Writing Style
G2 Pilot Pens (1mm)
I absolutely love G2 pens and have been using them since 8th grade – which was in 1999. My mom and I would go back to school shopping at the end of the summer, and I would always grab a pack of G2s. She resisted as much as possible (these things are a bit expensive for an 8th-grader prone to losing things) but always caved (moms are the best aren’t they?) and would buy me a box for the school year.
My favorite pen — and the dog.
It’s hard to remember why I latched onto G2s back in the day. But if I could guess, it’s for a few reasons:
These pens are a smooth writer – the pen glides across paper.
The point is fine – which allows writers like me to fill page upon page with size 3 font text. Per my father, “How the hell do you read this? You write so small!”
G2s are comfortable – the rubber grip helps offset cramping. Having used these through law school and business school (oh and college and high school…), I’ve written tons of exams with these. Pages upon pages of rushed text. While not perfect, my hand felt pretty good each time.
Weight is solid. G2s feel well made. You’re paying a premium for a copy store pen, and it shows. Plus – if you can spin a pen around your finger, it’s much easier with these.
They last! I rarely run out of ink. Typically, I’ve lost all the pens before they’ve run out of ink. I’m about 12 months into my last box.
The only issue I’ve ever run into with these pens… if you leave one in your pocket and send your pants through the dryer, your clothes are F’d. I cannot tell you the number of times my poor mother tried to scrub black specks out of my jeans (and all the other clothes in a load of laundry for that matter). These things will explode and make an absolute mess. So – empty your pockets before you do your wash! Don’t blame me if you ruin everything!
Moleskine Classic Notebook
The Moleskine Classic is a hearty, well constructed writing tool.
Next up is the Moleskine classic notebook (5” x 8.25”). The wife gets me one of these every year for Christmas. They’re amazing. It’s a maneuverable little notebook – meaning it’s narrow with a hard cover that allows the writer to chuck it into any sort of go-bag with little worry about creasing or damaging pages. I use the Moleskine for both work and pleasure. It has 240 pages so if you use it exclusively for one or the other, it’ll probably last you a year.
Even writing with inky G2 pens, I rarely run into smudge issues with the Moleskine. The paper quality is excellent, and even a water/ beer/ juice/ Spindrift spill hardly ruins more than a page (which is the exact opposite of what happens with a traditional lined notebook – one spill = 10 wrecked pages, minimum). Line spacing might be a bit tight if you write larger than I do, but I’ve never had a problem even when not intentionally writing with a small font size. Having a bookmark is critical for a year’s worth of notes, and I find it to be a really helpful tool that prevents me from having to turn down corners to remember my place.
The world’s best writing combo.
If I could think of a con for these handy-dandy little notebooks (Blue’s Clues anyone?), the binding does wear down a bit after frequent use. This said, I have yet to have this materially impact my experience. I don’t keep my notebooks once the year is through, but if I was using them for journaling, the binding quality could be an issue.
Happy writing, everyone!
-Him
