Moleskine Classic Dotted Paper Notebook, Hard Cover and Elastic Closure Journal, Color Black, Size Large 13 x 21 cm, 240 PagesThe Forest Stewardship Council

I've had a few of these over the years, they look smart and the paper is thick and nice.

I am an English Language student and I feel naked without a good journal or writing pad to my side. Previously I have found Pukka Pad writing pads and journals to be quite good.Moleskine appear to be very well praised for their journals- I am happy with this product.Arrived in two days.The Moleskine I received is not what appears in the product picture which looks as if it has some light coloured pattern, but rather it is plain black with a subtly leather look and feel. I prefer blank pages, and especially creamy coloured blank pages.I am using either a ball point Parker pen or a Uniball Jetstream 0.7. The paper is smooth to write on (considering you also have a good pen, I've heard that Moleskine paper may not be as friendly with a fountain pen. Look it up). There is 'ghosting', where the writing can be seen on the next page. I have no qualms with this but some people may do, so it's worth mentioning.In the back of the notebook is a pocket to keep stray sheets of paper or whatnot. Handy, I use these often with other notebooks.Over all, good size and it's quite comfortable to write in, it lays rather flat and does not fight back when you lay it flat to write. I am very particular with my journals as I often intend to keep them for a long time (a year or so) and they often contain important ideas and plans.I am not intending to join the Moleskine fan club that I see on the net where people will swear and live by the name as if it provides them oxygen- I am simply only interested in a functional product. This is a nicely made notebook and I am happy to pay the price I paid as it does not feel cheap at all.Edit: Since writing this review I have began to use a Uni Pin fine line 0.5 pen. It is a good compliment to the Moleskine paper, smooth action that glides, doesn't blotch or bleed, nor show through the page anymore than a regular ballpoint.Edit 6/2/16: The book mark ribbon is starting to fray quite a bit. My Pukka pad's bookmark didn't after a yer of use.

One of my essentials - I have it on repeat subscription and use them all the time.Great quality, size - I love the plain version so I can write, draw, brainstorm, whatever without restrictions.

I love this notebook. This was my first moleskine and it has been great in that I've really gotten into writing and drawing again. For me, this being a premium quality notebook only helped me fall deeper in love everytime I used it. The notebook has a real quality feel but not all pens will work perfectly on the paper so you may have to do some testing. I did some testing and by far my favourite pen to go with it is the Energel 0.5mm needle tip. It dries fast, doesn't bleed and is a great quality pen. The pilot G-2 0.7mm is another good pen with minimal chance of smudging and no bleed through. Also the Pilot hi-tecpoint V7 fine didn't bleed but can smudge a hair more. If you're more of a pencil guy then rock on.The lack of page lines worked fine for me as I mix both text and illustrations and have no trouble writing without lines. That's not true for everyone though and it's down to you to make that choice. Great notebook, good luck!

For all today’s gadgets, there’s a great deal still to be said for pen and paper. It’s cheap, reliable and you don’t need to worry about the battery life. Setting those practicalities aside, I find great pleasure in a beautiful notebook and a fine fountain pen, though my handwriting still leaves much to be desired. I’m not a alone in this pleasure with a resurgence in paper notebooks and the legendary Moleskine has pushed to the fore. Is it the best? Here we have two lined notebooks, one from Leuchtturm1917 and the other from Moleskine – let’s take a look and find out.Both Moleskine and Leuchtturm draw on their heritage. Moleskine’s dates back into the early 20th Century name-checking Picasso, van Gogh and Hemingway. Although originally French, it died out in the 1980s, only to be resurrected in the late 90s by an Italian publisher. On the other hand, Leuchtturm goes back to 1917 (hence Leuchtturm1917) with roots in Hamburg, Germany and a reputation for stamp collecting albums, which continues today. These stories are laid out by both companies in small cream folded inserts that accompany each book. The message is clear; you aren’t buying only a notebook, you are continuing the traditions of culture, history and travel.Physically both notebooks are very similar but there are subtle and useful differences. I’d call them medium or A5-sized notebooks though strictly the Moleskine isn’t wide enough for A5. Both are 21 cm tall with hardcovers but the Moleskine is only 13 cm compared with the the Leuchtturm‘s 14.5 cm. Each has an elastic enclosure band, page marker and an expandable pocket inside the back cover. They also come in wide range of colours and pair well with 7″ tablets, such as the Nexus 7.Opening the notebooks shows that both have lined pages with the same line spacing, but with the Moleskine, that’s about it. Although both have an Owner page at the front, the Leuchtturm goes further with three Contents pages and each page is numbered for easy reference. In addition, there are eight perforated pages towards the back that can be removed, along with some stickers to assist with archiving once the notebook is full. The Leuchtturm1917 is for those who want to be organised! “Datum / Date” is printed at the top of each page too, which may put people off but suits me fine.Both notebooks have lovely paper which is a joy to write on with pencil and ballpoint. However, the Moleskine has a problem with pen ink bleeding from one side to the other, particularly with black ink, which makes the Leuchtturm a better choice for fountain pen writers.Overall, both the Moleskine and the Leuchtturm are stylish notebooks with a great feel both in the hand and under the pen. For me as a fountain pen owner, the Leuchtterm wins out by default, but the contents pages and page numbering make it my choice for those reasons too. Pencil owners and people looking for something a little neater may prefer the Moleskine. Whichever you choose, you’ll never go back.