Hard Candy Cases Stylus, White, (HC-STYLUS-WHI)

I really, really REALLY wanted to love this thing. After all... it is shiny, it is sleek and sexy... and it is one of the higher-priced capacitive styluses out there. I bought it, read the positive (and negative) reviews, and waited a month or so to voice my reaction (just to make sure I was judging it on personal use, not the opinions of others).Unfortunately, for all the 'oooh' factor it has going for it; the bad outweighs the good.1- The lack of a tab and the perfectly round body-design really does add up to a terrible, poorly-functioning instrument. It rolls. Everywhere. So do the caps, which cannot be placed on the end of the unused side. No tab is a livable offense, but even making the object oblong or oval would save the user from having to chase it all over his or her desktop. And when you make the mistake of setting the cap upright (to keep it from rolling madly away from you) and then accidentally tip it over, be ready for the delightful sound of ringing metal. This is especially delightful to endure while you are in a library, lecture hall or quiet work environment.As ridiculous as this sounds- THERE IS NOTHING MORE ANNOYING THAN HAVING A BIG, WOBBLY PIECE OF METAL SLIDE SIDEWAYS IN YOUR POCKET! This thing always... ALWAYS creeps down and ends up sulking in the bottom of my pants pockets, shirts and bags. Take a regular-sized pen and jam it down the front of your jeans pocket sideways and walk around for a few minutes. Now imagine you paid someone $40 for that experience.2- The pen/stylus is HEAVY. If it were even a few ounces lighter you wouldn't feel afraid of dropping it and cracking your iPad screen. It's nice to have a sense of WEIGHT in your hand, but this thing feels like a lead bullet.3- Small complaint, but I haven't seen it mentioned yet: THE PEN... SUCKS. It takes about thirty seconds of "test scribble" to get the ink flowing. The line is uncomfortable. And again... it is HEAVY, so your writing style will need to be used to a thick, heavy pen. It's not a good "pen" at all.4- This was mentioned in a previous review and I rolled by eyes at it originally. When you take the caps off and use the product, your fingers rest directly on the edge of where the cap meets the body of the pen. After about 10 minutes, this edge begins to feel like a razor blade on the pads of your fingertips! A simple bevel would have solved this, but the company would sacrifice their precious form factor. Sure, you could change your grip... but I shouldn't have to re-learn how to hold a damn pen just to use it.After a while, without realizing it, I was actually grimacing and sort of "dreading" reaching for my stylus. I abandoned it for the  Just Mobile AluPen Stylus for iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch & Other Touch Screens (Silver)  this week and so far, the Just|Mobile wins. The Hard Candy Case pen certainly wanted to look different. The bad news is that in doing so, it has reminded us why other objects DON'T look or act like this.I'm throwing it in my "oops" pile and only going for it when I have misplaced my other stylus. And even then... I'm just gonna risk a smudged iPad screen before I try to figure out which end is the rubber tip and which end is the pen.

