My collection of Moleskine notebooks that spans almost 20 years. amzn.to/2zbz37O us.moleskine.com/en/ INSTAGRAM / thejournaljoy Disclaimer: Amazon link is an affiliate link
My main reason for using Moleskine over the last 6 or 7 years is their consistency in their design. I want what you have there - consistent design of journals for decades!
Consistency in design, maybe, but no better than several other brands. The problem with Moleskine is their inconsistency with paper. They source from everywhere, and while some of the paper they use is pretty good, most is lousy. It simply won't work with fountain pens, or any kind of markers, and it isn't made to last for decades.
You’re so right! I think I must have boight my first moleskine back around 2000 & I’m so glad they did start a resurgence in Notebook culture! Love moleskine & all the different types they create, love the new expanded version & the city notebooks are awesome too! Thanks for another great notebook video! 📔📖📚✨💫
Loved your video in which you have provided all details and history about Moleskin notebook brand. My brother Hitender Jadav gave me this notebook as a gift few months ago as he knew that I am fond of writing articles and poetry. I am overwhelmed with joy to receive this fabulous gift and Moleskin notebook brand has become my favorite among all my diaries. Keep up the good work and Best of Luck 👍
I tested my Moleskine notebook by writing on it with almost 20 different pens from gel pens , fountain pens , ballpoint, fineliners , rollerballs and different highlighters Staedler , stabilo boss & swing cool , zebra midliners and many more. One thing for sure is never use highlighters on Moleskine paper , no matter which brand they will all bleed through pretty bad. Out of all the pens the only pen that i use on Moleskine paper is the Uniball Signo 0.5 mm and then maybe fineliners 0.4 mm or below. All pens will ghost through to the other side but uniball signo doesn’t bleed to the other side , rest all bleed ink whereas the signo you can see the writing on the other side of the paper but no bleed through of ink. Writing on Moleskine paper with uniball signo actually looks and feels very nice. One more thing I noticed is the needle tip pens are the worst on this paper
I basically went through exactly the same thing with moleskin but I gave up on them its cool to hear they're getting better again that was my first journal
It’s a brand that I really want to be using for some reason. It’s like in my mind they’re one of the first notebook brands that took the notebook crown, BUT the paper is so bad it’s unusable unless you’re writing with a cheap 20p BIC Biro or something, Absolutely shocking. What makes it worse is their insistence on not even trying to compete and get any better. I don’t get that at all. Why wouldn’t they want a part of the current paper and notebook boom that is going off? Thanks for the video 😀👍🏻
I just ordered a new one for the first time in a few years, I'm curious to see if she's right about the quality coming back. My older Moleskines work pretty good with many of my favorite pens, including some fountain pens! But yes, their paper can be picky about the pen and/or ink. I find Kaweco fountain pen with Kaweco ink works fantastically, but there are some others.
I tried a Moleskine journal several years ago and the paper was worse than most loose leaf paper used by students. It performed like recycled paper. Then, a few years ago I bought some full size and pocket cahiers and they worked beautifully with all my fountain pens and inks. I was considering giving one of the hardcover journals another try, but JournalJoy did a writing sample in her new notebook not long ago and it couldn't handle the fountain pen. Moleskine would be killing it if they had decent paper.
@@marka.200 She's partly right. Moleskine is sourcing paper from several countries. Some of it is much better than what they were using, but most of it is worse. It seems to be just luck of the draw which you get. But thanks to a huge resurgence in fountain pen use, many companies now have notebooks, journals, and bullet journals that contain far better paper than what Moleskine uses.
Excellent in what way? It's super thin, and it ghosts horribly, even with ordinary inks, let alone fountain pen ink. And a pencil can tear it so easily that I can't use mu mechanical pensils at all.
I used Moleskine for years and years. But I guess 6 years ago I started to use Leuchtturm for my planners, Journals, noteboks … I think it is a better quality. And I am so in love with the Leuchtturm Master. Can you pls show this big huge Moleskine in that video in detail?
It's funny. Leuchtturm doesn't have the best paper for fountain pens, but it is much, much better than Moleskine. And the new, thicker Leuchtturm paper does work with fountain pens. I still prefer Rhodia, Clairefontaine, and a few other notebooks over Leuchtturm because I use fountain pens exclusively, but I do have and use a Leuchtturm1917. Oddly, one of tthe best papers out there now, whether journal, or notebook, or bullet journal, is Walmart's Exceed brand. Ten bucks for an A5 size. Just make sure you get the ones with 100gsm paper. The old version had 78gsm paper, and weren't as good.
The paper quality really is average at best, and some of it is horrible. I find fountain pens unusable on any of it, but I use medium nibs, and some pretty wet inks. Purple and dark red, along with some greens, go right through even the best Moleskine paper with my pens. But there are so many notebooks with high quality paper on the market now that it isn't a worry. If you're on a budget, but the Walmart Exceed brand. The new ones have 100gsm paper, and work incredibly well with fountain pens. An A5 costs just ten dollars, and comes as a regular journal, a Bullet Journal, and one other kind that I don't remember. You can get blank paper, lined paper, or dot grid.
