These five notebooks may look similar, but there’s more to them than meets the eye.
We pulled out all the stops and let our data-loving researchers run wild to bring you the Ultimate
Black Notebook Comparison.
We’ll be comparing the Moleskine Classic Notebook in A5 to four other hardcover notebooks
around the same size: the Apica Premium C.D.
Hardcover, Blackwing Slate, Leuchtturm1917 Hardcover, and Rhodia Webnotebook.
Throughout the video, we’ll refer to each
notebook by its brand.
Stay till the end to find out which notebook is best for you.
Let’s get started!
Notebook Size All five notebooks are around A5 size, or
roughly 5.8 by 8.3 inches.
Blackwing, Rhodia, and Leuchtturm1917 notebooks are the closest to a true A5 size, while Moleskine
is slightly taller and narrower.
Apica is the widest and shortest.
Cover Style and Binding All five notebooks feature black covers that
mimic the texture of leather.
Moleskine and Leuchtturm1917 have a shiny finish and the other three are matte.
Apica, Blackwing, and Rhodia have their logos embossed on the front cover,
while the others are on the back cover.
All of the notebooks have an elastic band attached to the back cover that you can use to keep the notebook closed,
except for Apica, which has a separate elastic band.
The cover thicknesses vary: Apica, Leuchtturm1917, and Moleskine’s covers are 1 mm,
and the other two are 2 mm.
A thinner cover lays flush against the binding while a thicker cover rounds out like you
see here in the Rhodia.
Blackwing gets around this by exposing the binding, a unique design choice we haven’t seen much.
All of the notebooks lay pretty flat except for the Blackwing -- we had to manipulate it a bit more.
Sheet Style Here are the sheet styles each notebook offers:
Let’s start with the blank notebooks.
Apica is the brightest white and Rhodia is a true ivory.
Colored inks show up the best on white paper, but ivory’s vintage look is more gentle on the eyes.
For lined notebooks, Apica and Rhodia offer a 7 mm line width, which is similar to a college rule.
The others use 6 mm lines, which is excellent for smaller handwriting.
Next up: 5 mm graph paper.
Apica and Moleskine are darker than Leuchtturm1917.
We prefer lighter print, but others might need more contrast.
Lastly: dot grid.
Leuchtturm1917 has the smallest but darkest dots, while Rhodia has the lightest dots in a medium size.
Paper Characteristics Now let’s look at how heavy and smooth the papers are.
Blackwing has the heaviest paper weight at 100 grams per square meter (or gsm).
and Moleskine the lightest at 70 gsm.
But don’t forget that a higher paper weight doesn’t necessarily mean better quality paper.
All of the notebooks are smooth compared to regular notebook paper, so the table demonstrates
their smoothness relative to each other.
The Apica notebook features “A. Silky 865 Premium Paper”, which is the smoothest out
of these notebooks and has an almost slippery texture.
Blackwing and Rhodia closely follow with their ultra-smooth papers.
The Rhodia Webnotebook uses Rhodia’s renowned Premium R paper.
If you prefer paper with more texture, try Leuchtturm1917 or Moleskine.
Writing Experience All of the notebooks are a pleasure to write on;
which one you choose depends on your writing instrument and other preferences.
Apica’s luxuriously smooth paper works well with all pens if you enjoy frictionless writing.
Most pens dry surprisingly quickly on this paper, but fountain pen inks do take longer.
Apica paper has very mild showthrough.
Even though Blackwing paper is smooth, it offers some resistance, which is great for
pairing with their pencils.
Most pens write beautifully on this paper, but fountain pen users may struggle with feathering
and bleeding.
If you like your paper to have some grip as you write, Leuchtturm1917 is a great option.
Its mild tooth provides satisfying feedback and works with all writing instruments.
Pens dry quickly on this paper with mild showthrough, although inkier pens may bleed through the paper.
For another notebook with some tooth, try Moleskine.
Its texture is especially wonderful for pencils.
However, inky pens like fountain pens or thick markers might feather or bleed through.
Rhodia has our favorite Premium R paper to use with a fountain pen.
Fountain pens glide over the paper with just a hint of feedback, giving you great control.
Rhodia also has mild showthrough, but inky pens may bleed on it.
Extra Features Most of the notebooks come with these extra features:
A ribbon bookmark to keep your place in the notebook.
An index page that you can use to reference notable pages.
A back pocket to hold stickers, index tabs, slim sticky notes, and more.
And rounded corners.
Apica comes with a detachable elastic band, so you can position it however you like, or
not use it at all.
Blackwing comes with an elastic pencil loop installed at the spine and includes a Blackwing pencil.
Though the loop works best with a Blackwing pencil, you can also fit pens with diameters up to 12 mm.
Instead of an index page, Moleskine has a title page to write your name and contact
information, and even a line for a reward in case your notebook gets lost.
Leuchtturm1917 also has a title page plus 12 perforated sheets at the end for easy removal.
Stickers for labelling the spine and front cover are also included.
It is also the only one with numbered pages, a definite plus if you’d like to refer back
to older pages.
Number of Pages & Price Finally, let’s look at the number of pages and price.
Leuchtturm1917 has the most pages while Blackwing has the least.
Apica is a splurge at $34.50, but the other notebooks are comparable in price at around $20.
Now that we’ve compared all five notebooks, it’s time to answer the most important question:
which notebook should you get?
The silky-smooth Apica Premium C.D.
Hardcover Notebook is a great treat for others or yourself. It works well with all pens,
and the bright white paper shows off colored ink beautifully.
Blackwing pencil collectors should definitely add the Slate Notebook to their collection.
Its heavy-weight paper pairs perfectly with buttery smooth pencils.
Super-organized writers should try the Leuchtturm1917 Hardcover Notebook.
Its pagination, label stickers, and index pages make it easy to stay on top of the chaos.
The Moleskine Classic Notebook is a cult-favorite for a reason.
It works well with general writing instruments, which makes it a great everyday pick.
Just don’t try inky pens like fountain pens or markers on it!
Finally, if you’re a fountain pen user, you can’t go wrong with the Rhodia Webnotebook.
Its Premium R paper is the ideal surface for smooth, crisp writing, and the ivory pages
are easy on the eyes.
We hope this video helps you find the perfect little black notebook!
If you want to hone in on some of these charts and comparisons, check out the blog in the card above.
You can shop all of the notebooks at JetPens.com.
Thanks for watching!