Hacker News Reader

Comment by asymmetric | Hacker News Reader

Along these lines, does anyone have recommendations for a nice (as in: overpriced and pretty, just like with OP) setup for drawing/sketching diagrams, as a programmer might need to to do map out a problem?

I'm thinking ~pencils~ (edit: felt-tip pens) in various colors, and good paper.

View on HN

I can't speak for variously-coloured pencils, but I've had a lot of success with a grid-ruled moleskine (I usually went for hardcover, but after accidentally ordering a soft cover, I'm warming up to it) and a Rotring 0.5mm mechanical pencil with Pentel 2H leads.

For colours, I tend to use the Bic 4-in-one coloured pen (the one with the blue bottom and white top), though I don't bring that out often.

I mentioned in another post, but you need to try the Uni version of that Bic. I got a 3 color. I feels only slightly larger than a regular pen, and writes vastly better than the Bic. They’re more expensive in absolutely terms but still around $6.

Do you have a shopping link or SKU? I'm having some trouble finding it, but it sounds compelling!

They may be thinking of the "uni Jetstream 4&1 Metal Edition" with black/red/bluegreen Jetstream ballpoints, plus a 0.5mm Mechanical Pencil: https://www.amazon.com/uni-Jetstream-Ballpoint-Mechanical-MS... or https://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Jetstream-4-1-Metal-4-Color-0.5-...

Close. I got this one: https://www.jetpens.com/Uni-Jetstream-3-Color-Ballpoint-Mult...

Oh wow, those both look fantastic. I'll see if someplace local might carry these. Thanks for the links, both!

Why do you use 2H leads? I can't imagine writing in something so light, even HB lead is too light for me.

I second the Uni Jetstream 4&1 Metal. It is my daily driver for highlighting (color) and annotations (pencil), and the Jetstream inks are very smooth.

For loose leaf paper that takes ink and markers well, use "color copy digital" paper.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com