The Rhodia Webnotebook vs Moleskine Journal Showdown

Many journal devotees would agree the Moleskine A6 journal has cachet to spare. So can a newcomer called the Rhodia Webnotebook (a/k/a The Webbie) best it? With certainty in one key category it does but is it enough to make you switch?

Rhodia Webnotebook vs Moleskine Journal

When it comes to form, Moleskine is exactly what a journal ought to be. The cover is thin but sturdy, the perfect little black book. The ribbon marker is durable enough and the pocket tucked inside the back cover is convenient for all manner of uses. The elastic band closure fits just right and helps keep goodies tucked tidily between the pages. The cream colored pages with pale gray lines are easy on the eyes and discreet. The Moleskine is a classy-looking journal in every respect.

The Rhodia Webnotebook is similar and certainly gives more than a nod to the venerable Moleskine. Unfortunately, it misses in some small ways but puts the Moleskine to shame in the most important one. More later about that.

Addressing form differences first, the Rhodia cover is thicker, sturdy, rigid, and smooth. The elastic band is tight and left permanent indentations on the front and back covers of the sample I received from Exaclair. There is a pocket attached to the back cover just like the Mole.  The inside cover is black with no place to write a name or offer a reward should the journal meet with misfortune. This omission could easily be remedied with a bookplate sticker. The Rhodia does not initially lie perfectly flat like the Moleskine but with use the spine will relax enough to make that less an issue.

The paper is a whole ‘nother subject and in this the Rhodia excels. The images tell the story. The Moleskine paper feathers in places with fountain pen ink but does well with pencil, gel pens, roller balls, and Sharpie Pens (not markers). There is show-through and bleed-through from every fountain pen I used. As one would expect, the finest nibs worked best. Although I didn’t have them on hand to test today, Noodler’s Black or Legal Lapis in a dry Parker ‘51′ extra-fine are the best fountain pen and ink duos I’ve ever found for a Moleskine. The Pilot Prera fine nib tested best of the lot this time.

Moleskine Journal - Front

Moleskine Journal - Reverse

Now for the challenger. The darker cream/gray lined Rhodia paper is thicker, smoother, and absolutely loved nearly everything I threw at it. Finally, double-sided writing is feasible in a small, black journal. No feathering, no bleed-through except with a Sharpie Marker and only the very faintest show-through with anything else.

Prefer fountain pens? This is a match made in heaven at least with the new 90g version. Depending on the ink and pen, drying time can be longer than with the Moleskine but I think it is worth the few-second wait. A piece of blotter paper should eliminate any smearing if that is a concern.

Rhodia Webnotebook - Front

Rhodia Webnotebook - Reverse

For anything but fountain pens, both the Moleskine and the Rhodia work well. The Sharpie Pen was particularly nice. It didn’t even leave an indentation. For compatibility with fountain pen ink though, the Rhodia Webnotebook easily came out tops. Every pen on my desk worked well including the stub and the free-flowing cursive italic, just the sort of versatility that is perfect for an inkophile.

Update: One of the comments below states that the line spacing is larger in the Webnotebook. A side by side comparison of the 9 x 14 cm sized journals used in my test showed no difference between the two.

Note: Another Rhodia Webnotebook review at Rhodia Drive.

My Pens Love the Exacompta Forum Journal

Need a new journal? The Exacompta Basics Forum Journal has a lot going for it not the least of which is that it is designed to fit any Exacompta Club or Nostalgie Journal cover. Lots of variety so there ought to be something to suit most everyone.

Exacompta Club Leatherette Journal

No covers to test but I did receive a refill journal from Exaclair that has turned out to be quite different than I expected.

Exacompta Graph Forum Journal

The tan-colored, plain board cover allows the refill to work as a basic notebook. However, the elastic band closure is attached in a manner that interferes with comfortable writing and makes the right side quite lumpy as you work through to the back half of the book. If you can make do without the band, the elastic can easily be removed leaving behind only two tiny holes. With a Nostalgie or Club cover, that elastic band is unnecessary anyway.

Exacompta Nostalgie Journal

The refills have sewn signatures, so the pages will lie flat and not fall out. The 80g acid free, creamy Clairefontaine paper is very light-weight compared to most of my other journals. No feathering, true ink colors, and a smooth satin finish make the Forum Journal great with fountain pens.

However, mild to moderate show-through happened with every pen and ink I tested. Bleed-through was rare so for most writers, both sides should be useful though some folks will find only the right side will work. The refill alone is about 5/8″ thick. With a cover it would be even thicker. Since I find writing on the left side difficult in a book of this size,  single-sided writing worked well for me.

