Anyway for quite some time I have noticed you people go on about moleskin, at first I thought you guys were all into capturing and dismembering small animals but finally I realised that you are talking about paper.
Today while buying some more postcards (be patient people-they are coming soooon), I noticed a whole pile of lovely leather covered journals, and then lo and behold a pile of moleskins!
Well I was surprised and then shocked at the price, so before I commit I want to know why? The smalles basic pocket model comes with either plain paper, lined or squared paper and is the equivalent of USD $20, then ther are diaries, thicker diaries, combo dieary and tabs and paper, and a city guide that had a city map, itinery and tabs and paper...then there were bigger (A5?) sized ones as weel, anyway these things range from about $20 to $40 usd, and I was wondering what are they for and are they worth it?

Cheers

In my opinion they are not worth the hugely marked-up price they sell for in AU and NZ.

The paper quality is inconsistent, causing feathering/bleeding with inks that you can use elsewhere without a problem.

Paper quality down our way can be a problem, but a Moleskine won't help.

Have a look at this thread (all posts have good info), to get some ideas of some local brands which you may have success with: http://www.fountainpennetwork.com/forum/in...showtopic=31356

If it's good paper you're after, I happen to know a young lass from around the corner from you who's ordering a handful of those Field Notes notebooks that I reviewed on my blog. You might need to make friends with her and see if you can't convince her to give/sell you one so you can see what you're missing, Shel!

Check my blog for the full review.

Alright rroossinck, I'm game these things sound beaut-who is it, maybe I can convince them to let me have a try?

I love 'em, but honestly I wouldn't buy them if I had to pay those kinds of prices. With that sort of mark-up, I'm sure you have better options.

I think these things are horrible. I have never seen a product where so many people go out of their way and make it work so they can say they use moleskines. I've never gotten a decent answer why people flip over them. I bought a bunch to try a couple of months back and they are nothing special. Oh, I'm sorry..Van Gogh used them and I think Hemmingway too. Well that's not good enough for me to spend my money and then spend hours finding a pen that works with them. If you like the creative look of bleed through (like they aren't expensive enough you can only use one side of the paper) and feathering, these are for you.

In response to greencobra:

I don't know if I "flip" over them, but I definitely like them very much. I like the paper, the way they're formatted, the size, number of sheets, etc. They just work very well for me. I don't always write in fountain pen in them, but when I do there is admittedly a little show-through. Not enough to bother me, though. Never a single issue with feathering, not even a little. I write a lot with pencil and felt-tip drawing pens as well, and overall a Moleskine works wonderfully for me. I try other notebooks from time to time, but so far nothing has worked for me as well as these.

David, I might have been a little hasty in my post last night. I certainly don't want people to feel they have to justify their use of moleskines to me. Hey whatever works. Hopefully we're all friends even if I get the moleskine grumps.

Why is it only my moleskines that bleed and feather with fountain pen use? Thats the million dollar question for me. Their dayplanner is what I'm looking for but useless to me if I want to write in it with a fountain pen. I spent $18 on 6 notebooks, 3 small and 3 large. These are the ones with the buff colored rag board type covers. I'm using them with a pencil or I found one pen that writes in them reliably, without that nasty feathering.

On the other hand, they are nice giveaways to non fp users.

No harm done! Taste is, after all, a very weird thing. When I do use my Waterman, there is sometimes more bleed than I'd like, but then my Waterman is very wet (I'm a scribbler at times, so it fits me). If you were to write at a slower speed with the same pen as I, you'd probably wind up with more bleed and feather as well. That's the problem with personal findings - they're so personal!

Edit: also, I just noticed it seems you have some of the "Cahier" notebooks. I love 'em, but at least some of them (the grid and lined ones, not so much the plain) definitely have different paper than the black-covered, hardbound notebooks. Noticeably more tooth on one side than the other, and more feather to go with it. Great with pencils, a bit more spotty with pens than the regular Moleskines, IMO.

Yes, that's the name for them, couldn't remember. Easier to say big and small What are these black covered hard bound notebooks. Did you mean more tooth on the paper in the black ones? I've only seen the hard bound in the smaller size, cashier is it, is there a larger size? Better quality of paper?

Shelley, sorry your thread got hijacked!

The hardback Moleskines come in a pocket size and a larger size that is about 5.5 x 8.5" if I remember correctly. They just released a new soft-cover version in an extra-large size that's more the size of the large Cahier, but it's not available in the states yet (not until January, I think). The Cahiers (at least some of them) do seem to have different paper. It's not dramatic, but it's there.

I love Moleskines, I find them great and I write on them every day, but they are certainly too expensive there in Asustralia. Here in Mexico they range from the equivalent of 15 to 25 USD, to make a comparison.

Garbage Garbage Garbage

Hyped up crap

Mead spiral bound at Staples $1.99

My VP and Moleskine seem the perfect combination. I like them because they work for me. I also have lots of other brands, miquelrius, clairefontaine, etc. and if I had to choose just one, it would be the mole. Btw, my pens are all fine point Pilots, no bleed thru, no feathering.