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I just bought my first Moleskine notebook. They’re marketed as high quality notebooks with a legacy, stating that famous persons such as Van Gogh and Ernest Hemingway used them.

The truth of it is that they really did use them but the brand later (almost) died out to resurface in 1998 when a small Milanese publisher brought it back. Today it’s a very widespread product known for it’s quality and used by many authors etc.

Made with bound cardboard covers including an index ribbon aswell as a elastic band to hold it closed. The pages are acid-free and archival quality, they’re thin but hold up well when used with a fountain pen. I’ve seen some feathering issues with my Swisher ink. But nothing troublesome. I will try with Pelikan or Lamy ink next and see if they work better.
Moleskine have a range of books in several sizes with both plain, ruled and squared pages. There is also special models aimed at artists who use watercolors etc.
Even though the moleskine books are nice, the ultimate notebooks must be the ones offered by Renaissance Art. Hand made leatherbound books made the same way that they were made several hundred years ago.

There is also a possible combination option, Renaissance Art also make wrapping covers for the moleskine notebooks. Prices range from $20 to $39. Personally I’ll stick with plain Moleskine for a while, however a book cover from Renaissance is very tempting (I like to be careful with my books, even the paperback ones).