Bamboo Duo Stylus + Pen for iPad (CS110K) [Old Version]

I've discovered I really enjoy Autodesk Sketchbook Pro on my Samsung Tab 3 and, as you can imagine, a good stylus is extremely useful if not necessary in this case. I've tried the following and will summarize my personal take on them below: 1. Amazon Basics Stylus- The name says it all. Basic. It's built well enough and is satisfactory as a general use stylus but doesn't do much for me for Sketchbook or similar drawing apps. For $6-8 this stylus was probably a more practical choice two years ago before better ones became cheaper. I'd call this average at this point but also a good starting point to compare to others. 2. amPen Hybrid Stylus- I really like this one. It's the newer direction manufacturers have gone lately which has a fabric wrapped over the rubber tip. This stylus is average size and length. Nearly identical to the Amazon Basics in this respect, same length and girth of the barrel. The tip is wonderful and again almost identical in size to the Amazon Basics one so I think we can say they are both the standard size these days. The fabric wrapped around the tip works very well and is definitely superior to the Amazon Basics. This is my favorite general use stylus by far. The tip seems sturdier and slightly smaller compared to a similar one offered by the Friendly Swede but I'll speak more on that later. This one works quite well for Sketchbook but the fatter tip is the only slight negative in that instance. At about $8, this is a no-brainer over the Amazon Basics version. Five stars for feel and superior tip. Not a bargain compared to Friendly Swede but is comparably priced to the Amazon version that it surpasses. 3. The Friendly Swede 7.3" Micro Knit Hybrid Fiber Tip 3 pack- What sets this apart is it's length and price. The fiber tip is better than the Amazon Basics rubber only tip but seems slightly more flimsy than the amPen. Another slight disadvantage this has compared to the Amazon Basics and the amPen, is the metal it's made of is very slick. The Amazon Basics has a very subtle roughness that gives superior grip and the amPen is a bit odd as it has a coating that is smooth and provides a good grip at the same time. The length can overcome this somewhat but may possibly be too long for some users, myself included. BUT...A three pack of these with the fiber tip and the length considered for only about $8, when I bought them, makes this probably one of the best deals for a household that could use multiple styli. These are well built despite their bargain. The length is a put-off for me but some users may appreciate it and for drawing apps it falls short because, again, the length is too much in this instance and the shorter, superior tipped amPen wins out here. I'd still grant the five stars for the better tip, though slightly larger and weaker than the amPen, and the bargain is tough to ignore. 4. The Friendly Swede 5.5" Thin Tip 3 pack- Very standard size except it is slightly longer than the Amazon Basics or amPen. The absolute best quality of this stylus is its length. The 5.5" is the perfect length in my opinion. I really appreciate the thinner tip for drawing apps but this one is pretty flimsy compared the the Bamboo Pocket Expandable stylus, which I'll talk about later. Despite the superior length and thinner tip, I still prefer the amPen for drawing and general use. This version suffers also from the same slick feel as its longer cousin. That being said, it's the perfect length and the thinner tip is nice for drawing but is quickly spoiled by the flimsy tip. It is also a bargain at three for $11 and comes with three replacement tips which slightly makes up for the somewhat flimsy tip. A well made, good stylus but just not quite great. Five stars for length, bargain, and thinner tip even if it is a tad wimpy in my opinion. 5. Zebra Stylus Twist Pen- I'll make this quick. It has a great length, close to the 5.5" Friendly Swede, but it is a bit too skinny and the rubber end it very very wimpy. Think of a week old balloon you blew up for a birthday party and that's about how sturdy it is. The pen, which was a draw for me, is pretty gray and not even up to par with other Zebra pens I own. This product was nothing but a compromise. A mediocre pen with a mediocre stylus end. Three stars because it has good length and both functions. Still a BIG pass if your main goal is a stylus which was mine. Try not to buy this out of loyalty to Zebra pens. You'll be disappointed. 6. Bamboo Expandable Pocket Stylus- My overall favorite. Has a thin tip and is sturdier than the Friendly Swede. For drawing, the tip plus the large grip works very well. It's expandable and, at its full length, is about as long as the Amazon Basics or amPen. It also has a cool attachment that plugs into the headphone port and nests to the tip of the stylus so it's easy to remove. Others offer this too but are permanently attached to the top end of the stylus and I like the way Bamboo does it better. It also gives some colored rings so you can personalize it somewhat. It's neat and thoughtful, but obviously does nothing for function. This is the best made stylus of the lot. Just had that indescribable feel of quality. Also comes with a replacement tip and, for a thin tip stylus, it has a nice heft to it. Compared to other rubber tipped styli, it's easily better made. I love this for compactness, strong and thin tip is great for drawing, and thicker grip helps this too despite being average length. Five stars for less than $9. I'll note that I still like the amPen the best for general tablet use and navigation but this one feels just right for drawing in my opinion. In summary, the Amazon Basics is solid but old news with better ones close to its price point. The Friendly Swede offers the best bargain and variety of length and is made well enough. Just skip the Zebra Twist Pen altogether. The amPen is pretty awesome. It has good grip, great tip, and is very capable for drawing. If you don't care about drawing, I'd probably recommend the amPen for those who use a stylus often. I personally only use a stylus for drawing so my personal favorite is the Bamboo Expandable Stylus for reasons mentioned above. It and the amPen cost around $8-9 and are the two highest quality offerings here.

