The best notebooks

Notebooks are essential tools for writers, artists, students, and anyone who wants to keep track of their daily thoughts.
The best notebook for most people is the Miquelrius Flexible Handmade Leather Journal because of its durable, eco-friendly exterior that binds 300 sheets of high-quality extra opaque paper.

Paper is dead? Not quite. Chances are you already have a note-taking app on your smartphone or tablet, but despite this technological convenience, many people still prefer to keep a notebook handy for personal reflection and organization.

The ideal notebook should be durable enough to use over a long period of time and contain high-quality paper that won’t deteriorate in storage. The type of paper you choose should depend on your intended use for the notebook. Artists and those who prefer to write with fountain pens will want a notebook containing thick paper, with a high gram per square meter (gsm) count. Lighter paper is better for note-taking, as it tends to be smoother and allows you to write faster. We researched and tested both varieties to find the best of thick and thin.

Additional features like paper size, sheet style (ruled, dotted, graph or blank), and format are also important factors to consider before purchasing a notebook. We’ve rounded up the best of several different styles to help you find a notebook that will match your specific needs.

Here are the best notebooks:

The best overall

The Miquelrius Flexible Handmade Leather Journal is bound by bendable but tough recycled leather and packed thick with 300 sheets of smooth, wide-ruled paper.

The Miquelrius Flexible Handmade Leather Journal is handcrafted in Spain by a company that has been crafting stationery for 179 years. The lightweight, extra-opaque paper (70 gsm) is smooth to the touch and the margins are wider than some of its more popular competitors, like Moleskine.

Although the paper is thinner than other notebooks, the strong opacity allows you to write with any style of pen, without your words “ghosting” the back of the page. I prefer to use a felt-tip with this notebook because I think it complements the smoothness of the paper and makes it easier to write quickly.

The paper is bound by glue as opposed to the more traditional thread-stitching. This isn't always the most dependable method, but my notebook has survived for more than two years without the binding showing any signs of wear, and I take it with me everywhere I go.

The recycled leather has a coarse surface that is virtually impenetrable to scratches and scuff marks. But at the same time, the material is elastic, so the cover and binding fold in half with ease. This ensures the notebook will lay flat when opened to any page. And since the binding isn't stiff, you don't need to keep your writing hand grounded in order to keep the pages from turning unintentionally.

The Miquelrius Flexible Handmade Leather Journal comes in two different sizes: 6 by 8.2 inches and a smaller 4 by 5.75 inches. We recommend the larger option that uses an A5 sheet size. This format gives you just the right amount of space on the page, and anything larger would make the notebook bulky, given its hefty page-count.

This size comes in two sheet styles: lined and graph. Miquelrius notebooks are certainly not cheap, but they are good investments.

Note: This product ships internationally and may incur an extra shipping cost.

Pros: Durable leather cover, smooth pages, generous page count

Cons: Expensive

The best for traveling

Foto: Source: Rite in the Rain

The Rite in the Rain Weatherproof Hard Cover Notebook uses a special paper that repels water, sweat, grease, and mud.

Designed specifically for outdoor use, Rite in the Rain notebooks are the ideal travel companions for writers on the go. The notebook uses wood-based, recyclable paper protected by a patented coating that the company has been innovating for more than 100 years.

Rite in the Rain's 32-pound paper (120 gsm) also meets the standard for archival quality paper, ensuring your travel memories will endure through years of storage. The thread-stitched binding and glue are also designed to be weather resistant.

For its hardcovers, Rite in the Rain uses Fabrikoid, a unique type of imitation leather made from cotton cloth. The company's softcover notebooks have a more flexible paper-based cover. But for travelers, we suggest the hardcover option. Even if your itinerary is more city walking tour than rainforest excursion, it's always a good idea to have a little extra protection when you take a notebook to take on the road.

An important factor to consider, however, is the limitation on writing instruments that are compatible with the water-resistant paper. When the paper is wet, you are limited to writing with pencils, wax markers, crayons, or Rite in the Rain's specially-designed pens. When it's dry you can use permanent markers and ballpoint pens, but the paper will not work with gel pens, fountain pens, or highlighters. If you're traveling and lose your writing instrument, this can be frustrating.

Rite in the Rain's Weatherproof Hard Cover Notebook comes in several different field-specific sheet styles, but also the standard lined and grid formats. At 80 sheets, the notebook won't weigh you down, but it still provides enough paper to last your entire trip.

