I'm a writer, and for the longest time I would use a legal pad to draft everything: poems, stories, essays, etc. However, as of late, I've been more and more dissatisfied with using a legal pad for my drafts. I despise the fact that the first page of a legal pad always tears off, being transported from my bag to my desk to work, etc. I want some notebook that has a strong binding (no spiral or cheap glue) and is close to legal pad dimensions (or just not too small).
The notebook does not have to have lines. Any recommendations, please?

Thanks!

Clairefontaine makes A4 size notebooks (that's close to letter size, a little taller and a tiny bit narrower) that are nicely bound with cloth spines and fairly durable covers. You can get them lined or graph paper, I think - perhaps they come unlined as well. The paper is great for fountain pens - you can write with a fat wet nib and it won't bleed or show through. The covers I have seen are very bright colours, or else plain black or tan.

Edit: Here's a link.

Is your objection to spiral binding due to their weakness or that it gets in the way in some way?

If the former and not the latter, check out Black n' Red's A4 hardbound notebooks. They are slightly larger than 8.5 x 11, of course. I like that the cover is so solid that I don't need any kind of support for them at all. The spine isn't spiral but it is a metal coil. It's very sturdy though. The paper is good quality (not Clairefontaine but very FP friendly.) I buy them in packs of 5 from an on-line seller who has a very reasonable shipping rate.

Each cover side is strong enough on its own to serve as a writing surface but being able to fold the cover back is a big plus for me.