The older I get the more I believe in "buy once, cry once." Spend a little more money on good quality products that get the job done, need to be replaced less often, and generally make your life better. I thought Moleskine was for snobs and didn't see anything wrong with a $1 spiral. Then I went back to school, and realized what a pain spirals are. I started taking notes on Ampad narrow ruled paper with a double thick pack, micro-perforated at the top. This works great for general lecture notes, but sometimes you need a notebook.