My EDC pen is a brass bodied marketing pen with a nice slightly concave rubber grip, which takes Parker refills. So now it has a Fisher Space pen refill. I don't have to worry about what angle I hold the pen to write down (write up?) prices in stores, etc. It writes on pretty much anything, including slick thermal cash register receipts, and doesn't freeze in the winter. To write on, I carry 2-4 sheets of mini legal pad paper, folded twice. Creases on the two folds make it easy to rip off half or a quarter of a sheet, to give someone a name, phone number, a website, or a quick and dirty map or directions. Why do we carry pens and paper? The same reason we carry pocket knives and other tools: we're civilized people who like to be prepared.