Before I begin, let me state that I will refer to multiple stylus pens as "stylii" whether it's correct or not (I dunno).
I love these things.
My brother and I own both a Pearl (white) and Onyx (black) DS lite. I picked up a set of these stylii at a Blockbuster Video GameRush store for $5 (2 per pack) but they really clash with my Onyx DS lite. My Onyx unit was a replacement RMA for a Pearl DS lite (a Nintendo rep hooked me up when he wasn't supposed to), so I've been stuck with a Pearl GBA slot cover (port-plugin' thingie) and stylus ever since then. I was just about to order a replacement Onyx set when I realized that I was just going to keep using my white extendable stylii anyway.
Ordering a black slot-filler while still having a white stylus bugs me, so I went to HORI's site to see if they offer a black set. I see no mention of it, but I do see a Navy (blue) one pictures. If they offer that, where is it and where can I find any other colors?
MINI REVIEW
I owned HORI's adjustable Stylus 2-Pack for the original DS. Back then the packaging claimed that it was made with the same design and materials as Nintendo's original stylus. It looked nearly identical. When collapsed, you could only tell it was different by the darker color. Unfortunately, when fully extended, the length became useless as the thin stylus would bend and flex like it wasn't even there. I HATED them.
Once again, these are said to be made "using the same design and materials" as Nintendo's own stylus. This time, they look very different from Nintendo's corresponding DS lite stylus when inspected. Inserting and removing stylii cause them to become loose. To test the fit, I dug up a spare unused DS lite stylus included in the original DS lite packaging. Sure enough, it fit much more snugly than my every-day "used since launch" stylus, but upon insertion I discovered that the new HORI stylus fit even better. It fit so snugly, that I actually felt that it could be loosening the slot for future stylii. Unlike the last set for the original DS, this is not a concern because I will never be going back to the standard stylus!
When fully inserted, you'd be hard pressed to spot the differences. Upon removing it, you will notice that the entire length is clear from the tip to the handle. The only white part is the extending piece that makes up the top which is left exposed when fully inserted. It collapses to be a white plastic rod inside a clear tube. The entire tip is made of the clearish-white plastic instead of just the part that touched the screen.
When extended, you will notice that the clear tube is nice and stiff. It's not as stiff as the solid-plastic used in Nintendo's stylus, but the small amount of flexibility actually makes it feel a little better. It's a world of difference compared to the noodle-crap they used for the first DS. I would have preferred metal, but I guess they wanted to stick to their "same materials" mantra (hmm... Nintendo's DS lite stylus didn't have any clear tubing).
The added length comes in extremely useful in games that make use of the entire screen area. This means that the stylus passes "the Elite Beat Agents test" with flying colors. You can now position your hand far enough up the stylus shaft to see parts of the screen your hand would normally obscure. Now that the stylus shaft is clear, you can even spot hit-markers* your stylus would obscure!
*"things on the screen" to you non-EBA players
Verdict? Find 'em. Buy 'em. Enjoy 'em. I bought the last pack at the BBV/GR I first saw them at and I've seen them nowhere else since, so they may be getting hard to find (try Fry's Electronics?).
Posts
the "no true scotch man" fallacy.
This is dripping with innuendo but I don't know where to go with it.
My first one is totally cracked so I moved onto my second one. The first one lasted me a month, although it was a month of hardcore EBA'ing. If I see them I'll stock up on them because beside the breaking I really like them too.
Also when extended, how far are you supposed to pull it out. There are 2 clicks. I'm wondering maybe mine broke quicker because I wasn't using it right.