Notebooks & Journals
Are Field Notes Worth It? The Paper Is the Reason, Not the Cover
Three small kraft memo books for the price of one proper notebook. Here is the one specification that justifies it, the two that do not, and the buyer who should ignore the format entirely.
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The short version
Worth it if you actually carry a notebook in a pocket, and the reason is the paper weight. Field Notes publishes 60 lb / 90 gsm acid-free stock in a 3.5 by 5.5 inch memo book, which is the same weight class as this site's top full-size recommendation in a book a fraction of the size. Pocket notebooks are normally where paper quality goes to die, because nobody expects to check.
Skip it if you want one book that lasts a year. This is a consumable sold three at a time - 48 pages each - and somebody expecting a single durable journal will find it slight. Skip it if you need a dot grid, because this pack is ruled only.
Every published specification
| Specification | Published figure | What it buys you |
|---|---|---|
| Paper weight | 60 lb (90 gsm) Finch Opaque, acid free | The entire argument. No other pocket notebook here states a weight at all |
| Size | 3.5" x 5.5" | Fits a back pocket and a jacket pocket, which is the only reason the format exists |
| Pages | 48 per book, ruled | A few weeks of capture. 144 pages across the pack |
| Quantity | 3 books | Matches how the format is actually used - filled and replaced |
| Ruling | Ruled only in this pack | No dot grid option here, which rules out bullet journaling |
| Printing | Soy-based ink | A materials claim rather than a performance one |
| Binding | Saddle-stitched | Two staples through the spine. Cheap, thin, and it will not lie flat when new |
Quick picks
Ranked for the person doing the buying. Every pick names who it is wrong for.
| # | Product | Best for | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Field Notes Original Kraft 3-Pack, Ruled Three 48-page memo books on 90 gsm acid-free stock - the only pocket notebook here that states a paper weight at all. | A pocket book that publishes its paper | $12.95 - View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
| 2 |  Moleskine Volant Journal, Pocket, Ruled, Set of 2 Two soft-cover pocket notebooks at the same 3.5 by 5.5 inch footprint, ruled, from the brand everybody knows by sight. | The recognizable pocket option | $8.88 - View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
| 3 |  Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover The notebook everyone knows by sight, on 70 gsm paper that is lighter than its main rival and honest about it. | The recognizable one | $17.35 - View on Amazon #ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded |
1. A pocket book that publishes its paper
Field Notes Original Kraft 3-Pack, Ruled
Three 48-page memo books on 90 gsm acid-free stock - the only pocket notebook here that states a paper weight at all.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
Ninety gsm in a pocket notebook is genuinely unusual and it is the entire reason this is the first pick. Pocket books are normally where paper quality goes to die - thin stock, because nobody expects to check. This one publishes the same weight class as the site's top full-size recommendation.
Forty-eight pages per book sounds slight and is the correct size for the format. A pocket notebook is a capture device; it gets filled in a few weeks and replaced, which is why they are sold in threes.
Acid-free matters more here than the page count. These are the notes you transcribe later, and a saddle-stitched book that yellows in a drawer defeats the purpose of having captured anything.
| Paper weight | 60 lb (90 gsm) Finch Opaque, acid freeThe same weight class as the Rhodia Webnotebook, in a book a fraction of the size.Source: Amazon listing - Field Notes Original Kraft 3-Pack |
|---|---|
| Size | 3.5" x 5.5"Source: Amazon listing - Field Notes Original Kraft 3-Pack |
| Pages | 48 per book, ruledThree books in the pack, so 144 pages in total.Source: Amazon listing - Field Notes Original Kraft 3-Pack |
| Printing | Soy-based inkSource: Amazon listing - Field Notes Original Kraft 3-Pack |
What it does well
- 90 gsm published, which no other pocket notebook in this comparison states.
- Acid-free, so a filled book survives being kept.
- Three to a pack, which matches how the format is actually used.
What it does not
- 48 pages goes fast if you write more than a few lines a day.
- Ruled only in this pack - no dot grid option here.
- Saddle-stitched rather than bound, so it will not lie flat when new.
Skip this: if what you want is one book that lasts a year. This is a consumable bought three at a time, and somebody expecting a single durable journal will find it slight. Buy an A5 hardcover instead - see notebooks for writers.
