Moleskine Classic Notebook: The Hard Cover Notebook Worth Buying

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Some objects become so familiar that it is easy to forget they were designed. The Moleskine Classic Notebook is one of them: a black rectangle with rounded corners, an elastic band and a ribbon marker. It sits on desks in studios, offices and classrooms, and it has outlasted dozens of rivals that tried to copy it. Here is what you actually get and how to choose the right one.

What the Moleskine Classic Notebook is

The Milan company revived the idea of the simple black notebook in 1997, drawing on the plain oilcloth notebooks once sold by small stationers in Paris. Today the Classic Notebook hard cover is the core of the range. The large version measures 13 by 21 centimetres, has 240 pages of ivory acid free paper, rounded corners, an elastic closure, a ribbon bookmark and an expandable pocket inside the back cover.

Those details are the reason it works. The elastic keeps loose pages and receipts in place in a bag. The pocket holds tickets, business cards or a folded sketch. The ribbon means you open straight to the current page. None of it is complicated, which is exactly the point.

Moleskine sizes and page styles

The Classic comes in several sizes. Pocket is about the size of a passport and suits quick notes and lists. Large is the most common and the best all rounder for meetings, journaling and planning. XL gives you room for diagrams and mind maps but is harder to carry. Within each size you can choose ruled, plain, squared or dotted pages.

• Ruled suits writing and journaling.
• Dotted is the flexible choice for bullet journals, sketches and layouts, because the grid is there but barely visible.
• Plain is best for drawing or for anyone who dislikes lines.
• Squared helps with tables, technical sketches and quick floor plans.

Hard cover or soft cover is another decision. The hard cover gives you a writing surface when you have no table, which is why many people prefer it for travel and fieldwork. The soft cover is lighter and flexes in a back pocket.

Paper quality and which pens work

Moleskine paper is smooth and pleasant with ballpoints, pencils and fine gel pens. It is lighter than some specialist notebooks, so wet fountain pen inks and broad markers can show through or bleed. If you write with a fine nib and quick drying ink, it is fine for most people. If you use heavy markers or watercolour, Moleskine sells dedicated art notebooks with heavier paper, and those are a better fit.

A sharp pencil may be the most satisfying match of all. Graphite glides on the ivory page and smudges less than you would expect on the slightly coated surface.

Who the Classic Notebook suits

The Classic suits people who want one reliable notebook they can buy anywhere and replace without thinking. Writers, students, designers and musicians use it for the same reason: it gets out of the way. Many songwriters keep lyric drafts and chord ideas in one, the way you might jot notes while listening to Away or False Awakening late at night. Filling a run of identical black notebooks also creates a tidy archive on a shelf, which is part of the appeal.

It is less suited to anyone who needs heavy paper for ink washes, or who wants lay flat binding for scanning pages. The Classic opens well, but it is a sewn notebook with a stiff cover rather than a spiral bound pad.

Getting the most from it

Number your pages and keep an index on the first spread so you can find ideas later. Use the back pocket for loose paper you plan to tape in. Write the start and end dates on the spine when a notebook is full. Small habits like these turn a plain notebook into a record of a year, much as a long album such as Ladderdown rewards a full listen rather than skipping around.

Where to buy

Other sizes, rulings and cover colours are listed on the Moleskine site.

For more desk tools, pens and everyday objects, explore the desk and EDC hub.