What will you do when you get your million dollar business idea stuck in traffic some random day? Sure, the knee-jerk answer might be to call your best friend to bounce it off them or jot it down in the notes app on your phone, but just like it goes with finding the best EDC flashlight, phones are fallible devices not always the best for crucial tasks or precious cargo. Kick it back to the old school style by finding the perfect pocket notebook on hand to record your inner monologue’s absolute highlight reel.
Of course, when it comes to buying the best pocket notebook online, not any stapled mass of loose paper will do. You’ll want something durable, but also that suits your style–both in terms of your pocket notebook’s aesthetic appearance but also your clothes. For example, if you’re into skinny jeans you’ll need an option that values compactness just to make sure it fts. As a blank slate for your mind to express itself, the style also means your pocket notebook should suit your thinking style.
The general term “pocket notebook” denotes an entire array of sizes, with widths ranging from two five inches.
Whether you pick up a new pocket notebook for practical or poetic purposes, we’ve lined up the best options to help you buy the perfect pocket notebook online today.
What to Look for In a Pocket Notebook
Size
The general term “pocket notebook” denotes an entire array of sizes, with widths ranging from two five inches. While a larger notebook does offer more space to write in, make sure your new tool can fit with your clothing in the first place. Consider, as well, how many pages of paper each option contains, compared with how much you intend to utilize your new notebook.
Cover material
These items come with a full spectrum of covers, perhaps their crowning feature. The largest distinction comes down to one question: hard cover or soft cover? From there, further specificities arise–with options like elegant leather, durable plastic, compostable recycle and even sumptuous goatskin. Design brings further specialization into the mix.
Binding
This one sometimes slips under the radar, but minding makes all the difference in any book. Most functionally, consider whether you’d like your pocket notebook bound along the top for super official flipping or along the side for a more traditional feel. Interested in delving a little deeper? Notebooks are typically either spiral bound (which is cheaper) or perfect bound, a sleek option that gives your new gear a clean, minimalist appearance. Last but not least, consider the closure style, if you’d like one. These can include magnets and buckles, but are usually simple elastic bands.
Paper Style
Most obviously, the factor concerns the weight and texture of paper your pocket notebook contains, which should suit your personal sensibilities. However, line style really makes all the difference when it comes to this tool. Notebook paper typically comes either blank (best for doodling), ruled (best for writing), or in a dotted grid (best for bullet journalers and other Type A individuals). Pick whichever best complements your thinking style, rest assured it’ll make a world of experiential difference.
Additional Features
While a pocket notebook might seem like a totally forthright, uncomplicated concept, the above factors combine with the infinite possibilities for additional features to create an online marketplace where the perfect pocket notebook comes practically tailored to your precise needs. Built in pocket? That’s out there! Perforated pages? Those too! Scroll down to Rite in the Rain’s option to see a real swiss army knife–their pocket notebook comes with a full page of useful information like rulers, conversion charts, and map scales that you’ll be happy to have on you out in the field, wherever that may be.
The Best Pocket Notebooks to Explore Today
Best All Around: Rhodia Unlimited Notebook
Before we get into all the varied options out there, let’s present the best pick of the bunch. Rhodia is a relatively underground, independent name in the notebook market with only a few authorized retailers. Their impressively compact pocket notebook measures in at only 3.5 x 5 inches, with rounded corners “preventing them from catching on your clothes and other belongings.” Equipped with an astoundingly affordable $10 price tag and 60 ruled, perfect bound pages, Rhodia hits all the marks for developing perhaps the best pocket notebook at an incredibly accessible rate.
Most Sleek: Classic Reporter Notebook by Moleskine
Time and again, notebook aficionados extoll the virtues of Moleskine, the single most ubiquitous (and sexy name) in the marketplace. I can personally attest to the standalone beauty of Moleskine’s simple, utilitarian products, built from rich leather and even richer paper that ballpoint pens glide over. Moleskine makes a full line of pocket notebooks, but their Reporter offering ranks the most aesthetically striking of the bunch, with an interesting perfect bound top edge that gives a dramatic flip, with elastic band at the bottom. The last 24 pages of this apparatus are detachable for amped up tearing game too, to give your notetaking a powerful air of finality.
