Platinum Mini Ballpoint Pen with Capacitive Stylus Review

I mentioned in last week’s podcast that I had tried out a new pen + stylus combo that I did not like, and the Platinum Mini Ballpoint Pen with Capacitive Stylus is the guilty party. The concept is good, but there are just too many flaws to make this a pen worth using.

To cut right to the chase, my main issue is the stylus performance. First off, it is very non-responsive on my touch screen devices. It took 2–3 taps to register on my iPad without a screen protector and 3–5 taps on my iPhone with an Otter Box built in screen protector. Swiping? Don’t even ask.

Secondly, and possibly the cause of the first issue, is that the stylus is on top of the pen knock. I didn’t give it a passing thought when ordering the pen, but the knock spring is not strong enough to prevent the stylus from receding a large amount when trying to use it. It is like squish, squish, squish every tap. It was frustrating after about five seconds of use.

The pen itself is not so bad. The slim design is great for portability, and the 0.5 mm ballpoint writes very well. It’s a shame that the stylus performance is not up to par. I think JetPens agrees - I have never seen a pen move from New Arrivals to Close-Out so quickly.

Platinum Preppy Fountain Pen Fine 03 Nib Review

One of the most frequent questions I get asked is what is a good fountain pen for beginners. Being a fountain pen novice myself I have tried out several and always come back to one that I always recommend: the Platinum Preppy.

The reason I like the Preppy so much is that the nib writes very well for such a low cost pen. I of course prefer the Fine nib, but there is a Medium option if you prefer. When you first snap in the ink cartridge it takes a minute or two of scribbling to get the ink flow going, but once you do it is a solid, steady, and smooth performer. I keep this pen within reach at all times for when I want a no nonsense fountain pen experience.

Seriously, for $3.30 from JetPens you cannot go wrong. If you have never used a fountain pen in your life this is a good, inexpensive way to see if you like writing with a nib. If you do like it, then that is where the trouble begins. :)

Platinum OLEeNu Lead Breakage Prevention Mechanical Pencil Review

Aside from the Uni-Ball Kuru Toga, there haven’t been any great strides made in pencil technology over the past several years. That is not a bad thing. Pencils - mechanical included - are some of the most traditional writing instruments around, and it is difficult to change an almost perfect tool.

The Platinum OLEeNu attempts to bring something new to the table with its lead breakage prevention mechanism. This is not a world changing advancement in technology, but I will say it works as intended and is a nice feature.

When I started the written review, I was writing with standard pressure and at a standard pace. If you look closely at the page, you can see the gradient variation when I started pressing down really hard to see if I could get the lead to break, and I couldn’t. Now, I didn’t get violent with it, but you can see how hard I was pressing by how dark the lead is.

That is the major feature of the Platinum OLEeNu, and it works well. What I don’t like about this pencil is the barrel design, specifically the clip. Like most of you, I rotate all non-Kuru Toga pencils in my hand as I write to keep a sharp point on the lead, and the extra large clip gets in the way of my rotation. Not a deal breaker - more of an annoyance. The grip area wasn’t my favorite either - it is best described as funky. I can’t really put my finger on it, but I don’t love it.

In lieu of posting all of the technical details here, check out the specs and photos on the JetPens product page. There are some great photos and descriptions of how this pencil works.