiming that anyone who used leather-covered notebooks used yours.

Modo & Modo is evidently using a deceitful, manipulative marketing campaign that plays on people's desire to have something in common with the legends. It claims a legendary history to get people unduly excited and affectionate of its notebook, promote sales, and command a higher price. Falling for this deception is certainly not the way to join the intellectual elite.

i am a high tech person, quite a geek when it comes to gadgets.
i found the moleskine notepad the perfect thing to whip out in meetings and take notes once i got tired of using my pda or laptop.
i find myself more efficient with it.
theres a nice little pocket in the back to put business cards in. and hey, if you dont have notes to take you can always doodle, but it does have that somewhat permanant feel

These well-made pocket-sized notebooks are perfect for keeping NOTES on a journey - whether by foot, car, train or plane - small convenient, durable. For those who want a sketchbook, this is not the right item. There is a Moleskin pocket SKETCH book that has fewer pages, with higher quality paper, for that purpose.

On the surface, it's just another plain notebook. Not much to look at, really. But there is something magical about the Moleskine. I can honestly say that this pocketsize notebook has increased my creativity, simply by being there to hold whatever I choose to put on its blank pages.

It has a perfect size for those of us, who don't necessarily leave the house with any kind of bag. It fits in your pocket. Then there's the sturdy design: It's made for being lugged around. And though it may be plain, it still comes with a handy built in bookmark and a practical pocket inside the cover, where you can store businesscards, ticket stubs or whatever else you feel like putting in there.

I'm hooked on Moleskines. After having had various notebooks all my life, this is the only one I will use now.

I couldn't believe what a hard time I had trying to find a small, hardback, unlined notebook with book-like binding! I'll admit that I bought this product because it was the only one I could find that fulfilled these requirements. But I am extremely pleased with the overall quality of this notebook. I am using it to record my favorite quotes and it is perfect for that purpose thus far. The only downfalls I can say may stem from the fact that I am writing in it with a fountain pen. The ink tends to "vein out" a bit if you will and I can't write on both sides of the paper because the ink is too dark. Otherwise I love the appearance of both the cover and the paper. I can't speak for how it handles for sketching. I also like the small pocket on the inside of the back cover. With shipping it is a bit pricey, but definitely a great product!

Anyone even remotely familiar with the Moleskine books know that they are the standard by which others are looked down upon. My only advice is to not buy them here unless you're not spending your own money--you'll pay the same price at any local stationer / hip-urban-gen-X shop, but won't get raked over the shipping coals like I foolishly was.