My Favorite Pen

January 23rd, 2014

Pens are great.

Writing something down on paper is so much more satisfying than using a cellphone or computer. Net-notes are more convenient to retrieve, but I don't think that can make up for how unnatural it feels to use a keyboard to enter them.

Compared to pen and paper, phones are slow. I'd rather whip out some pen and paper than swipe around my phone trying to find the right app. Phones lack the physicality required to indicate that you're doing something more important than just wagging your thumb around.

My pen of choice is the Precise V7 Fine from Pilot. The width feels great when writing and I enjoy its lack of rubberized grip. Those things just get in my way most of the time.

The Precise writes very well and the extended tip makes fine strokes much easier. I often use mine to practice writing chinese characters. Even with the tiny details and intersecting swoops of Chinese, I've never had an issue.

This pen comes with a cap that sits nice and snug. I prefer this style to the clicky top because of the accidental click issue. If you put your pen in your pocket and the spring engages, you've got a nice black spot on your pants. I like to take the cap off when writing rather than keep it on the end. This gives a nice, quick feel to each stroke. I tend to get more ink on my hands without the cap, but that's through no fault of the pen.

The only issue I've had with the Precise V7 is its inability to write on hard surfaces. In order to get good results I usually write under a notebook. Without the notebook, the pen produces a ghostly effect rather than its usual full stroke. I have a feeling that this is a feature of all ballpoint pens, but I don't know for sure.

The life of this pen is exceptional. I usually go through one per term (three months) while studying at school, if I don't lose it somewhere in between.

Overall, an excellent writing device!

My final verdict: 8/10