SURFACE PRO PENS

MICROSOFT or RENAISSER?

I recently lost my Surface Pro Pen and despite a thorough search around the house, it was nowhere to be found, so I had no choice but to buy another. And I was quite happy with it, but then I saw a video about the Wacom Pro 2 pen which was supposed to be the dog's dangly bits.

But when I looked into the Wacom's compatibility with the Surface Pro 7 (my tablet), I discovered a few negative comments about the pen, so I looked elsewhere for an alternative and decided to give the cheap Renaisser Rapheal 520 a go.

Well I'm glad I did, because it's an excellent pen and is the perfect alternative to the standard (and expensive) Microsoft pen. The first thing you notice about the 520 is that it is very light! Now that's normally a negative to me, but in this case, it's very much a positive when you're doodling or painting for ages.

The pen performs every bit as well as the Microsoft pen and in some respects seems to perform better, although I suspect that this is a 'handling' thing because of the lighter weight.

The only negative I can find is that it doesn't have the button/eraser at the top of the pen like the Microsoft does, but other than that, I love it. And you can buy it for about a third of the price!!

The Microsoft pen is powered by a battery which lasts a long time, whereas the Renaisser has a rechargable battery (via micro-usb). I don't know how long a charge lasts yet, but if it's a decent length of time, then I'd probably prefer the rechargeable pen, since you can always guarantee to be able to get it powered up, whereas the unusual battery of the Microsoft might not always be readily available.

Finally, both pens have magnets inside to allow you to clip them to the side of the Surface Pro.