Not to mention cheaper! Well, if you shop around, usually the black ones seem cheaper, her link above is for a lined black one that's $10 vs. the others are $15. Even $15 isn't bad for a good notebook but still - a penny saved and all that. Even if they weren't cheaper I'd still prefer black, it just doesn't seem like a Moleskine unless it's black.
I sssstopped using Moleskine in 2912 when they outsourced the paper and it became absolutely horrible for fountain pens. Now so many different places make Moleskine paper that it's wildly inconsistent. One Moleskine will be great for fountain pens, and the next will be horrible. I'm not really heartbroken about it. There have always been far better notebooks and journals on the market that contain far better paper that will last for decades, or even centuries. I've always used these. But Moleskine was the best cheap notebook I could find. Yes, cheap. Cheap when compared to some of the notebooks I've always used for things I wanted to last long after I'm gone. Now, thanks to the resurgence of fountain pens, there are a number of cheap notebooks on the market with far better paper than Moleskine has ever used. Far better. And notebooks in the twenty to thirty dollars range filled with paper that makes the best Moleskine paper look like newsprint. I believe time has passed Moleskine by, so I doubt I'll ever have a reason to go back to Moleskine. Unless, of course, they get their act together, stop using so many different cheap papers from all over the place, and decide to compete with dozens of better notebooks. Even Walmart Exceed notebooks/journals/bullet journals now have much better paper than Moleskine, and they're made in China. I keep checking back with Moleskine, though, because it is tough to find a fountain pen friendly pocket size notebook. Unfortunately, Moleskine paper doesn't work with my fountain pens and inks at that size, either.
i've seen your comments on three videos now, and i see that you mention that you want your notebooks to last for a very long time. What fountain pen inks do you use to write with? I understand that some like noodler's bulletproof black are archival quality and will supposedly last forever, but i'm not sure if it really matters when compared to other inks
I actually started using moleskine in 1998, I was really surprised by their quality then they decided to outsource more and more to China and that is why they are one of the most overpriced notebooks now, totally not worth the price nowdays.
My main reason for using Moleskine over the last 6 or 7 years is their consistency in their design. I want what you have there - consistent design of journals for decades!
Consistency in design, maybe, but no better than several other brands. The problem with Moleskine is their inconsistency with paper. They source from everywhere, and while some of the paper they use is pretty good, most is lousy. It simply won't work with fountain pens, or any kind of markers, and it isn't made to last for decades.
You’re so right! I think I must have boight my first moleskine back around 2000 & I’m so glad they did start a resurgence in Notebook culture! Love moleskine & all the different types they create, love the new expanded version & the city notebooks are awesome too! Thanks for another great notebook video! 📔📖📚✨💫
*bought
Loved your video in which you have provided all details and history about Moleskin notebook brand. My brother Hitender Jadav gave me this notebook as a gift few months ago as he knew that I am fond of writing articles and poetry. I am overwhelmed with joy to receive this fabulous gift and Moleskin notebook brand has become my favorite among all my diaries. Keep up the good work and Best of Luck 👍
I tested my Moleskine notebook by writing on it with almost 20 different pens from gel pens , fountain pens , ballpoint, fineliners , rollerballs and different highlighters Staedler , stabilo boss & swing cool , zebra midliners and many more. One thing for sure is never use highlighters on Moleskine paper , no matter which brand they will all bleed through pretty bad. Out of all the pens the only pen that i use on Moleskine paper is the Uniball Signo 0.5 mm and then maybe fineliners 0.4 mm or below. All pens will ghost through to the other side but uniball signo doesn’t bleed to the other side , rest all bleed ink whereas the signo you can see the writing on the other side of the paper but no bleed through of ink. Writing on Moleskine paper with uniball signo actually looks and feels very nice. One more thing I noticed is the needle tip pens are the worst on this paper
I basically went through exactly the same thing with moleskin but I gave up on them its cool to hear they're getting better again that was my first journal
It’s a brand that I really want to be using for some reason. It’s like in my mind they’re one of the first notebook brands that took the notebook crown, BUT the paper is so bad it’s unusable unless you’re writing with a cheap 20p BIC Biro or something, Absolutely shocking. What makes it worse is their insistence on not even trying to compete and get any better. I don’t get that at all. Why wouldn’t they want a part of the current paper and notebook boom that is going off? Thanks for the video 😀👍🏻
I just ordered a new one for the first time in a few years, I'm curious to see if she's right about the quality coming back. My older Moleskines work pretty good with many of my favorite pens, including some fountain pens! But yes, their paper can be picky about the pen and/or ink. I find Kaweco fountain pen with Kaweco ink works fantastically, but there are some others.
I tried a Moleskine journal several years ago and the paper was worse than most loose leaf paper used by students. It performed like recycled paper. Then, a few years ago I bought some full size and pocket cahiers and they worked beautifully with all my fountain pens and inks. I was considering giving one of the hardcover journals another try, but JournalJoy did a writing sample in her new notebook not long ago and it couldn't handle the fountain pen. Moleskine would be killing it if they had decent paper.
