Giveaway: Uni-ball Jetstream 4&1 Multi Pen + Pencil

One of the newest arrivals at JetPens, the Uni-Ball Jetstream 4&1 Multi Pen Bright Series is awesome looking, so why not give one away? The Bright Series brings five new colors to the table, and this giveaway is for the Green body with the 0.7mm ink cartridges. As you already know, I am a huge fan of multi pens, as well as Jetstreams, so combining them all into one package is just icing on the cake. Here is how you can win this wonderful pen:

1. Leave one comment on this post anytime between now, and Thursday night at 11:59 PM Eastern Time.  You are limited to one entry.  Feel free to link this giveaway on your blog, or share it with anyone you feel is a true pen addict.  If you have a blog, I would love a link back, but it is certainly not required for entry into the contest.

2. For this contest, I will pick one winner at random from the comments section of this post.  The comments will be numbered in the order they are received, i.e. the first comment is #1, the second #2, and so on.  The Random Integer Generator at random.org will be used to pick the number of the winner.

3. The contest winner will be posted on Friday, April 15th.  The winner will have one week to email me at the address posted in the right sidebar.

4. I will ship internationally.  I know there are many international readers and fans of The Pen Addict, and I will gladly ship to you at my expense.

Thanks and good luck!

Review: Uni-Ball Jetstream 101

Two of my favorite fellow bloggers have covered the Uni-Ball Jetstream 101 already (Brian at Office Supply Geek and Chris from Pens'n'Paper as a guest post on this blog), so I figured it was about time to toss my hat into the ring and see what this latest entry into the Jetstream line has to offer. It is certainly as smooth as smooth can be, but where does it fit in the ever expanding Jetstream lineup?

Prior to starting this blog, I gave the original standard Jetstream - the one you can find in stores everywhere - a spin, and wasn't sure what all of the hype was about. The 1.0mm tip skipped too much, leaving a not so solid line on the page.  I swore them off for the longest time, but once I found that an 0.7mm version existed, and then subsequently the 0.5mm, I became hopelessly hooked for life. I still don't use the 1.0mm version very frequently (although it is Mrs. Pen Addict's current favorite pen), but from a writing perspective, the 101 does a superb job, and is much better than the original Jetstreams I tried way back in the day.

But why does this pen exist?  Aren't there enough types of Jetstreams already available? Well, new pens are always nice, but I think this one boils down to price. If you take a look at Staples.com, the 101's sell for $13.99 a dozen, while the standard capped go for $29.99, and the retractable for even more at $32.99. Which one do you think your office manager can justify more, and still get Bob and Jane their beloved Jetstreams?

Well played, Uni-Ball. Well played.

If you like the more generic barrel style (kind of a souped-up Bic Stic), this pen writes just as good as the rest. But since it only comes in the 1.0mm tip size right now, I think I'll stick with my favorite 0.5mm models.

Click here for the XL review.

Guest Review: Uni JetStream 101 Blue 1.0mm Ball/Gel/Roller

(This is a guest review from Chris, who can be found blogging regularly at Pens'n'Paper)

So, a new JetStream, huh? I must admit, I'm not a horribly huge fan of the JetStream line... I like the 0.5mm JetStream color that I purchased due to it's extremely fine line width, but the others don't really impress me. They seem to just be a glorified and over-advertised ballpoint. Sure, they do write a bit more smoothly than the ordinary ballpoint, but the quality of the writing is about the same. The same skipping is present. I think it's one of the same reasons I never fell in love with the Zebra Surari, because I just wasn't impressed. Maybe I'm just a gel pen fanatic who won't be swayed by the pen companies attempt to yank me back to the age of ballpoints, but, YMMV.

As for the left-handed/quick drying aspect, I can agree with that. Being left-handed, I have always dealt with the issue of smearing ink or graphite all over the page as I was writing. I've slowly adapted over the years (weird hand/paper positions, a cover sheet, different paper, different pens), but it's still an ever-present problem. I can almost even attribute my interest in pens and paper to the fact that I'm still searching for the perfect writing utensil, but I digress... The JetStream 101 dries quickly and is relatively smear-proof (although there was a bit of smearing present when I swiped my hand quickly over it, but I usually don't write that fast), making it an excellent choice for the left-handed writer.

The only other issue I have with this pen is the grip. I grip my pens relatively hard when I write, and this pen doesn't give an inch.  Sustained writing (even in just writing the short paper review) caused my hand to begin to cramp. I'm sure I could train my hand out of this habit (or slide on one of the pencil-grippy-things), but I like a pen I can grip firmly without any discomfort.

Other than these small problems, the JetStream 101 is still an excellent pen for those people who love 1.) a smooth ballpoint, 2.) a dark and vibrant ink, and 3.) a relatively (for most) comfortable writing experience.

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Thanks again to Chris for providing this excellent review.  Be sure to check out all of his work at Pens'n'Paper.com.  If you would like to write a guest review for The Pen Addict, click on the About button on the right sidebar and send me an email.