Two notebooks

Here, we have two notebooks that look materially the same. They are both black. Their covers are made of thin, rigid cardboard. They are both bound by some sort of patina-enabled pleather. They close with an elastic band. Their pages are the sort of vague cream coloring that implies aristocracy, gravitas. They each have a cloth strap. Their outer corners are rounded.

One is by Moleskine, is 240 pages, and costs $23. The other is by Leuchtturm, is 250 pages, and costs $16.50.

The differences are minor. Moleskine’s pages lay flatter, since they are bound in more signatures. Leuchtturm’s pages are generally more pleasurable to write on, and they can take fountain pen & marker ink much more easily without causing bleed. Leuchtturm also has two ribbons; Moleskine has one.

Paper quality usually wins over most other considerations, which is 95% of why Rhodia notebooks remain a thing. So Leuchtturm is clearly the better notebook, and the better value, with better paper, more pages, and generally identical parameters – for 25% less than a Moleskine, at retail.