I have always been an avid fan of good pens, both fountain and rollerball or gel pens. Recently, I have been moving to an iPad as my computer and wanted to begin the transition to a stylus for note taking and navigation, since I won't be handling a mouse much longer.I searched around for a Mont Blanc stylus thinking by now, a pen manufacturer like Mont Blanc would have already created a stylus for using with an iPad, but alas, I couldn't find one, and when I did google Mont Blanc stylus, the Hard Candy stylus came up as about the only top line type stylus that still looked like a fountain pen or at least a very nice gel or rollerball pen.I took awhile to commit to the Hard Candy, but I liked its look and read enough positive reviews that I thought I would like it a lot. Ordered through Amazon Prime, I got the stylus in fast order and was excited to put it to work with my iPad Air. Now let me say right off that the Hard Candy stylus has the best tip that I have used, though I have not bought many. I have a Bamboo that came highly recommended, and I like its grip better than the Hard Candy, though it is slim and the stylus tip is not as sensitive to the iPad screen.The Hard Candy stylus is very sensitive and gives me much better control. I also like the pen end of the Hard Candy. I write in blue ink and so when I got the Hard Candy stylus, I immediately exchanged the black ink for a Parker Jotter Gel refill. The shape of the refill fits perfectly into the Hard Candy barrel without any problems at all. With the hefty weight and fullness of the barrel, it feels just like a well made pen when I write with it. So with the sensitivity of the stylus and the versatility of the pen when refilling the ink, the Hand Candy worked perfectly. That's the good news.I gave the Hard Candy stylus only 3 stars because I was dismayed by the caps on either end of the tool. Neither end has a place to go when you take them off. They are not like a fountain pen where you can attach the top to the butt of the barrel while writing. This is a small but significant concern to me, one I have an issue with, but also something I could live with, if that was the only issue. Also, I know many have reviewed this flaw, so I wanted to bring it to the attention of Hard Candy. But...My main issue is with the barrel itself. I love the brushed chrome and the contour of the barrel on both ends; however, I am not comfortable at all with the sharp ridge that is exposed when you take either cap off the stylus. When using the stylus, my fingers lay uncomfortably over the sharp edge where the cap usually sits, and I find myself thinking about where my fingers are positioned rather than concentrating on my work.When I am using the pen end of the stylus tool, my fingers again worry about the sharp ridge along the barrel where the cap rests. I do not like to hold my pen close to the tip. I enjoy a pen that I can "lean back on" along the barrel. I am a professional writer that switches back and forth from hard copy to computer, and a pen and its comfort is very important to me. So when I tried to use the Hard Candy stylus and pen, I loved what I was potentially holding, but it seemed too flawed for me to want to use it as it is now designed. So here is what I did.I redesigned the Hard Candy stylus, and made it work for me. I took two non-slip rubber finger grips off cheap G-2 Pilot disposable gel pens and slid them onto either end of the Hard Candy barrel, so I would have a firm grip. The rubber sleeves fit perfectly against the sharp edge of the cap base, so I no longer have to worry about the sharp ridge that was so uncomfortable on either end of the barrel. All that has made for a perfect tool to use with my iPad Air and any writing that I do on paper.Of course, my alterations have made the caps for either end useless. They no longer fit the barrel. So I began looking around at what was in my house and really couldn't find anything that matched or came close to keeping the aesthetics of the pen intact. What I ended up using (forgive me Pelican Pens) is the top off of one of my Pelican fountain pens with silver accents to cover the gel pen end of the tool. For the stylus, I am using a pencil eraser that fits very comfortably over the stylus. It's goofy looking and I want to find something to replace the eraser soon. Mostly I leave off the eraser, but when I travel or carry the stylus with me, I cover the rubber tip so it won't get damaged.So I am giving the Hard Candy stylus only 3 stars because I had to basically redesign the ergonomics of the pen to fit my need and to remove what I think are terrible flaws in this tool. It could be the top of its class with more thought being put into the ergonomic elements of style and design. I am not yet finished with my design yet. I am still looking for good caps to replace the silver bullet covers. I don't want to use my Pelican cap for very long simply because it comes off a very expensive fountain pen, but I want this Hard Candy stylus to work out. I really love the design, the weight and girth of the pen. It feels great in my hand (with the alterations) and I feel I am writing and touch screening with a top quality tool. Perhaps the designers this tool need more input from those who use quality pens and are looking for the same in a stylus.So here's the down and dirty. I love the idea of this stylus. I love it now that I have corrected the flaws. Would I buy another? Well, if I can find good looking caps that match the design, then yes, I would buy another and refit it just like I did the first. But I am also looking to Mont Blanc, Waterman, and Acme pens to see if and when one of these fine writing instrument companies will take the plunge and make a stylus with the flair and style of a fountain pen. Maybe it's already out there, I don't know. If anyone does know, please respond here, so I can look it up.If Hard Candy gets this design right, I'll stick with them. I keep allegiances when I like a product, but I won't stay with it if I find a tool that is just as precise in the stylus but with more comfort and ergonomic design. I have taken too much time to make this particular product work for me. Fix it, please, so I can write another review of a great redesigned stylus.Thanks for sticking with me on this. I take my writing instruments very seriously, and for me, this is a writing instrument.

Finally someone managed to combine the accuracy of a rubber ball type end, (excellent for typing,useless for scrolling), with a coating that allows this stylus to compete with the foam tipped stylus that is not quite so precise, but overall makes a better stylus. However, after long term use I need to change my opinion of this stylus considerably.The Hard Candy is a game changer as it combines the accuracy and the friction free motion that formally forced you to choose between one or the other.The Hard candy has a pen at one end which useful for notes, and at the same time an accurate stylus end that also glides very smoothly indeed.It is a little on the heavy side but this is useful when typing as you do need to press sometimes quite hard which the extra weight seems to do for you.A clip of some sort would have been useful and the device itself takes a little getting used to.It is more expensive than the other Styli. However and buyer beware, although this stylus initially glides like a dream, it starts to wear very quickly. Eventually you might as well have a stylus with a piece of conductive but sticky rubber on the end, almost useless for anything at all, but typing. I just hope I can also edit the Five star rating down to two.Great pity as out of all the styli I have had this one did start out, to be the very best I have owned. Maybe I just press too hard?. Hard Candy Cases iPad Stylus