We fly a lot, and airport security suggested to me that I also put the pen in a bin with my edge to go through the scanners (not always necessary, but I've gotten "pulled over" because of it before). So I thought I'd try putting a ribbon through the pen to make it easier to grab out of my bag.

Ribbon turned out not to be a good choice, at least the ribbon I found. It was too slick, so the knot never stayed very well (slipped open) and the ends would always catch in something and become frayed... to the point where I'd have to break strands free to get my pen out of the bag.

Some other things I found lying around were just too wide for the hole, and I'm worried that yarn may similarly be too likely to break down. Being on the road, sometimes it's difficult to come by the most basic of supplies. (I don't want to buy a bag of 100 elastics just to try using a rubber band, for example.)

I had thought a ribbon might be funky, but it just didn't hold up. Is anyone else using something fun/funky for their pen? Has anyone tried one of those plastic/rubbery coiled wrist things? Is a shoelace too wide? (We don't have any laced shoes with us.) Any suggestions?