A solid notebook has been the most essential item in my backpack for some time now. I have a few requirements that are unwavering:

1) It must be spiral bound and able to unfold completely flat. I can’t stand bound notebooks that open on a crease!
2) The heavier the paper the better! I use watercolors and ink, and I like to use both sides of a page. So this means 90 lbs is a minimum.
3) Bigger is better! I didn’t used to feel this way because I used to try and hide the fact that I was drawing. Now that I don’t really mind drawing in public, the more real estate I can get the happier I am.

With those conditions in mind, here are the notebooks I’ve used since this summer:

I started on a 5.5″ x 8.5″ Strathmore Sketch (top of the pile). Too small, and at 60lb, the paper was too thin.

Next I switched to a 7″ x 10″ Canson XL Mix Media. This was bigger, and had 98lb. paper which was awesome. For notebooks 2, 3, and 4 this was my weapon of choice (three mid-sized blue notebooks). When I went to buy #5 the store I went to was all out, so I tried a 9″ x 12″ Bee Paper Company Super Deluxe (dark red cover). It was awesome! Although the weight is listed as only 93lb. is felt incredibly thick (more about this later), and was the largest notebook I’d used yet. I thought I’d been converted but when I went back to get #6, they were out of the Super Deluxe, but they had 9″ x 12″ Canson XL so I bought that (bottom of the pile).

I’ve learned a few interesting things. First, the canson 9″ x 12″ is actually larger than the Bee Paper 9″ x 12″. Canson gives you the perf. area for free.

Seems like Canson should be the winner all the way, right? Not so fast! Although it’s advertised as 98 LB, the Canson paper is noticeably thinner and more transparent than the 93 Lb Bee Paper pad. Strange, right? It’s noticeable enough that when I do heavy watercolor pieces I’ve had to switch to only using one side of the page on my newest Canson pad. Notice how you can see the ink text which bled through on this image:

So I’d have to say that right now I’m leaning towards the Bee Paper… but who knows what other notebooks are out there waiting to be discovered!