Best Field Notes Alternatives for Fountain Pen Users

Field Notes are my favorite pocket notebook. I carry them every day in my Paper Republic Grand Voyageur cover, and they are the notebooks that stay with me and get used the most.

I like my notebooks compact, and I've been exploring pocket notebooks for quite some time to see what else could work in my system.

My one wish is that Field Notes used more fountain-pen-friendly paper, like the Tomoe River paper in the LOCHBY pocket-size notebooks or the Kinbishi paper in the Dialog Notebook.

If I had to recommend two alternatives, the Dialog Notebook and the LOCHBY pocket-size notebooks are both phenomenal.

Field Notes alternatives compared

Why Field Notes are still my favorite

I subscribe to the Field Notes quarterly subscription, and the notebooks wear in super nicely.

My current one has clearly been worn and abused, and the spine is starting to peel. I haven't filled it yet, but I've used it enough that it shows the wear and tear it has survived.

I would get bored using the same type of notebook over and over. A plain cover does not do it for me. I need notebooks I can swap out, each with a design that looks unique.

### Can you use fountain pens in Field Notes?

Field Notes are not known for fountain-pen-friendly paper.

If you have the right combination of nib and ink, you can get away with using them with fountain pens.

I still use fountain pens in my Field Notes. In my current one, I wrote a page with a fountain pen a couple of days before filming.

On that page I see minimal ghosting and maybe a little bleed-through in some of the heavy spots, but nothing too concerning in my opinion. It is something I can deal with.

That is one page from daily use, not a controlled test. I will keep using fountain pens in Field Notes, because they are fantastic notebooks.

Best for everyday carry and variety: Field Notes. Skip it if fountain pen performance matters more to you than the designs.

LOCHBY Pocket Journal: the fountain pen pick

Another notebook I use quite a bit is the LOCHBY pocket-size notebook in the LOCHBY Pocket Journal cover. Mine is still pretty fresh, and it's where I capture ideas and random notes.

The notebook uses Tomoe River paper, which is super nice with fountain pens and lets me write with them more often.

The Pocket Journal is a waxed canvas cover, and it comes with one pocket-size Tomoe River notebook.

The notebook's design is very plain because it's made to live inside the cover, but the paper is fantastic.

I also use the bigger version of this notebook in my regular-size Traveler's Notebook. That one is my journal and memory-keeping notebook, and I enjoy writing in it quite a bit.

The LOCHBY notebook has become extremely popular as LOCHBY's covers have caught on. I own a few of those covers.

One of them is the LOCHBY Mini Field Journal. I bought all of my LOCHBY covers myself, and the same goes for the Paper Republic.

Best for fountain-pen writing: LOCHBY Pocket Journal with its Tomoe River notebook. Skip it if the changing artwork on a pocket notebook is part of why you carry one.

Dialog Notebook: the structured pick

The third notebook on my list is the Dialog Notebook. Dialog sent these to me to check out about six months before I filmed.

I still haven't gotten around to using them. The Dialog Notebook uses Kinbishi paper, something I had not seen before, and it has become a popular notebook in my social media feed. That's why I wanted to try it.

It has a dot grid with markers at the midpoints, and page numbers on the bottom and right edges, so it works in either orientation.

Best for structured notes: Dialog Notebook. Skip it if you want a verdict based on months of writing, because I have not put that time in yet.

When A6 makes more sense

I also have the Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Pocket, an A6 notebook I keep in a cover I got from Etsy a few years ago. I use it as my prayer journal.

It is designed to be used in a horizontal format. I use it that way, and it gives me room for more comprehensive notes.

What I like about this A6 format is that an open spread gives you a full page, as if you were writing in an A5 notebook. It feels very intentional, looks great and handles fountain pens really well.

Mine is still pretty fresh, with only a few pages written.

It fits my setup quite nicely. I keep my Catholic prayers in the same cover, so everything stays together in a nice compact package.

The passport size, on the other hand, did not click with me. I tried it a few times to see if I could make it work, but it was a little too small for what I wanted to use it for.

A6 misses in the other direction: it's a little too large for me to carry in a pocket, but it's still a great notebook.

Also consider for longer entries: Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Pocket. Skip it if the notebook has to fit comfortably in a pocket.

