I probably don’t write enough about Clairefontaine notebooks (only 71 posts!) but they are one of the quiet joys of the stationery world, They’ve been around forever, they are relatively inexpensive, many stores carry them, and they are pretty consistently high quality.

I was in France recently, and visited a stationery store (of course) and although I really didn’t need anything other than some postcards, I really wanted to buy something. At €2.10, this little Clairefontaine notebook fit the bill, especially because it’s a model I don’t usually see in the USA.

It’s a staple-bound, 9x14cm notebook with 96 pages of squared paper: think of it as a Field Notes on steroids. For some reason, US stationery stores tend to carry mostly lined Clairefontaine notebooks. When they have squared ones, they are almost always in larger sizes. So I haven’t bought a Clairefontaine notebook in the US in many years, but I’ve bought a few pocket sized squared ones in France.

Just for comparison, below are two other staple-bound Clairefontaine notebooks from my collection, dating back to the late 1990s or early 2000s. I covered one of them with a Coach leather passport cover that fit it perfectly after trimming down the covers a bit– I love that no-overhang fit, but for some reason, I didn’t use very many pages of this notebook, and tore out a few that I did use– I should have added it to my post about Unfinished Notebooks.

I prefer the old-style cloth-look cover design, but the new version is fine too. You can also see how the logo has evolved.

I like the thickness of this notebook vs. competitors like Field Notes and Moleskine Cahiers (or “Cahier Journals,” which now seems to be their official title). One of my old ones is stapled a little off-center so the page edges don’t quite line up.

The paper does show some slight variations over time– one of the old ones is noticeably less fountain pen friendly, and its lines are more pinkish. Both the old notebooks look a bit more yellowed. I don’t know whether it’s from age or just slightly different paper formulation– probably both. The new notebook has a PEFC logo noting that the paper is sourced from sustainably managed forests, and the grid lines are crisp and blue.

I always love Clairefontaine’s paper– it’s smooth and sturdy and (nowadays) gorgeous to write on with fountain pens, gel ink pens and pretty much anything else. Wet fountain pens can take a little longer to dry, but there’s no bleed and hardly any show-through in the new notebook.

What else is there to say? Not much– it’s cute, it’s cheap, and it functions really well. What more can anyone ask for? I’m sure I’ll buy more Clairefontaine notebooks on future trips, even if they’re not the most unique or interesting souvenir!