Miquelrius is a company located in Spain (near Barcelona) that has been in the stationary business for over 150 years. I happened to find their Moleskine-esque softcover notebook ($9) in a New York City art store today, and was very impressed at its quality and design, yet disappointed to see another black book failing in some key (and easy to fix!) areas.
This year, the Moleskine company came out with a new product: the softcover planner. Unlike the rigid, oil-cloth cardboard covers on nearly all their models, we finally had the option of something we could shove in our backpocket and not have to avoid sitting down. Unfortunately, Moleskine has been very short sighted, and has yet to release their ruled notebook with this flexible cover (according to some reports, this is a good thing, as it doesn’t stand up to much of a beating).
Well, no need, Moleskine! Miquelrius has beat you to it. The highlight of this notebook is the cover, which is very similar to the flexible oil-cloth soft cover on the Moleskine planner, if not identical.
Unlike the somewhat stiff Moleskine planner, however, this thing WANTS you to bend it. Shove it in your pocket, then sit down, run a marathon, roll it up for fun – the Miquelrius will move to suit your position, and always bounces back.
It gives absolutely no resistance to bending, so you can easily keep it in your backpocket without noticing. In fact, you can even bend the cover back and write in it using only one hand to hold it, an impossible feat with the Moleskine hardcovers. Perfect, right?
Except.
Except no company seems capable of putting out a perfect little black book, and this brings me to my main complaint about the Miquelrius: it’s not little! Okay, it’s certainly not big – but at 4″ x 6″ it’s longer and wider than the standard Moleskine by half an inch, and that’s a lot.
Let me explain. One of my main problems with the current wave of black books is that they assume the 3.5 x 5.5 inch Moleskine design are the perfect dimensions. I swear that this size is about 3/4 of an inch too annoying to carry around in a standard pocket. This doesn’t seem like much, but it GREATLY cuts down on portability. Taking your Moleskine anywhere currently means tossing it in a purse or backpack or handbag or laptop case or coat pocket. Where’s the freedom in that?? In order to take my notebook anywhere, I have to rely on some specific to carry it? Totally defeats the purpose! If I were Chatwin, I’d be annoyed!
Now we find a great new design using a soft cover, which definitely allows greater flexibility in travel…And Miquelrius goes and makes it a 1/2 inch larger than the standard Moleskine and overall an inch bigger than it should be! Look, it says in the sidebar that we’re insane at this blog, and I know how nuts this all sounds. But in those meager few tenths of an inch is the entire decision to either bring or not bring a notebook in your travels. And that should be the most important goal when designing a notebook like this.
Now for the insides…
I’m not fully caught up on my notebook lingo, but the pages are not the section sewn variety of the Moleskine or Book Factory models, in which little packets of ten pages or so are sewn together to create the full notebook. Instead, the Miquelrius pages are bound one after the other, if that makes sense (like a square-spine notebook, for example). Though strong, this prevents the book from opening completely flat on a table, a huge bonus for Moleskine fetishists. Personally, I think the pages suit the soft cover design, and wouldn’t give it a second thought.
Now we look at the pages and see – oh no, page headers! Why do notebook companies think we’re still in grade school and require room to write our names at the tops of the page? I know it’s only three lines or so lost, but it feels like a huge amount of wasted space when you’re continuing from one page to the next. It’s too bad too, as the pages are otherwise of decent quality, barely-off-white in color, with lines that are spaced slightly wider than the Moleskine (I say thinner lines mean more writing on each page! … but I suppose that cuts down on notebook sales).
In terms of perks, this notebook comes with the typical Moleskine elastic band to keep it shut. The band is mounted to the back of the journal by two small rivets, which may or may not hold it better than however the Moleskine does it (wherever that band mysteriously disappears to in the back cover…).
