I hate busses. "How does this relate to metal styli?" I hear you ask? Well, bus journeys are boring, and the Zodiac provides entertainment. Unfortunately busses are also a very good place to lose the stock plastic stylus that, as of late, has never really held very well in the Zodiac's poor excuse for a stylus silo.
Anyhow, I decided to replace my lost stylus with a fancy-pants jobby from Metal Styli – which, incidentally, I learnt was closing down and selling them off at a bargain price. Being myself, the closing down "sale" struck a chord in the "consumer whore" centres of my brain and I decided to buy a little leather case on top of it.
Both of these little, ahem, Christmas presents arrived today despite of the chaotic Christmas post. It is, of course, my duty to give them a once over, even if it is a little late. The stylus itself is well designed and beautifully weighted, one of the indents for the Zodiac stylus clip is cleverly disguised as part of the grip and the grip itself provides the end-weight and balances it all out. It came polished to such a shine I can, literally, see my face in it...although I would never consider using it as a mirror. One of my worries when ordering the stylus was how well it would fit into the clips on the back of the Zodiac, after my stock black jobby falling out and getting eaten by bus elves I was a little apprehensive to trust anything else to those clips. However, the stylus fits snugly and resisted my best efforts to shake and knock it loose so the cute leather case I bought to accompany it may find itself being a little redundant (unless I get a 'spare').
The case itself is reasonably well made and embossed with the "Metal Styli" logo, the stitching is a little dodgy in places but, hey, it is a case for something as mundane and near-indestructible as a stylus made of real Italian leather - what more could you want for a measly £3?
The Stylus cost a few quid, four to be precise and an extra tip (God knows why I need it, but the chord was struck) was just 99p...expensive for a few millimetres of plastic, but pocket change in the grand scheme of things. The whole order came to just under £9 – a small price to pay for easy use of the Zodiac and a very sexy accessory.
Well, there is not much to say about a few inches of shiny steel (or is it aluminium?) so I will leave you to make your own decisions. Be warned, however, that Metal Styli is closing down and there are only...oooh about 800 odd of these beauties left. With a few extra pounds spent on a leather case you can keep a Zodiac Bolt Stylus in your shirt pocket and use it for your Pocket PC, Nintendo DS, Smartphone, and as a very snazzy toothpick in posh restaurants.
Hurry, hurry, hurry – http://www.metalstyli.com.
Philip Howard
