The Pen Addict

Review: Pentel Oh! 0.7mm Gel

I didn't mean for it to be Pentel week here at The Pen Addict, but it looks like it is shaping up that way so far.  Monday brought a pleasant surprise in the Pentel Selfit ballpoint, and today brings the somewhat disappointing Pentel Oh! gel ink pen.  It isn't a terrible pen by any stretch, but I am having a hard time deciding why this pen exists with the similar yet vastly superior Energel on the shelves.

The best reason I can come up with it that is is a strong back to school push by Pentel.  The price point - right around $1.00 per pen - is very good, and the barrel has a funky design that many students will like, but as I hold this pen and write with it, all I can think about is that this is a cheap Energel.  Normally, that would be a good thing, but it feels cheap in design.  The grip is no great shakes, and the pen clip is super thin and probably prone to easy bending.  The clip on one of mine even had a small spot of rust right out of the package.

Like I said, this isn't a bad pen, but I don't really see the point.  Everything about the Energel looks, feels, and performs better, albeit at a slighty higher price.  Is there such a thing as a gateway pen?

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Pentel Selfit 0.7mm Ballpoint

It isn't very often that I get caught offguard by a pen, but the perfomance of the Pentel Selfit really took my by surprise.  Being just an afterthouhgt in a recent JetPens order, the Selfit has jumped up near the top of the list as far as traditional ballpoint pens go, and not just because of its very cool grip.

The grip itself is the main selling point of this pen.  I hesitate buying a pen for just the grip technology - I want it to write well too - but Pentel did a nice job here.  The grip feels like a tight silcone that molds to your fingers as you shuffle them around the grip.  It is acually made up of thousands of tiny gel beads, making it feels soft and comfortable without being overly squishy.

As nice as the grip is, what I am really enjoying about this pen is how well the 0.7mm black ballpoint refill writes.  I was taken aback by how neat, clean, and consistenly this pen writes.  Be sure to expand the XL picture below and tell me if you have one that writes this nice.  While the specialty ink ballpoints - Uni-Ball JetStream, Pilot Acroball, Zebra Surari - still reign supreme in my pen arsenal, this is about the best traditional ballpoint I can recall using.

Click here for the XL review.

Products used:

Pentel Selfit Silicone Gel Grip Ballpoint Pen - 0.7 mm - Sky Blue Grip from JetPens

Writing Pad from Doane Paper

Review: Pentel Hybrid Technica 0.5mm Fluorescent Orange

Color me very very surprised by this one - in a good way of course.  The Pentel Hybrid Technica is a pen I have used before with varying degrees of success, but this fluorescent orange model really impressed me.  The way the ink performs on the paper is great.  The gel ink is neat and clean, making for some impressive lines, and the ink color is FLUORESCENT ORANGE!

Now, there are plenty of other bright ink pens that may works as well as this pen (there is a Uni-Ball Signo DX in pink that comes to mind), but this Pentel is just downright fun to use.  I don't know that I would use it for strictly note taking, but as a highlighter alternative, it is just about perfect.  I am an underliner as opposed to a highlighter anyway, so this pen fits my needs.  In fact, this pen is part of the "Go Team" that I carry with me in my main pen case.

Fluorescent pink and yellow will be on their way from JetPens shortly.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Pentel Slicci 0.4mm Purple

Is this the long lost review you have all been waiting for?  Well, not exactly, but it boils down to the fact that I did this review in April - of 2009 - but never posted it to the site.  I found it in my Flickr stream, and as I re-read the review, I realized it touched on a few points that are worth updating since I originally wrote it.

First of all, I talked about how excited I was about the Pentel Sliccies line.  That excitement was pretty short lived after using the Sliccies for a while though.  They aren't terrible pens by any stretch, but they fall short of the standard single barrel Slicci.  I like the wider barrel, but I don't feel the lines are as sharp.  Also, in the three cartridge barrel, I feel that the tip of the cartridge comes out at too much of an angle, which annoys me on a lot of levels.  The ink colors are really vibrant, but the single barrel is the Slicci for me.

Secondly, I mentioned that the Slicci was ahead of the Hi-Tec-C at the time, but those roles have reversed for me recently.  I have become hooked on the grip model Hi-Tec-C pens, and while I still fight with them on the stopping and starting issue, the barrel is so much more enjoyable to write with.

For the Purple Slicci reviewed here - it is a really nice pen.  They are some of the most consistent writers around, and lay down a clean, sharp line.  As long as you can handle the skinny barrel diameter, you should enjoy it very much.

Click here for the XL review.

