After trying a whole bunch of pocket notebooks, the Apica A7 has become my go-to.
It’s 2.8 x 4 inches (10.2 x 7.1 cm), which is quite a bit smaller than your typical Field Notes-sized notebook. However, I’ve come to really like it better at this size. I’m rarely writing prose in these notebooks; I’m always writing short lists. So I usually don’t take up a full line anyway. This tiny size leaves less wasted space on the page. It’s also small enough to fit in a shirt pocket, whereas Field Notes often doesn’t.
I’ve also been using the regular old Fisher space pen with it. I usually prefer something I can use one-handed, like a clicky or bolt-action, for my daily pocket pen, since it makes jotting things down that much quicker. But the size and simplicity of the space pen’s design is just really satisfying sometimes.
My grandpa always had a similar notebook on him and he was always pulling it out on conversations to draw something or takes notes.
That's wonderful, it seems like one of those small traits that make a person memorable.
If I need to jot something down during a conversation, like a phone number, I feel like writing it down in a paper notebook assures the other person that I'm still being attentive. Even though, if I pulled out my phone, they would know I was just doing so to record the phone number. In my head, getting out my phone just looks like I'm being distracted.