G'day, Sport!

Regular readers will know that Nero is very much the go-to hound if you're in need of a pocket notebook, but perhaps the woofing could be a little louder when it comes to tools to write in them with. For in truth, there's no need to put up with a disappointing ballpoint while you're on the move, for there are pocket pens - and jolly good ones, too.

If the pocketable nib rocket is new territory, you can do a lot worse than to start with a Kaweco Sport. They've been a design classic ever since evolving from tubular to octagonal barrel profiles, and there are few fontoplumisti who don't succumb to the temptation sooner or later. Foremost among the fans must rank the Gutberlet family, who in Victor Kiam style liked it so much they bought the company - and run it to this day. They still make the affordable yet reliable plastic version, and as time goes on have added more and more interesting alternative materials to the mix, including an impressive array of metal options.

Aluminium is tough but light, which works well for writers graduating from plastic. The brass version is much heavier but looks the business with a gold nib, if you can stand having to break out the Brasso to scrub off verdigris every now and then (it's corrosion, not 'patina'). The stainless steel take is just as hefty but, well, stainless. There's even a sterling silver edition, which costs as much as a very posh bicycle and weighs about as much too. Finally, out now for afficionados of the affordable, a Sport in the first alloy that humanity pressed into widespread service, bronze, which is a real beauty. Which one's right for you? Well, pick up one or two and see! Nero always keeps a few in stock, and you're unlikely to regret it.