Pros: Designed to fight the elements, ideal size for travel

Cons: Water-resistant paper only works with certain writing instruments

The best for artists

Foto: Source: Global Art Materials

The Speedball Travelogue Watercolor Book has an elegant natural-linen binding and uses paper that works well with both paint and ink.

The Speedball Travelogue Watercolor Book uses cold-pressed paper, which is more textured than hot-pressed but smoother than rough watercolor paper. This makes the Travelogue Watercolor Book functional for its intended purpose, but also compatible with mixed media compositions and ink sketches

To get an idea of the thickness, the paper is 200 gsm, which is a common weight for Manila folders and index cards. And since all fine artists have an eye for visual aesthetics, this notebook gets a few extra points for its elegant natural-linen cover. The exterior is also quite durable and includes an elastic closure.

The Speedball Travelogue Watercolor Book is bound by a combination of glue and thread stitching.

The large landscape format seems to be the most popular among watercolor painters, but the notebook also comes in two portrait sizes, a square size, and a unique pocket panorama format. The notebook only contains 60 pages, but given the high-quality paper, it's still a value pick.

Note: This product was previously known as the Global Art Materials Travelogue Watercolor Book.

Pros: Meant for watercolor, but also works great with ink

Cons: It's only 60 pages

The best for note-taking

Foto: Source: Midori

The ultra-smooth texture and wide margins inside the Midori MD Notebook make note-taking fast and easy.

When it comes to note-taking, speed is the name of the game. Students and professionals who need to jot down information quickly will appreciate the fact that Midori's paper is made from broad-leaved trees instead of more common conifer trees, which gives an added smoothness.

The Japanese company takes a lot of pride in how they make paper (its website provides an in-depth look at the process) and after continuous use, I found that the paper is the main reason why the Midori MD Notebook is the best for note-taking.

A close second, however, is the margins. When I'm writing fast, my handwriting gets much larger, and the wide margins help reduce sloppy note-taking. It also has a unique bold centerline in the middle of each page, so you can divide the upper and lower sections and organize accordingly.

Midori notebooks are known for their clean, minimalist aesthetic. The exterior consists of a blank sheet of paraffin paper instead of a traditional cover. Although the coverless design is attractive, after a while, it will show signs of wear. This isn't a good notebook for extended use outside of the classroom or office space.

The thread-stitched binding, however, is quite durable. It's only covered by a strip of cheesecloth mesh tape, so you can crease the binding - just like you would a paperback novel. This feature also keeps your writing hand at a comfortable angle, allowing you to take notes over a period of time without cramping up.

I prefer the A5 sheet size. Midori offers this version in lined, gridded, and blank. It's also available in A4, A6, and a slimmer B4, but not all versions are easy to find in the United States. At 88 pages, the notebook is the perfect length to dedicate to a class or work project.

Pros: Smooth paper for writing fast, large margins, attractive minimalist design

Cons: It doesn't have a cover

The best notebook for lefties

Foto: Source: Lemome

The Lemome A5 Wide Ruled Hardcover Writing Notebook is ideal for left-handed writers because of its extra-thick paper that dries quickly and prevents smudging.

Lefties living in the right-handed world know the struggle of finding products that accommodate our unique predicament. Especially when it comes to writing, we seek out pens that don't bleed, steer clear of wire-bound notebooks, and loathe having to constantly wash the ink off the side of our hands. But these inconveniences can be avoided by using a notebook like the Lemome A5 Wide Ruled Hardcover Writing Notebook, which boasts thick, 125-gsm paper that dries fast and prevents smudging.

The faux leather exterior guards the front and back cover of the notebook, but not the thread-stitched binding. Lefties will enjoy this unique feature because it adds protection without reducing the flexibility of the notebook. That means the front cover won't rise up against your hand while you're trying to write - a constant nuisance for lefties who prefer hardcover notebooks. This does leave the binding less protected than other notebooks, however, reducing the overall durability.

The one sacrifice lefties have to make when opting for thick paper is smoothness. The 125-gsm paper is admittedly coarse and it's hard to write quickly on it, which can be frustrating at times. But an added plus, there's virtually no bleed or ghosting, even with wet ink.

The notebook contains 90 sheets, and as a hardcover, the price is very reasonable. It comes in the standard blank, dot, grid, and ruled sheet styles, with an A5 paper size. It also has an elastic closure and an elastic pen holder on the outside of the binding.

Pros: Paper dries quickly, the firm binding lays the notebook flat

Cons: Paper thickness makes it less smooth, binding not as durable

Check out our other great buying guides

Foto: Source: Moleskin