Cross Click Star Wars Stormtrooper Gel Pen

I was a huge Star Wars fan growing up. All the movies, all the toys, all the everything! I'm still a big fan of course, and now I get to share the awesomeness with my kids, as evidenced by the cool toys I get to use for these pictures. Or are those my Star Wars toys? I'll never tell!

Regardless of whose toys these really are, the pen is definitely mine. The Cross Click Star Wars Gel Pens were released a couple of months ago as all of the merchandising around the release of The Force Awakens ramps up. I assumed we would see some pens involved, although I was admittedly surprised to see Cross was the chosen brand.

Cross has a long and storied history, but they aren't exactly known for cutting edge amazing pens. The designs for their Star Wars lineup don't break any new ground either. In fact, the Gel is based off the Cross Click, which is based off the Classic Century, which is also known as the graduation gift pen. The fountain pen and rollerball are based off of the Townsend, which is know as the President's pen. So, the barrels are typical Cross fare. The paint jobs though? Cross really stepped their game up here.

The designs for the Star Wars pens are based off of three characters: C-3PO, Darth Vader, and the Stormtroopers. Each one of these designs on each one of these pens is really well done. Like big grin across my face as a Star Wars fan well done. Goldspot loaned me the Stormtrooper model for review, and the Imperial White lacquer barrel with black details and satin black clip are spot on. There is even a Stormtrooper emblem on the clip to boot.

The Darth Vader model looks equally impressive, if not more so with the hint of red in the click, and while the gold of C-3PO is not my personal style, it turned out wonderfully. As great as these designs are, the fountain pen and rollerball models are even nicer and more detailed.

But let's get to the Emperor in the room with the Star Wars pens. They are expensive! The fountain pen prices sent my head spinning, and even the click gel models are steep for what they are. The standard Cross Click, which is a good pen in its own right, is less than half of the price of the Star Wars model. Of course there is a premium to be added with limited edition pens, especially when the designs are as nice as these, but the Star Wars branding blew these up like the original Death Star.

Writing wise, the Cross Click Gel is very nice. This is an 0.7mm refill, so it is wide, but it is dark, smooth, and skip free. Readers have been wanting me to review the Click for a while now, and I can see why. The only slight hangup is there is a bit of clicking when writing from the tip, which happens when the metal refill hits against the metal barrel. It's a common thing, and not too bad in this pen. The Click is probably the best pen Cross has released in years.

So it boils down to how big of a Star Wars fan you are with this release. I've had several readers mention they have bought one of each character, even the fountain pen model, and price doesn't seem to be a real hangup. Star Wars branding trumps everything, even in pens. May the Force be with you, and your wallet!

(Goldspot Pens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)

Cross Ion Modification and Review

(This is a guest post by Brian Draghi. You can flow Brian on Twitter @Sketchscape)

I came across the Cross Ion several years ago when I found it in a college bookstore discounted to 5 dollars and immediately purchased it. The small portable design was unlike anything I had seen before and its futuristic look of opening and closing the pen had me hooked. The pen was the perfect size to carry in my pocket without it being too distracting. I only used this pen for a brief amount of time because of the one main drawback which is the large point size.

The only available size for the Cross Ion was the 0.7 mm refill which is too large for my writing style. There was no way to add a smaller refill size from other pens because you could only use the non-standard refills made specifically for the Cross Ion.  Cross had never offered a smaller point size with this pen for those of us who prefer a smaller size.

It had been since shelved and forgotten into my collection of pens. I recently came across it again in my reserve stash of pens in my office. It had such a cool design that I really didn’t want it to go to waste. I was determined once again to find a way to use the Cross Ion with a refill that was smaller than a 0.7. It occurred to me to just try to find a replacement tip for the pen instead wasting my time with refills that would never fit properly.

After several failed experiments trying different tips from my collection of pens I finally found a solution to my problem. The tip from retractable version of the Office Max TUL brand 0.5 needle point as well as the retractable Energel X needle point fits the Cross Ion perfectly. Here is a simple and easy 5 min guide to convert to a needle point tip for the Cross Ion.

Cross Ion mod tools needed:

- One TUL 0.5 needle point refill.

- One Cross Ion refill.

- Pilers.

- A cloth over work area in case some ink spills.

- Good light source.

Four step process:

- Take a pair of pilers and grab the side base of the metal tip, not the needle point part.

- Do the same with the metal tip on the Cross refill. It should put out with some minor pressure.

- Use the pilers to insert the new tip in the Cross refill; it should snap into place perfectly.

- Enjoy your new needle point Cross Ion!

View the entire Cross Ion Mod photo set on Flickr.

Cross Ion refills can still be purchased off Amazon and the Cross website. Some Staples stores still carry these refills but they can be hard to find. I tend to buy multiples of the things I like, so I think I grabbed 3 when I saw them last at Staples a few months ago. I’ve tried to find something smaller around the .35 range but was unsuccessful. This is the simplest way to change the larger point size without having to mod the existing Ion refill or replace it all together. So far, the TUL 0.5 needle point tip works perfectly with the Cross Ion.