The classic Moleskine design and aesthetics have always appealed to me. The lay-flay binding, the integral bookmark, the elastic closure and the pocket in the rear all make Moleskine's extremely useful and versatile. But where Moleskine's have fallen flat in recent years is paper quality, which has been spotty at best; at worst, gel and fountain pen users have found the paper to be terrible, with bleeding and feathering major problems. I'm among the fountain pen crowd, and because of Moleskine's paper issues have had to look elsewhere.