For my usually trdcitional work, I use a no2 mechanical pencil in my sketchbook. I'll draw on any plain paper I have, like the back of the wellness+ card fliers at work haha. When working on something more "finished" in pencils, I will use artists pencils because the different numbers/ lead softnesses allow you to achieve more depth and contrast, especially with killing the paper (you don't have to draw so hard with a soft lead to get dark marks.)
Artists markers tend to blend better, but I don't use much colour other than acrylics.
Graphic's tablets are beautiful. They allow clean, even strokes. The reason you can get cleaner work is that you don't get the cursor tracking like with a mouse or such. You can draw a line clear accross the screen without lifting the pen. Also much faster. I started on a touchpad with digital art and switching to a tablet more than halved my speed I would guess. You have much more control, almost like you would with a traditional instrument.