Best Notebooks for Productivity: The Levenger Circa Junior Vs. The Moleskine Pocket Notebook

I am total productivity geek and an avid notetaker. I take notes (on paper, of course) on everything from meetings at work, to conversations with my wife, to web research. A huge part of any productivity system is being able to efficiently capture and process information, and I've recently added a new weapon to my pen-and-paper arsenal: the Circa Junior notebook from Levenger. Previously, I've used a standard Moleskine Pocket notebook for all of my notetaking needs, but now I'm thinking about branching out. Here's how the Levenger Circa and Moleskine Pocket notebook compare, blow by blow:

Aesthetics
I find that the Circa and Moleskine notebooks both sport a certain elegance, though it different ways. The Moleskine, with its bookmark, off-white pages, and classic black cover, has bit of a European vintage feel. The Circa is less minimalistic, and more modern in appearance as a result of its unique disc binding system and translucent plastic covers. I hereby declare this round a tie.

Ubiquitous Capture (Portability)
It's important that I be able capture thoughts anytime, anywhere, so portability for my primary notebook is key. The Circa Junior is about the size of of an 8 1/2" x 11" sheet of paper, folded in half. The Mokeskine Pocket notebook is about half that size. At 3/4", they are the same thickness, but there's no way the Circa Junior will fit into a standard pants pocket. The Moleskine Pocket, on the other hand, might be a bit thick, but it'll definitely fit in either a front or back pocket of most men's pants. I think the Moleskine wins this round.

Paper Quality
This is very important. No one wants ink to bleed through the pages of their precious notebook, and I know I hate paper that seems to tear at the slightest provocation. Both notebooks offer high quality, thick paper that takes fountain pen ink gracefully. I love the off-white color of Moleskine pocket, but it's hard to deny of the usefulness of the many pre-printed templates that come with the Circa. Tie.

Usability
The Moleskine Pocket offers just enough room to make small lists, note down a few ideas, or make small sketches. While excellently bound, the Moleskine doesn't alway lay flat when I'd like it to. The Circa Junior, in contrast, offers plenty of space for lots of notes, either on a single page or a two-page spread. I love how the cover can fold back and out of the way (like a spiral notebook) making it exceptionally easy to hold and write in while standing or walking. This a huge plus, and clearly makes the Circa the easiest to use for it's most basic purpose--writing.

Extra Features
The Moleskine Pocket notebook has three things that the Circa Junior does not have: 1) An integrated bookmark, 2) an elastic band that can either keep the notebook closed or serve as another bookmark, and 3) a back pocket for stowing extra cash, checks, receipts, whatever. These are all great features. But here's what the Circa counters with: ultimate flexibility. The pages easily "zip" in and out of the Circa, making rearranging thoughts and notes as necessary a breeze. Plus, there's a whole host of available accessories including zip pockets, bookmarks, dividers, and annotation tools. This is a tough one, since all that stuff for the Circa is must be purchased separately...but I think that the flexible binding system of the Circa alone is enough the offset Moleskine's useful features. I think that that Circa Junior may have a slight lead in this round.

Cost/Value
A Moleskine pocket notebook usually runs about $10, Circa Juniors are around $18 from Levenger's website, with refills hitting around the $12 mark. I think the that the Circa Junior is certainly the more pricey of the notebooks, but I do believe it delivers it's share of value when taking its usability and especially its flexibility into account. I'm afraid I'm going to have declare yet another tie.

What Works Best for Me?
The Circa Junior is overall the best notebook for my general notetaking purposes. I will have to find another tool for my ubiquitous capture needs (the Levenger Shirt Pocket Briefcase, perhaps), however I won't be giving my up my Moleskine's completely. They still make the best books for journalling and any other application that doesn't require a whole lot of moving pages around. I'm keeping my Moleskine Pocket notebooks to use as daily and spiritual journals and as supplementary notetakers.