When it comes to buying leather journals for men, it’s a good idea to work out how the journal will be used (or could be used). This way, you will know which size to buy and whether to opt for hard cover or soft cover notebooks.
Leather journals for men – uses, sizes & notebook types
For food & wine (or beer)
Size: A small A6 or Pocket size would be sufficient for taking wine or craft beer tasting notes and/or notes & ideas on favourite meals. However if you like collecting wine or beer bottle labels as well (as a visual reminder), then perhaps a B6 or A5 size is best.
Notebook: x4 soft cover notebooks will be useful here as you will be able to separate each notebook into different categories such as, favourite recipes, food diary, wine tasting notes, craft beer tasting notes. However, x1 hardcover notebook can be paired with brass tabs if you wish to section off parts of the notebook to different categories.
For goal setting & planning
Size: If using a pre-printed diary or planner (dated or undated), then A5 is the most common size. Otherwise, either an A5, B6 or even a small A6 size leather journal would work well, depending on the individual and how much space they need to mark out their plans. While I like to use a weekly layout for my work planner, my husband uses a monthly overview system to track his bookings and any event reminders.
Notebook: Pre-printed diaries and planners mostly come as hard cover A5 notebooks. However, if you plan on marking out your own pages as per the flexible bullet journaling method (by Ryder Carroll or a hybrid bullet journal system) – then x4 soft cover notebooks are the choice here. There are many more sizes available in soft cover notebooks as well.
For productivity & daily task setting
If goal setting / planning / keeping a diary is too daunting because your mind doesn’t work that way – then keeping a short daily task list will definitely help with productivity. Youtuber Peter McKinnon says that he loses focus very easily as his mind works too fast (his caffeine intake doesn’t help!). However, creating a habit of writing just 8 critical daily tasks down on paper (not on your phone), has helped him immensely. See the video below for his cinematic explanation.
Size: To keep it small enough to carry, an A6 or Pocket size is perfect.
Notebook: Soft cover notebooks are great for tasks lists – assuming you’re using a table to write the tasks down, so you have a sturdy platform to write on. There’s no need for this support if you’re mainly checking off items from your list on-the-go and holding it in your hands.
For note taking
Size: For courses or meetings where lots of notes need to be taken per session and a desk is used, a large A5 leather journal size is ideal. For a general note taking ‘carry’, the A6 or Pocket size leather journal is perfect for bags or pockets.
Notebook: Either x1 hard cover notebook or x4 soft cover notebooks will work here.
For the work site
Size: An A6 size leather journal which will be easy to carry around, small enough to hold and store in pockets, plus can be left in the car or thrown into a bag without taking up much space.
Notebook: A hard cover notebook works best here as it provides extra structure/rigid support for note taking without a desk.
For fitness tracking or health tracking
Size: A small A6 or Pocket size will suit the bedside table or gym bag.
Notebook: While either hard cover or soft cover will work here – I’d suggest a set of x4 soft cover notebooks would be ideal – so that you can separate each notebook for different categories, such as diet/food diary, weight tracker, gym routines, well-being/mood tracker.
As a well-being journal or gratitude journal
Size: A small A6 or Pocket size will suit the bedside table or travel bag.
Notebook: This will come down to personal choice as either hard cover or soft cover will work.
Leather journals for men can also be used as an art journal
Size: This will depend on the style of art enjoyed. Simple and quick sketches could be easily done in a small carry such as an A6 size journal. On the other hand, more detailed work or water-coloured pieces might be best kept in A5 sized leather journals.
Notebook: Pencil sketches can go in either hard cover or soft cover notebooks, while watercolour work suits hard cover books specifically created for paint.
This concludes my buying guide of leather journals for men – I hope it gave you loads of ideas!