Product links:

Pentel Slicci Gel Ink Pen - 0.4 mm - Purple Ink from JetPens

Large Writing Pad from Doane Paper

See also:

Review: Pentel Sliccies Multi Pen

Review: Pentel Slicci 0.25mm

Review: Pentel Smash Q1005 0.5mm Mechanical Pencil

This looks to be the official start of a new, fun, and possibly unhealthy addiction to drafting style mechanical pencils.  As I related a bit in the written review at left, I have always been a fan of this type of pencil, but I haven't had much use for them for over a decade.  But as I dig deeper into the pen and pencil world, the pull of the drafting pencil tractor beam finally has me in its grasp.

The Pentel Smash mechanical pencil ($15.00 at JetPens) spoke to me with its long, clean lines, plus its nearly all black color.  I have been on an all black kick recently, and this pencil fit the bill perfectly.  Another of the big selling points of this pencil is the unique grip area, which is comprised of small rubber squares.  When you grip the pencil there is a slight amount of give in the squares, so they are not really sticking you in your finger pads, but rather providing a nice cushion while you write or draw.  It is a pretty unique feel.

The plunger of the pencil has a pretty cool design as well.  It is kind of a rubber compression looking piece, but it pops on and off easily for access to the eraser.  Right now, I am using the stock 0.5mm HB lead that came with the pencil which seems very nice, and going forward, I am going to work on trying out different leads and erasers.

The Pentel Smash has been a nice find, and I look forward to trying out many more drafting style mechanical pencils.

Click here for the XL review.

See also:

Uni-Ball Kuru Toga High Grade 0.5mm

Review: Pentel Hybrid Technica 0.5mm Black

I wrote this review many months ago, and somehow it got lost in the shuffle of my Flickr page (by the way, for new readers of The Pen Addict, you can find all of my photos right here).  The Pentel Hybrid Technica is what I like to classify unscientifically as a basic pen.  No fancy features, no Super Ink, nothing other than a good working pen that you can break out and just go to town with.  The Pilot G-2 falls into this category for example, as does the Pilot VBall RT.  What I look for in a pen like this is really just ease of use.  Can it get the job done without annoying me in some way?  The Hybrid Technica comes thisclose, but there is one minor issue I can't overlook - the grip.

The issue here is that the grip is not attached to the pen, via adhesive, or any other way.  I know other pens do this as well, but this one seems especially slick, so much so that the grip actually rotates as I write.  It is like I am at one of those rotating restaurants at the top of a fancy downtown hotel or office building.  Here comes the pen clip...and there it goes again.  Big Ben, Parliament.  It is a really odd felling.  I'm sure I could add some super glue myself if I were so inclined, but I have enough other pens to choose from thank you very much.  It's too bad really, because this pen writes very nicely and I would love to use it more.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip DX Craft Pen 1.0mm Metallic Red

The Pentel Hybrid Gel Metallic is not a pen I would normally purchase or use frequently, but after recently reviewing the Pentel Slicci Metallic Gel Ink pen, I figured what the heck.  I really didn't spend much time with it prior to doing the written review, nor have I spent that much time with it after, but even during that short time I could tell this is a nice pen.

The metallic pens are definitely a niche item, targeted at scrapbookers and other crafty types, so I'm definitely not the target market for this pen.  What I can tell you is that this is a well made pen that performs exactly as it should.  The barrel design is very solid - quite similar to the Pentel Energel.  In fact, this pen is just like a more glittery Energel, and that is a big compliment.

While I may not get a lot of use out of this pen, my wife will be all over it, especially come Christmas this year.

Click here for the XL review.

Product Links:
Pentel Hybrid Gel Grip DX Craft Pen 1.0mm Metallic Red from JetPens
Doane Paper Writing Pad from Doane Paper

Review: Pentel Rolly C4 0.7mm Ballpoint Multi Pen

The Pentel Rolly C4 multi pen was a purchase from a recent visit to Staples.  Reminiscent of the famous Bic 4-Color ballpoint multi pen, the C4 sports the same four basic colors - black, blue, red, green - but in a much upgraded barrel.  Unfortunately, the barrel is the highlight of the show.

Pentel did a nice job with the overall look and design of the pen, and that is actually what lead me to grab it off the shelf in the first place.  I normally wouldn't have a place in my arsenal for a basic ballpoint multi pen, but this one looked cool, and was reasonably priced around $5.  One of the other things that caught my attention was that the ink cartridges were 0.7mm as opposed to the 1.0mm you would usually find in a pen like this.  The rubber grip is a nice added touch, and the silver barrel color looks great against the clear blue plastic.

