The Cosmonaut

In the spring I backed a project on Kickstarter and quickly forgot about it. This last month I received a notice that the project I had backed was finished and shipping. I have been locking forward to the Cosmonaut’s arrival and have now had it for a couple of days. I am not disappointed.

The Cosmonaut is a Wide-Grip Stylus for Touch Screens. While styluses are inappropriate on touch screens for general use, there are certain tasks where a stylus is very appropriate. One of those tasks is sketching, something I do from time to time. I had purchased one stylus previously but quickly abandoned it. It was flimsy and used a weird felt tip that did not hold its shape very well. It was small and constantly doing unexpected things because to use like a pencil I had to rest my palm on the screen. This would consistently zoom or mark up the sketch in unwanted ways. The Cosmonaut’s clever design does not have any of these problems.

It is thick like a marker and carries some real heft. it is encased in high quality rubber and comes with a choice of wood or aluminium end caps. The tip is also covered with a slippery rubber that works very well on glass surfaces. The Cosmonaut feels like it was built to last and be respected. What more can you ask from a product designed and manufactured in America?

The Cosmonaut feels great to use and because of its proportions it lends itself to use as a marker. You hold it in your hands as you would a dry-erase marker rather than a pencil. This avoids most of the issues I have run into with cheaper, flimsier styluses. I like the results I get, not because a pen can make anyone a better artist, but because it does not feel like I am fighting my tools the whole time. Once you start using it, it quickly gets out of the way.

So, if you do something on a capacative touch screen that seems appropriate for a stylus the Cosmonaut is for you. Check out Studio Neat’s website and take a look.