in a word, yes.

I carry around this Moleskine pretty much everywhere I go: http://www.moleskine.com/catalogue/classic/cahier/cardboard_...

They costs about $8 for a set of three which last me 2-3 years usually. The thing I like about this Moleskine is it easily bends to the shape of my leg in my front pocket so I don't even notice that I am carrying it.

Now, when I'm at the computer I use Noopsi http://noopsi.com (I'm the main developer) which I created primarily to scratch my own itch of having an easy to add/edit/search/share database of my thoughts and ideas.

Plenty of people seem to swear by them.

But here's the thing - it's not so much the cost (in absolute sums, it's not that large). It's whether you use it. You obviously sweat over costs; perhaps this sweating can be a cudgel to force you to write down whatever. The more a moleskine isn't worth buying, the more you will find yourself compelled to use it. Then wouldn't you be better off in the end?

Actually, then I'd be making the sunk cost fallacy -- thinking something deserves more investment simply because I already spent more on it.

In any event, I'm not sweating over costs. If it really is worth $11 more per pad, then I'm fine with that. I just don't want to pay for a hip brand for no reason.

> Actually, then I'd be making the sunk cost fallacy -- thinking something deserves more investment simply because I already spent more on it.

Yes, you would. But as I said, if that motivates you to actually use it, then it's a net gain.

Not familiar with Mead. It's subjective - the thing is worth whatever value you put on it. If it suits you better than the others it's worth it I suppose. But in the end it's just paper. Try different things until you find something that works for you.