Giovanni A. in Skokie, IL asks, “You guys spend a lot of time thinking about notebooks. Which is, in your opinion, the absolutely BEST notebook?

Jason says:

Giovanni, thanks for the question. To be honest, we do spend a lot of time thinking about notebooks. (I’m sure our wives would say ‘too much’ time, but we enjoy it).

Right now I’m using the Midori Traveler’s Passport Size.  It’s a little pricier than most notebooks, but if you’re serious about Notebooking, it might be worth the investment.¹

I’m a big fan of passport-size notebooks. They’re small enough that I know I’ll be able to fill it out in a timely manner. They’re cheap (although that’s out the window with the Midori). But the biggest reason I like them is that they are extremely portable. It fits in my pocket! And there’s no feeling worse than wanting to take down a note, and not having your notebook with you because it’s too big to carry.

Of course, there’s a problem with carrying a paper-bound notebook in your pocket. After the course of a couple of weeks, it gets bent and beat up. There’s no fun in writing in a disfigured notebook, so I’ve always been stuck between choosing good portability or a good writing experience. (This has even led me to often keep 2 simultaneous notebooks).

But now I need not choose! The Midori solves all that. Now, to be clear, most of the Midori system is the wallet that the notebook (paper) goes into. The inserts are interchangeable, and are similarly priced to other passport-size notebooks,². But having that wallet over your notebook keeps it intact and flat, while still being portable.

Of course the paper quality is top-notch, and it’s a thing of beauty. When I finish off my first insert, I’ll be doing a full review, but I expect I’ll be using my Midori Traveller for years to come.

Kevin says:

Lately, it’s been the Leuchtturm 1917 A6 in softcover grid (or squared as they call it).

It has a lot of great features that add up to a great experience.

• It lays flat.
• The pages are numbered which is really nice for when I have additional thoughts on a previous topic and want to utilize a Table of Contents.
• It has a cloth reinforced pocket in the back and inside that pocket are archival stickers for when you’re done and want to label the spine and front³.
• It also has a table of contents and a place for the date at the heading of every page.
• Made of 80 gsm paper which makes pretty friendly to most writing implements.

All in all, it’s a great notebook that is finally receiving the recognition it deserves.  My only gripe is that the grid size is a little smaller than I would like.  It’s sub 5mm and that’s smaller than the general industry standard.  Luckily, a fine point pen that doesn’t leave gobs of ink all over the page (I’m looking at you G2!) and the problem disappears after the first sentence.

Thanks for asking!

1. I probably would have never bought it myself originally, but a dear friend gifted it to me. I wasn’t even done with my previous notebook, but decided to use the Midori so that I could review it. Now, I’m totally hooked. Couldn’t imagine using anything else
2. This means the high cost of Midori’s are a one-time investment
3. I still haven’t used these but I just like knowing they’re there!