Yoropen Z3 Review

The Yoropen is one of the most interesting pens I have ever had the chance to review. I’ve been aware of it for years, and it has been around much longer that that, but it’s only now that the Yoropen Z3 has hit the market that one has landed on my desk. My thanks to the Yoropen team for loaning me this pen to review.

The ergonomic design of the Z3 is obviously the selling point of this pen. It might look crazy, but in use it lowers the stress on your fingers, wrist, and hands. It also allows better visibility to the page so you can see what you are writing, as well as a smudge-free writing experience since the tip of the pen is further away from your hand.

So, does it work? In my limited testing I would have to say yes. I didn’t spend weeks and weeks with it as my lone writer, but when I did sit down and dedicate the time to use it I thought it was great. I was worried that despite the ergonomic benefits that my handwriting would suffer, but the opposite happened. I think the Yoropen actually improved my handwriting.

The key to gripping the pen is a straight index finger down the top of the pen, pointing straight down towards the tip. I have a traditional pen grip so this was easy for me to lock in to. Those with a non-traditional grip will have a bigger adjustment to make.

When writing, it feels like more of brush pen stroke than a traditional writing pen movement. It is freeing and flowing and yes, it does relieve some of the stress inherent with normal pens. It feels good, and as I mentioned earlier, I really liked how my lettering turned out on the page. Those who write in cursive may even find it better as they can keep their flow going.

Are there any downsides? Nothing major I can think of but there are things to consider. Primarily, the refills. They are proprietary, but that is a good thing in this case as they are made to fit the Yoropen perfectly. There are ways to use other refills with the pen but I would be most comfortable using the ones made specifically for it. At $50 it isn't cheap, but it is very fair considering the material, engineering, and quality of the pen.

Yoropen put together a successful Kickstarter project earlier this year to bring the Z3 to the North American market. The ballpoint pen is available for pre-order now with an estimated shipping date of December. Be sure to check out Yoropen.us to read more on the design, specs, and see videos of the pen in action. My thanks again to Yoropen for letting me borrow this pen for review.

Staedtler Pigment Liner 0.1 mm Review

I mentioned in my recent Top 5 pens update that I am going through of a bit of standard pen renaissance. Gel ink pens are in heavy use, and drawing pens, lead by the Staedtler Pigment Liner 0.1 mm, are seeing a ton of action as well.

Over two years ago I reviewed the 0.3 mm Staedtler Pigment Liner and for some reason it didn't stick with me. I think I was in a "Sakura or bust!" phase for quite some time, and that led to me dismissing other pens without a second look. I kept seeing the Staedtler pop up in other places though (Matt Gemmell's review for one) and felt like I needed to give it another look.

I went with the 0.1 mm tip size this time around and it feels right. More right than before. Why that is is hard to answer. For one, it is nice to hold. Drawing pens aren't necessarily known for having great barrels, but the Staedtler improves one area where the Sakura Pigma Micron gets points taken away: The grip section on the Pigment Liner has a much less severe drop off than the Micron. I dealt with it in the Micron because I liked the performance of the pen, but once I got the Staedtler back in my hand I realized how much better it felt to write with.

When the .01 mm tip hits the page it feels sturdy and sharp, which is key for this type of pen. The edge of the lines on drawing pens have to be clean for me, and the Pigment Liner delivers in that area. The ink is archival, and Staedtler also claims the cap can be left off the pen for 18 hours without drying out the tip. I will not be testing that claim out.

So how do you differentiate between two pens like the Staedtler Pigment Liner and Sakura Pigma Micron that are so similar across the board? I don't think you need to. They are both excellent pens that fill many needs for many people. Sure, there are tiny nits to pick between the two - like the grip section - but they are so similar just grab one and go. Right now, I am grabbing the Staedtler more often.

(JetPens is an advertiser on The Pen Addict and I received this product at no charge.)

Uni-ball Jetstream Premier Review

(Jeff Abbott is a regular contributor at The Pen Addict. You can find more from Jeff online at Draft Evolution and Twitter.)

I'm a huge fan of the Jetstream line of pens from Uniball. It's the first ballpoint pen I tried that featured the new hybrid ink that feels so smooth and rich and lays down a consistent line—something ballpoints of the past just couldn't do. The Jetstream line has expanded, and there's plenty of various offerings now, such as different tip sizes, different bodies, and multi-refill bodies. I've always wanted to put a Jetstream refill into a nice pen body, but never have found a good fit. When I noticed the Jetstream Premier on JetPens, I jumped at it.

This is another pen that Brad took a look at back in 2008. I don't think it really spoke to him, and I agree with some of his observations. But, then again, I also think it's a pretty great pen. I think of it like this: if you want a wider bodied Jetstream with a soft touch clicker, this is a great pen. Also, if you're a fan of the Jetstream line already, you can't go wrong. The pen ships with a 1.0mm refill, but you can swap that out with whatever size you prefer.

There aren't many "premium" Jetstream models available. There's the Jetstream Alpha Gel Grip series, which is a few dollars more than the Premier. Like the name says, it has a soft, gel-like grip that gives way when squeezed. Personally, I've never been a fan of soft gel grips on pens, so I never pulled the trigger on this one. The other nice feature of the pen is that the body is metal. Sadly, the Premier is just plastic. Given the price difference, I'm not really sure why the Premier is not also metal. It's a little disappointing.

The Premier on its own is a great pen. The grip is soft to the touch, but still firm. The click mechanism is unique—there's a certain amount of smooth friction involved when you operate it. Unlike most mechanisms that give a very pronounced feedback, this one is soft and almost unnoticeable. For me, I don't really care either way. I can see how this would really bother some people, or do the complete opposite. Either way, it does the job.

The clip is strong, but has a cheap look to it. It would look more pleasing if the clip was more integrated into the click mechanism or the body of the pen. As it is, it looks like someone super glued it onto the pen. It's my least favorite feature of the pen.

I went for the black model, and if I did it again I'd go the other way. I think the silver model would look much better in person. The black model has a small red section in the body under the clip. It gives the pen a cheap, gimmicky feel.

Now, after those harsh words, I still enjoy using the pen. For one, I love the way it feels in my hand when writing. It's a very comfortable grip and it also uses those fantastic Jetstream refills. Win-win situation.

The tip of the pen screws off of the body, and it's made of plastic. I really wish it was made of metal instead of a plastic that is painted to look like metal. It would improve the look of the pen quite a bit.

Overall, I don't know if I can recommend this pen unless you want to collect all of the different Jetstream offerings. It's a good pen, but I can't justify the cost. At just under $12, I don't think it's any better than the Jetstream Rubber Body Series, which is just over $4.

Ideally, I'd like to find a metal body that accepts the Jetstream refill. Until then, I'll use the Premier and enjoy it for what it is: a pen that feels good in the hand.