What type of notebooks do you use to take notes?

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The discussion centers around the challenges of organizing and maintaining notebooks for math and physics notes, particularly the issues of wear and tear with standard notebooks. Participants share their experiences with various brands, highlighting Moleskine and Leuchtturm1917 for their durability and aesthetic appeal, despite their higher price points. Alternatives like Mead Five Star notebooks are praised for their affordability and quality, with users noting the importance of good paper quality to avoid distractions while writing. Loose-leaf paper and binders are also favored for their flexibility, allowing for easy organization and customization of notes. Some users express a preference for specific formats, such as Japanese notebooks, while others discuss the practicality of using electronic tools like Wipebook for note-taking. Overall, the conversation emphasizes the significance of choosing the right notebook or note-taking system to enhance productivity and organization in academic settings.
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I've myself have lots of notebooks, full with math and physics notes, from high school and uni that i keep on my shelf.

I ve used regular notebooks, 60 80 100 pgs, squared and i find that organizing them is a real mess!They bend, curl, tear and deteriorate.
So I've been thinking about some alternatives and i found this Moleskine notebooks http://www.moleskine.com/en/collections/model/product/squared-soft-notebook-extra-large.They run kind of expensive but they have a really good construction grade and can very elegantly be stored(http://www.notebookstories.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/outras-009.jpg).
Another brand that I've found is Leuchtturm1917 but they're a bit hard to find here in my country.

What about you guys?What do you use to store your information?

Do you know any other notebooks with similar format and that are as robust as Moleskine(and maybe a little cheaper)?
 
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I like the Japanese notebooks. Like these
http://www.mymaido.com/tsubame-notebooks/961-tsubame-notebook-b5-8mm-rule-7-x-98-w100s.html
 
I typically use the Mead 5 star 5 subject notebooks. They're good quality and cheap. Five bucks at Walmart.

http://www.walmart.com/ip/Mead-Five...lege-Rule-200-Sheets-Colors-May-Vary/14931531

They last a long time. I typically go through one every 4-6 months and I write in them everyday. I have a whole stack in the archives. I try to get different colors every time but the last three times I went to buy one, all they had was green. I'm holding out for a different color next time, fer sher, even if I have to order it online.:-p
 
I get the most basic notebook possible. When school is about to start in the fall, they're sold for 15 cent each at Walmart. So free, in other words.
 
leroyjenkens said:
I get the most basic notebook possible. When school is about to start in the fall, they're sold for 15 cent each at Walmart. So free, in other words.

I find that quality matters when to comes to notebooks. The first notebook I bought at Walmart was their house brand, about 2 bucks cheaper than the Mead. But the paper quality was bad, the line printings were dark on one side and light on the other, and the margins were spaced too wide, so you had about a half inch less room to write on either side. It was a whole world of difference when I upgraded to the Mead for 2 bucks more. Money well spent when you write in it everyday for 6 months.

When you're scrambling to scribble down the theory of everything in the middle of the night after it comes to you in a dream, you don't want to be distracted by faded lines and narrow margins!:-p
 
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I like looseleaf, which then goes in a binder.
 
Vanadium 50 said:
I like looseleaf, which then goes in a binder.

Something like this, except they often don't make it into the binder.
Either because they get lost or there are serious mistakes in them.
It's very easy to add extra pages e.g. elaborate on some important parts.
 
I used blank loose leaf when I was in school. Off white is nice, but white works too of course.
 
  • #10
I use TeXnicCenter for my notes. Does that count?

I kid of course. No professor would keep me in class with constant keyboard noises coming from my location.
 
  • #11
You know what I hate? Yellow pads. I don't know why these things are so popular. Back in the days when I ran a business, everyone would show up at meetings with these yellow pads. Sometimes at the more informal meetings they would whip out the mini-yellow pads. You ever see these? I hate those even more than the regular yellow pads.

