Oct 04 2008
Writers: Do You Carry?
All summer I’ve been wearing loose-fitting shorts, most of which have cargo pockets. Whoever invented cargo pockets should be given the Nobel Prize. They are perfect for writers like me who always carry a notebook, pen and perhaps reading glasses around with them to capture information and flashes of inspiration.
But now the weather is turning cold and I regrettably must turn again to long pants. Yesterday I put on a pair of denim jeans for the first time in five months and ran head-on into a problem that plagues me every winter: where to put my beloved pocket-sized Moleskine notebook?
Finding a home in my jeans for my mini Pilot G-2 pen and a thin reading glasses is not difficult. But the notebook is another story. When I stuff it down into a front pocket, it tends to jab my lower abdomen whenever I bend over. When I slip it into a back pocket, it abuses me and I abuse it every time I sit down. So I have to remember to pull it out when I sit and put it back in when I stand. And with all the pulling outs and putting ins, I tend to lose sight of life’s bigger issues, which is not a good thing for a writer.
I do not want to go through another long-pants season without resolving this issue. Which is why I’m asking you to help me and every other writer who has this problem.
What is the solution? Any ideas?
First, I suppose I should ask if you carry (a small notebook, that is). Second, if you do, have you found a way to do it without (1) smashing and trashing the notebook, or (2) inflicting bodily harm on your person in places where bodily harm really hurts?
I love bags (which you may have guessed from the name of this blog site), but carrying an over-the-should man-bag around with me at all times can be cumbersome. I have tried carrying index cards or even a piece of paper folded up several times instead of a notebook. But I like the stable, groin-gouging sturdiness of the notebook too much, so I always return to it.
Is the problem insurmountable? Is it simply the universe’s way of giving writers an opportunity to suffer for their muse? I hope not.
Please help.
PS. If you haven’t weighed in on last Monday’s Word Shot exercise-competition, please do. Or at least read through some of the responses and give the participants some constructive suggestions or encouragement. I personally have been blown away by what many of you have written. Beautiful stuff! Keep it up, and let others know about it! We’ll have a brand new Word Shot each Monday for you to continue to hone your skills and show off a bit.
Hi,
I use the small moleskines the ones where you get 3 in a pack they are thin and I will slip them in the back pocket of a pair of jeans. Oh I think they are called cahiers or something like that. They used to make pants with all those cargo pockets too. I would look at REI or LLbean and see if they have some more for winter wear.
Good Luck,
Kate
I generally carry a Field Note’s notebook in the back pocket. Soft enough that it can bend with me, and sturdy enough to stay together through a few months of abuse. Not ideal for everything, but for those flashes of insight it works well.
Hi Steve,
I always have the same problem. Stuffing it in my pocket shirt is eve a bit geeky for me.
But I do use the Allan’s Journal and stuff it in my backpocket. If I get in the car I do get it out, or sit at my desk, but when I use the bus, sit down just for a while I don’t get it out.
And after 2 months of every day carry it still looks good, in one piece, spine is still going stromg etc.
That is also why I don’t use Moleskins, their glued construction fails to soon. And the paper quality isn’t what I want from it. Even though I tend to write a lot with pencils.
So with my journal in my backpocket I keep my pencil in my arm pocket. I wear 5.11 tactical professional short sleeve polo’s all the time, they are great.
But winter here means a rain jacket, a barbour or a Musto HPX smock and these jackets have more than enough space for the odds and ends that you want to carry. When working I’m always towing a 20 pounds orso with laptop and those “all important” papers, so then there is enough room.
It is just in the summer, when I wear only jeans and a shirt, that the journal is sometimes awkward. but I’m not gonna carry it on my belt as I see some people carry their mobile phones.
Good luck,
Alex.
I find myself in the same predicament often times. Pocket cahiers as Kate suggested are a good idea, as they’re very thin and flexible. Moleskine Volants would be worth a try as well. They’re more durable and they make them in a size even smaller than pocket Moleskines (2.5″x4″).
For me, soft cover pocket Moles’ are perfect. They fit easily in my back pocket just like a wallet.
Well, I carry about one of the larger hard-back moleskines, and I carry it in my bag, because I take a bag around with me anyways, and anyways its in fashion. Maybe you could get like a jacket or something with an inside pocket. Pretty snazzy. Or get one of those cellphone holders except for small notebooks.
What I have always found to be a solution is one of the smaller, European style bags that a lot of people are carrying. Also, Maxpedition makes the Fatboy line of bags that are perfect for carrying around when you don’t want nor need the full bulk of a messenger or backpack.
i currently use a small shoulder bag, smiliar to whats used to feed pro cyclists. in it i carry nearly everything i need. thats everything i absolutely need. and that still leaves me space to carry things i might want with me. as an “edc-er” (meaning “everyday carrier”) i have items i consider necessairy and thus, i carry. i would expect others to follow smiliar steps when considering what is and is not a need. if you use it daily, i call it a need. the notebook is the perfect example. i carry it everywhere (sometimes to the bathroom) and when not open on a table or lap, its in the bag. the same is true of my daily planner, a small snack, etc. adapt to survive
If you are not absolutely tied to wearing jeans why not give cargo pants a try? Same advantages as the shorts.
