The Pen Addict

Review: Uni-Ball Vision Elite 0.8mm Blue Black

You are a pen addict, right?  That's hopefully why you are here in the first place.  So, being the good pen addict that you are, when someone else asks you for a pen recommendation, what pen do you choose?  For any of us that have tried more than their fair share of pens, that is nearly an impossible question to answer.  What is the pen going to be used for?  What type of paper?  Type of ink?  How often?  Retractable?  So on and so on - the questions are really endless.  I run through all of these items with many of the people that email me looking for a recommendation, and that allows me to narrow it down quite a bit, but picking a pen is such a personal thing.

Why all of the rambling on this Uni-Ball Vision Elite review?  Because this pen tends to rate positively in pretty much every category across the board.  Let me list out a few things:

-- Great barrel design.  Classy for work, but functional anywhere.

-- Very smooth writer.  The liquid ink just glides across the page.

-- Good price point.  These can be found regularly in the $2-2.50 range.

-- Uni-Ball Super Ink technology?  Check.

-- Airplane safe?  Check.

-- Refillable?  Check.

Another big reason I recommend this pen a lot - it passed the mother-in-law test.  My mother-in-law is aware of my pen addiction and asked for a few pens recently.  I gave her all of the basics - Signo 207, Precise V5, G2, Jetstream, etc. - and the Vision Elite is the only one she asked for more of.  If that doesn't say something about the quality of this pen then I don't know what does.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Uni-Ball Vision Needle 0.5mm Black

Back before I was the full bore pen addict that I am now, the Uni-Ball Vision was always one of those pens that I flocked to.  It came in an 0.5mm tip size - which is always what I used before discovering the real micro tips - and the ink flow was like no other.  I really enjoyed using it, but as I amassed more and more pens, the Vision was pushed to the side.  This new Uni-Ball Vision Needle jumped into the fray recently though, and has pulled me back into Uni-Ball Vision land.

You would be hard pressed to find a better looking pen on the store shelf right now.  This new design is really sleek with the black body and silver racing stripes, and it all just flows down to a perfectly designed tip.  The ink flow is great, but I did find that the lines weren't quite as crisp as I like.  I think I summed it up perfectly in the written review:  in a vacuum, this pen is off the charts awesome, but it is not going to break into my rotation of Pilot Hi-Tec-C's and Uni-Ball Signo DX's and the like.  My wife is in love with it though, which in all  honesty, that's what I think Uni-Ball is going for here.  They need to appeal to the masses in the big box retail and office supply world, not just some niche pen nerd, and this pen does a great job of that.

Click here for the XL review.

Review: Uni-Ball Vision RT

I am a big Uni-Ball fan, but it seems that all of my favorites are imported from Japan, and are of the micro-tip variety.  I recently met the Senior Product Manager for Uni-Ball USA on Twitter, and he sent this Uni-Ball Vision RT my way to try out - and maybe change my mind?

Right out of the gate, the design of this pen makes you take notice.  The grip area is a comfortable rubber that morphs into accents for the rest of the barrel.  Very nicely done.  I also like that this pen is retractable, and in two ways at that: the standard button on the end of the barrel, and a safety net under the clip that if you slide into your pocket with the tip extended will retract the tip automatically.

Looks are great, but how does it perform?  Not bad, especially for someone who prefers finer lines like myself.  The bold line (0.8mm) is very solid, very smooth, and very dark - all things I like in a pen.  Despite the width of the line, it doesn't bleed or feather on this Doane Paper, but I do need to try it on a few others to see how it does.

Overall, this is a solid pen.  It doesn't jump to the front of the line, but I do see certain areas where it will come in handy.  The only real complaint I have is that detailed information was tough to come by.  I couldn't locate this pen on the Uni-Ball USA website (I think it has been out for at least 6 months), but I did find a little bit on the Uni-Ball UK site:

Uni-Ball’s most technologically advanced rollerball pen. The Vision RT is hassle-free, leak-free and cap-free. The Vision RT is the world’s first retractable liquid ink pen to feature “Airplane safe” technology, that helps to avoid those embarrassing ink leaks in shirt or suit pockets due to changes in cabin pressure.

Big thanks to Steve at Uni-Ball USA for providing this pen for review.  You can find him on Twitter as UniBall_USA, so be sure to follow!

Review: Uni-Ball Vision Needle Fine

It's rare that I dislike a pen so much right out of the gate, but I do not like the Uni-Ball Vision Needle at all.  I was actually excited to see a new Uni-Ball Vision model on the shelves since the original model is a pretty decent pen, but the Needle version does not live up to its predecessor.  The ink flow is massive, so massive that I could hardly write fast enough to keep it from pooling and seeping through the paper.  I'm a fast writer, and I couldn't keep up.  In addition, the feathering is so bad, my lettering looks ridiculous.  Each letter looks like it had fireworks go off behind it.

Needless to say, I am not happy with this pen at all.  You can find better places to spend  your money.

Labels: Reviews, Uni-ball, Vision Needle

Review: Uni-Ball Vision Elite 0.5mm Blue

The Uni-Ball Vision Elite has been a very popular pen over the past few years, especially prior to the surge in popularity of gel ink pens.  This liquid ink model writes wonderfully, although I experienced a little feathering in my line with this model writing on my Moleskine (an example is where I have the arrow, but it didn't show up in the picture very well).  Beautifully designed and well balanced, I can see why this pen is so well liked.  My only question is - are they doing away with this model?  I bought three 3-packs of this pen at Wal-Mart on closeout for $1.50 per pack, with the regular price around $6.00.

Labels: Reviews, Uni-ball, Vision Elite