I believe in spending money judiciously (for the most part). I don't like buying gadgets just because a lot of other people call them "cool." Such bandwagon buying seems dumb-as-a-stump to me.

So when the iPad and later the Android competitors came out, I resisted buying them. I looked at them and found them wanting. I had a laptop computer, and it worked well for me. And while I am now the pleased owner of a Galaxy Tab Version 2 tablet, my most trusted writing companions are my pens and paper.

I cut my teeth with pen (and pencil) and paper. I came to love the feel of the pen gliding across a sheet of paper. The aesthetic sense of workign with a good pen  I'm partial to the wide barrel variety, like Pilot's Dr. Grip pens http://applythistoday.com/drgrip

Pens like these greatly relieve hand fatigue, which has recently become an issue for me. I'm not sure if such pens can forestall this kind of problem, but as is said of chicken soup: "it couldn't hoyt."

You might think there's nothing to discuss when it comes to paper. This is far from the case.

I like the spiral bound notebooks produced by companies like Mead. I have more than 30 hand-printed journals comprised mainly of these notebooks. You can pick these up at nearly any office supply store for less than $3.

More pricey but much better suited for brainstorming, I like the Bienfang NTESKTCH pads. The sheets in this wirebound journal are half-ruled and half-blank. So I can sketch or doodle and then write a description. And the kinesthtic, pen-on-paper experience is superb.
http://applythistoday.com/bienfang

If writers hand fatigue isn't an insurmountable for you, and if you enjoy the feeling of a good pen on paper, consider the Pilot and the Bienfang. I'd appreciate knowing how you like them.