Your weapons of choice on gameday - Watches and Pens/Pencils

CFA Level III
#1

Pen: Pilot Juice Retractable Premium Gel Ink Roller Ball Pens, Ultra Fine Point,-0.38mm

  • This bad boy has worked wonders on my wrist with a nice light easy grip and smooth ink writing experience :slight_smile:

Watch: Searching and looking. Does anyone have any recommendations for a cheap silent stopwatch that is exam legal?

#2

You know it’s getting close when we start analyzing our pens and watches. :wink:

Pen: Uni-ball Signo DX 0.38mm. The small tip is fantastic because it lets you write smaller (and, therefore, waste less motion) and appears neater on the page so it’s easier to read if you have poor handwriting. I’ve been using the same pen for the entire time and I really feel like it’s given me a slight edge vs. just using some random pen that I had sitting around.

Second on the nice writing. I’ve given a few to my co-workers and now they keep stealing them out of my desk because they like them so much. Some nerd who reviews pens gave them his highest marks. $15 for a pack of 10 on Amazon isn’t too bad. If you don’t have a pen of choice, I’d recommend it.

On the watch, I bought one the day before Level 1 at Walmart for $8 and have been using it ever since. I just disable the alarm feature and also make sure the alarm is set for some random time (usually just set it for 6 AM as a backup alarm) so that it won’t go off during exam. You can also disable the noise.

#3

Feather and Ink pot, abacus, hourglass

#4

Earplugs of choice: CVS Health 32-decibel Superior Soft Foam Earplugs

#5

Earplugs: $5 wine bottle corks

#6

LMAO.

Sharpie Fine point pens - Picked them up. Initial impression was good. Handwriting still looks like chicken scratch when I did AM yesterday.

Watch - Ordered the Casio Mens W800h-A1v (10 dollars)…arriving tomorrow. Will turn off the hourly chime (Or disable the spring) and mess with the stopwatch in hopes it does what is needed.

#7

timex TW4B02500 huge display. with a pen lid clipped on the strap I can make it stand up on the desk like a clock.

pencils will be tombow mono100.+ kum long point sharpner (the magnesium one)

pens will be frixions (i hate them…). last year i used uni signo broad & made a complete mess

earplugs from the supermarket… nothing fancy.

(btw you are not allowed to run a timer on your watch)

#8

No timer…really?

#9

Watch: Rolex Sky-Dweller (Golden)

ST Dupont Palladium Finish Natural Lacquer ballpoint Pen

#10

Timers are not allowed in any CFA exam.

#11

I thought stopwatch functions on a watch were allowed. As long as it doesn’t make a sound. Grr, guess I won’t mess with that. Sign.

#12

The following items may be kept on your desk, if needed:

  • Manual pencil sharpeners (no knives)
  • Erasers, with no paper holder or cover
  • Loose calculator batteries (no packaging) and screwdriver for battery replacement
  • Calculator cases and keystroke cards
  • Eyeglasses, but not the eyeglasses case
  • Earplugs
  • Wristwatches (analog and digital) with alarms and timers silenced; however, all smart watches are prohibited

You can use a timer. Just turn the alarm off.

#13

Please read the last item under prohibited list of

“CFA Exam Personal Belongings Policy”

#14

I emailed general info…lets see what they say lmao.

#15

Let us know! The policy isn’t completely clear about running a (silent) stopwatch on your wrist.

#16

Will do…FYI they are out until Tuesday, so hopefully I hear by then.

#17

I asked my mom to buy me 2 pencils when she was out shopping. She bought a whole packet of 10 and said you can use the rest for next year. Thanks for the confidence boost mom.

Anyway, 2 calculators, 2 sharpeners, 2 naked erasers, 15 sharpened pencils and an analog wrist watch.

#18

You should know by now to pay attention to the details buddy. You cannot use DESK clocks or timers. You can use WRIST watches and timers with alarms OFF. They don’t want the extra object on the desk.

#19

It’s really not confusing if you know how to read.