The Best Pens for Moleskine Notebooks

[@curlyjen1507]

In our school we were initially only allowed to write with pencils. We were only allowed to write with fountain pens when we had a nice handwriting. That was a big motivation in the 1st grade.

[@illicitkris]

These vids are so amazing man! As a college kid who writes daily it’s really nice to have a channel that talks about pens. You should 100% make a vid about the best pens for a student! Keep up the awesome stuff my guy!

[@beanie0026]

Love these videos. I will always have a soft spot for Moleskine because they we were the first premium notebook I used and kind of got me in the hobby. I don't use it as much but I still have some.

[@Ali-in8xi]

For me as well, with the denim covers and some of their limited editions being my favorite. However, with having tried Rhodia, Clairfontaine, Mnemosyne, and even to a certain degree Leuchtturm paper, Moleskine just doesn't compare.

[@girlgonewild439]

Used Moleskine a lot before I felt in love with Leuchtturm. But now could‘t resist to buy the Moleskine extendent. Sooo many pages! 😍

[@subtropicalsteph]

I

[@csikomas8910]

Thank you for breaking this down. :) Its a lot better than my sort of subliminally picking this up on my own over a long time but never being able to articulate. 100s of pens. I know, its so true. What's great about the Moleskines is the availability, the covers, the sizes, there is something for everyone however, the paper is quite fussy. I guess if we all used pencils.

[@jrli5952]

I don’t even own a moleskin notebook I just come here for the pens lol One day I will have all these pens!

[@shvmichael]

this is so cool. I never would have thought it made such a difference. good analysis.

[@Ali-in8xi]

I find Moleskine paper horrible. The shadowing and the feel of the text tracks (caused by the tip of pens) on the opposite side of the sheet makes this paper the worst I've ever tried. If you must use this paper, use fineliners or felt tip pens. They work best. Thanks for the video!

[@Ali-in8xi]

Thank you for your comment. I agree; ballpoints can be used with Moleskine paper; however, they produce track marks which are clearly felt on the opposite side of the sheet. Doesn't matter if you're using an extra fine or a 1.0 mm ballpoint tip; you still feel track marks. If anyone's like me and hates the feel of the pen tracks, get yourself some felt tip pens. I've used the following felt pen in several of my Moleskine notebooks: Staedtler fineliners and pigment liners, Stabilo 88s, Papermate Flairs, Uni Pin Pens, Sakura Pigma Microns, BIC and Sharpie fineliners; none of them produce tracking. You can use any felt tip size, from .05 to 1.2 mm, no track marks. I hold firm on this... felt tip pens are the best writing instruments for use on Moleskine paper.

[@arapaimagold8088]

Apica is the best, slick like woman skin that spent $50k per year for skin care. And almost no writing tools able to ghost through the papers.

[@Artegentx]

It's simple for for the moleskine logbook it has thicker pages

[@DiyDMMakesThings]

So what I'm taking from this is that moleskine notebooks are overpriced and with low quality paper... for $30 +/- for a note book or journal I expect much more out of the paper. Very informative video. I'm glad I didn't waste my money.

[@ricker76er]

That’s been my experience. They are absolutely trash for fountain pens as well.

[@PJ-jz5fm]

My ultimate pen is the Platinum Preppy fountain pen, Fine or Extra Fine with Noodler's water proof black ink.. The combination does not bleed through or spider line. The Preppy is around $5 and is remarkable value, the nib also writes perfectly when reversed.

[@fjs6819]

Thank you for an interesting review. I recently bought some of these notebooks in a very small size - 140 x 90 from memory in a dotted pattern, each with a free moleskine pen. They were all ballpoints, with very short refills. They have a rectangular cross-section, covered in an art deco geometric pattern, the idea being that they would be held by the rubber band attached to the cover. So much for the manufacturer choosing a suitable writing tool. I have some Lamy rollerballls I may use in the first instance. Comments appreciated.

[@icecreamgecko]

Thanks for this video! After using up various cheap biros on my food diary during the last few years I finally got back to my Lamy Al-star fountain pen, only to find out that the black Lamy ink does not work well with Moleskine at all. Luckily, the current cartridge will be used up soon and the smearing will finally have an end.

[@loumacuser]

When I first started using Moleskine notes books I actually purchased a moleskine pen. It felt good in hand due to its rectangular body and the clip allowed for easy attachment to the notebook.