The advantage to that thickness is lots of paper. The blank and graph versions contain 200 sheets of 4 3/4″ x 6 3/4″ paper. There is an undated 365 page version, too.

Exacompta Forum Journal Ink Test

Exacompta Undated Forum Journal

The more I used this paper, the better I liked it. A larger size with more narrow line-spacing would be my preference but the smaller journals are more versatile. My fine and extra-fine fountain pens and inks absolutely loved the Exacompta Forum Journal. Bet yours will, too.

Cartolina Recycled Note Books

Last week I stopped by a charming gift and coffee shop, Marie et Cie, for a Café Americano and a stroll through the lovely gifts and household items. Amongst the stacks of candles, books, greeting cards, and journals, I found a journal I’d never seen before from a Canadian company called Cartolina Cards. Drawn to the lively cover art though expecting the usual mediocre paper, I picked one up for inspection.

Cartolina Note Book

On the back amongst other bits of information, I discovered that the 4 x 6″, 64 page, blank book is made from 100% recycled paper and printed with soy ink. The cover design was created by graphic designer and company founder Fiona Richards. Wow, is she talented! All four designs carried by Marie et Cie are fresh, colorful and a welcome change from the usual black covers most journals sport. An online search revealed nine designs to date. At $4 per single book or $12 for three, they are priced competitively.

The paper banner across the front is removable so all that remains is the word Notes. Actually I wish that was also removable since it looks like a small sticky note and detracts from the cover art. Placed at an angle and off-center might make it fit the design better but this is not a big quibble.

Cartolina Note Book Full Cover

Remember my expectation of “the usual mediocre paper”? Amazingly, the heavy paper is extremely fountain pen friendly. What a surprise! Not one of the first eight inks and pens I tested feathered or bled, not even a hint under magnification. There was a very tiny amount of feathering with a very wet Waterman 52V loaded with Waterman Blue Black ink but that pen feathers on lots of brands of paper. So that’s not an issue for me.

Cartolina Ink Test

The unlined paper does not have a super smooth surface like Clairefontaine but has more the texture of an Apica 6A10 though white like Rhodia. In a larger size, I would enjoy it for drawing. This is the first Canadian paper I’ve tried and I am duly impressed.

Unfortunately, the build quality isn’t exciting. The card stock cover is decent for card stock but not really durable. The cool white paper is attached with only two simple staples that you can see in the second image. The size is good for travel but the journal just isn’t sturdy enough for the abuse it would receive in my handbag. Besides I wouldn’t want to damage the cover art so this journal will remain safe on my home desk out of harm’s way. Actually I would do that with it anyway just to enjoy the beautiful cover art.

With some careful bending, the journal can be made to lay fairly flat but not nearly as flat as a Moleskine cahier. With my large writing, I might turn it sideways making a 6 x 8″ surface and write from top to bottom. Since there was virtually no show-through with my test inks, this option would suit me better.

The Cartolina Note Book has some market penetration in the U.S., Australia, England, and Canada. Plus there is at least one online source at greetQ and it is currently offering free shipping on orders of $30 or more. Or you could watch for them at small stores and gift shops in your neighborhood. You might get lucky like I did. Better yet, make your own luck and ask your favorite local paper shop to stock them. Inkophiles need paper, too.

More at StyleAtHome.com.

Turning your journal into a thing of beauty

Not thrilled with the plain cover of your journal? Think that cardboard binder is too flimsy? Here’s a little peak at a homemade improvement that tops any store bought cover by miles. You’ll have to click the link to Shanti Marie’s blog to see the whole story but it’s worth it. Frankly, I was gobsmacked and hope you will be, too.

From Shanti Marie

Field Notes Journals or Moleskine Cahiers

Field Notes was kind enough to send several journals for review. Lots of fountain users rate them superior to Moleskine cahiers but seeing is believing so this provided a great opportunity to see for myself what all the fuss was about.

Field Notes Journal

These babies come in a three-pack of graph, ruled, or plain paper or a mixed three-pack of one of each style. Each notebook has 48 pages of very white paper held together with three staples and bound in a stiff, brown paper cover. The overall dimensions are 3.5″ x 5.5″ with rounded corners. The lines match the cover color and add to the visual appeal. It’s all very utilitarian, made in the U.S.A., and costs $9.95 for a three-pack. All to the good for a stick in your pocket, take me anywhere, ready for anything journal.

