Well... the only fixed things in my stationery is kokuyo chart b5 6mm loose leaf and pentel sharplet-2. I haven't been able to find alternatives to both. I use kokuyo chart because the dots are convenient and easy to line up (my handwriting is quite messy). While Pentel sharplet-2 is used due to its diameter (it just fit me better compared to the others with its bulky grip). Well... they say uni kuru toga mechanical pencil is just better. I want to try it, but with all those variants, and none available from the local stationery store, I have to trust online shop to deliver me one. does anyone have recommendation on this? Also, for those who have experience in using colored pencil leads, can it substitute colored pen in your notetaking?
I use frixion pens for colored note taking. They come in different colors and sizes. Also they have refills. I'm trying out the highlighters too. They have some really think pens that could be of help to you, though not refillable. I used to use colored let but I had a lot of ghosting ( I could never completely get rid of what I had written), so I switched to frixion. Also my lead would always break.
I personally found the Kuru Toga overrated and it didn't work for me. It felt like a normal mechanical pencil, but oddly scratchy, and bc of my grip combined with the design, it would start hurting after a while of use. If your pencil works for you and you don't have any things you dislike about it I think it's okay to keep using it. If you do have some issues with it, maybe you can explain the specifics and someone will be able to give suggestions based on them. I really like colored lead (specifically the Pentel Color Eno, .7mm) and I used it as a substitute for a pen as well as a highlighter, since I like to erase. I do experience some ghosting when I write normally, but because I erase frequently, erasable pens/highlighters don't work for me because the paper deforms or it smudges pencil around it. However, the colored lead mostly goes away if I erase more carefully and I find colored lead very convenient so I still like to use it. I also recommend this pencil for normal writing (just substitute the lead for normal graphite) because I find it's very sturdy (I've never broken one) and writing is very smooth. I also don't experience breakage with this pencil. This 100% substitutes both pen and highlighter for me, because I used it to color in stuff I would highlight and it was easily erasable. However, some colors are harder to read, in which case they aren't good pen substitutes. I've tried and can recommend orange, purple, red, and the dark blue for readability. The pink and light blue colors are also pretty, but too light to see easily, so I would use these as highlighters instead. All the colors feel great when writing. I live in the US, so I was able to buy these on Amazon, but I've had an easy time finding stationery on AliExpress and getting it delivered with no problems. The only thing is that the shipping time can be quite long. It would be helpful to provide your location so people can recommend shops that ship to your country.
Wow, never would've thought people put in so much effort into notetaking. The only extra effort I've made is using different colored pens if required. Even that rarely.
Indonesia.bought one uni kuru toga advance. so far, it is more comfortable compared to my previous pencil, as I don't have to rotate my pencil from time to time. time will tell if it is better or not than my 1-2 dollar pencil. I'm at the moment happy with my purchase. as for color.. well, Same as you. I've found that light blue doesn't work.Other than that... is .7 mm better than .5 mm? for those light colors, these simply don't work for me. I don't know if my touch is light, or uni nano dia light blue is just not that good. it is pretty much invisible, so highlighter doesn't work. experimenting by interchanging those colored leads breaks a lot of mine though. I want to buy another pencil. but can't justify the price. no... I'm actually the same. I use my note barebone. The reason I use kokuyo Chart is because my handwriting is that small, and it provides nice indent because it is dotted at the distance of 1.5mm vertically and horizontally. as for writing supplies, well, I admit it is slightly pricier than what's affordable in school/uni stores in my country. but I don't think I regret purchasing it. I'm not the kind of person with fancy notes shown on jetpens youtube channel (I enjoy stationery, but just looking at them). It's just that I prefer pencil compared to pen. I'm not using a washi tape or caligraphic pen.
i use sakura sharp nocks, but i'm not the most avid pencil user anymore other than for novel plotting. i like the pentel e-sharp one as well. as for color pencil lead, i personally don't think they can replace my colored pens, the colors are all wrong to me bc of sensory issues ;-; i think if you have less standards w your stationary you can try it!