I have been using Moleskine notebooks since they were first produced, sometime in the 90's if I recall correctly.  At that time, I bought a large number of them (several dozens) because I was afraid that they would stop making them since Moleskine was still a small company.  Recently, my supply ended and I bought a few more.  I was disappointed because the quality of the paper was not the same as the original.  I tried a couple of alternatives and did not like them (I hated Rhodia paper because it's too glossy and I thought that Leuchtturm's index pages were annoying).  I concluded that the best option was to use Moleskine sketchbooks because their thicker paper is nice.  However, they are pricey. Last week, I decided to try the Essentials Notebook.  I am very impressed.  The paper is better than the current regular Moleskine notebook and more similar to the original.  The binding, cover, etc., are very similar to the Moleskine.  And their price is significantly lower.  I still think that the Moleskine sketchbook is a better option in terms of paper quality but it has its disadvantages besides the price (fewer pages and it might be too much for someone who only uses it for notes).  So...I decided to start using Essentials notebooks in most cases and reserve the use of the Moleskine sketchbook for certain special projects.  Five stars for excellent value.