Need advice on fountain pen friendly pocket journal

[AJ20]

Hi everyone,

 

I have been looking for a small 3.5" x 5.5" notebook/journal to carry around in my pocket all day. I have been considering Moleskine Cahier journal, which comes in a set of 3 pocket journals with blank, ruled and square/grid page options. Will this be a good option for using fountain pens?

 

Are there any other brands available with suitable paper in this category. I know that Field Notes is another option, but I am not sure about the suitability for fountain pen usage. Any suggestions will be helpful. Thanks!  

 

[silverlifter]

I have carried the Moleskin Cahiers, and despite reports of terrible paper, with a fine nib and either an iron gall or permanent ink, they work fine.

 

More specifically "fountain pen friendly brands" that I have use are made by Pebble (TR paper), Lamy, and Back Pocket. Franklin-Christoph also sell some with a nice paper that I have picked up, but haven't yet tested. 

[AJ20]

9 minutes ago, silverlifter said:

I have carried the Moleskin Cahiers, and despite reports of terrible paper, with a fine nib and either an iron gall or permanent ink, they work fine.

 

More specifically "fountain pen friendly brands" that I have use are made by Pebble (TR paper), Lamy, and Back Pocket. Franklin-Christoph also sell some with a nice paper that I have picked up, but haven't yet tested. 

Thanks for the suggestions. I will look for those brands. I may also look for some other lesser-known brands, which can be surprisingly good at times. Currently, I use a pocket journal much like Moleskine or Field Notes, which has no branding. It is very pleasant to write and doodle on. But, I don't seem to recall where I got it from.  It was a long time ago. Btw, I am in India right now.  

 

Usually, you can feel the texture of the paper and guess how it would behave. Ordering online can be a be tricky so need to be sure of the brand. 

[AJ20]

32 minutes ago, silverlifter said:

I have carried the Moleskin Cahiers, and despite reports of terrible paper, with a fine nib and either an iron gall or permanent ink, they work fine.

Almost forgot to mention, I will be using a Kaweco Sport (medium nib) to write in the journal. The ink would be Kaweco again, which in my opinion is a well-behaved ink.  

[IThinkIHaveAProblem]

clairefontaine makes 9X14 (3.5X5.5) notebooks

 

(different models are down the left hand side of the page)

https://www.clairefontaine.com/search.html?mot_cle=9x14&bout_rechercher=Search

 

I use these:

https://www.clairefontaine.com/product-en-63596c-stapled-notebook-9x14cm-48sh-lined.html

 

it's clairefontain 90gms paper it doesn't get a whole lot more fountain pen friendly than that  

 

my 2cents: IME moleskine is garbage paper. I suppose an IG ink might make it acceptable, but im not buying any moleskine to find out  

[Karmachanic]

GoodINKPressions - 120 pages, TR paper, 52 or 68gsm in various sizes including pocket and A6.  Click on the "Style" drop-down.

 

Here's a look at the full line

[christam]

22 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

GoodINKPressions - 120 pages, TR paper, 52 or 68gsm in various sizes including pocket and A6.  Click on the "Style" drop-down.

 

Here's a look at the full line

 

I came here to make the same suggestion, with the caveat that she might not be taking orders at the moment according to a message on the Etsy site.  I use the A5 and B5 notebooks and while they're not the cheapest they're beautifully made and I rate them highly.

[AJ20]

On 7/20/2021 at 12:47 AM, IThinkIHaveAProblem said:

clairefontaine makes 9X14 (3.5X5.5) notebooks

 

(different models are down the left hand side of the page)

https://www.clairefontaine.com/search.html?mot_cle=9x14&bout_rechercher=Search

 

I use these:

https://www.clairefontaine.com/product-en-63596c-stapled-notebook-9x14cm-48sh-lined.html

 

it's clairefontain 90gms paper it doesn't get a whole lot more fountain pen friendly than that  

 

my 2cents: IME moleskine is garbage paper. I suppose an IG ink might make it acceptable, but im not buying any moleskine to find out  

Thanks for your suggestions. As for Moleskine, I’ll take your word for it.  

[AJ20]

On 7/20/2021 at 1:25 AM, Karmachanic said:

GoodINKPressions - 120 pages, TR paper, 52 or 68gsm in various sizes including pocket and A6.  Click on the "Style" drop-down.

 

Here's a look at the full line

Thanks! They look neat.  

[AJ20]

17 hours ago, christam said:

 

I came here to make the same suggestion, with the caveat that she might not be taking orders at the moment according to a message on the Etsy site.  I use the A5 and B5 notebooks and while they're not the cheapest they're beautifully made and I rate them highly.

Thanks for the update. 👍🏼

[txomsy]

Miquelrius. Can be found in Amazon. Great paper. Soft bound with reconstituted natural leather (for whatever that may mean).

[bogiesan]

I have used Moleskine pocket-sized, hardback products for decades and I have enough grid and lined blanks on the shelf to last another five to eight years. The paper generally sucks, yes, but I only use the recto side of each leaf so bleed and ghost don't concern me in the least. Reducing data density by half fills the book quickly (maybe 90 days) and makes finding anything quick and simple, especially if you leave ten empty pages at the front to create a table of contents. Also, the blank verso side can be used for updates, sketches, or additional notes. But, yes, you must get past the economics, which is why I have purchased my molies in bulk when deeply discounted to 50-75%, which are rarely seen these days. 