There’s no pocket folder on the back cover, but anyone who’s used the 2007 Soft Cover Planner knows this is a good thing – the folder absolutely prevents the Planner’s back cover from bending at all, a necessary ability for a notebook whose charm is in its flexibility. Also, there’s no bookmark, which is too bad because it would be an easy addition.
Overall, the Miquelrius soft cover notebook a really solid, durable, flexible little black blook and I would recommend it as an excellent Moleskine soft cover alternative if my few negatives don’t bother you. I’m definitely going to be using it for the duration of an upcoming film production. My frustration comes from the fact that with a few EASY changes (smaller in size, no page headers, tighter line spacing, and a bookmark for good measure) this could actually top the Moleskine.
Miquelrius website: Miquelrius.com (beware, this is one of the most annoying websites ever created)
Where to buy: Shopmiquelrius.com ($8.99) (also available in red)
Note: Miquelrius makes a lot of other great notebooks, including a version of this one the size of a composition notebook, with 300 – count’em – 300 pages. At the low cost of about $20, it’s the perfect option for people who like to handwrite their novels in a quality notebook.
22 responses so far ↓
1 Chris Meisenzahl // May 3, 2007 at 8:39 am
Great post, I’ll check these out, thanks!
2 The Perfect Moleskine (And you can't have it) « Black Cover // May 7, 2007 at 11:32 am
[...] About ← The Miquelrius: The flexible Moleskine? [...]
3 boneandshadow // May 9, 2007 at 7:22 am
Makes you wonder if the size preference is due to 3.5×5.5 being much closer to the Golden Ratio. (1.61803399)
Still, I prefer the paper in a Miquelrius.
4 Deonne // May 11, 2007 at 11:59 am
Check out these new Miquelrius Flexible pocket notebooks at http://www.kaligiftbag.com. They are approx. 2.75″ x 4.75″ and have a pocket pouch in the back to slip stuff in. There is also an elastic band to keep the book closed or mark pages.
Oh they are available with blank, lined or graphed(grid pages)
5 JT------- // Jun 6, 2007 at 11:50 pm
Thank you so much for your reviews and awesome pictures! I just bought a couple to try and I love the way they feel – like an old book or something. The paper feels nice and smooth (I ordered blank pages). I haven’t written in them yet, because I’m waiting for my Noodler’s ink.
I’m looking forward to your next review. Thanks again for your work.
6 Steve // Jun 29, 2007 at 7:55 am
Yeah, these new pocket Miquelrius notebooks may be it. I would be interested in seeing a review. They are also available here:
http://www.pendemonium.com/
And at $4 a pop sure have the price thing down.
By the way, this blog performs a wornderful service, not only because of the reviews but also for letting me know I’m not the only notebook obssessive/compulsive out there.
7 Honey, They Shrunk The Miquelrius: The Miniature Moleskine « Black Cover // Jul 3, 2007 at 12:46 pm
[...] 3rd, 2007 · No Comments Some time ago, we reviewed Miquelrius’s soft-cover black notebook, which we criticized as being “bout 3/4 of an inch too annoying to carry around in a standard [...]
8 AnferTuto // Jul 28, 2007 at 6:50 pm
Hola faretaste
mekodinosad
9 Jennifer // Aug 23, 2007 at 5:03 pm
Thank you for reviewing our products. We now manufacture and sell a smaller notebook with an elastic band and a pocket in back. It sells for $3.99 at http://www.ShopMiquelRius.com
Thank you!
10 Carolyn Agosta // Dec 1, 2007 at 5:29 pm
This website is dangerous! While cruising the net trying to find a little black notebook like the one carried by Anne Hathaway in The Devil Wears Prada, I found this site and now am the possessor of not one, not two, but THREE moleskines (two five by eight notebooks – one of these a reporter, and a small weekly diary. And I’ve just ordered a Miquelrios soft-cover notebook. I’m obsessing about these and this website is just feeding my habit. Oh the humanity!
