Customer Reviews

Bamboo Stylus for iPad (CS100K)

5 star:		(86)
4 star:		(40)
3 star:		(22)
2 star:		(22)
1 star:		(22)

 

 

The Wacom Bamboo stylus for iPad works rather well. In my experience it draws respectably and feels good in the hand. The Bambou has a soft rubber tip that reacts serviceabily on the iPad screen. A rubber tip stylus works much better than a sponge tipped stylus, like the Pogo. However, Boxwave, Acase, and Targus all make very good rubber tip styli that work nicely , perhaps even better than the Bamboo stylus, and on Amazon they cost anywhere from half to one third the price.

Unfortunately I see no real advantage to the Bambou stylist. The tip isn't smaller then any of the aforementioned styli and if the tip wears out you can't replace it. It's true the Bambou is a bit heftier than the other styluses, but in use, a heavier stylist tends to tire your hand out more and after several hours of drawing or typing this can be most tiresome.

Wacom is a very well-respected name in the tablet industry. They make excellent products. This is a good product at an outrageous price. If Wacom would work to redesign this stylus with a smaller, replaceable and more responsive tip it might justify the price. For the time being, until the price comes down in half, I would recommend going after one of several less expensive and as good alternatives. There's just no advantage to this stylus.

I have been trying to use my iPad at work more and more to eliminate carrying around a legal pad and always wasting paper. The issue I've come into is writing on the iPad has been a challenge. I've tried multiple pen stylus' before and never been happy so when I had the opportunity to review this one I jumped at the opportunity.

Initial impressions using the Bamboo Stylus were bad. I fired up Penultimate and started trying to write. The grip felt good, the stylus is comfortable in your hand but it was STILL like trying to write with a crayola crayon. It just didn't work well. The text was hard to read and it looked like a 4 year old was writing.

I was disappointed and tried a few other apps, the touch sensitivity of the Bamboo stylus is great. It is responsive and much faster then the other brands I've tried but it was still hard to write with.

But then I found NOTE TAKER HD, which is the ultimate app if you want to do hand writing on the iPad and use it like a real legal pad. Note taker HD gives you a large box on part of the screen you write it, which makes it easy as you write big but then the app shrinks the text down and puts it on the page. It's very slick and if you want to use the Bamboo Stylus for writing I highly recommend you pair it with the Note Taker App. After I did that I loved the Bamboo Stylus.

I carry my iPad around currently in a Marware eco-vue case and while there is no pen clip on the case I found the Bamboo stylus slides perfectly on the center fold of the case and will stay when the iPad is closed. So now I have my ipad, my case and a stylus.

In summary:

CON's
-Feels like writing with a crayon in most apps I tried.

PRO's
-Comfortable to hold
-Built well, the pocket clip is metal and not plastic like other brands where the clip will break off.
-With the right app (drawing or writing) this is easy to use
-Very responsive, in playing I was able to do shading, cursive you could see the change in line texture as I wrote based on pen angle and pressure.

I like it and am glad I got it. This stylus and the note taker HD app together are what I have been looking for to make my iPad more functional in the workplace.

UPDATE!! 7/6/2011 -
This stylus is still my favorite, but I wanted to let you know that Bamboo now has a free (at least as of the time I write this) app for your iPad so if you don't want to buy an app like Note Taker HD the Bamboo app compliments it nicely. I do however still prefer Note Taker HD as it has many additional features but Bamboo App works good too!

You have a lot of choices when it comes to capacitive stylii - but the Wacom brand carries a lot of weight and loyalty, and that has turned this johnny-come-lately stylus into the de-facto choice for many iPad owners and artists.

That's fine, the Bamboo is a great stylus. It works well and feels substantive, solid, and well made. I have only one problem with it - the PenGo Touchpen iPad Stylus is half the price and is virtually identical to the Bamboo in every way. Both have a smallish rubber-bubble tip, are about the same size, length, and style, and both feel and behave exactly the same way in every iPad app I've used (Penultimate, uPad, Sketchbook Pro, Inspire Pro, etc). Also, both have the same "squishy" character when writing or drawing. Still, as far as squishyness is concerned, both the Pengo and Bamboo stylii feel much better than their competitors thanks to their smaller tips.

I will say this - the Bamboo's construction feels more substantive than the Pengo's does, and it LOOKS more professional. For some, that's a critical point, especially when cost is no object. For instance, the Bamboo feels more "solid" where the Pengo feels light and empty. But does that make the Bamboo worth twice the Pengo stylus? Personally, I think not... besides, some may prefer the lighter hand-feel of the Pengo. Ultimately, it's a matter of taste and cost.

You certainly won't be disappointed with the Bamboo - but if you want the same great writing experience at half the cost, you should seriously consider the PenGo Touchpen iPad Stylus too.

I've had my stylus for less than a week. The weight and feel are great. During the past week I've used the stylus with Bamboo Paper, GoodReader and NoteShelf. The rubber tip is already breaking down (it has split). This would be a great stylus and would otherwise merit five stars, but its lack of durability is a major issue, particularly for a $30 tool.

This stylus works very well. I love using it on my iPad for everything. It is the right weight and shape and slides smoothly on the screen. BUT the tip is already coming apart after just seven weeks of use, even with tender care. I cannot recommend anyone buying it until replacement tips are available and at a reasonable cost.

I've had this stylus for about a month now and I've used it everyday (often for hours at a time) for both drawing and typing on my iPad. First, the good news: I have never found a stylus that writes so smoothly or fits so comfortably in my hand. I hold the stylus differently whether I'm typing towards the top of the pen), "writing" (like a pen), or drawing (closer to the tip for more control). My hand has never cramped up from using it continuously.

