We’re at the end of the year, and I’ve been contemplating doing some year end "top" posts. One that seemed pretty easy to write was one about the pens that I have used and loved this year. Once I started writing the below, though, it ended up not being nearly as simple as I expected. I decided that I would limit myself to five pens, or at least models of pen. 

I say “used and loved” because, for me, pens are used in a variety of contexts, and my most used pens, while I should and do love using them, aren’t the only pens that I have loved using this year. Also, this is all about me, and how I use pens, pens are a personal taste, and what works for me may or may not work for you, I'm a weirdo. So take this with a grain of salt before you run out and buy any of the below. 

To start with the easiest to identify. In my work bag, I carry a simple zip up pen/pencil case from United Bees that I picked up at Maido in San Francisco a couple of years ago. This case is filled with two varieties of the Uni-ball Signo pen in a variety of colors. I use these pens in my daily work life more than any other pen I own. The Uni-ball Signo UM-151 Gel Pen  in the 0.38 mm has been the mainstay of my work writing for several years, and last year, they introduced the Uni-ball Signo Needle UM-151ND Gel Pen, which is a 0.38 needlepoint version of the same pen. As you can see from the picture, the colors are all over the map, but I do tend to always use one of the darker colors and one of the lighter colors together, for instance Blue Black and Mandarin Orange go together very nicely, giving me a highlight color in my bullet journal, and visually keeping things interesting. I have to say that the Blue Black and Green Black are my favorites.  To be honest, I was a little surprised when I dumped the bag and there was only one Blue Black pen in there, I guess it's time to buy more! I typically order these from Jet Pens, and there's a large vessel in my home office that is also full of these pens. 

The next most obvious pen that I have used and loved this year is the one that's in my pocket every day. It's paired with my Stuff Sheath, and hasn't been dethroned from my daily carry in about three years, although I have tried several other options. This pen is the Sunderland Mk1 from Sunderland Machine Works. In the age of Kickstarter pens, I have yet to find a better designed and engineered pen in this class. Especially notable are the lack of exposed threads on the grip inside the pen, and the high quality clip that they provide. I use the refill out of a Pilot Juice Gel Pen - 0.38 mm - Blue Black in this pen. It's been my refill of choice in Pilot G2 compatible pens for as long as I've known about it, and I think I have the Pen Addict himself to thank for turning me on to it. While I have this pen body in both nickel and black, I tend to use the black one a lot more.  One other pen that I did use as my daily pocket pen was the Schon DSGN pen in Punk Rock pink and black. This pen is a stunner, and really well made too. Unfortunately it fell out of my pocket on a business trip, I think in a Lyft, and it's gone. I did really enjoy using it. In the end the sweet gel refill that fits in the Sunderland would have won out over the ballpoint in any case.  Sorry that the Sunderland pen is currently sold out, but maybe they will make more soon. I wouldn’t mind picking up another color too. 

The next pen is one that I just love to use on a regular basis, the ystudio Brassing Portable Fountain Pen. Mine is a Fine nib. After lusting after this pen for a while, I finally rewarded myself with it on a trip to Toronto for work two years ago. 

This pen is both aesthetically nice to look at and a joy to use. It has a really nice solid feel in my hand, and putting it’s cap back in place has this satisfying click to it that makes me want to play with the pen at my desk all day. I really like the hexagonal body style, and that wasn't something I had in my pen arsenal prior to this pen.  

The last pen on my list is my beloved Sailor Pro Gear Blue Lagoon. I own a few Sailor pens, and a couple of other Pro Gear pens, but this one is just the best looking pen I own, period, in my opinion.  I'm borrowing someone else's image of it, because I haven't been able to take a picture of this pen that truly does it justice. 

It's one of those things where I missed the release of this pen, which is a part of Sailor's Cocktail Series, in 2016, and then realized that I really wanted one, but months went by, and I couldn't find anyone who had any intention of selling one. I had pretty much given up on ever getting one. Then, by complete coincidence through a friend in Seattle (thank you again!) I found out one was available and bought it immediately.  Since then, it's remained in my pen setup, and I don't think that will change anytime soon. Sailor just make great product, and this one is my favorite that they've made in recent memory. I have no idea what it would take to knock it out of it's spot, but it's my top pen.  

Well, here we are, at the end of the list and at the end of the year. Looking forward to trying new things in 2019 to see if anything can dethrone the items on this list for 2018. 

Not so weekly these days.  This episode is very focused on paper goods. 

I've really been digging the slim and tall format of these Ro-Biki Notebooks from Yamamoto Paper. I've adopted them for my Bullet Journal, and the format seems to be perfect for my simple adaptation of the system. The paper in these notebooks is fantastic, and works well with both my beloved Signo gel ink pens and the fountain pens I am using from time to time.  I am currently using the  "Star Map" edition pictured above which is a lovely dark green color. The covers of these notebooks are a waxed stock that develops cool character as you beat it up. These aren't cheap, but are a high quality product.  They ship from Japan, so you need to be a little patient with arrival timing. 

