Zebra Tapli Clip Ballpoint Pen 1.6 mm Blue Review

I love my micro tip pens but I do get asked from time to time to review pens on the opposite end of the spectrum. With a 1.6 mm tip size, the Zebra Tapli Clip Ballpoint is waaay out there compared to what I normally use.

How does a pen like the Tapli stack up to some of my favorites? Not very well. It is not just that it has a wide tip that I don’t care for it - if a pen is a good pen I will say so - it is that the performance is poor regardless of the tip size.

The ink is very messy when writing with the Tapli. You can see several blobs of ink on the page even in the smaller size photos. It is consistently bad, and the 1.6 mm tip actually made it worse because there was so much ink coming out of the tip. There was even some bleed through to the back of the page which I have only seen one other time with a ballpoint.

Once you cross the 1.0 mm threshold you really need to temper your expectations. There is only so much good that a tip size that large can do. Yes, it will be very smooth and probably dark, but the ink flow might also be unmanageable.

Do you have a ballpoint, gel, or rollerball pen 1.2 mm or greater that consistently works well for you?

Zebra Arbez Piirto Ballpoint Pen 0.7 mm Review

It is great to see manufacturers branch out from the norm and come up with fresh pen and pencil designs. Zebra takes it a step further by holding an annual contest for young designers around the world, and the Zebra Arbez Piirto was the winner of the 2011 event.

The winning design is based around the slim and simple form of an ice pick, which makes sense when you realize the designer is from Finland. It is quite stunning, especially when you consider that part of the design process was to make it as inexpensively as possible. Mission accomplished on all fronts.

Many pens use a rotation or twist mechanism to extend and retract the pen but where the Piirto differs is that the mechanism is in the grip area as opposed to the upper barrel area. It functions quite well and does not get in the way of the writing experience at all.

What does get in the way of the writing experience is the ballpoint ink cartridge. This is your basic cheap ballpoint refill, so set your expectations accordingly. A Zebra Surari refill would make this pen a knockout but would also raise the price, which goes against the reason the Piirto was created.

The Piirto ballpoint is available with black and red ink cartridges as well as a black barrel design. There is even a mechanical pencil version that is designed similarly. While it may not perform like a world beater, the design and price made it an easy choice to add to my collection.

Zebra R-301 Stainless Steel Refillable Roller Ball Review

I take reader requests from time to time, and the Zebra R-301 Stainless Steel Refillable Roller Ball was one such request. I first learned of this pen last year from Brian at Office Supply Geek and knowing the style of writing instrument I prefer I wasn’t too eager to give it a shot. Wide tipped liquid ink pens just aren’t my thing, but it obviously doesn’t take much to twist my arm.

The first thing I noticed about this pen is that the design is based directly off the Zebra H-301 Highlighter. That is a good thing because the barrel design is great. I love the look of the stainless steel contrasted against the black plastic. The only issue I find is that the cap does not post tightly. It is loose and spins a little but it won’t go as far as falling off.

From an ink perspective it is HEAVY. The tip size is 0.7 mm but it writes wider because of the flow. In fact, I had to write very fast to stay ahead of the bleed. It is dark and consistent though, so any of you who like to write with liquid ink pens may enjoy it. That it is refillable is an added bonus.

I picked up my R-301 at Staples so you should be able to find these pretty easily at your local office supply retailer. If you own one please let me know what you think in the comments section.