The cover that holds it together

After the passport size didn't work out, I settled on the pocket size (the Field Notes size) and moved into the Paper Republic Grand Voyageur cover. It has been my workhorse and has been fantastic.

Inside it I keep my daily jotter, a notebook where I write all sorts of things and paste stuff in. There is also a Traveler's Company plastic insert and a second notebook, which I call my collection notebook. Any lists or anything else I want to keep with me live there.

I keep a pen in the cover too. Right now it's the Traveler's Company ballpoint pen.

The pen has a Uni Jetstream refill, and a Traveler's Company writing board keeps it in place.

One of my favorite features is that the pen fits inside the cover instead of sticking out, so it's protected and the whole thing feels like a complete package. It's definitely my favorite cover of them all.

The beauty of pocket notebooks

Part of the fun of pocket notebooks is the wide variety out there. On a recent trip to the UK, we stopped at a lot of shops and found some really cool A6 notebooks.

One has Edinburgh Castle on the cover. It's a blank notebook, nothing special, and I'm not even sure what paper it uses.

Still, it's a cool notebook to have, and it reminds me of our time in Scotland. I also have one from Loch Ness with the same idea: blank pages, nothing fancy.

The Coffeenotes notebook I found in London uses paper made from recycled coffee cups.

I used one of their notebooks as my travel journal on that trip, and the paper held up really nicely.

My wife also got me a pocket notebook from Flame Tree Notebooks, I believe last year. It has a book design with gold accents that shine depending on how the light hits it, and it's a really cool design you don't see very often.

I've been thinking about using it for some book notes, but I haven't really gotten around to it.

That's the beauty of pocket notebooks: you can find them in all sorts of designs, styles and papers.

Portability is the point

What pocket notebooks give you is portability, more than structure. You can keep one in your pocket, or put a few in a cover that protects them and adds a couple of features, and carry a whole journaling and planning system with you at all times.

I just like compact stationery, which is what led me to put together my little compact kit. Everything else I carry is on the Shelf.

In the end, what matters is carrying these notebooks with you, using them, and making sure you get value from writing.

Watch the full video for the flip through of every notebook.

The gear worth a look

• Field Notes: the pocket notebook I carry and use the most, on a quarterly subscription.
• Paper Republic Grand Voyageur: my workhorse cover in the pocket size, with room for two notebooks and a pen inside.
• LOCHBY Pocket Journal: a waxed canvas cover with a pocket-size Tomoe River notebook, where I capture ideas and random notes.
• LOCHBY Mini Field Journal: another LOCHBY cover I bought myself.
• Dialog Notebook: Kinbishi paper, a 5mm grid, midpoint markers and page numbers on two edges. Sent to me by Dialog.
• Traveler's Company Notebook (Regular): the larger LOCHBY notebook in my regular-size Traveler's Company cover: my journal and memory-keeping notebook.
• Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Pocket (A6): my prayer journal, in a horizontal format that opens to an A5-size page.
• Traveler's Company Brass Ballpoint Pen: the pen that fits inside my cover, with a Uni Jetstream insert.
• Coffeenotes Notebook: made with recycled coffee cups, and my travel journal in the UK.

Some links above are affiliate links. I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. The Dialog Notebook was sent to me by Dialog. Everything else here I bought myself.

Related reading

• Lochby Mini Field Journal vs. Paper Republic Grand Voyageur
• Best Pocket Notebook for Everyday Carry? I Carry Three Instead
• Monteverde Innova Ti Review: Titanium Pen for Daily Carry

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best Field Notes alternative for fountain pens?

For fountain pens, my pick is the pocket-size notebook in the LOCHBY Pocket Journal. It uses Tomoe River paper, which is super nice with fountain pens.

Can you use fountain pens in Field Notes?

Yes, with the right combination of nib and ink you can get away with using fountain pens in Field Notes. On a page from my daily use, I saw minimal ghosting and maybe a little bleed-through in the heavy spots, but nothing too concerning in my opinion.

Is an A6 notebook pocketable?

To me, an A6 notebook is a little too large to be pocketable, but the Leuchtturm1917 Bullet Journal Pocket I use in A6 is still a great notebook.

Why carry Field Notes if the paper is not ideal for fountain pens?

I carry Field Notes because I would get bored using the same type of notebook over and over. A plain cover does not do it for me, and Field Notes change their designs, so every notebook I swap in looks unique.