Authentics Moleskine Pen Clip Review

You have a favorite notebook and you have a favorite pen. How do you keep them together in one place? You could duct tape the pen to the cover of your notebook, which isn’t a very elegant solution, or you can get the Pen Clip from Authentics. It’s a much more elegant pen holder for your Moleskine, Rhodia or similarly bound notebook.

Note: Most of the images in this review can be clicked to see more a larger size with more detail.

The Pen Clip is made of stainless steel and is available in two sizes and two finish styles. The fine people at Connox sent me the larger clip with a brushed matte finish. The clip is also available in a smaller size and a gloss finish.

Although I was sent the larger clip, which is a little longer than 5 inches long, it works just fine with my Moleskine 3.5 x 5.5 inch notebooks and similarly sized A6 Rhodia Webbie notebooks.

The long part of the clip slides into the opening between the spine and pages. On Moleskine and Rhodia notebooks, this area is not glued, so you won’t need to force the Pen Clip. It will easily slide into the open channel.

Another view of inserting the Pen Clip.

Here is the Pen Clip fully inserted. You will notice that the clip hugs the spine. This is what allows it to hold a pen or pencil.

The opening in the clip is mainly for looks.

I experimented with various pen and pencils to see which sizes worked best with the clip.

I found that the classic Bic sized pens with and without caps (if you want to use the cap, just flip the pen around)…

and standard sized pencils work best. Larger barreled pens and pencils will work too, but I wouldn’t recommend really thick ones. The pencil shown above was included with the clip. As you can see, it’s a bit too long for the small Moleskine… I suppose I could cut it off though 🙂

Although you can position the writing end of your pen or pencil in either direction. I would suggest (at least for pencils) to orient it with the tip under the clip. It provides good protection that way.

Inserting and removing pens and pencils from the clip doesn’t take much effort. It is a two-handed task to insert the pen though. One hand to lift the clip and the other hand to slide the pen under it. Removing a pen is easier. Just grab it and slide it out from under the clip.

I only found one slight issue with using the Authentics Pen Clip… The spines of Moleskine and Rhodia notebooks are designed to allow them to open flat. You can see that the spine folds when the notebook is fully opened.

But when the Pen Clip is inserted, the curved metal of the clip can restrict the angle at which the book can be opened unless you provide extra pressure when opening it. That said, this is mainly only noticed with brand new books and not really noticed once the book is ‘broken in’. I’ve only tested the Pen Clip with small versions of the Moleskine and Rhodia notebooks, so I don’t know if this is an issue with the larger sizes.

After continued use, I found no evidence that the Pen Clip scratches or otherwise damages the spine.

The Authentics Pen Clip is not bulky, looks cool and is easy to use. It is a unique solution to the common problem of carrying a pen or pencil with your favorite notebook.

What is your preferred method of keeping your favorite writing tool and your notebook together?