When you get right down to it though, the writing experience is nothing special.  It writes cleanly enough, but the ballpoint cartridges are pretty basic.  The black and blue ink do a nice job, but the red and green are too light for my tastes.  The pen does write very cleanly, so if you are a ballpoint pen fan you might like this.  For me, this is another pen where I am going to see what other types of ink cartridges I can fit into this nice barrel.

Click here for the XL review.

Updated Top 5 Pens List

It is time to make a few updates to my Top 5 Pens list that I keep on the sidebar.  The Zebra Sharbo X remains strong at the top, but an old standby - the Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto - has come charging back into the number two spot.  I ordered two limited edition Coleto barrels off of eBay which renewed my interest in that pen, and I have been using them a ton recently.

The Sharpie Pen RT, formerly at #5, no longer makes the cut.  I have had a bunch of trouble with the tip of the pen drying out, which the original never did.  I think I was a little too quick to rank that one, but I did just pick up the Sharpie Pen Grip, and it looks like an improvement.  Taking the final spot is a pen that keeps growing on me, and I find myself reaching for all of the time - the Uni-Ball Jetstream Basic Series 0.5mm Blue.  I love how fine and clean this pen writes, and is a great value for the price.

The full list:

1. Zebra Sharbo X

2. Pilot Hi-Tec-C Coleto

3. Uni-Ball Signo DX 0.38mm

4. Pentel Slicci 0.3mm

5. Uni-Ball Jetstream 0.5mm

Top 10 Pen Reviews of 2009

Since this post was such a hit last year, I want to make this an end of year tradition here at The Pen Addict.  The rankings below consist of the top 10 pen review posts for the 2009 calendar year as determined by Google Analytics.  This list isn't my top 10 favorite pens, but rather a snapshot of what was popular over the last 12 months.

Zebra Sharbo X - Pen of the year?

1. Zebra Sharbo X
I had no idea I would like this pen so much.  The price tag is a barrier to entry, but I'm glad I finally broke down and bought one (and then two).  This is a very well made pen, fun to use, and fun to look at.  If you want to strut your cool Japanese pen stuff, then the Zebra Sharbo X is definitely the way to go.

2. Pentel Slicci 0.25mm
As long as I write this blog, the Pentel Slicci will have a prominent place in these pages.  For my money, this is one of the best micro point gel ink pens around.  The 0.25mm model may be a stretch for some, but it is very easy to write with, and the colors really pop off the page.

3. Sharpie Pen RT
One of the two new Sharpie Pen models this year, the Sharpie Pen RT really changed things up from the original.  The barrel is much better, and the rubber grip is a great addition.  I have been running into an issue of late where the pen tip firms up more than the original, so that is something I am going to dig into more soon.

4. Lamy Safari Charcoal/Black EF Nib
Any and every Lamy Safari post is always a huge hit, and this one was no different.  One of these years I am going to get off my butt, buy a converter, and start testing out other fountain pen inks.  Maybe.

5. Uni-Ball Signo 207 0.7mm Needle Tip
It took me FOREVER to come up with one of these pens.  A reader actually sent my my first one, then I finally came across some on the shelf at an Office Max on a trip to Florida.  This is a really cool variation on the Uni-Ball 207, but I wish it was more accessible.  You hear me Uni-Ball?  :)

6. Uni-Ball Jetstream 3 Multi Pen
Jetstream + Multi Pen = win.  I am a big multi-pen fan, and find myself using the Jetstream more and more, so this pen is a no-brainer for me.  Black, blue, and red are the three ink colors, and with some nice barrel colors available and at just $6.00, this pen is a great value.

7. Uni-Ball Kuru Toga High Grade 0.5mm
Along with the Zebra Sharbo X, this is one of my favorites.  This is the only pencil I carry with me on a daily basis, and I have yet to find a reason to carry any other.  Plus, I just like saying Kuru Toga.  And Mount Wannahockaloogie.

8. Zebra F-701
This is a hugely popular pen with the Every Day Carry crowd, and one I was missing out on for the longest time.  The construction of this pen is awesome, with a sleek stainless steel body and knurled metal grip.  If the ballpoint ink cartridge was a little bit nicer this pen could crack my top 5.

9. Bic Triumph 730R
Bic has always been a second tier pen company to me, ranking behind the big boys like Uni-Ball, Pilot, Pentel, Zebra, and others.  But this year, Bic brought a couple of nicer pens to market, including this 730R.  It is a refillable needle tip liquid ink pen, very similar to the Pilot Precise V5.  Good job by Bic on this one.

10. Pentel Energel Multi-Function Pen
This is an interesting pen to round out the top 10.  The Energel is one of the best writing gel inks around, and is nice to have available in in a multi pen version.  I also appreciate the fact that the cartridges are 0.5mm instead of 0.7mm, which is more common in the American market.