LAMY AL-star black EMR (Note 2)

BOOX FAQ
#1

Hello community

I would like to share my experience with the stylus replacement “LAMY AL-star black EMR” for my Boox Note 2. This won’t be a full review. Let’s start:

Unboxing

The pen comes in a glued stylish little box. Simply open the flap on the top and you can pull out the inner box. There you will find the pen, a ring to remove the old nip and two replacement nips. That’s it. The pen is a passive pen, so no battery and no charging is necessary.

Look and Feel

You can obviously see, that this pen is much thicker and also heavier than the original stylus. Because of the weight and thickness the pen fits very well in the hand. It is like holding a real pen and the writing experience is very good! While the original Wacom stylus is made of cheap feeling plastic, the LAMY Al-star black EMR’s material is matt black anodised aluminium, except of the metal clip and the plastic finger rest. But even the plastic gives me a high-quality feel.

Compatibility

Let’s start with the good news: The pen is fully compatible with Boox Note 2 and should be also compatible with Max 3. The manufacturer claims compatibility with Note and Max 2. So Note Pro should be also compatible. You will find more details on the product page.

On the finger rest of the pen you will find an easy reachable small button. This button switches from writing to erasing, like the button on the Onyx pen does. This is the only way to erase directly with the pen, as there is no eraser on the back.

As was be expected, the pen is too thick for the pen holder of the Onyx case. Here you have to find another solution

Writing experience

Maybe I am wrong, but the reaction time of the screen feels shorter with the LAMY Al-star black EMR. I think that the main reason is the better rest in my hand. There is also a difference in the material of the nip. While both are made of plastic, the nip of the Onyx pen seems to be softer and a little rough. The size of them is equal.

Writing with the LAMY Al-star black EMR is more like writing on glas, while the nip of the Onyx pen give you are more textured and rough feedback. But to be honest, I prefer the writing experience with the “harder” nip of the LAMY Al-star black EMR, because it is gliding better over the screen and lets me write faster.

Conclusion

For around 42 € (in Germany) you will get a fully compatibly high quality replacement pen, that rests really nice in your hands and comes with two replacement nips. For comparison, Onyx’ price for the original Wacom pen that comes with the Boox Note 2 is around 40 € and you won’t get any replacement nips. In my opinion the “LAMY AL-star black EMR” is a good replacement and absolutely worth its money.

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7 Likes
Stylus is too thin to hold comfortable while writing, please recommend
#2

Thanks for the review and the update. Off to buy my own. I have been looking for a compatible pen. I would rather than use a pen than a stylus shaped like a pen. For some reason stylus just doesn’t give the same feel. By any chance have you looked at heart of metal series by folks at SuperNote. That one also looks like a good candidate for a replacement but I am not so sure of the compatibility.

#3

No, the PEN of the Supernote Ratta make us of a different technology that is not compatible with Onyx devices. Here they try the Super Note pen on the Onyx.

The Noris Staedtler EMR pencil should also be compatible with Onyx devices, but it has no button to switch between writing an erasing! (Thanks to Gerard Krupa).

#4

I have this pen as well. Just to add a few notes from my use so far (10 days with the Max 3), I really like it. I like the fact that it glides over the screen (protector) of the Max 3. It doesn’t offer the paper-like feel of the white stylus the Max comes with, but I like having the option of both. It also feels really nice in the hand as you mentioned. I also noticed that there is a slight decrease in the perceived latency of writing and the ink appearing on the screen. I attribute this to the smoother writing feel rather than an actual hardware/software difference. You can also tilt the pen more than the normal Max 3 fat white stylus which is nice for drawing.

I ended up getting the pen in a country where it was a lot more expensive ($85 USD vs $45 you can get it at certain sites), but it has improved my experience with this device. I would be hesitant to suggest it for as much as I got it for, but around $50 USD or less, it’s a really nice addition.

#5

where have you guys been going to buy these? I’ve been looking everywhere for a half-decent EMR pen that’s not arbitrarily locked to the device it was manufactured for

1 Like
#6

you can buy it directly from lamy’s website.
https://www.lamy.com/en/emr/
you just need to provide your country at the end of the page.