As it's December, it's time for a new "planner plan" for 2019. This year, I am straying from the Hobonichi Techo and Hobonichi Weeks that I have been using for the last few years and giving the Jibun Techo system a try.  I bought a fairly expensive setup from one of my favorite online stationary retailers, Baum-Kuchen, that is centered on the B6 Slim format and includes a BK x The Superior Labor leather case. If you want to get an idea on how one might use this planner, here's a great article detailing some of the features of this cool planner setup with good shots of the folios and some ink tests, if that's of interest.  There are more similar stories of how people are using this planner here. I'm hopeful that I will stick with daily use of this system better this year than the last couple of years with the Hobonichis. I purposely went for something smaller to ensure that I will carry it around. The Ro-Biki notebook that I am using for the Bullet Journal fits in the case with only a small amount sticking out. 

I've also become interested in the idea of keeping a five year journal, and since I've just hit a big birthday, this year seems as good a time to really start and lean into this idea. It pairs well with my current interest in Stoicism and reflection. For this purpose, I have chosen the Hobonichi 5-Year Techo A6.  This size is currently available from Jet Pens if you don't want to order it all the way from Japan.  

Lastly, for now, I have been a fan of The James Brand for a while. I carry their Elko knife in my pocket all the time, use one of their key hooks for the daily carry of my keys, and own a couple of their other knives. So I was really interested, and immediately ordered the LTD Benton pen when it was released. A sweetener is that it comes with a limited run of 600 set of Field Notes books that match the pen. If you know me at all, you know that I had to have this pen, and those sweet sweet notebooks. I really like the super clean lines of the pen, which is a ballpoint out of the box. My only reservation on recommending this is that the click mechanism for the pen is plastic, which is not something I really expect in a pen that costs this much. Having said that, I am happily using mine. 

I’d aimed to have this done on Monday, but my energy levels have been all over the place the last few days, and I just never got to it. Small subtext is that I had a medical situation a couple of weeks ago, and am recovering from it, but slowly. The energy levels are really the last thing to get back to normal when you don’t eat for a few days. I won’t get more specific than that, I’m reluctant to post medical related information on the internet or social media.

Like most of the gaming world, I’ve really been enjoying Fortnite this week and for the last month or so. For those who aren’t gaming adjacent, it’s a “Battle Royale” style game that has skyrocketed in popularity. The game is available across a wide variety of platforms, but I play on PC. I am “bumpish” should you want to friend and play with me, but don’t set your expectations too high on what my level of skill might be. I’d love to play with you in any case. I’m only on a few times a week, and for a brief time, I don’t get much dedicated PC gaming in these days with family duties.

I’m also enjoying the rollover to the Year of the Raven in Hearthstone, which happened this week with the release of the Witchwood expansion. I exalt in the end of the mill deck era. There is one card, Shudderwock, which is totally broken and makes things less fun than they could be. Here’s a great video from Disguised Toast that elaborates on how broken, at least the animations, if not the whole mechanic are.

I did go to the Atlanta Pen Show for a couple of hours until I ran out of gas.  My new purchases were an “Aiken” pen from Carolina Pen Company, which is colored to look like the Northern Lights using the same material as this pen, and a Seed A5 case from my friends at Nock.

I did also buy some Gigante Note Cards from Nock while I had the chance in person. These folded over notecards are a favorite of mine, and I keep a couple in my pocket sheath with me all the time. They are essentially the smallest available notebook, with only 4 pages.

Top of mind for me on the music side is Black Moon Rising from the Black Pumas. There are listen links for a variety of music services on that page. At first I thought it was Cee-Lo Green, but it’s not. I haven’t been able to find anything else by them, they are from Austin, TX.

Last night we watched the first episode of the Pastry Chef season of Chef’s Table about Christina Tosi from Milk Bar.  If you have Netflix, I highly recommend this episode, I found it really inspiring. Be careful though, you can order just about anything in the episode from their web site. My cookies are on the way.

I’m thinking about getting a ReMarkable Tablet based on the recommendation of some folks online who swear by it.  Seems like it might either completely replace my work notebook, or it won’t work for me at all though, making the price tag a little tough to swallow. The iPad hasn’t really worked for me for this particular use case, and I love my e-ink Kindles, so the idea of the product might be in my sweet spot.

ttfn.

Since reading Matthew’s review, I decided to jot down a few thoughts on this item as well. I’m not sure when Nock will make it available to regular people via their site, but well, home field advantage. Update: These are going live at Noon today, November 30th, 2015. 