 

As the others have noted, there are many other pocket notebook brands. However, not many are as universally available as the molie. 

[ParramattaPaul]

My late wife had a pocket size Filofax journal that she carried in her handbag.  It had rings allowing the user to add or change papers at his or her convenience. 

[Karmachanic]

5 hours ago, txomsy said:

Miquelrius. Can be found in Amazon. Great paper. Soft bound with reconstituted natural leather (for whatever that may mean).

 

I have an A5, but have not been able to find a pocket version.  Link would be appreciated.

[txomsy]

https://www.amazon.com/Miquelrius-Bound-Journal-Sheets-Graph/dp/B079DLNQ3Z/ref=sr_1_2?currency=USD&dchild=1&keywords=miquelrius+a6

 

US$ 4.99, 400 pages (200 sheets). The 200 sheet ones are thick. The 100 sheet ones are more "standard".

 

These are A6 recycled-leather bound. A few months ago they had more options. But you are right, now there aren't as many. I've even checked amazon.es (Miquelrius being a Spaniard brand) and they are also scarce there (but for the A5 -4º- size) and look look different from the ones I have

 

https://www.amazon.es/Miquel-Rius-Cuaderno-reciclado-reciclada/dp/B085PJVHRD/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_es_ES=ÅMÅŽÕÑ&dchild=1&keywords=miquelrius+a6+leather

 

I have looked in other amazon sites to see if they have them (I usually look as well in DE, FR, IT, JP and UK at least for anything, one may get big surprises with pricing). They seem to be also available in most (but JP, but you can get Maruman, Midori, TR, and many other great brands from there).

The journals I had had a paper band stating they were a "recycled leather collection" (I still keep an unused one), 300 pages 80g paper. So I do not know how the new ones compare. But my experience has been consistent over the years.

 

Added: I checked their site, it seems to be the same collection, 1839, with new designs.

 

Anecdote: Actually, I had forgot about the brand for a couple decades, until I decided to retake pocket-book note-taking, and then I went back to old 80's-90's notebooks to check the brands I last used. Of those, I could only identify as still alive Miquelrius (others had changed brand names or worsened) and whereas the original paper was uncoated (yet very FP-friendly), the new one was coated (but still FP-friendly). This is to say, I would bet any new model is still FP-friendly great paper.

 

And, come to think of it, judging by their local FP Internet forums some countries seem to still keep interest in FPs alive and robust, which tend to also keep good paper sources alive (factory brands and artisans alike). DE, ES, FR, IT, JP and UK come to mind.

 

Suggestion:

Just make a search in your local Amazon, then simply change the country code (e.g. from .com to .co.uk) in the URL and hit return. You can have free accounts in each one, and once it has your address it will quote the availability, price and postage costs to your address. You won't enjoy Prime advantages, but... it may still be worth the saving.

 

Another suggestion:

 

Come to think of it, and speaking of design changes, I have generally had great results with museum-shop notebooks/journals. I got the "vice" in '92 during my first visit to the US: I saw most museums had shops and thought it was a great way to patronize them.  Ever since, I always try to buy something when I visit a museum at their shop. And the pocket journals (usually hard-bound) in A6 size have generally been very good. Plus being a B&M shop you can touch and feel the paper which I often find a good indication. And of course their covers usually sport art illustrations.

 

For a time (until I decided to look up the old brands I had used and try online-ordering) they were my main source of pocket notebooks (I like to visit museums of all kinds and the museum shop is always an obliged visit for me). Many museums have online shops, but then you don't really know what you will get unless you've been there before to see and touch it.

 

[Karmachanic]

3 hours ago, txomsy said:

https://www.amazon.com/Miquelrius-Bound-Journal-Sheets-Graph/dp/B079DLNQ3Z/ref=sr_1_2?currency=USD&dchild=1&keywords=miquelrius+a6

 

Found that one on the UK site £4 + £45 shipping. Hmmm. No.

Found a Basicos (same) for £9. Better

[txomsy]

Yeah, shipping across borders is becoming increasingly expensive. Crazily, I would say.

[Dione]

On 7/22/2021 at 2:55 PM, Karmachanic said:

 

Found that one on the UK site £4 + £45 shipping. Hmmm. No.

Found a Basicos (same) for £9. Better

The Miquelrius A6 red Squared Ringbound Notebook is £6.41 on Amazon uk. It was cheaper but just increased.

[Karmachanic]

Thank you.  All I'm able to find is a spiral bound for £6.41

I'm looking for the 200 sheet soft cover, that @txomsy linked above.  It may show up in time.  This is the closest I can find at present, but £18

[Dione]

3 hours ago, Karmachanic said:

Thank you.  All I'm able to find is a spiral bound for £6.41

I'm looking for the 200 sheet soft cover, that @txomsy linked above.  It may show up in time.  This is the closest I can find at present, but £18

I knew you wanted A6 and that the spiral bound notebook comes up bigger so it's not pocket sized. Good price though.