Thank you all for your suggestions. You’ve given me and others in my situation excellent options. I plan on trying several of them and seeing where I land.
I started wearing Dickies with the little pocket in the right back thigh area; perfect for a little notebook or my 3 x 5 index cards.
I’m a big fan of the Scott eVest range of clothing.
If anyone runs out of pockets in those then they need serious help.
They’ve even got a pocket designed to take a laptop. In a vest.
Seriously.
Yeah they absolutely make long cargo pants and jeans and I love them for the EXACT same reason. The small moleskine fits perfectly into them.
If you wear jeans, could you wear a fishing vest? There are alot of nice ones out there with plenty of pockets. I wear one and carry my moley and my art supplies, so I can just sit down and sketch. Also, you could get a casual sport coat where there will be pockets in the insides of the coat. Plenty of options here.
Good luck in your quest!
It’s becoming jacket weather, so most of my pocket-stuff has migrated north of the belt equator.
I carry a pocket sized Moleskine, pen, wallet, MP3 player, camera, glasses, and much more in a jacket or vest from http://www.scottevest.com. They make multiple pocketed clothing for the man or woman that doesn’t want to leave any of their important journals or electronic devices behind.
If you like cargo pockets, get a pair of long pants with cargo pockets.
Barry
+1 on cargo pants:) I found some dockers-esque ones I can wear to work and on my bike.
If you’re having problems carrying just one Moleskine notebook, then you’re not carrying enough. I carry four, and have resorted to carrying a book bag around. If the question is where to carry one, you need to buy yourself another, and then something to carry it in.
Go on, you’re worth it!
Thirding the cargo pants. Or carpenter’s jeans. I’m fond of messenger bags, so that’s what I’ve been using for years, but when I had to go bag-less for a job (delivering newspapers - not especially purse-friendly), leg pockets were my bestest friend.
The most exciting news in notebooks is Moleskine deciding to re-release their Volant line. The XSmall Volant’s are the size of credit cards. I just received my first pack a few weeks ago and they’re perfect for jeans. (Better than the Cahier, and those aren’t too bad!)
The short version is, you bet. You can see one in behind the chair’s mesh in this picture if you look hard enough.
Check out the Volant series Moleskines. They have a super small notebooks available now, and when I say small I mean it, smaller than the cashier. Oh and I forgot to mention it retains the same feel of the original Skines but with a softcover format. If the one I mentioned is too small, they have two other sizes available.
on one of this small bags that you attach to your waist
I have the same problem, although I suspect that winter lends itself to “outside the office” writing outings to a) coffee houses or b) mega-bookstores passing as coffee houses and in either case it is better to carry around one’s writing materials in a briefcase/shoulder carrier bag of sorts. I love your site, by the way… and refer my students to it often.
I’m a doctoral student and carry several moleskines of varying sizes and a paperchase, each with their own purpose (I’m a nerd, I know). I usually carry them in a man purse, cargo pants or a sport coat (or a combination of all three). I suppose that I would suggest wearing some sort of coat or blazer where you could keep your book in the inner pocket if you didn’t want to carry a bag; although there are several man bags out there that aren’t cumbersome. LLBean and Roots have nice ones.
It is cold here and as soon as the weather turns I walk around with a vest, two pockets, just big enough for a pen, moleskine or other small notebook, and other miscellaneous stuff that accumulates during the day and I find in my pockets when I take it off to go to bed.
After looking over the options in this Bags for Moleskines Flickr thread (http://flickr.com/groups/moleskinerie/discuss/72157600048910314/), I’m happy with my Rothco Venturer Survivor bag.
I’ve found that a loose-fitting pair of jeans handles the thick, small moleskine perfectly. It gets a little bent when i sit, but I go through them so quickly, they don’t get too trashed. AND I like the slightly beaten book, it looks used and is usually full up. I use the larger size for my day job and just being GTD, so I go through those about once every three months.
As for buying clothes to fix the problem? I’m more likely to not notice the bulge in my back pocket than spend the money on custom clothes.
The biggest problem with this and any scenario is what to use for a writing instrument? That’s my biggest problem.
Please don’t get a murse.
Wearing a classic Moleskine in one of the front/side pockets of a classic pair of Dockers works perfectly fine for me. And I clip my Rotring Xonox Graphic 1.0 or 2.0 pen between the buttons of my polo shirt.
If I’m not lugging a backpack around, I usually wear a windbreaker and dump my Moleskine and pens in the front zipper pocket.
When it gets really cold, I wear my Eddie Bauer coat that has pockets up the wazoo, plenty of room for my notebooks.
G’day Steve
In Australia, and no doubt in the U.S, we have hiking pants with lower legs which zip off what you call cargo pants (shorts).
The best of both worlds. If the sun starts to shine and you’re getting warm. Unzip !!
I use a pair of Thomas Cooks that are tough as nails and extremely comfortable.
You can’t kill them and there is sufficient room for Moleskines, pens and glasses depending on the design.
I climb St Mary peak in the Flinders ranges and sit in absolute peace and tranquility armed with a Moleskine and a gel ink Pentel pen.
Hope that helps