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Moleskine sucks. Use these notebooks instead...

Down the Breather Hole

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Moleskine journals are very popular, but they aren't the best notebook in their price range. Especially if you are using fountain pens, you will most likely have a poor experience. The paper bleeds, and the construction of the Moleskine notebook isn't as durable as it could be. So, what notebooks are better than Moleskine? Here are five alternatives I recommend:

Midori MD 3:59
Clairefontaine 1951 Clothbound 5:35
Rhodia Webnotebook 7:30
Endless Recorder 9:37
Leuchtturm1917 12:18

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MY FAVORTIVE STATIONERY (paid affiliate links*)
Favorite ballpoint pen: Andhand Method - https://www.andhand.co.uk/products/me...
(use discount code "downthebreatherhole")
Favorite fountain pen: Lamy Safari -https://amzn.to/42jMlc6
Favorite journal: Lochby Field Journal - https://www.lochby.com/o1pqwu
Favorite fountain pen ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-ro - https://amzn.to/42sjjaG
Favorite EDC Bag: Lochby Venture Pouch - https://www.lochby.com/yhrfy5

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also have affiliate accounts with Andhand and Lochby. Using my affiliate links doesn't cost you any extra, but it means I get a small commission if you make a purchase using these links.

20 Comments

@DowntheBreatherHole Creator 7 months ago Pinned

MY FAVORITE WRITING GEAR (some paid affiliate links*)
Brad's leather notebook covers: https://www.etsy.com/shop/WoodsyLeather
Favorite fountain pen: Lamy Safari -https://amzn.to/42jMlc6
Favorite fountain pen ink: Pilot Iroshizuku Syo-ro - https://amzn.to/42sjjaG
Favorite ballpoint: Andhand Method - https://www.andhand.co.uk/products/method-pen-black?ref=downthebreatherhole
(use discount code "downthebreatherhole")
Favorite pen case: Kaco 20-pen case - https://amzn.to/3Ef4Gz9
Favorite EDC Bag: Lochby Venture Pouch - https://www.lochby.com/yhrfy5
Favorite paper: Rhodia ivory 90GSM paper - https://amzn.to/3GxTm1V
Favorite paper 2: Midori - https://amzn.to/4h2feAy
Magnetic bookmarks: https://amzn.to/3Z3ZN2H

*As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. I also have affiliate accounts with several brands. Using my affiliate links doesn't cost you any extra, but it means I get a small commission if you make a purchase using these links. Thanks for your support!

@sophlycrying8557 1 year ago

I love the internet. I would never find someone in real life to talk to about notebooks, but on the internet there are so many great videos like this one!

@OphelieLechat 2 years ago

I’ve been using Moleskine notebooks since around 2008 and have a stack of about 30 of them as journals. I like having the same format in a stack, so have kept buying them even though the quality has declined. Recently I found a Moleskine I was gifted in 2011, unused. The paper is wonderful and the entire notebook feels sturdier. This might be what gets me to switch…

@ffotograffydd 2 years ago

The original books were a style of book rather than a specific brand, available in Paris from the late 19th century until the mid 1980s. They were pocket-sized notebooks or 'carnets', bound with leather or oilskin/oilcloth, and were sold by local stationers. These notebooks became well known because they were favoured by the likes of Van Gogh, Picasso, and Hemingway.

The Moleskine name has been attributed to British writer Bruce Chatwin. In his 1987 book ‘The Songlines’ he described his Paris notebooks as “carnets Moleskines”, Moleskine referring to the black oilcloth binding. Moleskine - pronounced ‘mol-ey-skine’ - is French for moleskin (the English name for such oilcloth because of how it felt to the touch).

In the mid-1990s an Italian company started to make them, using the brand name Moleskine. They were initially very good, but over time the quality has deteriorated.

@kasiatoya 2 years ago (edited)

My English is basic but I really like the way you speak, clearly and very nicely, I listen with pleasure :) Greetings from Poland

@maxvanbalgooy 2 years ago

Of the notebooks you discussed, I’ve only used Leuchturm1917 and I really like it for fountain pens. An additional feature is that the pages are numbered and there’s dedicated space at the beginning for an index/table of contents, which is ideal for a commonplace book. Thanks for sharing your experiences.