I picked up one of these cases in waxed canvas a few weeks ago when Nock Co. had a booth at a pop up shop for American made goods at Ponce City Market here in Atlanta. Like Matthew says in his review, this thing is boss. I like mine so much that it’s become a permanent part of my backpack load out, and I think I want to pick up a second one.

I have been using Field Notes for my Bullet Journal pursuits for the last few weeks, and so this is a good match, I keep a couple of recently filled notebooks, and the next one I am going to use.  I have been carrying three pens, each with a different load out.

I also keep a few Frictionless Capture Cards tucked in.  Sadly, they went out of business, and once my current supply of these cards is gone, I will probably move on to these Nock Co. DotDash Cards.

I’d read or heard, I think on the Pen Addict podcast, that the case doesn’t quite hold an iPhone 6 Plus, but mine actually does hold one and zip up. That’s actually why I think I might pick up a second Sinclair case, as I have a work 6 plus that I keep in my daily carry backpack monstrosity. Here’s a shot of my 6 plus tucked into the Sinclair.

I’m totally sold on this case, and highly recommend it. Nock Co. makes really high quality product right here in Atlanta, and I’ve never had any issues or been disappointed with anything I have bought from them. I think I might grab a couple of zipper pulls from them after seeing Matthews configuration, but otherwise, this is the perfect carry for my Field Notes, Word Notebooks, and three pens, which is the most I really would use anyway.

I’d also love to see one of these in a larger size that was designed to hold a Hobonichi Techo. There’s such a lack of good cases that are meant to hold the Techo, and it’s gotten more popular. Seems like a real market opportunity to me.

The newest Word. Notebooks are really nice looking, both the blue colorway pictured above, but also the black color way.  I ordered a pack of each, but I am starting to struggle with my talent for acquiring cool notebooks compared to my velocity with filling them up. Maybe I should start giving more away?

Smart looking new Baron Fig Confidant Notebooks with Work/Play theme were released this morning. I’ve filled up two of their regular Confidant notebooks in the course of my Bullet Journaling. Aside from some annoying fraying of the bookmark, which I think they are working on mitigating, I’ve really like them from a paper, looks and durability perspective. I ordered three of the new ones.

Similar to the Arts and Sciences Field Notes, but reversed, each spread has a “Work” page, which is dot grid, and a “Play” page, which is blank. I’m actually currently about halfway through a Sciences Field Notes right now.

Update: Brad over at the Pen Addict has had access to these, and has posted a review that’s worth reading.

The Starbucks Reserve Roastery Edition Field Notes look amazing. Only available from the one specific Starbucks location in Seattle. Through begging online, I managed to get someone to send me a couple of packs, apparently they are already out.

The rewards include a custom printed Bullet Journal notebook, which seems like an interesting idea, albeit a little antithetical to the overall idea of Bullet Journal in the first place. Of course, I was in the moment I saw the Kickstarter, and have backed the project at the two notebook tier.

I feel like I owe Ryder a debt of gratitude because Bullet Journal has been so useful for me, and I am interested in seeing more ideas from other people on how I can evolve my Bullet Journal style. (The best thing for me would be neater handwriting, I need to work on that.) It’s definitely a very accessible system, so it adapts well to a variety of needs, and varying levels of note taking skill. If you haven’t checked it out yet, here’s your chance.

Fall 2014 Field Notes, sort of revealed. Can’t wait to get my subscription package. FIELD NOTES COLORS: UNEXPOSED EDITION.

I've gone a little office supply, pen and notebook crazy over the last year. It really started when I stated using Bullet Journal.  One of the favorite items that I have bought during that time was a Hobonichi Planner Book. It's one of those products that is obviously a labor of love for the people who craft it, and there are numerous delightful details.  Next year's book goes on sale on September 1st, and if you are at all interested in this sort of thing, I recommend reading this really well done overview post over at Pen*Paper*Ink*Letter.  It includes some great images of the product, covers, and packaging.

Ran across this blog post on one of my groups, and definitely plan on trying it out because it seems like an interesting visual approach to coding your notebook entries, where a single entry can be coded as multiple topics. This hack makes the  back of your notebook will act like a tag list or index.

Evernote and Moleskine have released another entry into their lineup of co-created notebooks.  Aside from the nicer cover than the previous offering, which was my only real complaint with them, this one has some particularly interesting additions.  First, there’s an area, pictured above, where you can take notes that are only for you, allowing you to share notes from meetings, while keeping some notes that aren’t meant to be shared.  Second, there’s a check box in the corner of each page, and, if it’s checked, Evernote will set a reminder when you capture that page with the Evernote app.  This has a ton of possible useful applications.  I’ve been constantly trying out new notebooks as I continue to evolve my own personal version of Bullet Journal, and I guess this one is next.