New, Cheap, Moleskine Notebook Clone For Aussie's

[msolok]

Hey Guys,

 

I've written before about the cheap Moleskine notebook clones which are available from Woolworths Supermarkets here in Australia (under the name Picadilly). I was surprised at the time of finding them tht they were relatively cheap but also very fountain pen friendly. Well I have found Notebooks that rivel these!

 

While walking around KMart the other day wasting some time, I wandered into the stationary section. Most of the stuff that they have there is cheap stuff, perfect for ballpoints but useless for Rollerballs or Fountain Pens. But I noticed some notebooks that stood out. The where Moleskine clones. Coloured, leather like covers, elastic strap, and lined pages. They were cheap ($3 each) so I figured I would grab 1 or 2 and see how they performed.

 

They simply come in a plastic slip. No real markings or brand names on it (just Kmart branded) and made in China. Taking off the plastic slip, the cover feels soft and nothing like real leather. My impression of the cover is it is not great quality, but I don't think it matters if the covering get's a little ripped and shagged (just adds character). It doesn't feel like it will fall apart, but it's not up to Moleskine standards.

 

The elastic is nice and tight and keeps the covers firmly shut. Covers seem to come in Black, Red and Purple. Might be more colours at other stores.

The cover opens fairly flat. Very surprising how flat it opens. The spin stitching seems to be fairly good quality too.

 

There is no back pocket in the book, so the price is a bit of a sacrafice there.

 

The paper is a yellow / ivory sort of colour, and it has dark grey lines. No page/leaf count is marked anywhere, but I estimate it to be around 80 leafs / 160 pages. Paper size is the same height as A5, but slightly skinnier. Is bigger than a standard Moleskine.

 

Now we get to the pointy end of the stick. Writting on the paper. At this stage I was pleasently surprised. The paper was fairmly smooth, but does offer a bit of fedback. The ink goes onto the page easily and is NOT sucked right in! The lines stay fairly crisp (with little feathering) and drying time is average. Checking the other side of the paper, there is a little bit of show through (only slight and no where near enough to make the opposite page un-useable) but no bleeding (even where i had a huge burp of ink on the page). I tested with different inks and nibs, and none would really heavily show through and 0 bleeding.

 

All up, for $3 these notebooks are great. Buy 10 for the same priec as 1 Moleskine or Rhodia Webby in Aus. I really recommend these. Grab a few for a cheap notebook for quick notes, or for journalling. They are great bits of work!

 

 

[beak]

Thanks for the tip - shall try these.

[inkypete]

Thanks for the heads up - will check them out on the weekend. Kmart has a very ordinary stationery section now. Used to be good and cheap. I tend to head to Big W or Officeworks for the general stuff now.

[Tom Aquinas]

Bonzer, I'll give them a squizz.

[cedargirl]

Thanks for the heads up.

[luminesce]

Thanks - I'll have to see if the kiwi KMarts stock them.

[Ytland]

Bonzer, I'll give them a squizz.

 

[huy3825]

Saw a Moleskine look alike at Officeworks J.Burrows. They have the same indent on the back and the elastic strap (Basically everything is the same, like the Summer Safari is to the Lamy Safari is J.Burrows to Moleskine). I saw a 240 page, 80 gsm, 7mm lined, 135mm x 210mm J.Burrows cream notebook going for $10 compared to $30 for Moleskine.

 

The construction and general aesthetics wasn't the best but you are paying a third, so heads up people.

Edited December 13, 2013 by huy3825

[dcwaites]

My local Officeworks has the J.Burroows product, as well as some runout stock of Modena notebooks at half price. Consequently the Modena notebooks are at about the same price for similar products.

The paper in both is similar (beige, 80 gsm) and performs with inks in a similar manner. However the Modena, with a leather cover, seems to be more robustly built than the J.Burrows products, or the Piccadilly notebooks from Woolies.

I can really only use Noodler's Black in these notebooks if I want to avoid bleeding through.