Here's the bad news: The rubber nib has developed a small crack in it. After speaking to customer service this morning, I was told that this is a common problem. Wacom sells replacement nibs in packs of 3 on their website (sku# ack20501) for $5 +s&h. If you bought two or three packs at a time the shipping would be about the same as for one pack and you would be set for almost a year without having to worry about them going out of stock (a common problem, as well). Amazon doesn't presently carry the replacement nibs for this stylus and they're virtually impossible to find anywhere else.

Overall, I'd recommend the product. Be sure to buy some nibs at the same time, though, just in case!

Purchased the Wacom Bamboo Stylus about two weeks ago and agree with most of the reviewers that functionality is great. However, the ferrule (the part at the end of the barrel that supports the squishy nib) came unscrewed and is now lost and gone forever. (Also, during its rather short service life, I had to ensure the cap that holds the pocket clip stayed tight as it also came apart in my pocket but I recovered it before it was lost.) When I called Wacom customer service to see about getting a replacement ferrule, I got a most unsatisfying "Sorry, we don't stock parts. You'll have to buy a new stylus." So ... functionality good, value for money ... poor ... since I will end up paying over $50 if I decide to return it to service. If I do, I suppose I will invest in a tube of LockTite thread adhesive. Bamboo Stylus for iPad (CS100K)

When I got the Wacom capacitive stylus in the mail I was very excited, but out of the box, it leaves something to be desired. I like to draw, but for fast, precise drawing - the feel of the bamboo was not as responsive as I would want.

The pen itself has an excellent feel in your hand overall. Nice heft. Well balanced, and at least an inch longer than the Boxwave - which means it fits better in a larger hand.
The clip comes off in case you just want a nice sooth cylinder. The clip even can be mounted in the opposite direction to achieve more length.

The drawing end of the stylus is nicely machined, and unscrews to reveal a removable rubber tip. One can use it with the end unscrewed and the tip fully exposed too.

Here's the bad part for me: Out of the box, the tip feels too sticky, and squishy. It gives too much. Initially it felt sluggish compared to the boxwave's responsiveness. So, I took it off, and stuffed it with a tiny bit of sponge (Mr. Clean Magic Eraser), and Voila! The tip is now firmer, and it glides better on the surface of the iPad. I decided that I should order some more rubber nibs. However, it was impossible to find them on the Wacom site -- for some reason they have the nibs hidden? Anyway I called Wacom and the sales rep told me to enter ACK20501 into the search box on the wacom.com site. 3 nibs for 5 bucks plus 5 bucks shipping. I'm going to experiment with stuffing the nibs with different materials to achieve the exact feel I like.

Wacom should produce tips/nibs with varying material densities, and feels. I give the pen 5 stars, but because the mod I had to do to the tip, I give the overall product 4 stars.

The Bamboo stylus has a nice weight and writes smoothly on the iPad. I had recommended it wholeheartedly to a few friends. However, after just 2.5 weeks, my nib tore, rendering my $30+shipping stylus useless. While spare nibs are apparently available (from time to time) direct from Wacom, I'm stuck for now. Buyer beware!

I've used three styli extensively, and I can say that without question, the Bamboo stylus is the best of the bunch. The other styli I've used and will compare it to are the Targus Stylus for Apple iPad 16GB, 32GB, 64GB WiFi + 3G, iPad 2, iPhone, iPod, Tablet AMM01US (Black), and the Acase 2nd Generation Apple iPad / Xoom/Transformer/Galaxy Tab/Iconia Tab/Play Book / All tablet PC Capacitive Stylus Newest Model(Metallic Silver). The question of whether or not the margin by which it is better than the rest is really a matter of how much you're willing to put up with.

Functionally, the Bamboo stylus is on par with the Targus and the ACase. The tip feels the same, and has the squishy give when you apply it to the iPad's surface. The Bamboo and the ACase have the slimmer style tips, which is a plus. One caveat to note is that the Bamboo has a lower tip than the ACase. What generally happens is that when writing with the ACase, the longer tip squishes more, so that it actually moves to the side. I generally found this annoying, and the Bamboo doesn't exhibit this as much.

Where the Bamboo wins out dramatically is the resistance from the stylus when writing or drawing. There simply is none -- the glide is as fluid and effortless as pen to paper. The Targus has slightly more resistance, while the ACase produces the most drag. I'd rate the Bamboo drag as none, the Targus as slightly noticeable, and the ACase as very noticeable. To be fair, after extensive use, you'll get accustomed to the drag. I used the ACase as my primary stylus for a few months, and got use to the drag. When I started using the Bamboo, it felt almost too slick and I was sliding around (especially during sketching). Once I started using the Bamboo more, I couldn't stand the dragging feeling of the ACase.

Balance of the Bamboo is also exceptional. Both the Targus and the ACase feel hollow and light by comparison, but I don't really mind the feel of either.

Overall, I would rate the Bamboo as a 4 out of 5, while the Targus and the ACase would rate as a 3 out of 5. As I mentioned, functionally, they are all the same. The Bamboo has just a higher level of polish. For writing and note taking, the Bamboo is the best there is. The combination of slimmer tip, with a lower profile and virtually no resistance when dragged across the iPad surface make it the closest feeling to writing with a real pen. Though not perfect, it is better than the rest. Is it twice as good as the rest (it does cost twice as much)? No. But if you don't like the drag of the ACase, but like the slimmer design of the tip, and don't mind the cost, this is the one to get.