Portage Small Dot Grid Notebook- 6 Notepads for Field Notes, Dot Grid Small Sketch Book, Pocket Notebook Journal for Taking Notes in the Field – 3.5 x 5.5 Inches, 64 Pages, (Pack of 6)

These notepads are nearly indestructible and these are available at the best price I have found. So what's not to like about that? Notes can be very important, whether it is the GPS location of the cache you are seeking or the gear you need or wish you had for next time. During my career keeping track of details was a key part of doing a good job. Retired now keeping track of details is important to having the best experiences and a way to compensate for memory lapses. Lists help tremendously and taking notes helps to ensure those lists just keep getting better. Cheap notebooks fail too often. All it takes is a rainstorm or a playful tussle into a pond or stream or perhaps a rescue of something important or ensuring that big fish doesn't get away. You can craft your own stories to entertain the kiddies. Just buy some of these if you want your doodles and observations to last.

These are the perfect size to fit in my back pocket, allowing me to have quick access to taking notes or make a sketch. They are also plenty durable enough to withstand the being in my pocket every day.

Thicker card stock for the cover, more pages - giving it a sturdier countenance when casually thrown in the back pocket, yet it is still willing to conform to subtle curves of your glutious maximus. All the while resisting the urge to cover itself in gaudy and pretentious branding and useless text, as if it were the notebook equivalent of a bottle of Dr. Broner's.And, as if all that wasn't enough, they come in a pack that is 2x's as many as that "other" brand & for a fraction of the cost.This is now my go to brand.The king is dead.Long live the king.Hello there, Portage Notebooks.

I wanted some economical notebooks to put in my pocket-sized travelers notebook for everyday jotting of notes. I usually use fountain pens and was hoping I could use them with these notebooks. They work well overall for my purposes and are definitely good value. Seem my front and back photos of these with various pens.Pros:- Price. You get a lot of notebooks! These are probably some of the best priced notebooks I've come across.- Little feathering. Surprisingly, writing on this paper is not distorted, and there's little feathering even with various fountain pens. (Bleeding is another issue; see cons below and pictures.)Cons (some are personal preference):- Thin pages. I expected these pages to be a little thicker. There is definitely ghosting. Depending on the type of pen you're using, using the back side of pages might not be possible. This isn't a huge issue for me, as I just use this for jotting down quick notes or use only one side.- Dot grid size is larger than I've seen on most notebooks. Not a huge deal, but some might be against this. The sizing is ~5mm.- White space is rather large in the center between pages. Again, not a huge deal, but some might find this annoying.Overall, these are very well priced as an everyday notebook that works with most pens/pencils. If you're looking for thick, high quality paper to highlight your inks, you might want to look elsewhere. But these should work well for most purposes.

The Portage field notebook is a very well made product, available at a great price (currently $8.99/6-pack). Their size (3.5x5.5 inches) makes them perfect for everyday carry; large enough that entries do not look cramped & small enough to fit just about any pocket. Each notebook, with its 64 pages, is ideal for my use (one two-page spread per day) allowing one notebook to accommodate one month of entries & leaving (at minimum) the first & last pages for an index. I also appreciate having the inside covers left blank (unlike some competitors) to use for my own purposes.I have been using these notebooks daily for more than a year & can attest to their suitability & durability. However, two things would improve (but only slightly) their value to me:(1) A stitched rather than stapled binding (the center pages have become loose in a couple of notebooks).(2) A slightly heavier paper (there is a little bleed through with some fountain pens & markers).If these "enhancements" could be made without a significant increase in price, I believe these notebooks would be perfect! As it is, they are a great value & a product that I will continue to use for years to come.

Honestly, too many pages. I kept flipping to find old passages.

It's like the non-pretentious version of the Moleskine or Field notes notebooks. Great to use, quality paper and cover and doesn't break the bank. Thanks Portage!

Info* 4 rows/columns per inch (1/4" each)* Total for grid area 3"x5" (12 columns x 20 rows)Pros* Price - Most notebooks of similar style go for about twice the price, unless you are going for bulk packs (~24 packs)Cons* Thin paper - This causes a significant amount of ghosting when using pens to write, though not much of an issue with pencil* Inconsistent printing of grid - most pages have a fairly significant slant and different pages' dots would not align with each otherI have been using these pocket notebooks as something that I can keep in my back pocket and use for short term scrap notes. I like the dotted grid in that it helps organize things a bit better for me, but I would definitely prefer the 5 rows/columns that other notebooks have, and the misalignment is annoying. If you are looking for a quality pocket notebook, look elsewhere, but these have been a pretty decent dot-grid pocket notebook that can get beaten up and thrown out when finished without breaking the bank that doesn’t require a much larger bulk purchase

I've never used Field Notes, but I can't imagine that they're any better than these - and they're twice the price. When you're a cheapskate, that matters. Moleskine Cahiers are fine, but that pocket in the back gets annoying when you're writing on the last couple of pages. These don't have any nonsense - no charts or waffling, no pocket. And the paper and my Fisher Space Pen are a perfect match - no blotching (which I get with the plain Cahiers) or smudging.They are perfect.

Handy thing to have in your pocket, i use it for my work to do list for gardening and taking down measurements when kitchen fitting highly recommend

Nice size notebook which easily fits in my bum-bag for geocaching notes

Excellent field note size notebook good quality paper would highly recommend

Great little EDC notebook for any occasion