Bic Intensity Fine Permanent Marker Review

While I catch up on some of the new products I need to review I do have a few older reviews (with requisite hideous photography) I completed a while back that I want to share. This Bic Intensity review is one of those, and the pen was quite a surprise.

I generally try to pick up anything new I see when walking the aisles at Staples, and this 4-pack of Bic's made it home with me at the same time I bought the Pentel Finito! back in July. I was not a fan of the Finito!, but the Intensity is much better.

One thing that both of these pens have in common is there is very little information about either. Neither manufacturer lists them on their websites, and despite the fact that I purchased them right off the shelf at Staples there are not listed on Staples.com. I find that endlessly frustrating when I am trying to communicate more information than I can gather on the back of the package.

I did find a listing for the Intensity at Office Max (under the ballpoint section mind you), but there are no real details there. This is not ballpoint pen by any stretch, and in fact looks to be Bic's version of the Sharpie Pen. The Intensity is a marker-type pen with a plastic tip and features permanent on paper, waterproof ink that doesn't bleed. Sounds very Sharpie Pen-esque to me.

Fortunately for Bic, the Intensity writes a lot like the Sharpie Pen, which I very much approve of. The green ink is too light for my tastes, but the black, blue, and red are right on the mark. The barrel is nice looking and comfortable to hold, and the clip is strong as well. Overall, there aren't any standout negatives, which is a rarity coming from Bic.

Add the Intensity in with the promising Triumph line and Bic looks to be making headway on the office supply aisle.

View all sizes of this photo on Flickr.

Bic Accountant Fine Ballpoint Review

Raise your hand if you have ever owned one of these classics!

I raise mine proudly to not owning just one Bic Accountant Fine ballpoint, but many. This was one of those pens in the 80’s that I hunted down and hoarded when I was lucky enough to find them. Coming across a fine ballpoint back then was the equivalent to finding an 0.38 mm pen on the store shelf today. They were few and far between.

I received this Bic from my friend George at My Supply Room. He acquired a few dozen recently and was kind enough to send several out to readers. I was happy to get one not only for nostalgia purposes but also because these may be even harder to find now than they were back then.

These days, the Bic Accountant ballpoint does not compare well to its competitors. That’s not surprising - it isn’t trying to. Bic has other products to take up that task. The accountant is old school, and makes no bones about it with its design. Just look at that clip. So rad!

The red ink is nearly pink on the page it is so light. If a pen company came out with a pen that writes like this in 2012 I would eviscerate them, but I can’t help but smile every time I use this one. It does write impressively clean though. Not many present day ballpoints can say that.

It is great to shed light on great old pens like this Bic Accountant ballpoint. Thank you George for sending it my way!

Paper Mate Hardhead Flair Review

My recent posts on the Bic Z4 Porous Tip pen have turned out to be very popular. People like this style of pen tip and the way they write, but unfortunately they are a little hard to find. The same goes for any similar pens, which is a question I have gotten several times recently. I was hard pressed to come up with an answer, but Pen Addict reader Amy sent me the Paper Mate Hardhead Flair to try out, and it is very comparable to the Z4.

The Flair line has been around for as long as I can remember, but I had never heard of the Hardhead until Amy emailed me. Flairs have always been my favorite Paper Mate product, and this one holds up well under the test. The Hardhead has a sharp, dark line, and doesn’t bleed through the Doane Paper I am using. Compared directly to the Z4, it is almost identical, with only the smoothness of the Z4 being a bit better.

Now for the kicker: These are even HARDER to find that the Z4. In fact, Amy got hers off of eBay, and was nice enough to share with me. Are there any other porous tip pen options out there that I should test and are somewhat easy to obtain? Please let me know in the comments section and I would be happy to hunt them down.