The most expensive of the iPad styli we tested, the Nomad Compose ($39) gives you a unique brush experience for drawing and painting on your tablet. Unlike its child, the Nomad Play ($18, 2.5 stars), this one works well if you're looking for a very low-friction stylus.

Why use a stylus on your iPad? It gives you more precision when you're drawing or making handwritten notes, and it gets your finger out of the way. A stylus turns your tablet into a true sketchbook or notepad.

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The Nomad Compose has a slim, smooth aluminum body and comes with two tips: a longer-haired brush, and a shorter-haired, more solid "glide bevel" tip. You can screw a tip onto either end, or leave one end as an attractive brushed-aluminum endcap. This was one of the longer styli we tested, at 6.25 inches. It really gives the look and feel of a paintbrush.

This stylus is all about a specific experience: painting on your iPad with free, swooping strokes and very little friction. This is a painter's stylus, not a writer's stylus, and it works best with painting programs like ProCreate. The shorter tip is better for clicking and dragging on objects, as it gives you much more control.

We gave the Nomad Compose to professional artist (and my wife) Leontine Greenberg, and she liked it. "Handled like a brush, it's fun to use," she said. "If you like to paint with larger gestures, and are willing to spend some time getting used to this, it could work for you."

The Pogo Sketch Pro ($24.50, 4.5 stars) is our Editors' Choice for a tablet stylus because its solid tip has a broader appeal to sketchers and writers. But the Nomad Compose has its place if you want to sketch with a freer line.

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