2. The recognizable pocket option
Moleskine Volant Journal, Pocket, Ruled, Set of 2
Two soft-cover pocket notebooks at the same 3.5 by 5.5 inch footprint, ruled, from the brand everybody knows by sight.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
Same footprint as the Field Notes pack and a different proposition. This is the recognizable one, and for a gift that is worth something concrete - the recipient knows what it is before they open it.
The unstated paper weight is the real trade. Moleskine publishes 70 gsm on its Classic hardcovers and nothing at all here, which means the one specification that would let you compare the two packs directly is missing on this side.
Two books rather than three, in bright soft covers rather than kraft card. That makes it more of an object and less of a supply - a reasonable trade in a gift, a poor one for somebody who fills a pocket book a fortnight.
| Size | 3.5" x 5.5", pocketSource: Amazon listing - Moleskine Volant Journal, Soft Cover, Pocket, Ruled, Set of 2 |
|---|---|
| Quantity | Set of 2Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Volant Journal, Soft Cover, Pocket, Ruled, Set of 2 |
| Cover | Soft cover, coral orange and aqua blueSource: Amazon listing - Moleskine Volant Journal, Soft Cover, Pocket, Ruled, Set of 2 |
| Ruling and pages | Ruled, 80 pagesThe listing does not say whether the 80 pages are per notebook or across the pair.Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Volant Journal, Soft Cover, Pocket, Ruled, Set of 2 |
| Paper weight | Not publishedNot stated on this listing. Moleskine publishes 70 gsm for the Classic hardcover line but says nothing here, so treat it as unknown rather than assuming. |
What it does well
- Instantly recognizable, which does real work in a gift.
- Soft covers bend with a back pocket instead of fighting it.
- Ruled pages suit quick notes and lists.
What it does not
- No published paper weight, so a pen user is buying blind.
- Two to a pack rather than three.
- Bright colored covers are a style choice not every recipient wants.
Skip this: if the recipient uses a fountain pen. Without a published weight this is a coin toss, and the Field Notes pack states 90 gsm - see what gsm means.
3. The recognizable one
Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover
The notebook everyone knows by sight, on 70 gsm paper that is lighter than its main rival and honest about it.
#ad Price as of October 18, 2026. How this is funded
70 gsm versus 80 is the entire technical argument between this and the Leuchtturm1917, and it is a real one: lighter paper shows more of what is on the reverse. Whether that matters depends entirely on what the recipient writes with.
What Moleskine has that its rival does not is recognition. For a gift that is worth something concrete - the recipient knows what it is before they open the card.
No page numbers and no contents page. For freeform notes that is irrelevant; for an indexed journal it is 240 numbers to write by hand.
| Paper weight | 70 gsmMoleskine publishes this, and it is 10 gsm under the Leuchtturm1917.Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover |
|---|---|
| Pages | 240Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover |
| Size | Large, 5" x 8.25"Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover |
| Paper stock | FSC certified, acid free (pH neutral)Source: Amazon listing - Moleskine Classic Notebook, Large, Dotted, Hard Cover |
| Page numbers | Not publishedPages are not numbered and there is no printed contents page. A bullet journal user will number them by hand. |
What it does well
- Universally recognized, which does real work in a gift.
- FSC certified, acid-free paper with a published weight.
- Slightly thinner block than the Leuchtturm for the same page count, so it carries better.
What it does not
- 70 gsm ghosts more than 80 gsm with gel and fountain pens.
- No pre-numbered pages or contents page.
Skip this: if you know they use a fountain pen. Buy the Rhodia at 90 gsm instead and spend the difference on ink. See Leuchtturm1917 versus Moleskine.
90 gsm in a pocket book is the finding
Paper weight is the one specification that decides whether a notebook is pleasant to write in, and it is the one most makers decline to publish. What gsm means on notebook paper explains the number properly, but the short version is that 70 gsm shows through, 80 is fine for most pens and 90 and up handles a wet nib.
Field Notes publishes 90 gsm. That is the same weight class as the Rhodia Webnotebook, which is a full-size hardcover at several times the price per book. In the pocket category it is close to unique: most memo books are printed on whatever is cheapest, on the reasonable assumption that nobody buying a three-pack is checking.
Acid-free matters more here than the page count does. A pocket notebook is where you capture things you later transcribe, and it then sits in a drawer. A book that yellows and goes brittle defeats the point of having captured anything at all.