Moleskine cahiers have cachet with their soft texture, cream-colored paper, and pale gray lines. Field Notes journals have a contemporary crispness with unique tan lines on bright white paper that enhances legibility. Moleskine’s plain brown binding offers nothing of interest save a pocket in the back. Field Notes has a printed form inside the front cover for details that are good for cataloguing as well as a place to offer “a handsome reward” should your journal take off on its own and need help returning. The inside back cover has a 5 inch printed ruler, details about the product, specs, and a long list of use suggestions. I especially liked the idea of using my journal for “shady transactions” or “escape routes”. Following “half-ass calculations” they suggest “crop predictions” which I read wrong the first time. Well, it is written in a rather small typeface. I decided the Field Notes people weren’t quite as cheeky as I had originally thought but still ought to be watched just in case.

Now for the pen to paper part of things. Gel pens, roller balls, pencils all work well. No surprise there.

However, Field Notes performance tops Moleskine when it comes to fountain pens. My tests were done on the grid versions of each brand. Field Notes showed minimal feathering and only enough to produce very mildly indistinct edges. Not offensive at all especially for the purpose. Moleskine showed enough feathering with most inks to be a distraction though less so with dry-writers.

Field Notes/Moleskine Cahier Comparison

Here is what I did not expect. Moleskine had no bleed-through and only occasionally the very mildest hint of show-through. As a test there is a little writing with J. Herbin Perle Noire behind the Moleskine title on the right. It is faint and unobtrusive which doesn’t matter since the feathering is beyond my tolerance level though it may be perfectly acceptable to some folks. Field Notes had modest show-through and a little bleed-through except with fine, dry-writers. So depending on pen and ink choice, even the back of a page may be useful with Field Notes.

So what does all this mean? If you use any writing instrument but a fountain pen, Field Notes will deliver a quality American made product that has tons of uses. For non-fountain pen writing Moleskine will do well, too. The slightly heavier Field Notes paper and cover may be more durable than Moleskine but that is beyond the scope of my testing.

However, if you are a fountain pen devotee, consider this: Field Notes journals have one very good writing surface while in most cases Moleskine cahiers have two disappointing ones. Thus Field Notes journals are actually useful – not just attractive. Wanna guess which one I’ll buy next time I need a thin, easy to carry journal?

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Note that Office Supply Geek bought a Moleskine Volant yesterday that worked well with Noodler’s Blue Black ink in a Pelikan M215 with a fine nib. The Volant is smaller than the Field Notes journal and tiny for my purposes but you might find a use for it.

More on Field Notes at Brassing Adds Character and Spiritual Evolution of the Bean.

Piccadilly Leatherlook Journal

Piccadilly, Inc. sent a second item for review, the Leatherlook Journal. There’s a lot to like especially for the price so let’s see what sets this journal apart from the competition.

Piccadilly Leatherlook Journal

The look is functional but classic with contrasting stitching for accent. The leather free cover feels good in the hand and seems to wear well. It isn’t stiff but bends slightly though not enough to prevent it being useful for lap writing. It is book bound with a satin page ribbon and has 200 pages, lined on the right and blank on the left. The paper is very heavy at 100 GSM and is wood free. The specs call it cream but the paper looks slightly green in good lighting. The pale gray lines are spaced 7mm apart which should work well for most writers. At $5.99 for the small and $7.99 for the medium size journal, the Leatherlook will fit most budgets.

So those are the specs but performance counts and this entry from Piccadilly actually surprised me. The paper bears a resemblance to the Apica 6A10 paper though not quite as absorbent. Most inks tested feathered but hardly enough to be of concern. The worst were  inks most likely to feather on any paper so while not ideal, it’s within acceptable limits.

Due to the weight of the paper, there is virtually no show-through except with the heaviest deposits of ink and no bleed-through except tiny dots again with very dark ink from rather wet nibs. This means that the blank pages are entirely useful. If you are so inclined, you can draw on one side and write text on the facing, lined side. This opens up a world of possibilities whether for diagrams, drawings, or anything you might attach to one side and write about on the other.

Take a look at the ink tests and note the nibs and pens used. For now I only have the pair of 1.1mm italics at the wider end of the scale and they performed well enough. I suspect a wet medium or broad nib might display the usual ills but I lack a proper test pen for that range. Certainly a dry-writing fine to extra-fine nib will do the job nicely and mediums likely will, too. The format, weight of the paper, and quality are strong selling points. This is one sample journal that won’t go to waste.

Piccadilly Leatherlook Journal Ink Test

Piccadilly Leatherlook Journal Closeup