Pilot Pentopia T2300-P 2+1 Stylus Pen Combo

The Pilot Pentopia T2300-P 2+1 Stylus Pen Combo has always been a favorite of mine mainly because it is the Swiss Army knife of pens. It does it all. To begin with this pen is made of stainless steel which means it will stand up to almost any of the "daily grind" we tend to put pens through. The 2+1 is also three instruments in one. It is a pen of course, and it is an automatic pencil. Finally, it is a stylus as well. All wrapped up in a sleek package that is actually quite pleasing to the eye. Is that important? Let's face it. When you're in a heavy mangers meeting at woek and everyone starts to pull out their PDA's to schedule a follow up, you want to look professional. I mean, how would it look if you were to pull the equivalent of a Crayola crayon out of your shirt pocket and say "What day works for you?" So come on, admit that looks matter, despite what your mother told you and let's get down to analyzing this baby.

The Pen

The pen portion of the Pilot 2+1 is fairly straightforward. It is accessed just as all three options are, by sliding down on one of the colored "nibs" on top. Each nib is color coded and marked for easy use. The dark gray nib is for the pen. The pen is very easy to use, and it has a fine point which means you can use it in almost any situation. Accounting, margin notations, etc. What's more, the ink supply is free flowing and has no "globability". That means you can write without worrying that in the middle of one of your most brilliant ideas, the pen will suddenly "cough up a lung" all over your legal pad. I don't know about you, but I find that to be important. Basically, smudges suck. The pen writes quite smoothly and bearing down is not necessary to get a clean look. In essence, the pen portion of the 2+1 does exactly what it is supposed to do. Write cleanly and without mess.

The Mechanical Pencil

The pencil portion of the 2+1 is accessed by pushing down on the light gray nib on top. If the pen is already down, it automatically retracts when another nib is pushed. The operation is smooth and has no hang up. The pencil in the 2+1 is especially good. It is a 0.5 lead which means even architectural types can use this instrument. The lead is of high quality and the mechanism that pushes out the lead is very smooth. Perhaps the best part about the pencil function however has more to do with why we write with pencils in the first place. Speaking for myself I will admit that I write with a pencil when I am unsure of my answers. Come on...fess Up. Why else would we write with a pencil? BECAUSE OF THE ERASER, that's why. Ah...I feel better. Anyway, the eraser on the 2+1 is big. And it's easy to get to. Simply unscrew the large cap of the instrument and voila! There it is. Did I say it was big? By pencil standards, it's enormous. And that's a good thing. On many fancy pencils, made of exotic metals or woods, the big weakness is the eraser. It's tiny. Microscopic. Eensy.. Weensy... Get the idea?

So, after only a couple of faux pas it's gone. Vaporized in a pile of "rubberle" (Get it?....OK, bad pun). On the 2+1 the eraser will last for a good long while. And in my case that is a good thing. The larger the crossword puzzle, the bigger the eraser has to be. And I just can't see having to go back to using those "cap" erasers like we had in grade school. (Asideï¿½ï¿½..You could always tell how dumb your fellow student was by examining how worn down his eraser cap was. I used to change mine every other day. That way no one would know.) So, to sum up the pencil part of the 2+1, excellent. Smooth, 0.5 point, big eraser. Everything you need to go after the NewYork Times this Sunday.

The Stylus

I saved the stylus for last because it is the most interesting part of the 2+1. The sylus is accessed by pushing down on the red nib on top. Oh, by the way, if you are color blind, and that isn't really a joke, the 2+1 has all three option clearly labeled on the barrel of the device right below the nibs. These Pilot people think of everything. The stylus is really the thing that sets the 2+1 apart from any other combination device. It is a high quality stylus point that allows the user quickly pull out his/her PDA or phone and not have to fumble with the built in stylus that came with it, most of which are too small anyway. What's more, you don't have to worry about scratching the screen with the 2+1 stylus. It is an excellent point. It has just the right amount of "give" in it to glide over the screen when in use. Many of these lesser stylus pens have just a straightforward plastic tip that will scratch the heck out of your expensive PDA in minutes. The 2+1 is like having a glove on the tip. Very smooth. Easy to use, and quick to access. What more could anyone ask for. Well, there it is. The reason why I call the 2+1 the "swiss army knife" of pens. Even MacGuyver would be proud of the 2+1. Three high quality instruments all wrapped up in a sleek stainless steel package that is comfortable and looks great.

Even though Pilot discontinued the sale of this fantastic product some years ago, they can still be found in a few placed, from Amazon.com to e-Bay. We found brand new inventory for sale on StyliSource.com's site.

Unfortunately fans all that is left available is the black version:

http://www.styluscentral.com/shopexd.asp?id=440

Daniel R. Berenthall is a writer and techno-geek who sometimes does reviews for cool stuff. Oh, and he writes too. Pick up his latest book, "Video Killed The Digital Star" at amazon.com. Right after you buy the Pentopia 2+1 of course...;-)).

Thank you to
our sponsors!