[Pen/Pencil Review] The Carpe Diem Comics Promotional Stylus Pen

This past weekend my friends, Lys and Shado Wiley, realized a dream. They opened a comic book shop in McKinney, Texas – Carpe Diem Comics*. While they were building, and now that the shop is open, they did an inexpensive gimme pen for promotional purposes. They are smart people who take note of what others have done before them and picked a promotional pen with a stylus for people to use on their (and other) screens. It’s a smart move.

This is a typical promotional pen. Inexpensive, plastic, retractable. They picked an orange and white theme with a black stylus and black rubber insets on the orange grip. There’s a wave pattern to the pen to give a bit of ergonomics. It’s a typical 5.5″ length.

The pen has a clicking retractable mechanism. The pen is a ballpoint that’s probably a 1.0mm – the default any more. The ink is black and dark with limited glopping or smearing. On shiny paper there will be some smearing until it dries. But it is perfectly serviceable as a pen in any kind of situation.

The stylus actually does work with an iPhone and iPad. It does require pushing and smushing the stylus tip, but it does work. Which is rather surprising for the price of the pen which was free for me (but not expensive for them – probably one of the lower end because investments in the early stage of building a business). I still don’t use styluses on a regular basis, but there is something to have one or two in the bag in case of germy screens everywhere.

The Numbers.

1. How does it work? – 1 – It’s better than I expected for a ballpoint. It’s decent ink and flow. It’s a decent promotional pen.
2. Look and feel – 0.5 – It’s a typical length with a nod to ergonomics with a grip that has some comfort to it..
3. Material – 0.5 It’s plastic. It’s got a soft rubber stylus. I’m not sure what the life span is on this one. For the price, the materials aren’t stellar.
4. Overall Design – 0.5 – It’s a good pen. The stylus could be more responsive. I have two of these and one works better than the other. So it’s a hit/miss on the stylus.
5. Price Point – 1 – It was a free (for me) promotional thing. You can check out the Carpe Diem store or find them at a show, they might have some left. Tell them you saw it here and check out the books.

4 out of 5 bronze pencils.

Tags: Ballpoint, black ink, carpe diem comics, pen, Pencil, promotional, review