What's In My Bag?

Gorillapod, WD 500GB, Apple Macbook Pro 13", HiFiMAN EF2A headphone amp, Panasonic Lumix GF-1, Grado SR225i, iPhone 3GS, my sketchbook, a bunch of pens, and my Oakley Holbrooks.

Zebra Sharbo X LT3 Matte... The Orange Flame!

One thing I'm starting to notice while I'm designing killer robots for the future is that I tend to run through gel ink pens everyone couple of weeks. It's ridiculous how many plastic shells I've tossed. This is where the Sharbo comes in. It allows me to switch between two gel colors and a ballpoint. I do wish the shell didn't cost so much, though. $45 is enough to make a grown man cry.

Searching for the Perfect 0.38 Gel Pen

So I have a confession. I'm obsessed with gel pens. Like a 7th year old girl, yes. And not just any gel pen. They must be at 0.38mm in size, light, and be shelf stable for at least a year when not in use. I've summed up my top picks from my 14 years of research below (okay, maybe 2 months):

Dong-A 3-ZERO 0.38 Gel Pens - These Korean-manufactured guys are rare. Really fricking rare. And one of my favorite pens of all time. I lucked out recently by finding them sold on eBay by some guy in New York, but it looks like it's going to be impossible to replenish my collection after my last Dong-A pen gets used up. They tend to go from $0.75 to $3 a piece.

Uni-ball Signo DX UM-151 Gel Pens - Made to rival the G2 Pilot, these guys clog less, are thin like the Dong-A's, and come in more colors than most. They go for about $2.25 a piece.

Pilot G-2 Retractable Gel-Ink Pens - These are the perfect office pens. They're cheap, flow great (when they work), and have similar qualities of the Dong-A in pen stroke. You also get a sweet rubber grip, which helps when you've got greasy fingers. They go for $1.30 a piece when bought in bulk.

Don't believe me? Just purchase a couple (if you can find 'em) and try it out for yourself. Believe me, you won't be disappointed. I am the pen expert, after all.