#7

Idk, I’m in the US and all it gives me is an option to go to the NY store. Maybe they can ship to me xP

#8

yup, I rechecked, the online store is only in select countries.

#9

Tested on Max2 Pro and actually I didn’t like it very much!
The pen is nice looking but: it doesn’t fit the pen holder; and the tip is nah.
The writing experience on my Max2 Pro is not good. Not as good as the original pen.
It’s like the pen is sticky :confused:

#10

@mePy2

If the pen is sticky, then your screen is probably not clean. Actually the Lamy is gliding a lot better over the glas than the delivered standard Wacom pen. The nip of the Onyx pen is a little softer and rough. This gives you a more “paper-like” (not really paper-like, but I guess you understand) feeling and you won’t notice the resistance of an unclean screen that much.

But the Lamy pen fits way better into my hand and therefore writing is less tiring. It is true, that writing with the Lamy pen feels more like writing on a whiteboard or glas, but I actually like that the pen is gliding smoother over the screen.

And not fitting into the original pen holder is not a quality criteria at all. The case was made for the cheap Wacom pen and therefore this had to be expected. Since I can sew, I just replaced the original pen holder.

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#11

Not fitting into the pen holder IS a criteria (not a quality one because it doesn’t belong to the pen). But if it doesn’t fit into the old holder, it means you have to carry the pen in a pencil case which… well I do not want to do. As I do not like to mod/break my original Max2 Pro pen holder to fit the LAMY!

Also, the screen is fine! It does not need to be cleaned everyday. The original pen tip runs smoothly. This one not! Period; there is not much to say.

I see you are using a Note2 which probably has glass screen. Max2 Pro screen is made out of plastic and I have the screen protector applied too, so plastic material.

Anyway, as I said in the Discord channel, if you change the LAMY tips with the original Onyx ones, everything is fine. But the pen experience as-is (so not the pen itself) – with the original tips – is not great on Max2 Pro.

That’s my personal point of view.

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#12

Different pens feels differently. For example I have a Max2 and a Samsung Note phone. The pens are compatible, both works on both device, but the feel is different:
The harder tip of the onyx pen works better on the plastic screen of the Max2. The soft tip of the Samsung pen makes more friction which feels a bit sticky. On the other hand on the glass screen of the phone the soft tip works better, the hard tip feels unnatural/too slippery.

#13

@mePy2

Thank you for mentioning the compatibility of the Onyx and the Lamy nib. I tried it myself and the Onyx nib fits perfectly into the Lamy pen. Of course it fits vice versa.

#14

image
I am using the Lamy pen with my Max3 and it fits the cover like shown in the picture. When using it, I just pull it out of the cap, so it‘s not really an issue, that the clamp fits quite tight.
Thanks @hazington for sharing the Lamy hint, really like this pen and would not have come across it without reading here.

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#15

I just picked up one from the NY store, the size fits my Nova Pro’s case similarly to how @thecubist described.

For those based in the US, it’s $70 when I got it. Personally it feels so much better than the plastic twig they ship with the Nova Pro that at this price, I’d say it’s worth it. I take a lot of notes though, and I need to be very fast about it, so my use case pretty much requires I have a better pen.

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#16

Hello,

I am also looking for another stylus. I ordered two stylus’ from Ali, but that takes a while. I ordered also the Lamy EMR. I hope it will work great! I know the brand Lamy. It’s definitly quality. I hope it works on my Note+! I’ll let you know!

#17

The Lamy has arrived! It works PERFECTLY!
The original Boox nibs work also in the Lamy! No problem.

In the Netherlands the pen costs about €45,-.
I do not notice any decrease in the perceived latency of writing and the ink appearing on the screen! There is no time delay.

I only want to change the holder… The cap fits, but if it stays in, it’s in the way when I write… I can sew too, so I think I’m going to try to make another holder… :slight_smile:

#18

Thank you for this recommendation!

I use Lamy pens daily and to find out there was one for my new Note 2 was a delight.

I have been using mine (under 50 euro in Italy) and it’s wonderful. I replaced the nibs with the Boox stylus nibs and it’s perfect. So much better than the one that came with it, night and day.