Review: Lamy Logo Ballpoint

So, how many pens did Carmen send me from her European vacation anyway?  Needless to say, it was a serious hookup, and I am down to the last couple that I need to review.  I have honestly carried this Lamy Logo ballpoint in my review case ever since she sent it to me, but just now started giving it a workout.

When I finally started using this pen, it posed a couple of problems for me.  First of all, the grip section is too high on the pen for my writing style.  There is a good bit of distance between the end of the grip and the tip of the pen, and since my writing style causes me to grip the pen low, the ridge where the tip screws on to the barrel hits me in the middle of my finger pads.  This wouldn't be a problem for people with a more free flowing writing style than mine, but it is a little bit of an issue for me.

Secondly, and this is actually a bigger deal for me, is that the tip of the pen does not have a tight fit around the opening of the barrel when the cartridge is in the writing position.  This causes some movement when writing, which of course translates into that "click-clack" sound when the pen hits the page.

I don't want to sound like I am being too harsh on this pen - it is a very nice entry level Lamy pen that you can find in the $12 range.  It just doesn't fit me or my writing style as well as many other pens I have reviewed.  And that is what it is all about, right?

Click here for the XL review.

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: SKB SB-1000 0.5mm Ballpoint

The SKB SB-1000 0.5mm ballpoint pen was featured on Cool Tools last week, but I missed it when it was originally posted.  It wasn't long after that post that a reader asked me about the pen and if I had tried one.  I of course hadn't at the time, but I did email SKB and they were nice enough to send me some pens to review at no charge.  Thanks Mariah!

The SKB ballpoint does have a bit of a following in the art world, and is actually referred to as the "James Jean pen" by many (see samples of Jean's artwork right here).  My first impression of the pen was that it is a glorified Bic Stic, but that would be selling the SKB very short.  While the barrel is nothing special - standard clear plastic barrel with a bit of taper in the grip area - the performance of the tip and ink are very nice.

If there is such a thing as a needle tip ballpoint, this is about as close I have seen.  Does anyone remember the old extra fine PaperMate ballpoints?  I used them back in the 80's, but after some quick Googling, I don't see that they are manufactured anymore.  They were likely 0.5mm and came to a needle type tip, at least in comparison to a standard ballpoint.  The SKB does a much better job with tip design.  When the pen hits the page, this pen really stands out.  It lays down a smooth, skip-free line, with a nice, dark black ink, which isn't always easy to find in a ballpoint.  Be sure to see the large writing sample to see how cleanly it writes.

While this pen isn't going to replace the Uni-Ball Jetstream, Zerbra Surari or Pilot Acroball in my arsenal (mainly because of the nicer barrel options), I do find that it writes better than pens like the Zebra Technoline.  For the price ($11 per dozen), it provides a great bang for the buck, and is a very enjoyable pen to use.

Big thanks to SKB Pens for sending me these pens, and for throwing in plenty of extras for me to share with readers of The Pen Addict.  You can find SKB pens on the web at www.skbpens.com, and they also have a Twitter account @skbpens, although there isn't much action there yet.

Click here for the XL review.