Stationery Review
BY N. RAZBAN '23
Folks, you know what makes the world go round? Love? No, you silly goose—stationery! At least for me. What's not to love about taking notes with pretty pens on perfectly creamy white paper? That being said, it's important to remember that this is all for fun! All you really need for school is a black pen or pencil and some paper. I just happen to LOVE the extra stuff. So, let's dive into the extras.
Pens: Ah pens, the tongue of the mind, according to the famous poet Quintus Horace Flaccus. The true stars when it comes to note-taking. Let's start off with the basics: black pens. My all-time favorite black pen is the Muji Gel-Ink Ball-point pen .5mm. It simulates the SMOOTHEST writing experience ever and doesn't run out of ink until there is literally nothing left. It also has a comfy grip and looks pretty snazzy. The downside to this one though is that because it is a gel pen, it dries slowly, so it's not the best if you are doing a lot of highlighting or are left handed.
Next up, we have the EnerGel Deluxe RTX gel-pen-needle point .7mm (what a mouthful). As the name suggests, it has a needle point, which means the tip is very precise, so it's great for annotating those tiny-print primary sources! It also dries much quicker than Muji and is cheaper. I especially like how they feel heavy and comfortable.
Pencils: The definite winner for mechanical pencils is the Paper Mate ClearPoint. It's a great pencil for the price; it's comfy, durable and really sleek-looking. It's also super easy to find and has a lot of different colors to choose from! Overall, 13/10.
But, if you want to spend a bit more on your writing experience, you could go for the Faber Castell Grip Matic. It has an incredibly ergonomic hold (as the name suggests) and is super lightweight without feeling cheap. The eraser also lasts a very long time and is very precise, unlike a lot of pencil erasers.
Now that you have your pencil, what are you going to refill it with? My all-time favorite lead is Muji’s (can you see the pattern here?). It doesn’t break easily and is super dark to write with. It's on the pricier side, but I would say it’s really worth it. If you want a more low-key lead though, go for the Pentel led. Really easy to find, and similar to the Paper Mate pencil, it's great quality for the price.
But what if you don't like mechanical pencils? I gotchu my dude! The best regular pencil I could find is the Paper Mate Exam Standard 2B. A suuuuper smooth writing experience, and again, amazing quality for the price. It looks like a fancy pencil without the enormous price tag, and since it's 2B, you’ll always be ready for standardized tests!
Highlighters: Now that you’ve written a beautiful page of notes, you’ll need to make some words POP! And for that, our good friend the highlighter is here to help. For my favorite spot, I’m torn between the Muji highlighter (are you surprised?) and the Sharpie Clear View Highlighter. They both have a little window so you can see what you are highlighting, but the Muji one also has a thinner end on the other side to underline with color!
Next up in the highlighter realm, we have the wonderful world of ~pastel~ highlighters. The ones that have been getting A LOT of attention lately are the Zebra Mildliners, and rightfully so! They come in super cute colors, dry quickly, and have a very smooth highlighting experience. Their only competitor in terms of pastel highlighters is the Stabilo Highlighter Pastel. These come in both big and small sizes, all of which have very good ink. They don't come in as many sizes as the Zebra ones, but they are really pretty for the price.
Now that I’ve written the words “smooth writing experience” more times than I ever have in my life, it's time to wrap this up. My ending thoughts? You don't need pretty stationery to do well in school! It’s all for fun. Now, go take pretty notes my friend :)
Pens: Ah pens, the tongue of the mind, according to the famous poet Quintus Horace Flaccus. The true stars when it comes to note-taking. Let's start off with the basics: black pens. My all-time favorite black pen is the Muji Gel-Ink Ball-point pen .5mm. It simulates the SMOOTHEST writing experience ever and doesn't run out of ink until there is literally nothing left. It also has a comfy grip and looks pretty snazzy. The downside to this one though is that because it is a gel pen, it dries slowly, so it's not the best if you are doing a lot of highlighting or are left handed.
Next up, we have the EnerGel Deluxe RTX gel-pen-needle point .7mm (what a mouthful). As the name suggests, it has a needle point, which means the tip is very precise, so it's great for annotating those tiny-print primary sources! It also dries much quicker than Muji and is cheaper. I especially like how they feel heavy and comfortable.
Pencils: The definite winner for mechanical pencils is the Paper Mate ClearPoint. It's a great pencil for the price; it's comfy, durable and really sleek-looking. It's also super easy to find and has a lot of different colors to choose from! Overall, 13/10.
But, if you want to spend a bit more on your writing experience, you could go for the Faber Castell Grip Matic. It has an incredibly ergonomic hold (as the name suggests) and is super lightweight without feeling cheap. The eraser also lasts a very long time and is very precise, unlike a lot of pencil erasers.
Now that you have your pencil, what are you going to refill it with? My all-time favorite lead is Muji’s (can you see the pattern here?). It doesn’t break easily and is super dark to write with. It's on the pricier side, but I would say it’s really worth it. If you want a more low-key lead though, go for the Pentel led. Really easy to find, and similar to the Paper Mate pencil, it's great quality for the price.
But what if you don't like mechanical pencils? I gotchu my dude! The best regular pencil I could find is the Paper Mate Exam Standard 2B. A suuuuper smooth writing experience, and again, amazing quality for the price. It looks like a fancy pencil without the enormous price tag, and since it's 2B, you’ll always be ready for standardized tests!
Highlighters: Now that you’ve written a beautiful page of notes, you’ll need to make some words POP! And for that, our good friend the highlighter is here to help. For my favorite spot, I’m torn between the Muji highlighter (are you surprised?) and the Sharpie Clear View Highlighter. They both have a little window so you can see what you are highlighting, but the Muji one also has a thinner end on the other side to underline with color!
Next up in the highlighter realm, we have the wonderful world of ~pastel~ highlighters. The ones that have been getting A LOT of attention lately are the Zebra Mildliners, and rightfully so! They come in super cute colors, dry quickly, and have a very smooth highlighting experience. Their only competitor in terms of pastel highlighters is the Stabilo Highlighter Pastel. These come in both big and small sizes, all of which have very good ink. They don't come in as many sizes as the Zebra ones, but they are really pretty for the price.
Now that I’ve written the words “smooth writing experience” more times than I ever have in my life, it's time to wrap this up. My ending thoughts? You don't need pretty stationery to do well in school! It’s all for fun. Now, go take pretty notes my friend :)
