The Pilot Pentopia
2+1 stylus is Pilot’s most popular stylus replacement, and it is easy to see
why. The 2+1 not only comes with a orange stylus tip, but also has a pen
and pencil stored inside its small body. The 2+1 is silver with black
accents and makes for a very attractive stylus. Each of the slides that
exposes the tips are a different color. The stylus slide is a light
maroon, the 0.5 pencil slide is light grey, and the black ink slide is dark grey.
There is also a picture or text beneath the color guides that says what their
function is also. Clicking another point half-way pulls the current one
back in.
Unscrew the top to reveal an eraser,
and unscrew the bottom to replace the pencil lead or ink. The 2+1 does not
fit into the Visor stylus silo, but it does have a pocket clip.
Usability
The 2+1 is a joy to use. I have
never owned a Pilot pen before, but I can see why they are so popular. The
ink flows onto paper easily and leaves no smears. The stylus is a bright
orange tip that makes writing much easier on the Visor. I have found that
my Graffiti recognition (which is prett good) increased in accuracy. I
believe that it is because of the added weight that the 2+1 brings. The
orange tip makes it easier to see where you are when writing. The stylus
that comes with the Visor pales in comparison to the 2+1.
Using
the pencil is easy enough. When you have the pencil slider selected, just
click on the top like any other mechanical pencil to advance the 0.5mm lead.
Replacing the lead, however, is difficult. First unscrew the bottom, then
pull the end of the pencil off. I had problems here because I had to pull
pretty hard to get the end off, and I was worried about breaking it. This
is one of those things that gets easier with practice. There is only room
for about 2-3 sticks of lead in the pencil, which is decent. The lead has
broken several times and I have had to take out the broken pieces of lead.
There are grooves near the tip that
make the 2+1 easy to hold. The weight of the 2+1 is perfect and does not
feel too big. I am one of those people that likes styli that are about the
width of a pen. At 7/16", the 2+1 is has a wider diameter than normal
pens, but is not too big.
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