[@williammbaker]

You should try the Zebra Sarasa Dry .4 . I love these pens. The .4 is perfect for me, and I use a Star Wars Moleskine for work bullet journaling. But I do agree that Moleskine’s paper quality is sub-par as far as premiums go.

[@DarkStarM]

I am a bit late to this party but for me the Pilot Acroball 1.0 mm ballpoint (better than the 0.7/0.5 uni jetstream/pilot acroball) and Zebra Sarasa clip 0.5 gel pens work well with the Moleskine paper. I actually like the feeling of writing in these notebooks, but do not use them if you want to use highlighters or markers.

[@Charlotte-sq8cq]

Pilot G2 05 and Zebra Sarasa 04 and 05 works beautifully even on the worst Moleskine note books.

[@SilverSeaOT7]

I haven’t had a Classic Moleskine in years. But I have been using the Cahier notebooks in my traveler’s notebook for over a year and love them. So, I ordered the Moleskine 12 month Monthly Planner for next year and the paper is super thin. It looks much thinner than your Classic even though on their site it states the paper in both is 70gsm.

[@jeremylince9307]

Great info. Never used a Moleskin but I recently bought a Leuchtturm 2020 planner. Would this carry over to their product lines as well or is it a different paper?

[@Artegentx]

The pilot's G-Tec-C series from .25 to 0.4 are guaranteed to work with any problem, I went through a similar endeavor looking for the perfect 🖊️ I tried the thinnest fountain pen but this pages are too thin. The pilot rolls over like a charm

[@ramsesantonioescobedopro5835]

What about the Pilot G2 0.7? Would you recommend that? It's a nice gel pen and I've seen it usted in Leuchtturms.

[@unsharpen]

I don't like this pen with the light paper of the moleskine, as it tends to show through on the other side (but I do like this pen on heavier paper)

[@DEBrown1971]

I wish he had 2 sets of recommendations (one for ball point users and one for gel pens). I don't like gel pens for preserving writing since they smear and writing disappears when water hits the writing (like coffee). I went back to ball point pens for important papers

[@gnostie]

I enjoyed this video very much, but I think Moleskine quality is no longer high, so my solution to the pen problem was to drop Moleskine and buy better quality notebooks.

[@unsharpen]

Yeah, fair point, but Moleskine's do remain very popular, plus I get 1-2 a year at events/gifts, etc

[@tomnelson8515]

Moleskine just does not seem worth the price. Those Walmart journals seem to have heavier and better quality paper and cost less than 1/2 the price.

[@beanie0026]

Exceed note books are good and cheap .

[@DEBrown1971]

I assume those journals are also acid free and archival quality, right?

[@-----REDACTED-----]

DEBrown1971 that’s neither especially difficult nor especially expensive. Most paper produced nowadays is acid and lignin free and thus at least permanent, if not already archival. For the price Moleskine wants for their books they really should have walked the whole mile and made the paper quality actually good enough to handle all kinds of inks. The way they are now they still massively skimp on paper quality...it is just cheaply made with an extortionate premium for a name that just cannot command that premium if one knows even the littlest bit about paper permanence. Besides, as long as Moleskine does not officially certify their paper adherent to permanent or archival standards such as ISO 9706, ANSI Z39.48-1992, or especially ISO 11108 the claim “archival” paper is mostly a mere buzzword to pull in gullible buyers.

[@GeneHouse]

Moleskine's soft notebook construction is sublime!!! Paper is excellent for ballpoint, but crap for all fountain pens. I use a uni jetstream in 0.5. For my fountain pen needs I simply use Tomoegawa.

[@unsharpen]

Totally agree!

[@typepals]

New subscriber. Awesome video. Two of my favorite things: Moleskine notebooks and pens, especially ballpoint. I am getting into fountain pens, but Moleskines are not a good pairing for them. My Pilot Metropolitan has too much feedback on them. My favorite ballpoint pen, a Parker IM loaded with gel ink, works beautifully, however.

[@koskey06]

Extra bold bic cristal is what I use in mine. In my super small moleskin I use a bic round stick medium. So smooth, no worrie of leaking in pocket, CHEAP CHEAP CHEAP! the super small moleskin with perph pages I carry in my pocket with a blue bic round m that I cut down to a small pocket pen

[@tbayless8324]

Bic BOLD anyday. Some hate them. I love them.