11 Alena // Dec 4, 2007 at 7:03 am
To be honest, I don’t quite understand your enthusiasm about flexible covers. I use moleskines and the likes of moleskines while travelling, too, and for me, it is precisely the hardback that is a major advantage: you can just hold it in your hand or on your lap and write, whereas with a soft-cover notebook you need a table (the pictures you posted of the Miquelrius make me shudder with sheer horror!).
I did buy a couple of soft-cover moleskines eventually – they are among the very few soft-cover notebooks that I have -, I like them, but I guest it is just for the change and variation, not that I find soft covers particularly helpful.
I like your website. I have also been looking for the “perfect notebook”, found it several times… bought loads of them to stock up… and after a while I found I got bored of them, no matter how perfect they were. Or perhaps the second time you write in a perfect notebook is not like the first time. Or is it just the dynamics of obsession?
12 The Alwych Book: The perfect soft cover, the perfect notebook? « Black Cover // Apr 3, 2008 at 1:04 am
[...] Speaking of fitting it in your pocket, this baby is a soft cover, but it’s also very firm – meaning it’ll bend, but it’s also stiff enough that you feel like it’s got some strength to it. Check it out in comparison to the larger soft cover Miquelrius: [...]
13 gary // Apr 4, 2008 at 1:36 pm
“page headers! Why do notebook companies think we’re still in grade school ” and continue to make these lined pages?
gary
14 The Perfect Moleskine (And you can’t have it) // Apr 10, 2008 at 1:04 pm
[...] ← The Miquelrius: The flexible Moleskine? Update [...]
15 Xonex Ru: The (Very) Soft Cover Black Book // Apr 10, 2008 at 1:08 pm
[...] Since all notebooks are inevitably compared to the godly Moleskine, let’s start with the obvious difference: the cover. The Ru journal is a soft cover, and it bends fairly easily (though with less flexibility than the Miquelrius). [...]
16 The Softcover Moleskine: We don’t hate you, Moleskine! // May 7, 2008 at 11:25 pm
[...] That said, Moleskine has come up with a good firmness to their softcover. While I like the popular Miquelrius, I’ve found it too be too flexibile – there’s no weight to it at all, and it’s [...]
17 The Cartesio: A Notebook From Florence // Jul 10, 2008 at 9:58 am
[...] we’ve reviewed – definitely not as much flexibility as the soft cover Moleskine or the Miqeulrius, but this is a good thing. It’ll fit in a pocket, but it’ll also stand up to frequent [...]
18 Bor // Sep 4, 2008 at 5:51 am
thank you for your review, I bought it a few weeks ago because it looked good and felt good in my hands, however, I’m also a lefty fountain pen nut and the paper is no good, the ink takes bloody ages to dry. And I don’t like that it can’t be fully opened since it’s not “sewn” as moleskines.
Alas, the search goes on…
19 Travels and Old Notebooks Revisited // Sep 8, 2008 at 11:49 am
[...] speaking, I’m not the biggest fan of the Miquelrius soft cover – it’s not that there’s anything terrible about it, it’s just [...]
20 The Rhodia Webnotebook: Bad Name, Great Journal // Oct 12, 2008 at 11:55 pm
[...] bigger than a pocket notebook, Exaclair sent me samples of a larger softcover journal (similar to Miquelrius’s soft cover) called the ePure (thanks to reader Pat for the correct [...]
21 The Alwych Book: The perfect soft cover, the perfect notebook? // Oct 12, 2008 at 11:58 pm
[...] Speaking of fitting it in your pocket, this baby is a soft cover, but it’s also very firm – meaning it’ll bend, but it’s also stiff enough that you feel like it’s got some strength to it. Check it out in comparison to the larger soft cover Miquelrius: [...]
22 Sara // Nov 29, 2008 at 11:41 am
Moleskine is good but the paper quality really lets them down. Miquelrius probably has the best paper and I love the Joshua Davis range. At last I’ve been able to buy them in the UK on ebay.
Leave a Comment