Looking for a notebook.

Headed on my first European vacation soon and thought it would be good to do some journaling as I go. I'm not much of a writer or very creative but figured I would give it a go. So I'm looking for a decent journal/notebook. Nothing to pricey. I am a ballpoint user and on the odd occasion a gel pen user. Always blue ink!

I'd be perfectly fine going with the large moleskine ruled book. But are there any others I should consider in the same general price range?

The Leuchtturm1917 is a pretty good range, I use a pocked sized one for my journal, no bleed through.

If you're using a ballpoint, the Moleskine should be good enough, although maybe some gel pens might bleed through a little. Even a lot of bound composition books are probably as good for paper quality, if not better, like this one. I like Clairefontaine, particularly the French ruled 8.75 x 6.75 inch size. For about a dollar extra, you can get a fancier version with a strap closure like the Moleskine.

Or there's the Leuchturm 1917 as Andy mentions, or Rhodia, or probably a lot of others.

I just finished a 2 1/2 vacation week trip to Italy and used a Clairfontaine spiral notepad of 9.5 CM X 14 CM (4X5 inches) with a Cross rolling ball point to keep notes of my observations, bullet points etc. It was excellent, took up little room and held up nicely.

Gene

How soon are you leaving? You may want to hold out, just a bit!

I looked at the Moleskine and Leuchtturm1917 notebooks, and decided on the Sigel Conceptum. I have one on my desk currently, and I like it very much. No bleedthrough or feathering with my Lamy 2000, though there is some ghosting. The Sigel also has a very useful pen loop.

My only complaint is that the black matte cover easily picks up fingerprints.

I like Rhodia best

Just ordered the moleskine from book depository. Hard to beat free shipping to canada. All the others seemed to on pricey for my needs. Given that I will be using a zebra f301 I'm not worried about bleed through or feathering.

Dave258 said:

How soon are you leaving? You may want to hold out, just a bit!

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Oh? I've been searching for a good, high quality leather bound notebook with locking pen loop for awhile. Do tell me more?

DunEdinRanger said:

Oh? I've been searching for a good, high quality leather bound notebook with locking pen loop for awhile. Do tell me more?

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http://badgerandblade.com/vb/showthread.php/343181-Hey-Nibsters-Need-your-vote-on-size/page13

Well my good man, might I send you in this direction to have a gander at something that may fit your needs perfectly

If you don't mind a softer cover, look at the Apica Premium CD notebooks at Goulet Pens. I bought the A5 graph ruled one to trial against both the Moleskine and Leauchtturm1917 and the paper is superior. Glossier, heavier with no bleed through and still minimal dry time with my fountain pens.
If they only made one with a hard cover and elastic closure, I'd have my grail notebooks.