Wide–range of Moleskine Notebooks

I recently came across Moleskine^® when I was looking to purchase some good quality notebooks for work meetings and jotting down snippets of code and web design ideas.

I generally use notebooks with squared paper as the grid layout is ideal for writing in portrait or landscape, jotting down code, drawing diagrams or mind–mapping.

Being an SEO Consultant and Web Coder means that I use a computer and keyboard most of the time—and as a result of this dependence on technology—my handwriting has deteriorated significantly over the years.

Using a Fountain Pen with Moleskine Notebooks

When I write down ideas on paper I like to use a fountain pen where possible. I’ve found that using a fountain pen encourages a more flowing writing style. It also encourages a lighter touch on the paper and I find I’m subconsciously forced to slow down my writing—which in my case, helps to improve the legibility of the words on the page.

An issue I discovered with Moleskine’s is that some fountain pen ink feathers and spiders on the pages, or bleeds through to the back of the page—less than ideal! It seems this is a whole topic in itself, with numerous discussions and resources on the topic.

However, I have found a solution that works for me. My Waterman fountain pen combined with Noodler’s BP Black ink writes perfectly in a Moleskine. In fact, Noodler’s BP black ink has received some great reviews for use in Moleskine notebooks.

As an alternative to my Waterman fountain pen, I also use Pilot Hi-Tecpoint pens, which I find write well in a Moleskine—although I prefer the 0.7 nib to the thinner 0.3 or 0.5 nibs.

As mentioned earlier, I generally use the large–squared and pocket–squared hardcover notebooks, although, there are soft back Moleskine notebooks available if that suits your needs better. The range of Moleskine’s is quite large, with notebooks that are suitable for artists, designers, journalists and travellers.

Moleskine’s tend to be a bit more expensive than your average notepad, so you’d expect the quality to be higher, and from my experience they are! The quality of the binding is very good, and the notebooks have a warranty where Moleskine will send you a free replacement notebook if there is a defect.

There are some nice features to the notebooks, such as an elasticated band which secures the pad when closed. This is useful when it rains, as it helps to protect the pages from water–damage. There’s also a nifty pocket in the back of the notebook for holding business cards, blotting paper or any other small paper notes.