Legendary moleskine notebooks: worth the price?

imagine girl · 12-29-2007, 03:15 AM

Almost every GTD blogger raves about moleskine notebooks. I checked them out at the local bookstore today and was a bit underwhelmed. Am I missing something? How are they better than just the $.75 notepads I can get at Target?

lazy23 · 12-29-2007, 03:17 AM

I doodle a lot on my notebooks so an expensive fancy one would actually hold me back. I once bought my ex an expensive Palm Pilot for Christmas so she can schedule all her on-campus job interviews. She ended up using it as the most expensive Tetris player ever.

shinypenny · 12-29-2007, 10:24 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imagine girl

Almost every GTD blogger raves about moleskine notebooks. I checked them out at the local bookstore today and was a bit underwhelmed. Am I missing something? How are they better than just the $.75 notepads I can get at Target?

They're cheaper than an iPhone.

Patrick · 12-30-2007, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by imagine girl

Almost every GTD blogger raves about moleskine notebooks. I checked them out at the local bookstore today and was a bit underwhelmed. Am I missing something? How are they better than just the $.75 notepads I can get at Target?

Two theories:

1) People take pride in using high quality items and it reflects in their work.

2) People like to show off.

antigone · 12-31-2007, 07:43 AM

I'm a Palm Pilot and small notepad user, personally. The Palm is good for time sensitive things, and addresses (and e-books), but the notepad catches everything else.

As for the moleskine thing... all I really want in a notepad is for it to be hardback, have an elastic thingie to keep it shut, and maybe a ribbon so I know what page I'm on (if it doesn't come with one, I usually stick one in anyway). Anything else will get torn up in my bag.

I guess it really depends on what you use it for. I have a friend that carries his laptop everywhere. Seems a little bulky to me, but he forgets everything otherwise.

DrMomentum · 12-31-2007, 11:27 AM

I find the popular Hipster PDA to be a decent way to record my thoughts:

Hipster PDA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

I have a Moleskine, but I mostly use that for taking notes on books I'm reading. It takes abuse well, which is a good thing because it spends a lot of time in my bag, getting banged around. But for more immediate and fleeting content, I use the HPDA.

-JP

Greg · 12-31-2007, 03:08 PM

My problem is not having enough pockets for a notebook or the hipster pda.... let alone a laptop!

hollyvangogh · 12-31-2007, 05:51 PM

I think it's silly. If you want to pay a little extra then get an earth friendly notebook, not one made with leather! Producing leather is toxic. Of course...I'd also rather have a notebook that's a little more individual. Moleskins are like the iPods of the notebook world...trendy.

frozemud · 01-01-2008, 01:30 PM

Moleskines are pricey, but I use mine every day and keep it when it's full. It's very well made and a pleasure to use; I use every available space front and back. A cheap little notebook is more likely to have thin paper, to rip out pages, and I tend to waste pages and space in them.

I find that I can focus more on writing down my thoughts or my lists when I don't get distracted by all the buttons and stuff that are on a Palm Pilot. Moleskines don't have built-in games or internet access, which is a good thing when all you want to do is jot down some to-dos for today.

If trendy means expensive and popular at the moment, I guess they are, but they are trendy in the same way that a leather jacket is trendy. Useful, well made, and worthwhile to hang on to for years.

sloria1 · 01-01-2008, 05:15 PM

Yeah, even though I have a pretty tight budget (as a high school student), I use a moleskine just for journaling (hpda for capturing). The extra large cahier journals with blank pages are perfect for my journaling style, because I mind-map and diagram a lot. There's just something special about the silky smooth unlined pages of the Moleskine cahier that makes journaling fun for me.

12-29-2007, 03:15 AM	#1
imagine girl Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 53 Reputation: (12)	Legendary moleskine notebooks: worth the price? Almost every GTD blogger raves about moleskine notebooks. I checked them out at the local bookstore today and was a bit underwhelmed. Am I missing something? How are they better than just the $.75 notepads I can get at Target?

12-31-2007, 03:08 PM	#7
Greg Administrator Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Sunny Southern California Posts: 160 Reputation: (47)	My problem is not having enough pockets for a notebook or the hipster pda.... let alone a laptop! __________________ Admin / Tech guy Wise Bread, Parenting Squad, Healthcare Hacks

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12-29-2007, 03:17 AM	#2
lazy23 Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 40 Reputation: (12)	I doodle a lot on my notebooks so an expensive fancy one would actually hold me back. I once bought my ex an expensive Palm Pilot for Christmas so she can schedule all her on-campus job interviews. She ended up using it as the most expensive Tetris player ever.

12-31-2007, 07:43 AM	#5
antigone Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 1 Reputation: (10)	I'm a Palm Pilot and small notepad user, personally. The Palm is good for time sensitive things, and addresses (and e-books), but the notepad catches everything else. As for the moleskine thing... all I really want in a notepad is for it to be hardback, have an elastic thingie to keep it shut, and maybe a ribbon so I know what page I'm on (if it doesn't come with one, I usually stick one in anyway). Anything else will get torn up in my bag. I guess it really depends on what you use it for. I have a friend that carries his laptop everywhere. Seems a little bulky to me, but he forgets everything otherwise.

12-31-2007, 11:27 AM	#6
DrMomentum Junior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 3 Reputation: (10)	I find the popular Hipster PDA to be a decent way to record my thoughts: Hipster PDA - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia I have a Moleskine, but I mostly use that for taking notes on books I'm reading. It takes abuse well, which is a good thing because it spends a lot of time in my bag, getting banged around. But for more immediate and fleeting content, I use the HPDA. -JP

12-31-2007, 05:51 PM	#8
hollyvangogh Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Utah Posts: 30 Reputation: (10)	I think it's silly. If you want to pay a little extra then get an earth friendly notebook, not one made with leather! Producing leather is toxic. Of course...I'd also rather have a notebook that's a little more individual. Moleskins are like the iPods of the notebook world...trendy.

01-01-2008, 01:30 PM	#9
frozemud Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 50 Reputation: (10)	Moleskines are pricey, but I use mine every day and keep it when it's full. It's very well made and a pleasure to use; I use every available space front and back. A cheap little notebook is more likely to have thin paper, to rip out pages, and I tend to waste pages and space in them. I find that I can focus more on writing down my thoughts or my lists when I don't get distracted by all the buttons and stuff that are on a Palm Pilot. Moleskines don't have built-in games or internet access, which is a good thing when all you want to do is jot down some to-dos for today. If trendy means expensive and popular at the moment, I guess they are, but they are trendy in the same way that a leather jacket is trendy. Useful, well made, and worthwhile to hang on to for years.

01-01-2008, 05:15 PM	#10
sloria1 Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 56 Reputation: (10)	Yeah, even though I have a pretty tight budget (as a high school student), I use a moleskine just for journaling (hpda for capturing). The extra large cahier journals with blank pages are perfect for my journaling style, because I mind-map and diagram a lot. There's just something special about the silky smooth unlined pages of the Moleskine cahier that makes journaling fun for me.