For the Roadies: Wanderer Mini Jotter by Ruff House Print Shop
Best for travelers chasing wanderlust, Kansas-based Ruff House Print Shop offers a rich collection of classic pocket notebooks with imaginative (and trendy!) unique designs. Not only does your purchase support another creative soul by patronizing the work of an independent creative business, it also suits the needs of a daydreamer like a snug seat belt on the road. Bound with five simple, brushed brass spirals, this tiny 3 x 4 inch notebook comes stocked with 65 blank pages with ample open space for brainstorming and doodling.
High Fashion: Wafer Notebook by Smythson
Looking for something a little more high fashion to appear extra sleek in case of impromptu business meetings, job interviews, legal appointments and more? British stationary and notebook craftsmen Smythson ship their esteemed sensibilities all over the world from their home base on London’s Bond Street. Of all the company’s offerings, the wafer notebook proves the most compact, with this strength built into its very name. Crafted from flexible and classy crossgrain leather, you can purchase this notebook in a range of nine colors for the rather exorbitant sum of $59.
For the Outdoorsman: Scully Pocket Notebook by Tractor Supply Co
Honestly this genuine leather bound from Tractor Supply Chain looks way too unique to even pass up. At a slightly lengthier 3 x 6 inches, their pocket notebook gives a little more room to write on its expansive blank pages. Firm stitching around the edges promises you years of durability on this exceptional pocket notebook replete with majestic horses on its exterior design to immediately show the world you’re a real outdoorsman with a taste for the burly Wild West.
Best Planner: Pocket Journal 2021 Datebook by West Elm
For those expressly seeking a pocket notebook for planner purposes, West Elm makes an excellent ruled option with sufficiently sized entry spaces for your entire year. Because planners host an uncanny ability to become extensions of their own, style matters. This one comes in four colorways of consistently lavish pebbled goatskin on the exterior, embossed in homage to whatever year you’re taking on. 6 inches in length, West Elm’s option makes for a slightly larger planner requiring a slightly larger $75 investment. However, when you notice how indispensable this tool will immediately grow, you’ll be grateful you poured funds in on the front end.
For EDC: Rite in the Rain Top Spiral Notebook
Priced at just $3.99, Rite in the Rain makes an unparalleled pocket notebook that stuns straight out the gate, but there’s so much more in store. Still stacked with those coveted additional features, this company manufactures easily the most durable paper products available for purchase online today. Their product description states that the signature Polydura cover of their top spiral notebook is “tough enough to survive rain, sweat, mud, and anything else life-on-the-farm digs up.” What’s more, “Impact-resistant Wire-O doesn’t get bent out of shape when tossed around in packs or your pocket.” Their smallest size measures at the convenient dimensions of 3 x 5 inches, but Rite in Rain offers a few larger options for those with more space. Across the spectrum, their notebooks promise to stick it out with you through rainstorms and coffee stains alike.
Gridded: Small Notebook by Filson
From hunting and fishing to home and dog (and everything in between!) Filson makes some of the most elegant products out their for every active human engaged with a rugged life and in search of adventure. The company pairs this brawny approach with a healthy dose of universal utility. Their portable notepad comes packed with 80 dotted, gridded pages that are also perforated so they can be detached, offering maximum practicality. Measuring at 5 x 4 inches with a flexible cover and elastic closure, take this American-made gear on the go and map out your game plan between every engagement.
Utilitarian: Notebook Mini A7 by LEUCHTTURM1917
Another zeitgeist name on the notebook market, German company LEUCHTTURM1917 has applied their country’s no-nonsense knowhow to capitalize on the notebook’s straightforward beauty, all clean lines with dignity and a regal air of importance. Their pocket notebook in particular packs a powerful punch, with a staggering density of 169 ruled pages with built in ribbon notebook and elastic closure. Of course, true to form, this notebook only comes in an unadorned black, but the stylistic simplicity comes with an added benefit–the low price of $10.95, proving that form and function are still possible on a pocket-sized budget.