I'd show up at the meetings with a spiral notebook. I have to admit I looked a little "high school" with my colorful spiral notebook with it's 80's trapper keeper feel in the midst of a sea of yellow pads, but I didn't care. Every time I tried to "go yellow," it was a disaster. I'd always lose pages, always. You can't get those back. Even if you didn't lose pages, the ones that stuck around always seemed to be curled up like an 80's hairdoo on a Sunday morning. To seal the coffin, no holes punched so you could save these important pages in a 3-ring binder even if you wanted too. So that was it for me, no yellow pads.
 
  • #12
Vanadium 50 said:
I like looseleaf, which then goes in a binder.
I do this too, I typically use one binder for each course during the semester. I write up problems in a plain A4 jotter.
 
  • #13
I use large moleskine notebooks with plain pages. I go through 6-7 of them a year. I've started texxing them up, but I must take my notes in a bound book, I can't stand to type in class and I will inevitably lose loose papers I take notes on.
 
  • #14
I buy reams of printer paper and use pilot g2's. Nothing beats that bright white. Also easy to staple, recycle, and punch&bind. Allows me to easily fix a single page out if 10 if I need to save the notes. Usually I don't save anything though.
 
  • #15
Whatever is on sale. I'm left handed though, so spiral bound are annoying.
 
  • #16
WannabeNewton said:
I use TeXnicCenter for my notes. Does that count?

I kid of course. No professor would keep me in class with constant keyboard noises coming from my location.

Better yet if you use a mechanical keyboard with cherry MX blues, or perhaps a model M.
 
  • #17
I am (or was if we're talking about student days) in the loose leaf and binder camp.

Usually I had a clibboard with a bunch of lined loose leaf paper in it that I would take to class. That kept my pack light and I never had to worry about those annoying wire spirals. Then when I would get home I would put all the notes for the day in a binder for their respective subjects. This also allowed me to put in hand outs and some of my classes had a lot of these. I could also add in supplemental stuff where it was relevant.

And maybe it allowed me to chuck the occasional irrelevant doodle.
 
  • #18
Choppy said:
I am (or was if we're talking about student days) in the loose leaf and binder camp.

Usually I had a clibboard with a bunch of lined loose leaf paper in it that I would take to class. That kept my pack light and I never had to worry about those annoying wire spirals. Then when I would get home I would put all the notes for the day in a binder for their respective subjects. This also allowed me to put in hand outs and some of my classes had a lot of these. I could also add in supplemental stuff where it was relevant.

And maybe it allowed me to chuck the occasional irrelevant doodle.

I've tried this and I didn't really like it.

What did you do when you needed to check something that you've written in a previous class?
 
  • #19
DataGG said:
What did you do when you needed to check something that you've written in a previous class?

:confused:

You open the appropriate binder and look at it. No different from a notebook really... except that you have more freedom to customize and edit.
 
  • #20
This is a bit off, but I heard there are electronic blackboards that can produce instantly copies of whatever is written on them. That way one can write outlines without worrying about missing something important ,and have a printout of the lectures to compare one's notes with it.
 
  • #21
Does anyone here actually read their notes after the lecture?
 
  • #23
leroyjenkens said:
I get the most basic notebook possible. When school is about to start in the fall, they're sold for 15 cent each at Walmart. So free, in other words.


I remember these sales. They cost less than loose leaf paper. Somehow binding it and putting a cover reduces value. It's a great opportunity for donating school supplies.
 
  • #24
ModusPwnd said:
:confused:

You open the appropriate binder and look at it. No different from a notebook really... except that you have more freedom to customize and edit.

I understood, from his reply, that he leaves the binder at home (as did I). What if you need to check something while in university? That was what I meant.
 
  • #25
WannabeNewton said:
Does anyone here actually read their notes after the lecture?

Sure I do, some lecturers give hints for problems and/or extra references.
Also most of mt course materials are rather 'rudimentary', they could use some extra info.
 
  • #26
Sketch books with black sharpie pens.
 

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