OK, let’s get it out of the way: The Moleskine. The current reigning king of the little black book. What every notebook we review on this blog will be compared to. What could we possibly have against it?
The Moleskine’s beauty is in its utter simplicity:
The cover: hard, durable, oily finish, black, and not a single product name to ruin it on the front (imprint of “Moleskine” on the back is negligible).
The pages: Creamy white paper with thin grey lines going from top to bottom.
The notebook: sturdy, yet opens flat to write on tables. Cloth bookmark. Pocket folder in the back. Elastic band to keep it shut.
I reiterate: perfection in its simplicity.
So why doesn’t the search for the perfect little black notebook end with the Moleskine? Here are two good reasons:
This notebook was only used to about the halfway mark before the elastic band warped and the spine broke. Now the notebook is pretty much useless, and another $10 was shelled out to Barnes and Noble for a replacement. This is not the first time this has happened, and I’ve heard similar complaints from Moleskine users on the internet. There have been musings that quality has gone downhill significantly since Moleskine was purchased by a French company and production was relocated from Italy to China – thinner pages, cheaper binding, elastics that break quickly, and so forth.
I can’t verify any of these claims because I’ve never owned a Moleskine prior to these alleged changes. But I can confirm the defects that sometimes occur.
A second issue is that Moleskine offers very little in terms of variety. For example, the size is OK, but really prohibits carrying it around in your pants pocket. Less than an inch smaller on either side could very easily fix this problem. Also, the hard cover makes it impossible to sit down with this thing shoved in your back pocket. Shouldn’t the essence of a little black notebook be in its portability? When I take my Moleskine anywhere, I know it’s going to require either a bag or jacket pocket to throw it in.
The point is not that the Moleskine company should change their design; certainly not, as they have a very solid product as it is. The point is that the Moleskine is undeservedly considered the end-all/be-all of little black notebooks because there is no competition. It’s like other notebook designers have thrown up their hands and said “Too late! There’s nothing more we can do!”
We here at Black Cover believe that there have to be deserving alternatives somwhere in the world. On this blog, we will try to review some Moleskine competitors for those who are looking for a slight change from the Barnes and Noble crowd. If you have any suggestions, PLEASE email them to us at blackcoverblog@gmail.com.
And for those Moleskine fetishists who are insulted we’d ever question the God of little black books, don’t get us wrong: it’s currently the strongest contender on the market.
We’re just not convinced it’s the best.
Moleskine website: Moleskine.com
Moleskine Best Price: Amazon
20 responses so far ↓
1 Evan "JabberWokky" Edwards // Apr 30, 2007 at 8:01 am
Once again, the confusion between the term “moleskine” and the trademark “Moleskine” raises its head. It is as if a manufacturer (let’s call them “Colo e Colo”) created a “Composition Book”, and trademarked the name (doing so by the virtue of the fact that the style of notebook named “composition book” had fallen out of favor). You would then have a brand name “Composition Book”, and a whole bunch of past (and, once the format regains popularity, new) manufacturers of “composition books”. Colo e Colo could even honestly say that generations of school children used the “Composition Book”, even if they had just started making them recently.
There is only one maker of the Moleskine, but there are many makers of moleskines.
2 Evan "JabberWokky" Edwards // Apr 30, 2007 at 8:03 am
Oh, and in case you didn’t understand the above, what you have in your hands is an authentic, completely genuine, just like every other notebook of the same format, moleskine notebook. It’s a real moleskine notebook. Really. It’s just not a Moleskine brand moleskine.
3 Jack Phelps // Apr 30, 2007 at 2:41 pm
top-bound cover! top-bound cover! how else can we be expected to hold the notebook in one hand and write with the other? I don’t care if we then only use half the total page space (because you obviously can’t use the back)–I want a top-bound cover!
4 ikd69 // May 1, 2007 at 10:06 am
isn’t this like a reporter’s journal? I think there is a reporter’s moleskine.
I.
5 Shopperati -- Your Link to Great Shopping // Apr 13, 2008 at 11:16 pm
[...] versions made by Moleskine (pictured; $11 at Amazon). While the site’s anonymous authors are fairly fond of that brand (and other bloggers are happy enough with it to make it their sole topic), they do have [...]
6 Billy // May 7, 2008 at 3:39 pm
Yup, the Moleskine Reporter is top-bound.
