Next Pen Ultra Carbon Fiber Twin Stylus

Gadgeteer Hands On Review by Judie Hughes

April 23, 2002

Product Requirements:
Device:
Any touch-screen PDA

For those of you that don't want to use the thin stylus that fits in your PDA's silo, finding a good multi-pen that includes a stylus tip just makes sense. Like every other thing in life, there are many different choices that you can make when deciding which multi-pen you will use. Design, price and number of tips are just some of the factors you will need to consider. Sometimes it is hard to find a stylish and functional multi-pen that isn't too expensive. For those of you that are looking for a pen that falls in that category, you might want to take a look at the Next Pen Ultra Carbon Fiber Twin.

As the name implies, this Next pen has two tips, a black ballpoint and a white stylus tip. What separates this multi-pen from other dual tips is the use of woven carbon fiber for the entire length of the multi-pen's barrel. This creates an optical illusion effect of depth and texture.

Unfortunately, it is almost impossible to get a picture that truly shows the 3-D effect of the weave.

All of the trim on this multi-pen is done in shiny stainless steel, but it is not too flamboyant, in fact - the overall effect of this writing implement is nicely in the middle of using a boring solid black pen and using a more gaudy European metal pen. There is just enough "flash" to this multi-pen that keeps it from being too conservative, yet it isn't so wild that one would be uncomfortable using it in a corporate setting.

There is no decoration or obvious branding on this multi-pen, except for the very discreetly engraved "nextpen" logo on the stainless steel bottom edge.

Your desired writing tip is selected with a simple twist of the barrel. This is my preferred method of tip selection. While there is no mark to indicate which tip you will receive when twisting the barrel, since there are only two, it is not a major problem if you select the wrong tip to move to the correct one.

The black ball-point is a standard multi-pen refill size, so it will be easy to find replacements. While this pen wrote with a more fine line than I would usually use, the flow was sufficient and black enough that I didn't mind.

The white stylus tip is slightly rounded, and I found that it wrote equally well on screens with or without protection.

This pen measures 5.5" (13.9cm) long, and it is .4" (1.1cm) thick for the length of its barrel. It is quite comfortable in hand for extended periods of writing, and based on the use I have given this pen during this review period, I feel that it should hold up nicely in extended daily use.

The Next Pen Ultra Carbon Fiber Twin is available at Stylus Central and other retailers.

Price: $19.95

Pros:
Intricate Carbon Fiber design is beautiful and interesting
Smooth and easy action to select writing tip

Cons:
None