48 pages is not a flaw, it is the format
Forty-eight pages sounds slight against a 240-page hardcover, and the comparison is the wrong one. A pocket notebook is a capture device, not an archive. It gets filled in a few weeks, transcribed or filed, and replaced - which is exactly why these are sold in threes rather than singly.
The honest consequence is that it is a recurring cost. If you fill one a month, you are buying a pack every quarter indefinitely. Work that out before deciding it is cheap, because per page it is not - are expensive notebooks worth it runs that calculation across the range.
Saddle-stitched, and what that costs you
The binding is two staples through a folded spine. It is why the book is thin enough to pocket and why it costs what it does, and it is also the format's real weakness: a new saddle-stitched book springs shut, and it only begins to lie flat once it has been broken in or half filled.
For writing standing up - which is what a pocket notebook is for - that matters less than it sounds, because you are holding the book anyway. For writing at a desk it is a genuine irritation, and the answer is a different binding rather than a different pocket book. Notebooks that lie flat sorts the options by the binding that actually decides it.
Where it is beaten
- On price per page, by almost every full-size notebook. Small books are expensive per sheet, and three of them at once disguises that.
- On ruling choice, by the Moleskine Volant pocket pack and by every A5 hardcover here. This pack is ruled only, so dot-grid and bullet-journal users are excluded - see notebooks for bullet journaling.
- On lying flat, by anything sewn or wire-bound. Staples spring shut.
- On being a gift, by a hardcover with a cover somebody recognizes. Three small kraft memo books read as supplies rather than as a present - how to pick a journal as a gift covers what does work.
- On durability in a back pocket. A card cover softens and curls. That is part of the appeal for some owners and a defect for others, and no maker publishes anything useful about it.
Who each pick is for
- Field Notes Original Kraft 3-pack - best for somebody who carries a notebook and cares what the paper does. 90 gsm published and acid free, three to a pack, genuinely pocket sized. Honest downside: 48 pages goes fast, it is ruled only, and saddle stitching means it will not lie flat when new.
- Moleskine Volant pocket 2-pack - best for the cheapest way into the format. Two flexible-cover pocket books at a lower price per book. Honest downside: Moleskine publishes no paper weight for them, which is precisely the specification Field Notes does publish.
- Moleskine Classic Large dotted - best for the person who should not be buying a pocket book at all. Far more pages, a hard cover, an elastic closure and a dot grid. Honest downside: it does not go in a pocket, and that is the whole trade.
As a gift
It is a weak standalone gift and a very good addition to one. Three small memo books look like supplies, because that is what they are - there is no cover to admire and nothing to unwrap twice.
Paired with a pen, the framing changes completely: a pocket notebook and a pen that writes well on 90 gsm is a working setup, and it is a far better thought than either alone. Pens for journaling covers which pens suit the paper, and gifts for writers puts the pairing together properly.
Questions people actually ask
Are Field Notes worth it?
If you carry a notebook, yes - mainly because they publish 90 gsm acid-free paper, which almost no other pocket notebook states. If you want one durable book that lasts a year, no: these are 48-page consumables sold three at a time.
What size are Field Notes?
The Original Kraft books are 3.5" x 5.5", which is a memo-book size that fits a back pocket or a jacket pocket. That is smaller than A6 and much smaller than the A5 books most people picture when they think "notebook".
Are Field Notes good for fountain pens?
The published 90 gsm weight puts them in the same class as paper that handles a wet nib, which is unusually good for a pocket book. Field Notes does not publish a fountain-pen suitability claim, though, so treat the weight as the evidence rather than a guarantee.
How many pages are in a Field Notes book?
48 pages per book, ruled, with three books in the Original Kraft pack - 144 pages in total. That is a few weeks of capture for most people, which is why the format is sold in multiples.
Do Field Notes lie flat?
Not when new. They are saddle-stitched - two staples through a folded spine - so the book springs shut until it is broken in or half filled. For a notebook used standing up this matters less than at a desk; see notebooks that lie flat.
Field Notes or a Moleskine pocket notebook?
Field Notes if the paper matters, because they publish 90 gsm and Moleskine publishes no weight for the Volant pocket books. Moleskine Volant if the price per book is the constraint. See pocket notebooks compared.