Pilot Birdy Switch 0.7 mm Ballpoint Pen and 0.5 mm Mechanical Pencil (HSBN-50S)

I was missing informed, well not really mis informed, it just doesn't specify that you have to take cap off top to use the pen. I was hoping for something a little faster like a mechanical or similar. Also the pen is super thin, like half the thickness of a pencil. I have bigger hands and 8ts difficult to hang on to, slippery, but I like the metal casing. Other then that, writes great, both ends an durable product. I would recommend it, but I'd make known the thickness. I'm going to give 5 stars simply because i do.t feel a bad rating is appropriate considering most the bad is my preference.

I used to keep a little zebra pen pencil set on my that sold for less than this, but that apparently is revealing of my age. I looked at many options for replacing it when the pencil spring snapped after seven odd years and I ran out of pen refills. This is an amazing little pen that's super handy so long as you've got somewhere convenient and easy to find when you'll likely need it. This is a very small open and pencil in one.

I'm not one to write reviews so I'll start with this: I love this little thing! I'm an engineering student, and sometimes I need a pen and pencil this thing is a neat little combo. When I first got it I was a little worried it was a pilot knock off, primarily because of the Japanese characters. But after using it for a test I can say that this thing writes smoothly. I had to use the pen to sign my name. It writes very smoothly for a ballpoint pen. The mechanical pencil is also quite nice; most mechanical pencils push out too much lead or barely any. This one pushes out small increments, so if you write harshly like me you won't have to push the cap and push the lead in yourself! My only issue is it's a little slim for my fat man fingers. I have another one on the way!

This is an excellent pen...cil. Initially, the lid which covers the pen would pull the pen out whenever I wanted to use the pen. I learned to grip the cap lightly and pull back gently in order to expose the pen without removing the cartridge. It took some time for it to "break-in" in order to do this everytime. I'm now able to do it consistently. The pen cartridge lasts much longer than I thought it would. The body barely fits well in the hands and it's heavy enough for my hands to register that I'm holding it. It's also a pen that many people admire. All in all, it's an excellent product and I recommend it for anyone who enjoys the subtlety of it's size.

While this writing instrument writes well both pen and pencil, the ink cartridge is tiny and there's not much room for extra lead. It's perfect for a wrist-let bag or small notebook for occasional use. It wouldn't work well as a frequent use item.

Finally a tiny split pen/pencil that fits perfectly with my Moleskin notebook. The only thing that would improve it is if the pen side retracted somehow or there was another cover provided so you could cover both ends at once. As is there's always a pointy end so not great for pocket carry.

So I love the concept, and I found the miraculously-sized instrument perfectly comfortable for writing with and easy to stash away on my person … but as the lead wore down, the clutch wouldn’t advance the remaining lead. I figured “Fine, the lead must’ve broken in shipping, my Amazon packages routinely look like they’ve been run over by tanks, so I’ll just dislodge the broken lead and replace it.” Well, easier said than done. This stupid fiddly thing wouldn’t let go of the lead. Ninety minutes later, once I finally dislodged the broken bit of lead by basically pushing it partway out with another lead, then gently pulling it the rest of the way out, the clutch would now not grab hold of a new lead. The new lead would just rattle around in the chamber. Threading the lead into the clutch from the other end—another forty-five minutes wasted—the clutch still refused to advance the lead. So clearly the clutch and advancement mechanism were broken all along. I’ve basically got a mini-pen, with a chamber for inert leads, and one unusable lead which the clutch will not advance far enough to write with. Unfortunately, I mostly used the pen end right after buying it, so I’ve only just tonight discovered the mechanical pencil end arrived broken. So did Amazon break this in the warehouse? Or did their driver run over the box one too many times? Or does Pilot uniquely make a crappy mini pen and pencil? Or does a writing utensil this fiddly maybe always intrinsically suck? I bought this too long ago for it to be eligible for a return, and at this price point I’m not buying another just to satisfy my curiosity, so I guess we’ll never know.

Perhaps the one concern I have about this pen+pencil combo is that it is small enough to easily misplace. Though the size is one of the features I love about this writing instrument. The default is set to have the pencil side displayed at all times unless you switch the cap that discreetly hides the pen side. Unlike a multi-use writing tool, you don't twist a section of the writing instrument to switch from pen to pencil-- you remove the cap and switch it to the other side. The design is a little odd in this respect, but considering how small it is with the offered function, space was used efficiently. To refill the lead, which is a 0.5 mm size, you have to pull off the cap that conceals the pen tip side. Then pull out the pen cartridge refill, which is one small cartridge, to access the tube for pencil lead. Accessing the pencil lead tube is also how you replace the pen cartridges, as these are on the smaller side it does require the specific Pilot refill which will last a reasonable amount of time for short notes. For my purposes, it's nice to have a small pen and pencil in one writing instrument to keep in my pocket or purse. It's also nice to have around for travel journal entries.