@codyevaristo8029 2 years ago

gotta try the Jetpens Kanso Noto notebooks, they're 20 bucks, have tomoe river S paper, and have a high page count. after trying rhodia, clairefontaine, etc. these have been the best especially in price/quality ratio

@labcoatdiva 2 years ago

I haven't seen anyone mention the Stalogy 365 notebooks yet. I tried Midori MD first and appreciated the improvement but wasn't satisfied with the number of pages. As the name suggests, the Stalogy 365 has a year's worth of pages and writes smoothly with fountain pens. I've had two so far and I love it.

@ZZstopp 2 days ago

Moleskine used to make really good quality notebooks, but they really went down hill at the turn of the century when the paper quality turned to garbage, and the thickness and finishes to the covers became way to brittle. Was a time when you could fill one of those cover to cover, travel with it, and live with it for years. The products now are just cheap remainder bin scrapbooks. You can pick them up for under £5 in the big red bargain bin warehouse outlets, and you’d be lucky if you get to the end of it before the spine splits and the pages start falling out.

That’s my experience of them anyways.
I’m curious to know yours.
Drop a comment below with your memories of the good quality Moleskines.

@luisbalderrama8145 2 years ago

Leuchttrum 1917 A5 notebooks have been my go to. I use them daily and they hold up very well. Its the right balance for daily use that still holds up to some decently juicy fountain pens.

Rhodia is def my go to for the more "loose leaf" letters. Inks really pop out and its nice to just tear out a sheet from a notepad instead of dealing with reams of loose paper.

Great Vid!
-Luis

@LovkynaPeral 2 years ago

Exactly. Finally somebody who speak the true. Nobody else should spend his money for moleskine when want to use fountain pen. Thanks for sharing. Hello from Slovakia

@xGoobster 2 years ago

I've been using some Paperage notebooks as I've been on a budget and got a 3 pack of them A5 size for $20. They hold up pretty well and aren't quite as nice as Leuchtturm but them being a fraction of the price, I cannot complain. I just LOVE the Midori MD, Stalogy (even though I'm not the BIGGEST fan of paper that thin), and...listen. Whatever paper Field Notes used in that yellow "Signs of Spring" was freaking amazing! It was pretty toothy, but I just loved the feedback it gave me. I would love an A5 notebook with that exact paper, but I think I looked a while ago and couldn't find anything quite like it - not a bigger notebook anyway.

Great video!

@Traumatized_Mel 1 year ago

i know someone beat me to this but the cloth that goes over the spine is spine-cloth. sometimes called hinge cloth sometimes referred to as book gauze. 4:31

@stevenmclain3652 1 year ago

I really love the notebooks Galen leather puts out. They use Tomoe River paper and hand bind them. Super solid.

@gwirithil1 2 years ago

I looooooove my Rhodia and Clairfontaine. If you're interest in learning to write in a super cool formal way, Clairfontaine makes a 'French Ruled' paper that is how children used to learn to write with fountain pens in schools in France. It's fun to practice now and then, and if you're keeping an ink notebook it's a fun flourish.

@bellasmum2025 2 years ago

Leuchtturm1917 are absolutely my favourite notebook. They are however, quite expensive here in the UK. And then I found TKMaxx!! Less than half price. I avidly scour the shelves as sell very quickly.😊

@tituslafrombois1164 10 months ago

Right now I'm using a $2.99 mini composition book I bought at a Scholastic book fair 10 years ago and surprisingly the cheap paper takes on fountain pens without issue.

@D4N201D-BARKDLE 2 years ago

Brilliant video. As a newbie to fountain pens, but a paper-snob veteran I really love and appreciate your concise, but detailed descriptions.

@PaisiMyLove 1 year ago

I have used all of these papers. You are spot on. My current favourite paper is Rhodia. Let's reward good paper quality by ackowledging them.

@Haramyst 2 years ago

I feel that to me the paper quality of the Leuchtturm1917 is the best of the lot. It's not the smoothest; it has some tooth to it and that's deliberate. If you enjoy both fountain pens and nice dark woodcase graphite pencils like Blackwings Musgraves or Mitsubishi, I find it yeilds consistently satisfying results. Great review!