I've purchased dozens of different kinds of stylus tools since the debut of the iPad in 2010. That includes the newer "active", powered ones that use batteries and sometimes bluetooth. It includes the Adonit Jot and Musemee types with the clear plastic disc on the end (and BTW, the Musemee is a terrific, accurate stylus, much better than its competitors in that class). I write hundreds of words a day in the iPad, instead of on paper. I use NoteShelf as my favorite note taking app, and I have thousands of pages across dozens of journals in the past 3 years or so. The Bamboo stylus is the gold standard (except if you get a fake, unfortunately, as many people have, based on these reviews). You can replace tips (nibs) and they come in two varieties: standard (relatively soft tip) and firm (not as "squishy"). This particular version, the original DUO, has both tip and pen, and is so well put together, that it became my primary and really ONLY writing tool to carry every day. Then I lost it. GRRR. I had a back up of the original without a pen, so I used that and went in search of a new one. I found out there was a new, thinner model, and bought it. The V2 Duo. It's not so good by my heavy usage standards. The narrower tip is slightly less responsive and the stylus itself is not as well weighted or detailed (clip quality, removable clip, etc.). It's less costly, but I think the original version is worth the money (as long as you don't get ripped off by the fakers!). So, then I tried buying one direct from Best Buy and even Wacom. But I couldn't find the original version DUO any more, just the newer, narrow one. So I found a USED duo here on amazon. And it turned out to be a fake. I wrote the seller, documenting the differences (see photos I uploaded here on this product page) and he apologized and refunded my money immediately. Finally, even though this thread is full of warnings about the fake, I wanted THIS stylus again, this best writing tool, so I took a chance and ordered new from BidDeal, here on this page. It came today, ahead of promised timing. And it is the real Bamboo. I couldn't be happier. The real deal is a stylus you can use pretty much forever. Buy extra nibs (be sure to get the original 5mm version of std or firm, not the smaller 4mm for the new skinny version). And keep the nibs handy. If you want to hand-write in a tablet that requires a capacitive stylus, this is the most solid, least "fidgety", most dependable and long time usable (high quality replacement nibs) available today. I wish they hadn't changed it to the narrower version, but I'm real glad to have this version again. Happily writing on with PEN + STYLUS in pocket again...

Really good pen and stylus. Lost my first one and glad to replace it

good okay done 👍

The stylus tip is much more precise than most other soft-tipped styli and having used some of the Bluetooth LE styli (e.g. Adonit's Jot Script) I can definitely say I prefer this. The Bluetooth ones are more precise than this when they work, but they require batteries, are far more fragile (my Adonit broke in my bag twice) and are always losing their connection to your iPad. There are few things as frustrating as trying to write on your iPad and nothing happens because the Bluetooth connection isn't working. This stylus is reliable (obviously), and combined with a note-taking app that has a zoom feature (e.g. GoodNotes 4 for iOS), allows you to take neat and tidy notes. One note is that replacement ink for the pen must be purchased from Wacom so I'm not looking forward to that expense, but still 5 stars!

Muy cómodo y elegante

Do not buy this. It doesn't work like a stylus. Fingers are as good as this "stylus". I am keeping it just because I am usually out of station and logistics would make it difficult for me to return it or for Amazon to collect it.