7 anna // May 7, 2008 at 3:50 pm
I thought I was the only manaic looking for the perfect notebook. I had found something – BLUE SKY – THE COLOR OF IMAGINATION, LLC. in Tustin CA that produced a sweet little bound (red and black) notebook perfect for my needs – lined, with a “silk” ribbon place keeper (no elastic band) – but was 5.5 and a “skooch” more, by 8.5. That is far far better than Moleskine’s 5.25 by 8.25 “in my book”, for my needs.
However, they made a brief appearance in 2004-2005 and “disappeared” that product…
Now I am just about ready to make my own, I am so annoyed at not being able to COUNT ON a system for my ongoing research.
8 Billy // May 8, 2008 at 8:36 pm
Are you referring to the large Moleskine there, anna?
9 The Rhodia Webnotebook: Bad Name, Great Journal // May 19, 2008 at 4:48 pm
[...] about [...]
10 jmck // Jun 18, 2008 at 7:33 pm
Gotcha covered.
11 parzufim.com // Jul 10, 2008 at 8:00 am
viagra cialis levitra clomid buy viagra onli generic viagra http://www.parzufim.com cipro gay viagra buy viagra online cheap viagra
free viagra
herbal viagra
propecia xenical viagra side effects buy viagra zithromax lasix female viagra cream cheapest cialis http://www.parzufim.com
12 Thib // Aug 7, 2008 at 5:14 pm
What are you talking about? When the spine breaks, just glue it back and don’t go for a “replacement” until you finish using the book. Have we lost our creativity in mending things back?
13 Thib // Aug 7, 2008 at 5:15 pm
The Moleskine books with Clairefontaine paper but a bit off-white would be my perfect notebook.
14 Thib // Aug 7, 2008 at 5:16 pm
that is, I like the colour of the moleskine paper but prefer the quality and thickness of Clairefontaine paper and not the whiteness of the Clairefontaine.
15 CONTEST! Win The New Piccadilly Notebooks! // Oct 14, 2008 at 6:26 pm
[...] about [...]
16 Nenona // Dec 16, 2008 at 11:05 pm
Just an idea:
If the biggest problem is that the notebook falls apart halfway through it’s use….
Then instead of buying these notebooks and just reviewing the features doesn’t do much. What I’d like to see more, is these same notesbooks after about 3-6 months of use, aka being shoved into pockets, dragged around in the bottom of a purse or backpack, basically used to death. And in the notebook itself you can document when the elastic dies, the middle of the notebook cracks, the cover starts to slip, etc.
Because it’s obvious that a shiny next moleskine works GREAT, as does the rest of the notebooks you’re reviewing, but I want to know how well they hold up to being used, abused, and tossed around for months.
17 ABBA LIFE INSURANCE GIRL // Apr 1, 2009 at 5:51 pm
Seriously you should consider getting a better cover for your black book such as a leather cover. It really depends on how important it is to you. It may cost about the same as a new black book but you will not have to copy over your information to a new book. Get a protective cover for hardbooks imo.
18 Rob // Apr 10, 2009 at 8:57 am
You paid for a replacement? You know the Moleskine comes with a warranty, right?
Check the little info brochure that comes inside the notebook. At the bottom of the front page there’s a “quality control number”. The paragraph underneath it states that if you find a fault with your Moleskine you can send them an email with a digital photo and the quality control number, and they’ll replace it. I read another blog where the guy had the exact same problem as you, got in touch with the company and had a replacement shipped to him with an apology email.
Pays to read the fine print, folks.
19 Michi-nasai // Jun 4, 2009 at 10:41 pm
Rob’s right.
I ordered 2 moleskines from Amazon.ca a few weeks ago. When they came in the mail, the corners were slightly bent (tolerable, but still a defect). I proceeded to email Moleskine.. Just today, they emailed me back appologizing and said that 2 new moleskines were being shipped to me.
20 Nikita // Jan 25, 2010 at 4:47 pm
I’ve owned just 1 Moleskin and I bought it mainly because of the hype surrounding it. After a week of using it, I regretted the purchase.
I’ve always used japanese notebooks as I love the wide variety of designs and sizes they come in. But I love using them because the paper is so much smoother. I was shocked at how crappy the paper is in a moleskin notebook.
It’s good to see that there are people that don’t think Moleskin is THE notebook to end all notebooks. I’m definitely going to enjoy reading this blog for other alternatives.
Leave a Comment