Three Writing Tools I Always Carry for 2025

I am planning to do an EDC post before the end of 2025, but I wanted to zone in on this element first: writing tools.

Pen Choice

I’ve gone through so many daily carry pens this year. But here are my top picks with a quick reason as to why:

1. Parker Jotter Pen Gel: as an all-rounder, this is the perfect pen and has the aesthetics to match. It’s also known as the James Bond pen. I thought I wouldn’t be able to use this pen because I dislike ballpoints, but turns out they make a gel version, and I was instantly sold. I got on with this pen so well, that when I lost it at a festival this year, I immediately ordered another (and that’s saying something, because they cost £15-£20 each). My next pick does the writing job, a fraction smoother for me.
2. Sharpie S-Gel: probably my top pick for the whole year and I love the grip on this thing! Super light, and just a joy to write with - not much more to it!

• Kaweco Fountain Sport (medium): glorious to write with, but the screw cap makes this inconvenient to use when you’re on the go. I always take it with me in my pencil case, unless I’m having a journalling session on the go, then it will creep into my pocket. I definitely need to get the add-on clip for this, so it doesn’t rattle around in my pocket. I’d also be really interested in their metal versions of this pen, but this has been a much more successful entry compared to my Lamy fountain pen experience.
• Muji Smooth Retractable Colour Gel Pen (0.7mm): Does the job pretty well, but lacks any grip and therefore can be uncomfortable to use. It’s minimal and makes me feel like a student, but I definitely need to move away from plastic only pens as I much prefer the weight to other items on this list.
• Uni Ball Impact (1.0mm): this pen is so thick!! It’s great to use on paper that’s worse quality, but most people will sacrifice the quality of their hand writing. Used for more niche situations, and having the cap is just a lot less user friendly. The ink also runs out really fast, and the refills are expensive, so it wasn’t the most sustainable.
• Pentel EnerGel (0.7mm): I bought this pen to solve the issue of the cap and thickness as mentioned in the pen above. I really enjoyed using this pen, and the grip felt really unique. I really enjoyed it, but I just hated the aesthetic, it felt like a Formula 1 car with all the advertisement.

Highlighter

This pick is the: Muji Retractable Highlighter Pen Neon - Yellow

This is the holy grail of highlighters in my opinion. And simply because it’s retractable.

As I mentioned above about the annoyance of a pen lid when you’re on the go. I didn’t think this would exist, so the excitement of discovering this made me happier than I’d care to admit 👀

The main purpose for this, was to highlight books on the go. It’s a permanent inhabitant of my pencil case, but it only resides in my pocket when I’m actually reading a book on the move.

Mechanical Pencil

This pick is the: Pentel 120 A3 Automatic Pencil A300 (0.7mm)

I picked this up at the London Graphic Centre in Jan 2025 and in all that time, I haven’t felt the urge to swap it out for anything else, which says a lot for me.

Things I love about it:

• Light
• Great grip
• Great precision
• Great to hold
• Love the colour
• Really handy to have the rubber (although I lost the cap very quickly)
• Super light
• Doesn’t take up a lot of space
• Stays in my pocket very well.

In 2026, I want to get a self-sharpening mechanical pencil, so that I can write without the lead dulling on one side. But other than that, it’s the perfect pencil!

And finally, something I wanted to discuss: the way in which I take these with me. I might make a whole other post on this, in which case I’ll link it here.

I picked up this petite mesh case at Muji, originally intended for make-up. But I thought it was perfect for carrying around the 4-5 writing utensils. For two reasons mainly: it’s small, so therefore light to carry, and it also forces me to be intentional about what I’m choosing to pack. I think it’s very easy to get distracted by the tools we use and completely forget to create.

I also started to make clothing choices this year that would make it easier to use these things on the go. It’s all well and good bringing them in your bag, but they need to be more accessible than that. And pockets, well, they’re an ever-present danger. Photographers often give the advice that you need to have your camera on you at all times, and even have it around your neck so that all you need to do is hold it up a short distance and capture the shot with as minimal friction as possible.

So here are my tips:

• Whenever I buy a jacket I make sure it has at least one upright pocket big enough
• Trying to find things with zips
• More pockets than just the two hands
• I started wearing more shirts for the pocket
• I also dusted off a blazer for the internal pocket
• I bought a vest for summer conditions. It looks cool too, but it’s purely for usability first. It’s so thin it can even go under a jacket or coat.
• My chore jacket is essentially just the warmer version of this with 4 pockets.

I’ll delve into this more in the future. And if you’d like to sign up so that you don’t miss it, you can do that at the end of the post.

Speak soon,
Will

Written by me, not AI.