Notebooks vs. Binders for Middle Schoolers

I'm trying to decide whether to do 2-inch binders with four or five dividers (one section for Class problem/HW, one section for handouts/notes, one section for journal entries, one section for vocabulary, and one section for quizzes/tests) OR to do Marble notebooks with Cornell Cues again like I did last year.

Certain aspects of my notebooking system worked really well last year.

First off, I spent a lot of time at the start of the year teaching the students how I wanted them to take their notes, so I could ease up somewhat as the year went on. I would make the first HW assignment or two to draw the line on the first 25 - 50 pages of their notebook, so that I didn't have to deal with the students getting out a ruler as they prepared to do that at the start of class.

Students knew how to keep a table of contents for their notebook, and look up the information. It was arranged by AIM, Date, and Page number, corresponding with the page in their notebooks.

Students indexed new words they learned and the first date that it appeared in their notebook. I think it's important for them to have an index, but perhaps this year, we'll also do a glossary (easier in some ways if it's in a binder).

Students engaged with their notes both in class (as they copied from the board, they had to write down the questions that the notes were answering), as well as outside of class (creating more questions and doing summaries for the lessons). I think that the summaries in the beginning of the year would be more effective if they were of the 3-2-1 variety (3 facts you learned today, 2 questions you still have, and 1 big idea).

On the other hand, students lost a lot of the beginning of class time from setting up their notebooks - with the slower writers, it took as many as 5 minutes or more just to get their notebooks set up! Secondly, some students didn't actually engage with the notebooks, and then it pulled down their grade when they weren't prepared with the notes taken properly.

If I do binders, I think I would still try the two-column notes, but I might explore a bit more outside just having the left side for questions that the notes answer...

I am worried about binders because the three rings can get broken pretty easily (especially inside a middle schooler's backpack), and the paper can get ripped out easily (again, especially in their bags). I know how sturdy the composition notebooks are, and last year, most of my kids (even the disorganized ones) had their notebooks well into the year...

As of right now, I'm still undecided about which option will be better in my classroom: notebooks or binders. I don't have much time left to decide!