[@tcconnection]

Is there an update with this with pens currently on the market? Ordered a Moleskine pocket monthly, thanks.

[@jmsjms296]

Edding 1800 0.7 mm black: the best.

[@phottomatt4202]

I've noticed that the Schmidt easyflow 9000 ink stops flowing when writing in my Moleskine notebooks. I have the small dot page notebook and their field notes and every time I write in them my ink stops.

[@staceywmccoy]

Using moleskine for years... 0.9mm pencil... always...

[@williamneal9076]

Pilot Super Petit Marker - Fine Point - Black

[@liselottefrejdig1112]

Have you tried Pilot G2 0.5 mm?? For me, it's the best choice. Gel ink, not bleeding through the paper.

[@unsharpen]

Sure, used that pen many times. It's very good, I just prefer a little wider (probably because I'm a lefty)

[@liselottefrejdig1112]

Oki. Have you did the same test with Nuuna’s notebooks too?

[@joaov.m.oliveira9903]

Brazilian folks out there, duas marcas de cadernos bem melhores e mais baratas do que esta são: "Mar Cadernos", e os "Tilibra" da linha Cambridge.

[@ebodaman]

pencil works well

[@alishaalexander3580]

The Lamy fountain pen does ok on a dotted page on Moleskine. I guess it depends on what and how one writes.

[@SchnassPit]

My choice is a pencil, 0,7mm 2B.

[@loumacuser]

Oleskin Volant paper seems better relative to the classic notebook series.

[@johnduff3914]

10:35 I do that with my fork when I eat. Sometimes it flicks up & hits my eye.

[@MrAtlantis95]

I am a little bit surprised. When you test specific 'Archival' quality paper you must test the inkt on their archival quality. I used for a long time the Uni-Ball Signio DX 0.38 which is not water resistant. I moved to a Uni-Ball Jetstream pen with a Jetstream 0.7 refill which is quite nice which shows a little bit smuch after wiping lots of water over it. I think this aspect should be included in the test. What some viewers will not know is that several pens are using the same type of refill.

[@-----REDACTED-----]

Oh Moleskine is cheap, as in cheaply made. “Archival paper” is neither especially difficult to produce nor especially expensive to buy. Most paper produced nowadays is acid and lignin free and thus at least permanent, if not already archival. For the price Moleskine wants for their books they really should have walked the whole mile and made the paper quality actually good enough to handle all kinds of pens and inks rather than behaving like the cheapass paper it is. The way they are now they massively skimp on paper quality...Moleskine is just cheaply made with an extortionate premium for a name that just cannot command that premium if one knows even the littlest bit about paper quality and permanence. Besides, the way I see it as long as Moleskine does not officially certify their paper adherent to permanent or archival standards such as ISO 9706, ANSI Z39.48-1992, or especially ISO 11108 the claim “archival” paper is mostly a mere buzzword to pull in gullible buyers. Might as well go for Leuchtturm, they are only what, 1 or 2 euros more expensive, but provide a lot better paper quality... Or go with Rhodia, Clairfontaine, Notebooks using Tomoe River paper, etc. All infinitely better than Moleskine and actually worth their money in comparison to Moleskine...

[@unsharpen]

This is all true and very good information! The fact remains, Moleskine is very popular and people need to deal with that no-so-great paper!

[@Katzenkotze85]

...i try to imagine what 70 pound per square meter paper would look like... probably a cube of paper.... 🙃

[@kurta60000]

What about felt tip pens? Are they not good for writing with.

[@unsharpen]

They are good but they tend to bleed through moleskine

[@kurta60000]

@@unsharpen Oh okay got it. I just recently bought a moleskin and am on the hunt for a good pen. Most of the pens you showcased I own/used but they just feel funny in the hand. I wish you could buy one at a time only haha instead of a two or four pack. There piling up lol.

[@davidgarciag5627]

Pilot G2 Better option.

[@25hztolife86]

I would like to have seen how the Pilot Better pen would do.

[@MrJonathanwant1972]

I just get the plain notebooks

[@victoriaf1619]

What's your opinion on the Moleskine pens?

[@unsharpen]

They are fine. Nothing extraordinary. I've used their gel pens a bit. Mostly it's a branding play to me, not a company that takes pens too seriously

[@jacobs9762]

Becoss

[@unsharpen]

Ha yea. Can’t help it