I need to find a pocket notebook/notepad for daily use; these are the requirements:

1) Size: 3x4" (yeah, I know it's odd...)
2) FP friendly (of course)
3) Binding that makes it easy to remove pages, but preferably not spiral (this book will not be used as storage...most pages will be torn out as they are used.)
4) Readily available in the U.S.

I found the perfect example at Target, under the brand name "Mikaso", but the binding is both poor quality and not suitable for tearing out pages.

Any recommendations?

Rhodia makes a 3x4 sized stapled pad with graph paper.

Rhodia

I second the Rhodia pad, they do have a 3x4 size too i believe.

EDiT: as margana's link has pointed out, they indeed do have a 3x5. They are great to carry around. I carry the slightly larger one in my backpocket all the time. and you can always Play sudoku on it when you're bored =P.

I'm using Moleskine pocket chahiers for each of my projects. They are $7 a pack and the last half has detachable pages. None of my fountain pens have had issues with them.

Target carries some unassuming little notebooks with glued bindings and in various sizes including one that I think is about the size you are looking for. They come in red, blue, yellow - I think also brown but it's been a while since I've bought. Some have little elastic bands to keep them closed. Surprisingly FP friendly.

The only one I can think of given your size requirements is the Rhodia

I just purchased a Clairfontaine staple bound notebook from Pendemonium. The paper is extremely nice to write on with a fountain pen, and I think you could tear pages out if you wanted.
Here's a description of it:
Journal, ruled, 3 X 4, bound on the 4 inch edge, 24 sheets. This journal is the perfect size for slipping in your PDA case or wallet, it's extra thin!

I don't have any experience with Rhodia, but that will be my next purchase to compare the two.

Black n' Red has their 'Polynotes' in A7 size - around 2.9x4.1", pretty close to 3x4.. Great paper, ruled or blank, and a strap for keeping it closed. May be available at an Office Depot or Office Max, although their Black n' Red selections seem to vary greatly from store to store...

I just went to our Office MAx yesterday lookink for some Southworth Metalo (which thet did not have) but bought a notebook of Red and Black. I can't wait to try it

I have the 24 pound sheet legal pads from Red and Black.

They're great.

I woudn't hesitate to buy any of their other products.

1) Very close. 3 1/4 x 4 1/2, 80 sheets, ruled, stiff covers. Much more compact than a 'skine.

2) Definitely FP friendly, except maybe for PR American Blue with a juicy italic nib ;-)

3) Sewn binding. The pages tear out evenly but the "opposite" page is likely to come out as more pages are removed and the notebook gets thinned out.

4) Available at Wal-Mart for 77 cents each.

5) Called "Classgear" and made to look like a miniature composition book. Notes made in the first one I tried (yep, I found it stuffed into the bottom of my computer bag) show you get 3010 square inches per dollar instead of 380 for a pocket Moleskine. It still retains the shape from riding in hip pockets of jeens as well as a few missing pages and notes from various travels.

I had actually forgotten about this little gem until yesterday at a coffee shop when the guy in front of me pulled one out of his surgical scrubs pocket to get some change.

Bill

Since there are so many people interested in the various kinds of paper available, why can't we ask the companies to make available to us an assortment of samples? We would not be asking for anything gratis. Let them set a fee but allow us this sample pak because there are lots of us who would be interested and lots of future business that would result.

Thanks for all the opinions.

The Target branded notebooks are the first ones I tried, which had bad bindings.

I did go to Wal-Mart and try the Classgear, but I found the paper feathered horribly with Legal Lapis, and that I wasn't wild about the side opening.

At OfficeMax I found a Mead "Composition Book" notebook, which bled incredibly easily.

Finally, at a local art supply I found the orange Rhodia notepads. The paper is very nice (though ink doesn't dry on them very quickly - smudges easily.) I'm also not a fan of grids, but I can get used to that. I liked the form factor, the flip-top covers, and the perfed sheets. I wish they had a built-on elastic, but a large rubber band serves the purpose well enough.

So, for the time being I'm a Rhodia user. Thanks again for the help!

If you like the Rhodia and can't find a local source for other than grid, Pendemonium has lots of sizes and options, and you can get ruled or a few sizes in blank.

I just went to my art store hoping for a Rhodia with blank pages, but they only had the grid, so I got a small gridded Rhodia notepad and an 8.5 x 11 other-brand sketch pad. The sketch pad is not great for FPing, scratchy under the pen even though the paper felt very smooth to the touch. The Rhodia is nice and smooth, much more pleasurable to write on.

For giggles I then tried out one of my Clairefontaines, which is as smooth and nice as the Rhodia but with slightly heavier paper, so you cannot see the ink at all from the reverse side. Looking more closely at the notebooks, the CF is 90g/m2 and the Rhodia is 80.

All this was with an Esterbrook, 9048 (flexible fine) nib and a fresh bottle of Noodler's Aircorp Blue-Black.

Found this at "The Ink Flow" online shop:

http://www.theinkflow.com/cgi-bin/Shopper....ction&key=98527

Levengers had some stuff that looked rally close...not exact, like 3 1/8 x 4....

-Bruce

Well, I'm back again!

After using the Rhodia pads for a week, I've found some good and bad; I like the feel of the paper, am getting used to the grid, and the cover material is good. I'm using the No. 12 pad (3.3"x4.7"), and the No. 11 (2.9x4.1"), and either size works well. I'm probably partial to the smaller size, and do enjoy using them.

There is one fly in the ointment, however! I've found that in my use, the corners of the sheets get dog-eared pretty quickly (I carry the pad in the leg pocket of "cargo" pants.) Yes, even with the cover rubber-banded shut! The problem is that the bottom edges and corners are not covered, and get banged up pretty quickly.

I've determined the ideal format for me would be the Rhodia pad, but where the cover opens from the top to the bottom, and is folded around the back at the bottom edge. Basically, the opposite from the way the pads are made now; like an old-fashioned carbon-paper salesman's receipt pad (anyone remember those?)

Of course, it should have good paper, be FP friendly, and be a regular stock item (as opposed to some special one-time purchase by whatever seller.)

Any ideas?

It sounds as if you want the pads I saw on display at my stationery store. They were Rhodia, but they were displayed upside down. They work exactly as you described.

Have you considered putting the pad into a case? I have one of these that I got in another forum for $20 (versus the list of $100). I think it'll hold the smaller size Rhodia.