@@marka.200 She's partly right. Moleskine is sourcing paper from several countries. Some of it is much better than what they were using, but most of it is worse. It seems to be just luck of the draw which you get. But thanks to a huge resurgence in fountain pen use, many companies now have notebooks, journals, and bullet journals that contain far better paper than what Moleskine uses.
I'm like this but with Stalogy! can't get enough of their design and paper
Wow what a collection
I love that moleskine offers vertical planners. Can you do a video on how the Moleskine pro planner has been working out for you?
I actually switched to the Moleskine daily planner now
I love Moleskine journals too! The Moleskine Expanded that I just bought seems to have excellent paper in it. Let's hope they keep it up 🤔
Excellent in what way? It's super thin, and it ghosts horribly, even with ordinary inks, let alone fountain pen ink. And a pencil can tear it so easily that I can't use mu mechanical pensils at all.
Seems suitable for my work. Thanks for the review!
You bet!
Very nice!
Do you have any pocket sized journal recommendations? I'm wanting start writing again.
Well definitely Moleskine. Also Leuchtturm 1917. If you want a refillable journal you could get a Passport size Travelers notebook.
What pens do you use to write on them? I use a Pentel Energel and it shows through quite a lot... Thanks!
I use Uniball Jetstream for mine! :)
I used Moleskine for years and years. But I guess 6 years ago I started to use Leuchtturm for my planners, Journals, noteboks … I think it is a better quality. And I am so in love with the Leuchtturm Master. Can you pls show this big huge Moleskine in that video in detail?
It's the Moleskine Pro planner XL. I did a video on that :)
It's funny. Leuchtturm doesn't have the best paper for fountain pens, but it is much, much better than Moleskine. And the new, thicker Leuchtturm paper does work with fountain pens. I still prefer Rhodia, Clairefontaine, and a few other notebooks over Leuchtturm because I use fountain pens exclusively, but I do have and use a Leuchtturm1917.
Oddly, one of tthe best papers out there now, whether journal, or notebook, or bullet journal, is Walmart's Exceed brand. Ten bucks for an A5 size. Just make sure you get the ones with 100gsm paper. The old version had 78gsm paper, and weren't as good.
It's not bad paper quality, but not very good neither, especially when writing with a fountain pen.
The paper quality really is average at best, and some of it is horrible. I find fountain pens unusable on any of it, but I use medium nibs, and some pretty wet inks. Purple and dark red, along with some greens, go right through even the best Moleskine paper with my pens. But there are so many notebooks with high quality paper on the market now that it isn't a worry.
If you're on a budget, but the Walmart Exceed brand. The new ones have 100gsm paper, and work incredibly well with fountain pens. An A5 costs just ten dollars, and comes as a regular journal, a Bullet Journal, and one other kind that I don't remember. You can get blank paper, lined paper, or dot grid.
Love love love your videos and I love that like me you buy just black moleskines🥰 they’re so beautiful
Not to mention cheaper! Well, if you shop around, usually the black ones seem cheaper, her link above is for a lined black one that's $10 vs. the others are $15. Even $15 isn't bad for a good notebook but still - a penny saved and all that. Even if they weren't cheaper I'd still prefer black, it just doesn't seem like a Moleskine unless it's black.
Do you currently use Moleskine products or have you moved away from the brand?
I still use their daily planners..
I sssstopped using Moleskine in 2912 when they outsourced the paper and it became absolutely horrible for fountain pens. Now so many different places make Moleskine paper that it's wildly inconsistent. One Moleskine will be great for fountain pens, and the next will be horrible.
I'm not really heartbroken about it. There have always been far better notebooks and journals on the market that contain far better paper that will last for decades, or even centuries. I've always used these. But Moleskine was the best cheap notebook I could find. Yes, cheap. Cheap when compared to some of the notebooks I've always used for things I wanted to last long after I'm gone.
Now, thanks to the resurgence of fountain pens, there are a number of cheap notebooks on the market with far better paper than Moleskine has ever used. Far better. And notebooks in the twenty to thirty dollars range filled with paper that makes the best Moleskine paper look like newsprint. I believe time has passed Moleskine by, so I doubt I'll ever have a reason to go back to Moleskine.
Unless, of course, they get their act together, stop using so many different cheap papers from all over the place, and decide to compete with dozens of better notebooks. Even Walmart Exceed notebooks/journals/bullet journals now have much better paper than Moleskine, and they're made in China.
I keep checking back with Moleskine, though, because it is tough to find a fountain pen friendly pocket size notebook. Unfortunately, Moleskine paper doesn't work with my fountain pens and inks at that size, either.
i've seen your comments on three videos now, and i see that you mention that you want your notebooks to last for a very long time. What fountain pen inks do you use to write with? I understand that some like noodler's bulletproof black are archival quality and will supposedly last forever, but i'm not sure if it really matters when compared to other inks
I actually started using moleskine in 1998, I was really surprised by their quality then they decided to outsource more and more to China and that is why they are one of the most overpriced notebooks now, totally not worth the price nowdays.